Hair growth can be a sensitive topic, especially for people who cannot seem to grow the hair of their dreams. Understanding how long it takes for hair to grow is crucial to setting realistic expectations and avoiding disappointment.
To become familiar with how long it takes for hair to grow back, we need to dive deeper into hair growth cycles and what impacts these phases. Likewise, we’ll help you understand how much your hair can grow based on your ethnicity and the underlying cause of hair loss for various scenarios such as haircuts, hair loss, or medical treatments like chemotherapy.
In this article, we’ll delve into the details of hair growth to answer this question comprehensively.
The Hair Growth Cycle
The hair growth cycle is a continuous process that your hair follicles undergo. It has three phases, and the length of each phase can change depending on external factors such as stress and poor hair care and internal factors such as diet and physical health.
1- The Anagen Phase
The anagen phase is the first phase of the hair growth cycle. During this phase, your hair follicles are actively growing new hair cells. Depending on your genetics, the anagen phase can last anywhere between 2 to 7 years. This is why some people can grow their hair whereas others cannot. The longer your genetic timer is for the anagen phase, the easier and more likely it is for you to grow long hair.
In the anagen phase, you can grow up to 1 centimeter per month. Ideally, about 85% to 90% of your hair should be in the anagen phase
2- Catagen Phase
The catagen is a short resting phase in the hair growth cycle that lasts about 2-3 weeks. During this phase, the hair follicles shrink and detach from the hair. The catagen phase affects about 1% of your hair follicles.
3- Telogen Phase
The telogen phase is the last in the hair growth cycle and is usually referred to as the resting phase. In the telogen phase, your hair stops growing but does not detach from the hair follicle for at least another 3 months. Around 10% to 15% of your hair follicles are in this stage.
Once the hair falls off, it allows the ne hair follicle to begin a new anagen phase of active growth.
What Affects How Long It Takes for Hair to Grow Back
To stimulate and encourage your hair, you should attempt to meet all the requirements for healthy hair growth. The conditions for optimal hair growth generally include:
1- Health, Diet, and Nutritional Deficiencies
A healthy diet will provide your hair with the essential minerals and vitamins it needs to make new hair cells. Make sure you eat a comprehensive diet rich in vitamins D, iron, zinc, and biotin.
Run blood tests every 6 months to ensure you’re not deficient in any of the essential vitamins for hair health and growth. If you can’t sustain a balanced diet, you can consider vitamin supplements under the supervision of a healthcare provider.
But your diet has a huge impact on how fast your hair grows.
2- Sufficient Sleep and Stress-Free Life
Sleep and stress can contribute significantly to hair loss by disrupting the natural growth cycle of the hair. Chronic stress levels elevate cortisol production which in turn triggers a condition known as telogen effluvium.
In telogen effluvium, a great percentage of your hair follicles abruptly and prematurely transition from active growth (anagen phase) to the resting and the last stage of hair growth (telogen phase).
Get sufficient deep and continuous sleep and address any sleeping problems with a healthcare provider. Because both sleep and a healthy mental state are essential for optimal hair growth.
3- Hormonal Balance
Hormonal balance is especially essential for women, where fluctuating levels of androgens, estrogen, progesterone, and others can affect hair growth. Pregnancy, menopause, and irregular hormones such as polycystic ovary syndrome or thyroid problems, can all have an effect on the growth cycles of your hair. Essentially, any disruption in hormonal balance can lead to hair thinning, shedding, or excessive growth.
Follow up with a professional gynecologist or endocrinologist to make sure your hormones are in check to create an ideal environment for hair growth.
4- Gentle Hair Care
Damage and heat from styling products and devices can cause your hair to break and damage sooner. It can negatively impact your hair growth. So make sure you are not applying any chemicals directly to your scalp, oil and massage your hair twice a week, and lastly avoid heat as much as you can.
.5- Genetics
You need to have the genetics for density and growth. You may not have enough hair follicles to sustain the hair growth you aspire for. Likewise, you may not have the genetics for a long anagen phase and hence cannot grow your hair as long as you wish. There is not much you can do to influence the genetics of your hair growth. But you can consider hair transplantation, where you can relocate hair from one area to another on your scalp to increase density in it.
How Long Does Hair Grow in One Year?
In a year, you can expect your hair to grow 12 to 15 centimeters. However, the average can change based on ethnicity. For instance, Asians have the longest average of annual growth, where a person can grow on average anywhere between 15 to 18 centimeters of hair. Hispanic and caucasian hair grows at an average of 15 centimeters per year, whereas African hair can grow 10 – 15 centimeters of hair in a year.
How Long Does It Take for Hair to Grow Back After Hair Loss
How long it takes for hair to grow back depends on the cause of hair loss. Below we’ll list some scenarios and how long it would take for hair to grow back in that particular situation.
In most conditions, you will find that you have to wait for at least 3 months before you start seeing progress. It is important to note that changes will begin to happen in your body as soon as you seek treatment. But it will take 3 months minimum, for hair these changes to become visible.
How Long Does It Take for Hair to Grow Back After Androgenic Alopecia
Androgenic alopecia is pattern hair loss that can affect both men and women. In androgenic alopecia, the hair follicles respond to the androgens in the body by shrinking. In women, AGA is a sign of hormonal imbalance and typically accompanies conditions like PCOS as a symptom.
Androgenic alopecia continues to shrink down the hair follicles until they irreversibly and entirely shrink. For women, it is important to address the underlying cause of androgenic alopecia to regulate their hormones.
But both men and women can attempt to reverse androgenic alopecia through minoxidil or finasteride. Both are androgen blockers and are usually the first line of treatment for this type of hair loss. Women tend to respond better to both treatments whereas men typically have to eventually get a hair transplantation to reverse the hair loss.
With Minoxidil and finasteride, it takes a minimum of 3 months for the results to start showing, But optimal results will appear within a year of consistent use.
How Long Does It Take for Hair to Grow Back After Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune system that affects the hair follicles. Since alopecia areata is an unpredicatble condition, it’s difficult to put a timeline for growth. But if you manage to control your condition, you should begin to see results within 3 months. More severe conditions of alopecia areata such as alopecia universallis can take longer for hair to grow with an average of 6 to 12 months to see signs of growth.
However, alopecia areata is a recurring condition, so you must avoid particular triggers such as stress that could flare up your condition.
You should also note that the hair will initially grow out soft and fuzzy, but will strengthen with time and care.
How Long Does It Take for Hair to Grow Back After Telogen Effluvium
Telogen effluvium is a temporary phase of hair shedding. This can occur because of stressful factors, whether emotional or physical.
Traumatic events, chronic stress, pregnancy, menopause, and post-partum can all trigger telogen effluvium. Likewise, a poor diet and certain medications can trigger hair shedding.
If you address the triggering cause of your telogen effluvium, you can then begin to see growth within 3 months from eliminating the root cause. However, full recovery can require anywhere between 6 months to a year.
How Long Does It Take for Hair to Grow Back After Pulling It Out
How long it takes for your hair to grow back after pulling out will depend on the damage you inflicted on the hair follicle. The pulling can be intentional as a coping mechanism or unintentional through tight styling. But this type of hair loss is called traction alopecia.
If you did not scar the hair follicle when pulling on your hair, you can expect hair growth to become visibile in 3 to 6 months. However, if you did damage or scar your hair follicle when pulling your hair out, regrowth may not be possible. And if it were, you will need at least 12 months before growth becomes visible.
How Long Does It Take for Hair to Grow Back After Hair Transplantation
How long it takes for hair to grow after hair transplantation is a minum of 3 months befor eyou start seeing any changes. However, the hair will grow thicker and denser in the followin months peaking within the 1 year mark.
How Long Does It Take for Hair to Grow Back After Chemotherapy
Hair loss begins 2 to 4 weeks from starting chemotherapy, but will begin to regrow within 3 weeks from stopping it. The early signs of growth are very soft and fuzzy, but will begin to hold shape within 3 to 6 months from stopping the treatment.
However, full and optimal re-growth will appear within 6 to 12 months. You may notice that your new hair grows back in a different color after chemotherapy. Some indidviduals may notice that their hair is growing back lighter or darker than it initially was. This change is temporary and your hair will grow back into its natural color within 6 to 12 months.
How Long Does It Take for Hair to Grow Back After Cutting It Bald
Shaving your head bald will not inlfuence the rate of hair growth. Even if you shave your head, your hair will continue to grow at the average rate of 1 centimeters per month.
What Can You Do About Post Partum Hair Loss?
The elevated estrogen levels during preganacy help to keep your hair in the active growth phase, leading to thick and luscious hair. However, many women report heavy hair shedding post-partum. To avoid this, make sure you’re taking the supplements that your doctor provides.
Hair will begin to grow back after child birth to its normal stage within 6 to 12 months from giving birth.
The Takeaway
To support and stimulate fast and steady hair growth, you must first create a perfect environment that nourishes your hair follicles. You can achieve this through maintaining a healthy diet that includes omega-3 fatty acids, Biotin, Vitamin D, and Vitamin E. Secondly, you have to maintain a healthy scalp health through massging for 5 – 10 mins twice weeks and oiling your scalp with castor oil, olive oil, or coconut oil to maintain healthy scalp environment.
Thirdly, you need to regulate your hormones andthyroid functions to eliminate any fluctatutions that could potentially lead to telogen effluvium. Lastly, you need to avoid emotional stress and physical stress through styling to promote healthy hair growth.
On average, you hair will grow and average of 1 centimeters per month, but your racial background and genetics can influence this growth. Your hair will grow back in 3 months at least, from the period you address the root cause of your hair loss. But you will generally see the most growth within one year of commitment to hair care..
If you would like to learn more about hair growth and hair transplantation, contact our medical specialists. In a free online consultation through WhatsApp, we can address all your concerns.
