Understanding My Hair

Hair cycle Human hair grows in an asynchronous manner, un-like animal hair which falls out synchronously in the form of a moult. ‘Moulting' only occurs in humans as part of a pathological state. There are three phases of hair growth. Anagen is the active and longest phase, lasting up to 4 or 5 years, which explains why hair will only grow to a certain length, usually to the waist or buttocks, but not down to the ground.

The majority of the hair is in anagen at any one time. Following anagen, cell division ceases in the hair bulb and involution (catagen) occurs. The hair follicle regresses and the hair shaft becomes shortened and club shaped. Catagen lasts a few weeks and is followed by telogen during which hair is shed for about 3 months. The hair cell cycle is one of the most active in the body and is very susceptible to external influences.

The most widely held misconception concerning hair is that is alive, and, therefore, its condition can be 'permanently' altered by using some newly discovered commercial potion. The truth is that hair is only living matter at its base below the surface of the scalp. Like the tip of one's finger nail, hair is dead matter, and can be clipped shorter and discarded. This fact alone brings us to two important conclusions about how one may maintain stronger, healthier looking, shiny hair.

Now, how do we ensure this quality protein gets to the living roots of our hair? Just as we stimulate quality muscle growth through exercising and bringing protein-laden blood to specific body parts, we can do the same for our hair. This is easily achieved by simply massaging your scalp, once a day, while you shampoo and condition your hair. You'll not only have cleaner and more thoroughly conditioned hair, but you will have stimulated protein-supplying blood to feed the germinating roots of your hair.

This brings us to several fallacies concerning the shampoo and conditioning of hair. One of which is that a shampoo alone can increase the overall health of the hair. Shampoo, no matter what exotic or expensive ingredients are added to it, is designed to perform one single task - to cleanse the hair of excessive sebum (natural oils), body sweat and environmental impurities. It is a scientific contradiction that cleansing the hair alone will keep it healthy, once you have stripped it of all of its natural protective properties, like sebum.

The longer your hair is, the less the chance is that these natural hair oils will reach the mid-shaft to ends of your hair with daily shampooing. This leaves the older and more vulnerable sections of the hairshaft exposed to further damage from heated styling appliances and chemical processes, such coloring or permanent waving.



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