Flavio Lucariello - August 21, 2025
Understanding the 3 Stages of Hair Growth: Why It Matters
Ever wondered why your hair sometimes seems to grow effortlessly—and other times stalls or sheds unexpectedly? It all comes down to your scalp’s natural rhythm: the hair growth cycle. In this article, we’ll explore what are the three stages of hair growth, what phase produces new strands, and how to work with your biology to grow stronger, longer, healthier hair.
Why is the Hair Growth Cycle Important for Your Hair Goals?
Just like your skin regenerates or your nails grow, your hair follows a structured pattern—cycling through growth, transition, and rest. Each strand is on its own timeline, and knowing what’s happening beneath your scalp gives you real power.
Understanding this cycle sets realistic expectations—and more importantly, helps you support each phase with better habits, smarter products, and tools that actually align with how hair really grows.
The 3 Stages of Hair Growth (in Order)
1. Anagen (The Active Growth Phase)
This is where all the hair magic begins. In the anagen phase, hair cells at the follicle's root divide rapidly, producing new strands that grow at roughly 1 cm per month. On average, this phase lasts between 2 to 8 years—some people even see it extend to 7 years, giving them the potential for much longer hair.
2. Catagen (The Transition Phase)
After the growth stage ends, your hair enters a transitional phase—a short checkpoint of about 2 to 3 weeks where growth stops, and the follicle prepares to rest. During this time, the hair detaches from its blood supply and forms a “club hair,” essentially creating a bridge for the next outgoing strand.
3. Telogen (The Resting Phase)
In this stage, the follicle goes completely dormant. The telogen stage lasts about 3 months, with roughly 10–15% of your hair in this resting state at any given time. The strand stays in place, but it’s no longer growing.
And then, what comes next? Exogen (The Shedding Phase)
The Shedding Phase: sometimes counted as part of telogen, the Exogen stage is when the old hair finally detaches and sheds—usually while brushing or washing. Losing 50–100 hairs a day during this phase is completely normal and signals that a new growth cycle is ready to begin.
Why the Anagen Phase is Your Goal—and Key to Fuller Hair
Among all four stages, anagen is the one you want more of—because it’s the only time your hair is actively growing. The longer your follicles stay in this stage, the longer and denser your hair can become.
But here’s the catch: several internal and external factors can shorten the anagen phase and push more follicles prematurely into catagen, telogen, or exogen. These include:
- Stress and poor sleep
- Nutritional deficiencies (especially protein, iron, or B-vitamins)
- Hormonal imbalances (like postpartum or thyroid shifts)
- Scalp inflammation or poor circulation
What Can I Do to Extend the Anagen Phase?
While we can't change the natural order of the hair cycle, we can influence how long each follicle stays in the anagen phase, which is the active growth period when new hair is produced. The longer this stage lasts, the fuller and thicker your hair can become.
Certain therapies and ingredients have been clinically shown to support this:
🔬 Red light therapy has been proven to extend the anagen phase and stimulate follicles in cases of thinning or stagnation. A 2017 randomized clinical trial published in Lasers in Medical Science showed that low-level laser therapy significantly increased hair density and extended the active growing period of follicles in individuals with androgenetic alopecia (PubMed).
Microcurrent stimulation also plays a role in follicular reactivation by enhancing ATP (cellular energy) production in the scalp, potentially reactivating dormant follicles and promoting new growth.
On the ingredient side, powerful actives like rosemary oil, green tea extract and caffeine—all included in Bloome™ serums—have shown promise in clinical studies:
- Rosemary oil has been shown to be as effective as 2% minoxidil in promoting hair growth over 6 months, according to a 2015 study¹.
- Green tea extract helps extend the anagen phase by inhibiting DHT and reducing follicle inflammation².
- Caffeine has been shown to stimulate hair shaft elongation, counteract DHT, and promote prolonged anagen duration, according to a 2007 International Journal of Dermatology study³.
At Bloome™, we’ve developed Wildflower F1 and Nymphaea F2—two targeted, science-backed scalp serums designed to help prolong the anagen phase, improve follicle resilience, and create the ideal environment for sustained growth. Explore the Bloome™ serums here.
FLO™: Your At-Home Ally to Reactivate the Hair Growth Cycle
Massage alone is helpful—but your follicles need more than circulation to thrive. Enter FLO™, Bloome’s next-gen scalp tool that combines red light therapy, gentle microcurrent, and vibrating massage to help stimulate the anagen phase, boost cellular energy, and reactivate dormant follicles where the cycle has stalled.
This kind of multimodal stimulation helps your scalp not only absorb nutrients better, but also signals your follicles to stay in growth mode longer—especially when combined with targeted serums. And with its auto-serum delivery system, FLO™ ensures you never skip a step in nourishing your roots.
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FLO™ Brush
Sources and References:
¹Pubmed - “Rosemary oil vs minoxidil 2% for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia: a randomized comparative trial” ²Opendermatologyjournal - “A Study on the Effectiveness and Safety of Herbal Extract Combination Compared to 3% Minoxidil Solution for the Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia: A Randomized, Double-blind, Controlled Trial” ³Pubmed - “Differential effects of caffeine on hair shaft elongation, matrix and outer root sheath keratinocyte proliferation, and transforming growth factor-β2/insulin-like growth factor-1-mediated regulation of the hair cycle in male and female human hair follicles in vitro”
