How Do Hair Follicles Function?

Anatomy
Hair growth cycle
Life of a follicle
Issues with follicles
Hair regrowth
Takeaway
Hair follicles are small, pocket-like holes in our skin. As the name suggests, they
grow hair. The average human has about 100,000 hair follicles on the scalp alone,
according to the American Academy of Dermatology. We’ll explore what hair follicles
are and how they grow hair.

Anatomy of a follicle
A hair follicle is a tunnel-shaped structure in the epidermis (outer layer) of the
skin. Hair starts growing at the bottom of a hair follicle. The root of the hair is
made up of protein cells and is nourished by blood from nearby blood vessels.

As more cells are created, the hair grows out of the skin and reaches the surface.
Sebaceous glands near the hair follicles produce oil, which nourishes the hair and
skin.

Hair growth cycle

Hair grows out of the follicles in cycles. There are three different phases of this
cycle:

Anagen (growth) phase. The hair begins to grow from the root. This phase usually
lasts between three and seven years.
Catagen (transitional) phase. The growth slows down and the follicle shrinks in
this phase. This lasts between two and four months.
Telogen (resting) phase. The old hair falls out and new hair begins to grow from
the same hair follicle. This lasts between three and four months.
According to a 2015 articleTrusted Source, recent research has suggested that hair
follicles aren’t just “resting”’ during the telogen phase. A lot of cellular
activity happens during this phase so that the tissues can regenerate and grow more
hair. In other words, the telogen phase is crucial to the formation of healthy
hair.

Different follicles go through different phases of the cycle at the same time. Some
follicles are in the growth phase while others might be in the resting phase. Some
of your hairs might be growing, while others are falling out.

According to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology, the average person

loses approximately 100 strands of hair a day. About 90 percentTrusted Source of
your hair follicles are in the anagen phase at any given time.

The life of a follicle

On average, your hair grows about half an inch each month. Your hair growth rate
can be affected by your age, hair type, and your overall health.

Hair follicles aren’t just responsible for how much your hair grows, they also
influence what your hair looks like. The shape of your follicle determines how
curly your hair is. Circular follicles produce straight hair while oval follicles
produce curlier hair.

Hair follicles also play a part in determining the color of your hair. As with
skin, your hair gets its pigment from the presence of melanin. There are two types
of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin.
Your genes determine whether you have eumelanin or pheomelanin, as well as how much
of each pigment you have. An abundance of eumelanin makes hair black, a moderate
amount of eumelanin makes hair brown, and very little eumelanin makes hair blonde.
Pheomelanin, on the other hand, makes hair red.

This melanin is stored in hair follicle cells, which then determine the color of
the hair. Your follicles can lose their ability to produce melanin as you age,
which results in the growth of gray or white hair.

If hair is pulled out of the hair follicle, it can regrow. It’s possible that a
damaged follicle will stop producing hair. Certain conditions, such as alopecia,
can cause follicles to stop producing hair altogether.

Issues with hair follicles

A number of hair conditions are caused by issues with hair follicles. If you think
you have a hair condition, or if you have unexplained symptoms like hair loss, it’s
best to consult with a dermatologist.

Androgenetic alopecia
Androgenetic alopecia, which is known as male pattern baldness when it presents in
men, is a condition that affects the growth cycle of hair follicles on the scalp.
The hair cycle slows down and weakens, eventually stopping altogether. This results
in the follicles not producing any new hairs.

According to the U.S National Library of Medicine, 50 million men and 30 million
women are affected by androgenetic alopecia.

Alopecia areata
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease. The immune system mistakes the hair
follicles for foreign cells and attacks them. It often causes hair to fall out in
clumps. It can lead to alopecia universalis, which is a total loss of hair all over
the body.

No known cure exists for alopecia areata yet, but steroidal injections or topical
treatments can slow down hair loss.

Folliculitis
Folliculitis is an inflammation of the hair follicles. It can occur anywhere hair
grows, including your:

scalp
legs
armpits
face
arms
Folliculitis often looks like a rash of small bumps on your skin. The bumps may be
red, white, or yellow and they can contain pus. Often, folliculitis is itchy and
sore.

Folliculitis is often caused by a staph infection. Folliculitis can go away without

treatment, but a doctor can diagnose you and give you medication to help manage it.
This can include topical treatments or oral medications to treat the cause of the
infection and soothe the symptoms.

Telogen effluvium
Telogen effluvium is a temporary, but common form of hair loss. A stressful event
causes hair follicles to go into the telogen phase prematurely. This causes the
hair to thin and fall out.
The hair often falls out in patches on the scalp, but in extreme cases, it can fall
out in other places on the body, including on the legs, eyebrows, and pubic region.

The stress could be caused by:

a physically traumatic event

childbirth
a new medication
surgery
illness
a stressful life change
The shock of the event triggers the change in the hair growth cycle.

Telogen effluvium is usually temporary and doesn’t require treatment. However, it’s
best to speak to a dermatologist if you think you have telogen effluvium, because
they’ll need to rule out other causes.

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Hair regrowth
If you have conditions like alopecia or balding, you might wonder if it’s possible
to stimulate a hair follicle to regrow hair.

If a follicle has been damaged, it’s not possible to restimulate it. At least, we
don’t yet know how to restimulate it.

However, some new stem cell research provides hope. A 2017 articleTrusted Source
found a new method of reactivating dead or damaged hair follicles. However, this
treatment hasn’t yet been tested on humans and it hasn’t been approved by the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA).

The bottom line

Your hair follicles are responsible for growing hair, which happens in cycles of
three distinct phases. These follicles also determine your hair type.

When damaged, the follicles can stop producing hair, and your hair growth cycle can
slow down. If you have any concerns about your hair growth, talk to a
dermatologist.