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Question: Is my hair loss permanent? What is a hair growth cycle?

Answer: It is normal to lose 75-100 individual hairs daily. With male pattern baldness, new hair growth is diminishing in taking the place of hairs that are shed. Hair is constantly growing in cycles. These cycles are as follows:

ANAGEN – This is the growth cycle in which cells divide and elevate to the upper portion of the hair bulb, as dead cells. Hairs in this growth stage become longer and larger. The anagen cycle normally runs in durations of two to seven years.

CATAGEN– During the catagen stage the hair is separated from it’s nutritional source and hair growth stops. The follicle begins to shrink and no melanins, which create hair colour, are added. The duration of this cycle is normally two to three weeks.

TELOGEN– During this cycle (which ranges in time from one to four months) the hair either falls out or is forced out by new growth. With a normal growing head of hair the anagen cycle begins again at this stage. Each individual hair is totally independent. The anagen stage normally involves between eighty-five percent and ninety five percent of the total number of hairs on one’s scalp. The catagen stage normally involves less than one percent of the total amount of scalp hairs. The telogen cycle involves five to fifteen percent of total scalp hairs.

When you are losing hair through pattern hair loss, the catagen and telogen stage are not accelerated but instead, the anagen stage diminishes on a gradual basis with the hair growing finer and finer and also shorter until growth is virtually invisible.

Call one of our trichologists and identify which male pattern you are and seek advice as to what treatments are available and possible in your particular case as not everyone is treatable and results will vary from patient to patient.

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help