You walked out of the salon with a fresh cut in the spring, and by the time the leaves fell along Mount Vernon Avenue you were sure your hair had hardly moved. In this month's hair health update from Holistic Hair Studio in Alexandria, we answer one of the questions we hear most often in the chair. How fast does hair really grow?
The answer is slower than most people hope, and that is exactly why protecting the length you already have matters so much.
The Real Number
Scalp hair grows on average about half an inch a month, which works out at roughly six inches a year. The rate varies from person to person and is influenced by genetics, age, hormones, nutrition and overall health. Hair tends to grow a little faster in younger adults, and growth slows with age.
You have around 100,000 hair follicles on your scalp, and each one works on its own schedule. That is why you never shed all your hair at once.
The Three Stages of Every Hair
Every follicle moves through a repeating cycle.
Growth. The anagen phase lasts from about two to seven years. At any moment, around 85 to 90 percent of the hairs on your head are in this stage.
Transition. The catagen phase lasts around two to three weeks. The follicle shrinks and the hair detaches from its blood supply.
Rest and shedding. The telogen phase lasts around three months. At the end of it, the old hair falls out and a new one begins to grow in its place. Losing around 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal.
Why Your Hair Stops at a Certain Length
The length of your growth phase sets the longest your hair can reach. Someone with a two year growth phase may find their hair stalls around shoulder length, while someone with a seven year phase can grow it to their waist. This is largely inherited. No shampoo can change it.
What most people experience as hair that will not grow is usually hair that is breaking at the ends as fast as it grows at the root.
Your Ends Are Older Than You Think
Here is a fact that surprises many of our clients. If your hair reaches just past your shoulders, the strands at the ends may be two years old or more. They have lived through two Alexandria summers, two winters of indoor heating, hundreds of washes and countless passes of a brush.
Because hair records what it has been exposed to as it grows, scientists can read it like a timeline. In 2008, Italian physicists tested locks of Napoleon's hair taken at different points in his life and found high levels of arsenic in all of them, as well as in samples from his son and his wife Josephine. That pointed to everyday exposure in the era rather than murder in exile.
Your hair keeps a record too, of every hot tool, harsh dye and sunny afternoon on the Mount Vernon Trail. That is why the oldest part of your hair always needs the most care.
Does Cutting Hair Make It Grow Faster?
No. Growth happens at the follicle, under the scalp, and trimming the ends has no effect on it. What a regular trim does is remove split ends before they travel up the strand. Left alone, a split can keep splitting, and you end up losing far more length than a small trim would have taken.
How to Keep the Length You Grow
Detangle gently from the ends upward with a wide tooth comb.
Keep hot tools on a low to moderate setting.
Swap tight elastics for soft scrunchies or clips.
Sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase.
Eat enough protein, as hair is made mostly of a protein called keratin.
Book a trim every 8 to 12 weeks if you are growing your hair.
Growing Healthy Hair at Holistic Hair Studio
Our precision haircuts start at $67 for short hair, $92 for medium and $117 for long, and every cut includes a consultation, an OWAY organic shampoo and a finished style. If you are growing your hair, tell us, and we will take only what is needed to keep the ends strong. A Deep Conditioning Treatment, from $45, helps protect older ends through the dry winter months.
Clients visit our Powhatan Street studio from Old Town North, Del Ray, Potomac Yard and Arlington. We are always happy to talk through realistic goals for your hair.
For more on timing your appointments, read how often you should get a haircut.
Your Hair Growth Checklist
Expect around half an inch of growth a month
Treat your ends as the oldest, most fragile hair you have
Trim every 8 to 12 weeks to stop splits traveling
Keep heat low and elastics soft
Book a haircut at Holistic Hair Studio in Alexandria
Book your appointment today and experience the transformative power of natural organic hair wellness at Holistic Hair Studio!
1433 Powhatan Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
Book your appointment: 703-473-6864
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