Do some people have longer telogen stages than others?

[bullitnut]

Just got reading a post elsewhere and this guy was talking about his hair shedding, he said he wasn't worried as it was just a normal shed for him which usually lasted around 5 or 6 months*nl
I have to admit this confused me a little as i always assumed that the normal Telogen phase of the hair cycle for people was around 3 to 4 months. Can there be such a big difference between people or is he mistaken. I realize everybodies different but this just seemed like a long time to be shedding to me.

 

[JoeTillman]

I have a hard time believing that anyone can tell how long their own individual telogen phases last because we're always shedding hair. It would take a very consistent and detailed effort on anyone's part to get an idea of how long their growth cycles rotate.


However, when you consider that some people have longer anagen phases than others then it would make sense that some have longer telogen phases. For instance, when you see females that have hair down to their waist they are considered to be oddities because their anagen phases are much longer in order to achieve such lengths.

 

[bullitnut]

Thanks Joe, I wasn't convinced by his comment myself but he was adament it was just a normal shed for him (no doubt in 12 months the same guy will be wanting a HT ;;D)

Your comments regarding the females with very long hair being considered oddities due to having longer anagen phases is a good point and iv'e never thought of it like that.

Daft question i know but is there anything that can be taken, such as certain supplements that can alter or affect the hair cycle to increase the length of the anagen phase?

I know lots of longer haired women on the long hair forums take a lot of supplements with things like Biotin in them to speed up hair growth but can this alter the actual length of the anagen phase for them too?