Kayla Young
Losing hair isn’t something people dream about. In fact, for most, the thought will send shivers down your spine. But there are many reasons why you might have hair that has been pulled out. Perhaps you have a baby, and their tiny little fingers have grabbed hard on clumps of your hair.
Or maybe you had a bad knot in your hair, and in the detangling process, you pulled some hair out by accident.
You might even have trichotillomania, the OCD disorder that makes you pull your hair out.
So, the next question to ask is: if you pull out a hair follicle, will it grow back? The short answer is yes, the hair will grow back.
But let’s dig a bit deeper below.
If You Pull Out a Hair Follicle, Will it Grow Back?
The simple answer to this question is, yes — if you pull out a hair from a follicle, then it will grow back. This is basically because it is extremely difficult to actually pull an entire follicle out of your scalp.
The simple answer to this question is, yes — if you pull out a hair from a follicle, then it will grow back. This is basically because it is extremely difficult to actually pull an entire follicle out of your scalp.
Many times when hair is pulled from whatever part of your body, you will see either a translucent or creamy white depot at the base of the hair root.
This is called a papilla, and it’s what many people mistake to be the hair follicle, but it’s not.
If hair is pulled or plucked away from the scalp or your skin too hard, then it’s possible for the papilla to be released with the hair. The papilla contains mainly connective tissue and small blood vessels, which also supply oxygen and other nutrients to the hair bulb.
The hair follicle itself is a tube-like structure that sits in your skin, and is where the papilla bulb lives to help form and regenerate the hair follicle when a strand falls out, or is pulled or plucked.
It is possible that a hair follicle can be damaged if hair is pulled or plucked out too hard. However, it is almost impossible to pull your hair out along with its follicle attached. Basically, this will only happen if large chunks of the scalp are damaged by accident.
It is possible that a hair follicle can be damaged if hair is pulled out too hard. However, it is almost impossible to pull your hair out along with its follicle attached.
This means, under most circumstances, if your hair has been pulled out for whatever reason, then your hair will eventually grow back.
However, if you do suffer from trichotillomania, you should keep in mind that your hair will definitely thin over time with repeated damage to the follicles themselves.
How Long Will it Take to Grow Back?
The hair on your head grows at completely different rates than the hair on your face or body, so how long it will take to regrow the hair that’s been pulled will depend on the scenario.
For instance, the hair on your scalp will take about a year to grow six inches.
If hair has been pulled from your face — your eyelashes or eyebrows — these hairs can take up to six months to regrow.
Other hair on your body, like your arms, legs, underarms, and bikini line, will generally take about three to four months to grow back.
But all of the above are only estimates since everyone is different. And this regrowth rate can only be used as guidance, so long as the follicle itself wasn’t damaged when the hair was originally extracted.
If the hair follicle has been damaged, then you will be pleased to hear that all is not lost. There is still a possibility that your body will be able to heal the follicle so that it will produce hair growth again.
However, be mindful that this cycle can take two to four years to complete.
If the hair follicle has been damaged, then you will be pleased to hear that all is not lost.
If you’re a sufferer of trichotillomania and you have yet to seek help for your condition, then visit The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, which has several resources on guidelines that help treat and heal the condition, like Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Habit Reversal Training.
Growing Pains
So, if you pull out a hair follicle, will it grow back? Well, yes, because you now know the follicle can’t be pulled out, and that it will do the work needed in order to produce new hair growth.
It may take a while for it to grow back, but come back it will.
