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Anatomy of Hair

Hair itself is made up of 3 regions:

• the lower segment (bulb and suprabulb)- The lower segment extends from the base of the follicle to the insertion of the erector pili muscle (also known as the arrector pili muscle)
•  the middle segment (isthmus)-The middle segment is a short section that extends from the insertion of the erector pili muscle to the entrance of the sebaceous gland duct.
• and the upper segment (infundibulum)-The upper segment extends from the entrance of the sebaceous gland duct to the follicular orifice.

Hair also grows in 3 phases:

• Anagen, the growing phase-this starts at the moment it begins to grow and lasts for up to 7 years, without interruption, and can grow as long as a meter or approximately 40 inches.
• Catagen, the hair follicle shrinks and the lower part of the hair breaks away. This lasts for up to 2 weeks.
• Telogen,  the hair does not grow but stays attached to the follicle while the dermal papilla stays in a resting phase below. Approximately 10-15 percent of all hairs are in this phase at an one time.  If the old hair has not already been shed the new hair pushes the old one out and the growth cycle starts all over again (anagen).

Hair growth depends on a number of factors:
Heredity
If you have parents who have naturally thin or fine hair, it is possible that you will have the same type of hair. Although skipping generations does take place, you can also inherit receding hair lines, cowlicks, thin temples, and male pattern baldness.
Hormones
Hormones do play a part in hair growth. During pregnancy, quite often the hair grows faster and thicker, but after the baby is born, many women experience hair loss.
Learn about hormones & hair health/growth here! Age
While an infant’s hair starts off growing slow, and is often thin, it usually changes throughout their early years into puberty. After puberty, this is when the normal hair texture will remain almost the same until aging sets in. During the teen years and throughout adult hood, the hair is most often at its strongest, but elders will see a change in density, color and length in their latter years.
Analogy: It’s almost as if t here are 2 sets of the three phases of growth based on age. The youngest being the anagen phase while in early adulthood, catagen and elderly, telogen…
Ethnicity, Hair Texture, Hair Type

Caucasian hair grows at a rate of about 1.2cm a month and has the greatest density of all three hair types. Blondes have about 146,000 hairs on their heads, black-haired beauties about 110,000 hairs, brunettes 100,000 hairs and redheads roughly 86,000 hairs. Afro-Caribbean hair is predominantly black and a healthy person possesses about 50,000 to 100,000 hairs on their head but they have the slowest growth rate of about 0.9cm per month. Asian hair – the most dominant hair type in the world – out speeds the rest with a growth rate of 1.3cm per month, and despite an estimated 80,000 to 140,000 scalp hairs, it usually has the least density.
There are times when hair can grow down to there. Hair locking is one of the most natural ways to grow long hair in spite of genes and age and still,   there are those who have long, loose natural hair as well.
Learn 10 great healthy hair tips