“My hair isn’t growing.”

Safiya Damani

Senior Press Pass Correspondent

 

Factors affecting hair growth and length:

Genetics - Genetics determine the way our body functions as well as the way it looks. This includes our hair growth cycles as well as our hair loss which is brought on with age. Hormones - Hormonal changes in the body can affect our hair growth cycles. It may cause our hair to grow faster and fall out less and vice versa. Nutrition - Did you know that your hair and nails are the last in line to receive nutrition from your food? These parts of your body are dead, hence the reason why it doesn’t hurt when you cut them! Live hair cells are developed inside the follicle by the papilla. As the new cells grow, the older cells die and are forced along the follicle towards the scalp.

 

The dead cells are compressed to form the protein, keratin. The hair shaft that we see is the keratin emerging from the scalp. Finger-nails are made of keratin, as well. The body is a very efficient machine, and will sacrifice your hair and nails to ensure that your other vital cells are being fed.Exercise and Stress - Exercise increases the flow of oxygen in your blood and also helps with circulation. It helps also to regulate your adrenal glands. Adrenal glands are crucial in the body’s response to stress. Furthermore, stress can push your hair into the telogen phase which is the shedding or resting period of the hair. This means that stress can actually tell your hair to stop growing! Fortunately, this phase only usually lasts for two to four months and will return to the anagen (growing) phase after this time.

 

Excessively scratching the scalp - Let’s look at a common example for this one. Let’s say someone is combing your hair and they see some dandruff or dry scalp flakes in your hair. Most people’s initial reaction is to tell the person to get rid of it and this is done in most cases by scratching it out with the comb or nails. By doing this you are actually traumatizing the scalp which has skin just like the rest of your body. Think about it. Would you do all this scratching to your arms and legs? By doing this you are actually making the problem worse.

 

There are several other aspects which affect hair growth and maintenance. Washing and Conditioning are two of these aspects and the questions of ‘How often?’, ‘How to?’ and ‘With what?’ must be applied to them. Protective styling and trimming are also aspects which affect hair growth and maintenance. These would be addressed later on in the series. Until then, take into consideration the ideas presented on how Genetics, Hormones, Nutrition, Exercise, Stress and Excessive scratching can affect your hair growth and pay them more attention if you want to see your hair thrive.