Getting to the root of hair loss

Our hair, whatever we do have left of it in older age, may look very different than how it did when we were younger.

Can you talk about what's happening to our hair as we age?

Absolutely.

So let's start off by thinking about hair across two dimensions.

So first it's about the number of hairs that we produce.

And then second, it's about the quality of hairs that we produce.

So as we age, we start to see declines in both of those things.

And it actually takes several months to years to see some of these changes over time.

And this is because the hair goes through different cycles.

So we have a growing phase called antigen.

We have a regression or resting phase.

We have a shedding phase.

So through these different cycles in the hair follicle, these can occur in weeks to months separately.

and sometimes even years.

So this means that when you start to see shifts where the hair is thinning or the quality of the hair changes, this could have started a lot earlier in the process for you.

So the hair is a follicular unit that if you think about it as a factory, we start to see how the hair produces over time.

And it actually takes several months to years to see some of these changes over time.

And this is because the hair goes through different cycles.

And you have to think about that hair follicle as a factory because the production time has lowered.

So your factory is still functioning, but the time that it takes to produce those hair follicles is reduced.

So you're spending less time in the growth phase, maybe more time in the shedding phase, ultimately resulting in less hair that's present on your scalp.

Less hair, but then also in some cases different colored hair or hair that used to feel silky now might feel wiry.

Is all of that because the factory has changed the time windows for each of the processes?

Yeah, there so many different processes that influence the quality of hair.

So we have to think about, you know, when the hair leaves the shaft, it's actually like dead keratin that's left out there.