Does Hair Growth Slow Down With Age?

As you age, your hair ages — and your hair health might suffer.

For many people, the passing of time means the slow decline of hair volume, as male pattern baldness and female pattern hair loss can set in. Other causes of hair loss might also play a role.

But for the hair strands that continue to grow, is it possible that they start to grow slower than they did before? 

The answer is complicated, and it requires some background on how aging generally affects your hair. Let’s start from the beginning.

Healthy hair growth starts to wane as you get older. It’s why balding is a common sign that a man has reached a certain age.

For the most part, bald spots are caused by a condition called androgenic alopecia, which is the most common type of hair loss among men. It’s the primary cause of thinning around the hairline and balding around the crown. 

The easiest way to explain androgenic alopecia is as an imbalance of the hormone known as DHT, which, in excess supply, makes each individual hair follicle stop growing.

Balding men can start to show symptoms as early as their teens, but you might see its onset much later, as well.

There are other types of hair loss to look out for, but most are less common and typically result from stress to the body, physical damage to the hair, or certain autoimmune conditions like alopecia areata. 

Many of these types of hair loss can be prevented or paused but never cured.  Others, like telogen effluvium (hair loss from stress or injury), however, are usually temporary and resolve over time.

But beyond hair loss, there’s also the slow-down of hair growth to worry about. To understand why it can happen, we need to discuss how hair grows.

Some hair loss is actually perfectly normal. Children and adults lose hair every day — as evidenced by hair strands on your pillow in the morning or at the bottom of your shower after you rinse off.

On most days, you’ll actually lose about 100 hairs, all without falling outside normal hair-shedding parameters. 

The average human head has about 100,000 hairs in total. So when you consider the ratio, 100 is a pretty small piece of the proverbial pie.

It’s all part of the process. See, a hair follicle grows in different phases. And every one of your follicles is constantly in one part of the hair growth cycle, categorized by three phases — the anagen phase, catagen phase, and telogen phase.

The three phases of the hair cycle are simple to understand. 

The anagen phase is the growth phase, the catagen phase is when it stops growing, and the telogen phase (also known as the resting phase) is when the hair falls out and the follicle takes a little break before starting over from the top with the anagen phase.

Proportions are important, though. Ninety percent of your hair should be in the anagen phase, and up to 10 percent of your hair is typically in the telogen phase at any given time. The catagen phase is very brief and only occupies about one percent.

What’s important to understand here is that when people say “hair loss,” they tend to mean “excessive hair loss” — when more falls out than normal, it becomes a problem.

Hair might become stuck in the telogen phase for various reasons, including illnesses or autoimmune diseases, as well as periods of stress or recent trauma to the scalp or body. 

Hair loss may also happen due to genetics or hormones.

The symptoms of hair loss are only compounded by slower hair growth, because the follicles we have take more time to grow out. 

Growing hair is just like healing injuries or fighting illness. Your body becomes less efficient at it over time.

As you age, your hair may continue to grow, but the growth will become slower, and the follicles that were once coarse and thick will often become finer, thinner, and lighter in color. Hair may also stay in the growth phase for a shorter time. Because of the reduced thickness, your hair can become more prone to breakage, making growing a full, thick head of hair even more difficult.

Every time a follicle repeats the growth cycle, the hair that returns could be a little weaker, a little thinner, and a little more vulnerable. 

Pair that with the likes of male pattern baldness, and it’s clear that your hair becomes substantially more vulnerable as you age.

Whether the cause of your hair loss and slower hair growth is determined to be due to age, androgenic alopecia, or any of the other conditions discussed above, there are several medications that can reduce or reverse the appearance of those fallow follicle fields. 

Finasteride

Finasteride is an FDA-approved treatment, and numerous studies have proven its effectiveness in reducing hair loss due to androgenic alopecia. It works by blocking your body’s conversion of the hormone DHT, which, in excess quantities, can cause hair loss. 

Minoxidil

Another effective treatment for hair loss and stunted hair growth is topical minoxidil solution or minoxidil foam, which are believed to increase blood flow to hair follicles and encourage hair growth. These options are available over the counter, but oral minoxidil requires a prescription. The latter may be an option following a consultation with one of our healthcare providers.

A 48-week study of minoxidil use showed up to an 18 percent increase in hair growth for men. 

Lifestyle Changes

A healthcare provider might recommend you switch to a healthy diet or focus on weight loss as part of a holistic treatment for hair loss. Avoiding heat styling and adjusting your hair care routine to involve more gentle brushing can also help limit hair thinning and loss.

Hair Vitamins

Nutritional deficiencies may also increase your risk for hair loss, so increasing key hair-healthy vitamins (particularly if you’re deficient in any of them) may also help. Supplements like our Hims Biotin Builder Gummies, made with biotin, vitamin A, and vitamin D, can help with hair growth.

Do you think your hair is growing back slower than it used to? Are you noticing your hair losing its thickness? If so, it may be time to speak with a healthcare professional.

Thinner hairs do happen naturally as we age, but you can take steps to thicken — and strengthen — them up. With the right treatment plan, you can even trigger new hair growth.

A healthcare professional will be able to give you more information about what to expect from your hair type as you age and how to combat unwanted results of aging. They can also screen you for medical conditions that may contribute to hair thinning or hair loss (like thyroid disorders, for instance). 

If your hair changes are sudden, you might consider reading our guide to sudden hair loss. Our hair care products can also help you take action fast — if you’re not sure where to start, try our Hair Power Pack.