Our Organic Hair Salon in Kansas City Tells All
During stay-at-home orders, many Kansas Citians chose to forgo haircuts and other hair-care processes they normally would have scheduled regularly. After a few months of salons being temporarily closed, many bravely attempted to emulate the salon services using do-it-yourself methods.
One popular salon service to attempt was a simple hair trim or haircut. In short, people decided they could live with grown-out highlights or balayage, but they simply could not tolerate how their hair looked or felt after skipping on a regular haircut.
This universal experience really begs the question: how often do you actually need to get a haircut? Let’s discuss the science behind hair growth and how regular hair cuts can help your hair stay healthy.
How Does Hair Grow?
While everyone’s hair seems to grow at a different pace, all hair goes through the same physical growth process, which occurs in three stages. These stages are a cycle that begins with active hair growth starting at the root, and ends with hair shedding. Each strand of hair follows its own timeline, but all hair goes through the three stages. This is why you may find individual strands of hair to be very different lengths, most visible by examining the ends of your tresses.
The three stages are the Anagen phase, Catagen phase and Telogen phase.
- Stage 1: The Anagen Phase is the active growth period of hair when the cells in the root are dividing rapidly. This causes a new hair to be formed, pushing old hair that has stopped growing (called club hair) up and out of the follicle. The phase lasts anywhere from two to eight years, during which hair continuously grows from the root before coming dormant. During this period, the hair can grow between 18 and 30 inches. The total length the hair is able to grow to can depend on many factors like genetics, overall health, and age.
- Stage 2: The Catagen Phase is a shorter transitional phase that signals the end of the active hair growth and lasts an average of two to three weeks. During this phase, the hair stops growing, and the outer root sheath shrinks and attaches to the root of the hair, forming what’s known as a club hair.
- Stage 3: The Telogen Phase is the final resting phase where the hair falls out. It lasts two to three months. During this phase, the club hair in the root follicle is completely at rest, while the new hair begins to grow beneath it, eventually pushing it out.
Every piece of hair goes through each stage at different times, which is why people don’t lose large patches or sections of hair all at once. Don’t be worried if you see some lost hairs in your brush or on the floor – it’s completely natural for a person to shed up to 150 strands of hair every day.
How Fast Does Hair Grow?
The speed of hair growth varies from person to person, but on average, hair grows one-half an inch each month, or about six inches total each year. The speed at which hair grows depends on a number of factors including age, hair type, genetics, and overall health.
Keeping your hair healthy and in the Anagen phase for as long as possible will lead to optimal hair growth. You can help achieve this by maintaining a healthy diet, avoiding unnecessary hair damage, and using quality, organic hair products. At the Kansas City Wellness Club, our hair stylists accomplish this by using chemical-free products from the Simply Organic product line and helping you find ways to improve your holistic health.
Is It Normal for Hair to Fall Out?
Up to 10 percent of the hair on our heads is in the Telogen phase at any given time. Remember, the Telogen phase ends with the hair falling out. How quickly the hair is replaced is determined by a number of factors like hormone changes, genetics or a family history of hair loss, stress, lack of good nutrition, medications, trauma that causes damage to the hair follicles, or disease.
If you ever experience unexplained dramatic hair loss, be sure to schedule an appointment with your doctor to rule out illnesses or other health conditions.
What Are Signs It’s Time for a Haircut?
When you start to see damaged, dead ends; split-ends; or breakage, it’s past time for a haircut. When you get your hair cut or trimmed, you are actually promoting healthy hair growth. That’s because hair cutting removes damaged parts of the hair where it’s most likely to break off, causing your hair to look thin.
Getting regular haircuts also helps by removing your split-ends. Split ends are when a single strand of hair is divided into two or more pieces. This can occur because of dryness or damage to the hair strand from friction. Split ends make the bottom of your hair look frizzy and unkempt. Once a split end has occurred it cannot reconnect or be fixed with hair products, and you risk your hair splitting higher and higher up the shaft. The only way to fix split ends is with a haircut.
It’s also time for a haircut when the shape of your hair no longer holds the style you prefer, or if you’re wanting to refresh or change your look. This might be as little as two weeks after your previous haircut. The good news is that going from a bob to a pixie doesn’t damage your hair, so if you’re ready for a cut, visit one of our downtown Kansas City hair stylists for an appointment.
In general, getting a regular haircut every six to eight weeks will help to minimize split ends, maintain healthy shine, and improve hair cuticles and overall texture, plus help you look and feel your absolute best.
Dispelling Haircut Myths
#1. If you don’t get regular trims, your hair won’t grow.
This is fiction! If your goal is to have long hair, then it’s good to get regular haircuts to help keep it healthy to promote growth. But not trimming your hair won’t make it stop growing. Trimming helps by removing the damaged hair, which reduces friction when brushing and styling, and ultimately leaves you with healthier hair. Healthier hair is stronger and can grow longer before breaking or splitting. The truth is most factors that control hair growth, such as genetics, are out of our control. But in addition to regular haircuts, maintaining a healthy diet and staying hydrated can help.
#2. If you pluck your gray hair, more grays will grow back in its place.
This is also fiction! Plucking out your gray hairs won’t cause more to grow, but your hair will still grow back gray. We don’t recommend plucking any of the hairs on your head, since over-plucking can lead to thinning or issues with regrowth. Your best bet is to leave your grays alone and ask your stylist to cover them with natural color at your next appointment, or embrace the natural look – a style the internet affectionately calls “grombré.”
Visit Our Organic Hair Salon in Downtown Kansas City
At the Kansas City Wellness Club our stylists are knowledgeable about chemical-free services and products that will pamper your locks and scalp. We also offer a wide range of hair care and hairstyle advice, as well as treatments.
The Kansas City Wellness Club is your go-to hair salon near you if you’re looking to nourish your hair from the inside out. Contact us to set up your hair cut appointment today!