What to Do About Slow-Growing Hair

If you think you have slow-growing hair or that your hair periodically stops growing, you’re probably not imagining things. To understand why your hair is like this, consider how it grows: A strand of hair grows out of its follicle during a period that can last from two to six years (this is called the anagen phase). Then, as its follicle shrinks and starts to die, the strand stops growing for a few weeks (the catagen phase). In the final stage, called the telogen phase, the hair follicle renews its activity, beginning the process all over again and making the old hair fall out to make way for new growth.

If you have slow-growing hair, this means your active growth phase is on the short end — it’s closer to two years than six. This gives you hair that stops growing at a shorter length than someone else’s might. Many factors can lead to slow-growing hair. Heredity plays a part. So does your level of a male hormone called androgen, which both men and women have. Hair growth also naturally slows as we get older and more hair follicles go into the final, or telogen, phase.

How to Help Slow-Growing Hair
You can give slow-growing hair a boost by keeping it — and yourself — as healthy as possible. Here’s how:

• Eat a healthy diet. Though eating well won’t magically turn your short hair into long locks, nutrients that promote growth do help. These nutrients can be found in fish and poultry, dark green vegetables, whole grains, eggs, low-fat dairy products, beans, and nuts.
• Avoid crash diets. Trying to drop too many pounds too quickly can affect the cycle of your hair growth. If you want to lose weight, talk to your doctor about a sensible eating and fitness plan.
• Let your hair go natural. Washing, bleaching, and dyeing your hair too often can make hair weak and brittle. So can too-frequent use of blow-dryers and curling irons. Letting your hair do what it naturally does is the best way to keep it healthy.
• Get your hair trimmed regularly. This will keep split ends from making your hair break off, which can leave you feeling like your hair doesn’t grow at all.
• Go easy on nutritional supplements. Taking megadoses of vitamin A can contribute to slow-growing hair or hair loss. It’s safest to stick to the recommended daily allowance of this nutrient.

Dealing with Hair Loss
Sometimes hair is not just slow-growing, it actively falls out. If you’ve had a serious illness or severe stress, it can make more hair than normal fall out two or three months later. Fortunately, this will grow back on its own after a few months. If hair falls out in patches (in a condition called alopecia areata), your doctor can prescribe oral or topical medication to remedy the problem.

Certain medications can slow hair growth or make hair fall out, including those used to treat acne and control blood pressure and heart disease. Drugs used in cancer treatment can also cause hair loss. If you suspect that a medication is affecting your hair growth, ask your doctor if you can switch to something that doesn’t have this effect.

You can’t make slow-growing hair grow faster, but you can make sure it looks and feels healthy at any length.

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The Causes of Women's Hair Loss

The first thing you notice might be more hair than usual in your hair brush or clogging the shower drain. Or you see that your part is getting wider or that your hair seems to be thinning overall. If hair loss progresses you may wonder, Am I going bald? What’s causing this? Hair loss in women can occur for many reasons. These include:

• Female pattern baldness. This can cause thinning hair on the top or sides of the head or at the crown. This tends to get worse over time, but treatment with topical minoxidil (Rogaine) can help prevent more lost hair and spur new hair growth.
• A stress response called telogen effluvium. If you have a major shock to your physical or emotional health, such as surgery or a death in the family, it’s common to lose more hair than usual two to three months after the event. Telogen effluvium can also result from a sudden change in hormone levels; such a change can be caused, for example, by childbirth. When stress is the cause, hair will grow back over several months.
• A nutritional deficiency or illness. A serious deficiency in protein, iron, zinc, or other nutrients can make hair fall out. Hair loss in women can also be a symptom of a disorder such as lupus or diabetes.
• A side effect of certain drugs. Some medications can cause hair loss. Common culprits include lithium, beta-blockers, warfarin, and heparin.
• Alopecia. This is an autoimmune disease that makes hair fall out in small, round patches. In some cases, it can cause total baldness. A corticosteroid applied to the scalp or injected can help.
• Fungal scalp infection. Some forms of fungi can infect the scalp, making hair break off at the scalp. This can be treated with oral medication.
• Overtreating your hair. Braiding your hair tightly, using curling irons or hot rollers, or coloring your hair can make hair brittle and more likely to fall out.
• Pulling out your hair. This is a mental disorder called trichotillomania; a person afflicted with it will pull out their hair frequently, which can cause patchy bald spots on their scalp or elsewhere on their body.

Preventing Hair Loss in Women
You can prevent some forms of hair loss with a healthy lifestyle and a little TLC for your locks. It also helps to try to reduce stress in your life and eat a nutritionally balanced diet. If a medication is the problem, ask your doctor about switching to something that doesn’t cause hair loss. You can avoid hair loss from fungus by not sharing combs, brushes, or hats with others.

If you want to cover up your scalp while you’re waiting for lost hair to regrow, talk to your stylist about techniques to camouflage sparse areas. Hair weaving and wigs can also come in handy.

When to See a Doctor
Consult your doctor if you suddenly notice hair loss. He or she may take a hair sample for testing if a fungal infection is suspected, or order blood tests if illness or a nutritional deficiency might be at the root of your problem. If you are compulsively pulling out your hair, a doctor can suggest a mental-health professional who specializes in conditions like trichotillomania.

Finding out what’s causing your hair loss is the first step — and it’s also a giant step toward fixing the problem and seeing your hair look healthy again.