How long does your hair rest before it grows back with telogen effluvium?

How long does your hair rest before it grows back with telogen effluvium?

I sometimes hear from people who are sure their hair is taking a break from growing back after recovering from hair loss or baldness. Because many believe they don't have a medical problem that could be causing the loss, most assume they have telogen effluvium and that when it's finally over, they just need to be patient before the regrowth process begins.

So I might hear a comment like, "I'm pretty sure I had telogen effluvium, although I have no idea what my trigger was. About four months ago the excretion started slowing dramatically and now seems to have stopped. The problem is that I don't see any regrowth at all. Although it's been months since the hair loss has slowed down. A friend of mine said that sometimes your hair goes into hibernation after hair loss so you have to wait for it to pass. My question is how long How long does it take for the hair to overwinter and when should I see anything growing back?”

Why using the word hibernation is not very accurate:I can kind of understand why the friend used the word hibernation. The definition of this word means to rest before returning to activity. And in telogen effluvium hair loss, the hair follicles that have fallen out have technically entered the resting phase. Once the resting phase is over for each follicle, it moves into the growth phase.

But here's the thing. As soon as the hair falls out, the next hair is already in line to take its place. In fact, the growth process begins when a new hair is ready to grow. To do this, an old hair must be pushed out. Literally, the new hair pushes out the old hair, causing it to fall off. So technically speaking, regrowth begins exactly when the hair falls out.

The point is that you should see new hair relatively quickly. Consider this. Hair grows at a rate of about half an inch per month. So it's entirely possible that your regrowth will be extremely short and still difficult to see. To test this, pull any section of hair straight back under bright light and look very closely. Where your hair has pulled back, you should see small, new baby hairs sticking straight up, especially if it's been a few months since the hair loss. If the hair loss continued for months, more than enough time has passed for the hair to grow back to be a few centimeters long. The longest regrowth represents the hair that fell out first.

Possible signs if you don't see regrowth:I'm not a doctor, but from my research and my own experiences, I've learned that this process is pretty automatic. This happens without you having to do much more than keep your scalp clean. If this is not the case and you have checked very closely for regrowth in many areas of your scalp, there is a chance that something is happening to your scalp that has hindered regrowth. Usually this is a reaction to androgens, as in androgenetic alopecia.

But to answer the concern, the only time yours will hibernate is when they transition from growth to rest. Before the hair actually falls out, it has not actively grown for a few months. For this reason, hair affected by telogen effluvium may appear dull or fly away before it actually falls out. However, if the hair is falling out, it means the hair is now in the growth phase and you should see it growing back a few months later - once the hair is long enough for you to actually see it.

Inspired by Ava Alderman