Provillus Hair Loss Treatment for Men and Women

Hair Growth

Hair is composed of keratin, the same protein that makes up nails and the outer layer of our skin. Hair growth takes place within the follicle located under the scalp. Blood vessels surrounding the follicle provide the root with nourishment. At the base of the follicle is the papilla, which is where the hair is produced. The papilla is fed by the blood-stream which provides nutrients for the growing. Male hormones called androgens regulate hair growth in both men and women. Scalp hair growth is not directly related to androgen levels, but rather is influenced by local amounts of a testosterone derivative, dihydrotestosterone. A hair shaft, the visible part of the hair, emerges from the follicle.

Researchers of dermatology agree that every adult human is born with about 100,000 active follicles and averages 100,000 to 150,000 scalp hairs. The number of follicles will never increase. In fact, the number normally decreases to about one half that number by the age of 60.

A hair follicle is a cavity of cells that forms a “bulb” around the base of the hair in the scalp. A healthy follicle produces a strong, thick, colored hair. Healthy scalp grows at an average daily rate of approximately 0.35mm(1/72 inch), that is, about 2.5cm(1 inch) every 21/2 months and hair growth rates are different from time, age, temperature,etc. It is now known that it grows fastest in the summer, slowest in the winter, speeds up under heat and friction, but slows down when exposed to cold. Hair grows the best between the ages of 15 to 30.

The growth on the scalp follows a repeating, three-phase cycle, which is divided into the anagen (active), catagen (intervening) and telogen (resting) phases.

The anagen phase is the period of active hair growth where protein synthesis and keratinization are continuously occurring. In normal subjects, this phase lasts for up to six years.At any one time, about 87% of the hairs on scalp are in this phase.

The cessation of the anagen phase is characterized by a transitory phase known as catagen. This phase lasts for approximately 10 days. Only around 1% of follicles are in this stage at any one time.

Following the catagen phase, the hair enters the telogen or “resting” phase. In normal subjects, telogen hair is retained within the scalp for up to 12 weeks before the emerging new hair dislodges it from its follicle and involves less than 12%.

During the anagen phase, protein s thesis is the main distinction of the hair bulb. In the telogen phase, the dermal papilla undergoes renewal. It is at this time that structural characteristics can be modified. The new hair should be identical to its predecessor, but with advancing age, and in some pathological states, a strict copy is not maintained. In these circumstances, the hair may become finer and shorter, modifying the esthetic profile. Since these effects occur over several cycles, years may elapse before the affected individual recognizes the difference.

Like skin cells, hair grows and is shed regularly. Shedding 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal unless you’re losing aren’t being replaced by new ones. Progressive hairloss begins naturally in both sex about age 50, accelerating in the 70s. About 40 percent of Caucasian men lose hair to some extent by age 35. When hair growth fails to keep up with hairloss, the result is thinning that can eventually lead to baldness.

Hair Growth

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