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What is hair?

Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals.  Our hair is a keratin filament that grows.  It also regrows from follicles scattered throughout our bodies.  There are numerous factors that can affect normal hair growth.  These include androgens, nutrition, and genetic material.  Androgens are the main regulator of human hair follicles.   

What are androgens?

Androgens are in fact male hormones.  Both men and women produce this hormone, but obviously in different amounts.  The principal androgens are testosterone and androstenedione.  These are present at much higher levels in men and play an important role in male traits and reproductive activity. 

Hair growth

There has always been a parallel connection between our bodily aging process and the growth of hair.  There are three stages of hair growth. The Anagen, catagen and telogon phases.  Once a cycle is complete it restarts and a new strand of hair begins to form.   

Can you make your hair grow faster?

Hair grows at about 1.25 centimeters per month or 15 centimeters per year. Ironically to grow your hair, you need to cut your hair every ten to twelve weeks.  If you can prevent split ends and use a good conditioner that might help.  Taking a good vitamin supplement might help but other than that you just have to wait it out.  It takes time to grow your hair.  

When does our hair turn gray or white?

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All hair is originally white.  It gets pigment, melanin, through specialized cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes are mature melanin forming cells.  Typically in the skin. We get our hair color when these cells pump a pigment into the hair follicles.  Melanin has two predominant types. Dark pigment or light pigment.  These combine in various proportions and produce a huge range of hair structures.  

The combination is mainly determined by our genes.  Melanocytes start their secretion even before our birth and that function regresses with age.  It keeps on decreasing and after the age of thirty, decreases function by ten to twenty percent.  

Why and how the function lessens is a complete mystery. 

Some scientists believe that our hair follicles have a ‘melanogenic clock’  that regulates hair pigmentation with age and hence, minimizes it with aging. Grey hair is a precursor of white hair, and contains less or no melanin at all due to inactive melanocytes. 

Genes and DNA plays an important role in hair color.  So if you are turning gray at a young age, you should blame it on your parents.  

What causes baldness?

 

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The cause of baldness is mainly due to genetics.  Male pattern baldness is once again associate with the male sex hormones called androgens. It usually has no medical ill effects, so if you are losing hair at an alarming rate, then there might be an underlying medical cause and you should go and see a doctor.  

Why is everyone so unhappy with their hair?

 

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Some people always complain about their hair.  If they have curly hair, they want straight hair and if they have straight hair they want curly hair.  The mere fact that you have hair should be a blessing!  

There are so many promising hair products out there, but none of them really works. Make sure to wash your hair at least twice a week.  (Yes that is enough) and use a good conditioner.  Also, be sure to eat enough healthy foods, and take in your prescribed vitamins per day to ensure proper hair- health.  

If you are healthy your hair should be healthy!

 Here are some nutritious foods that you can eat to keep your hair healthy.  

• Spinach.
• Greek yogurt.
• Salmon.
• Cinnamon.
• Oatmeal.
• Guava.
• Eggs.
• Lentils

One good thing about hair is that it grows out again.  Should you have a hair disaster, chances are that you will have proper hair again soon.  

Just wait it out! 

Research references:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_hair_growth

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/advice/a36065/tricks-for-growing-your-hair-really-really-long/

http://gaizupath.com/what-causes-white-hair/