How does cold weather affect hair growth?

With Movember, the growing of beards and moustaches in full force in aid of cancer and men’s health, in full swing, it’s fitting that we took a look at how the weather at this time of the year affects hair growth altogether. Would it take less time to grow a fuzzy beard, and hair on your head, for that matter, in the summer? What is it about the cold that can assist or hinder hair growth?

We know that generally, warm air carries a lot more moisture than cold air. From this, we can expect that when the temperatures drop, there’s less moisture in the air. The problem with a lack of moisture is that it leaves everything dryer: our skin, our airways, and, of course, our hair. It leaves hair dull, as there’s nothing to give it shine. It’s also a cause for brittle hair and split ends, as hair is unable to stay hydrated enough to retain some spring and elasticity.

That said, aside from a bit of dryness, is there really anything too bad to dread about the winter weather? Well, the problem with dryness is that it tends to happen over the whole head of hair, including the scalp. A dry scalp can contribute to hair loss, as it’s more likely to grow brittle hair that’s easily broken by friction, like when we put our clothes on over our head or put hats on and off.

Of course, the short term effects of the winter weather are nothing that won’t sort themselves out as soon as the temperatures start to increase again – but that’s not to say there aren’t things you can do to keep your hair protected and healthy at this time of the year. The expert recommendation is to use hair masks on a twice or thrice-weekly basis, which will feed moisture back into your hair and keep it strong and shiny. Behind the scenes, though, our bodies are looking out for us anyway.

As reported in WAVE 3 News, numerous studies suggest that actually, we’re already adapted to survive the harsher temperatures to some extent. Our bodies have the capability to produce more melatonin in the winter, which helps to regulate the hair growth cycle and, ultimately, prevents hair from shedding.

Looking beyond the weather conditions for a moment, it’s worth considering the general cycle of growth and rest that hair goes through no matter what the time of the year. In hair’s growth phase, hair follicles produce a hair shaft from root to tip. This phase tends to last for at least a few years, which is why you might notice that you go through a whole period of extreme hair growth, which then seems to fizzle out to nothing.

The “fizzle out to nothing” signals that the hair has reached the rest phase. Interestingly, though, this isn’t another years-long thing; the whole process, where follicles shrink and recuperate, generally lasts for between one and two weeks. If you’ve ever been shocked at the rate your hair seems to be falling out, it might be that it’s at its rest phase. Don’t panic, though, because your hair won’t all fall out – the growth and rest phase happens individually, per hair strand, or we might be at risk of every strand falling out all at once. Stay cool in the knowledge that it’s just your hair’s way of getting ready to move back into the growth phase of the cycle.

If you do happen to notice a significant amount of unexplainable hair loss, it might be worth visiting your hairdresser, or maybe even your doctor. While hair loss, even extreme hair loss, can just be a natural part of life, sometimes it may be a sign of an underlying problem. It’s best to get it checked out by a professional just in case.

So, the verdict: will winter really affect hair growth on a noticeable level? No. Hair isn’t designed that way; while the winter weather might dry it out, it can’t have any deeper impact on the hair growth cycle, which happens naturally no matter what. Our hair is cleverer than we give it credit for, and it doesn’t let weather differences get in the way of what it’s been designed to do. Aside from giving it a little TLC this winter, there’s nothing else for you to do – and all the men out there who are participating in Movember should still get a pretty good beard by the end of the month, no matter what their local weather’s like.