I am asking this question quite a lot. After going through the trauma of seeing hair fall out all over their clothes and house, many people are more than ready to start growing their hair back and finish this process over and over again. People want to know when they should start looking for little signs of regrowth. Many people will look, see nothing, and worry that their hair will not grow back. Knowing the correct time frame will help you determine if everything is happening as it should. I will discuss more about this matter in the next article.
Typical rates of hair growth: People sometimes tell me that they think hair that has shed or been involved with telogen effluvium (TE) grows back differently than hair that comes out as part of a normal follicular cycle. This really isn’t entirely accurate. Once a hair leaves the follicle, it generally returns to the growth phase (provided there is no autoimmune or androgen mechanism as in disorders such as alopecia areata or AGA where the follicle is being attacked or compromised). So once the stem is forced out of the scalp and falls off, the follicle will start its growth phase and this process happens quite quickly.
However, what is not as quick or fast is the growth rates of human hair. For most people, this is about 1/2 millimeter a day, so over a month, you’ll see about 1/2 inch or new growth. A good rule of thumb is that most people should start seeing decent levels of regrowth around 2-3 months after the worst shedding has occurred. Some people see this sooner and some people see this later, but 1/2 inch per month is considered typical or average.
If you don’t see any new hair growing out of it, try spraying some dry shampoo right on the top of your head, near the parting line (or any other area where it’s been hit particularly hard). This will cover your locks and should make those new strands of regrowth that just came out stand out from the rest. Yes, these hairs will be quite short, but if you give them a little time, they will eventually start to fill out and give you some volume. In about six months to a year, your hair should return to a normal appearance.
Another thing to try to see the new hair is to pull the hair back or comb it forward or against the current. This will make those new hairs stand up where you should be able to see them. So what if you’re not seeing anything? You may have somewhat slower growth rates. Check back every week. Hopefully in the next few weeks you should start to see some small sprouts. If it doesn’t, you may want to consider that perhaps your hair loss was caused by something other than TE or common shedding.
Because in TE or seasonal shedding, the follicle just resets in the shedding phrase, but nothing has happened to damage it. There are other causes of hair loss (such as androgenic alopecia or AGA) that will compromise regrowth. Another potential indication that something else could be going on is seeing miniaturized or very fine or flying new growth that is coming in but doesn’t actually provide any volume or coverage.
