By Louise
It’s normal to experience hair shedding. In fact, according to scientists, you lose about 100 hairs per day.
Shedding some of your hair is part of your hair growth cycle.
So, there’s nothing to worry about. But when you start losing chunks of hair, you need to be concerned.
It’s not healthy to have patches on your head from the lost hair. If this happens, you will need to research to know what is causing the hair loss.
Average Hair Loss Per Day
We all have at least 100000 hair follicles on our head. Some people have even more hair. Scientists have also found out that you will lose about 100 strands per day. 100 strands is a healthy loss. In fact, it makes no difference on the scalp.
Something to note though is that women will lose more hair than men. Mind you; this is something we shouldn’t even question. For women, the hair is styled more frequently than our male counterpart.
The Hair Growth Cycles
Without understanding the hair growth cycle, you won’t even understand why shedding is inevitable.
I know you have so many questions. Some of the questions include why is it so easy for some people to grow their hair past the waistline while others can’t? Other people don’t understand why the hair that grows in other parts of our bodies are sparsely populated.
Before we go into the cycle, let’s understand that your hair has two parts.
The hair follicle
The hair follicle is the root of the hair. It determines everything about the growth of the hair. It’s found under the skin. We have around 5 million hair follicles on the entire body.
The follicle then has two other parts
The papilla- it’s the one that contains all the blood vessels. It will deliver the supply of blood through its blood vessels. It further delivers the nutrients for hair growth.
The bulb-this is the part where the hair cells divide.
The hair shafts
The hair shaft is the part of the hair that you see. It’s made of the hard keratin protein that is also vital for the growth.
The Cycle and How It Works
You will find that when you have new hair growth, the hair follicle pushes the hair shaft and thus leads to longer hair. Nevertheless, your hair strands are in a different cycle at different times.
That’s why you will find that for some people the hair is stagnant and other times it grows rapidly.
The anagen or growth phase
This is the first part of the hair growth cycle. The reason why your hair grows rapidly at this time is that the bulb divides rapidly. As the cells divide so do you experience rapid growth. The hair growth phase will last between 2-7years.
Now the difference in the length is in how long the hair takes in the anagen phase. Those with long hair take a longer time in this phase than those with short hair.
Catagen/transition phase
After the anagen phase, we have the catagen phase, which takes about 2 weeks. Here your hair stops growing and it will stop the blood supply.
Telogen phase
This is the resting phase of the cycle. Here, you have the hair shaft resting. Meanwhile, new hair grows underneath the shaft. The process lasts for three months.
Exogen phase
This is also known as the hair shedding phase. The resting hair therefore just sheds off. Its normal to shed 100 hairs. But remember each of your shaft will at some point shed off.
So, you should understand that this is a biological process. This is normal because at the telogen phase your hair begins to grow then you should expect the old hair to fall off.
After this phase, therefore, we begin the process all over again.
Is It Normal to Lose Hair?
I know you can answer this by yourself after reading the subtopics above, right? While we all love healthy, voluminous and thick hair, this is not always the case. We experience different phases of the hair cycle at different times.
So, you will experience more shedding when you are at the 4th phase of the hair cycle. It’s okay for you to loose100 strands in a day. But it’s not okay for you to lose a whole chunk of hair every time you brush or wash the hair.
Is It Possible to Know If I’m Losing Too Much Hair?
Yes, it is. We often use the pull test to know the level of hair loss.
Simply run your fingers on the clean and dry hair. And when you reach the ends, gently tug it. If you will have more than two or three strands of the hair then you could be at the first or third phase of the cycle.
If you, however, have more than 10 strands shedding off of your 100 stands, you are experiencing a massive loss and should consult with the doctor.
If you are balding and experiencing full body hair loss as well, you should seek consultation with your doctor.
What Do 100 Strands Look Like?
Why Do I Shed Too Much Hair?
Stress
The cause of most diseases in our bodies is stress. It also leads to hair loss. If you are experiencing excess stress your hair turns gray and falls out. What happens is that with stress, you will raise the androgen in the body.
It often leads to scalp problems which then affect the health of the hair.
Age
When you are about to go into menopause, there will be hormonal changes and this leads to hair loss too. So, the older you get the finer your hair becomes making it susceptible to shedding.
Imbalance of the hormones
Like stress, the hormonal imbalance will lead to different problems in the body which include hair loss. The hormones are essential when you intend to have a healthy body and hair. Unfortunately, androgen hormone isn’t great for your hair.
Whenever your body is producing more of the androgen, you should rest assured that the hair growth cycle will be shorter.
The hair care products
Without proper research, you will choose to use products that only harm you versus nourish the hair. The wrong and harsh hair products can lead to hair loss and shedding. Stay away from heat to maintain healthy hair.
Heredity
Some people are just genetically like this. They experience too much hair loss due to the genetic composition.
Bad nutrition
What you eat can lead to healthy or unhealthy hair. Actually, bad nutrition is harmful to everyone’s health and that includes your hair.
The dramatic weight loss
This may look insignificant, but it affects the hair as well. If you are losing so much weight, expect the difference on your hair as well. This affects you, whether it’s intentional or unintentional.
The best way to go about this is to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
New moms
The new moms experience hair loss. You can relate this to the stress experienced during pregnancy. There are massive changes to a woman’s body when they get pregnant. Some may just include losing your hair.
Anemia
So many women suffer from an iron deficiency at one time in their lives. With this condition, the doctor will give you some supplements and advice you on the best food to eat.
Hair Loss Vs Hair Shedding
I know I’m one of the people who use these terms interchangeably but they aren’t the same. Thankfully though the dermatologists tell us not to wonder about the differences as those are professional terminologies.
Hair loss
This happens when for some reasons, something stops your hair from growing further. There are many common causes of hair loss which include: hereditary factors, the reaction of your immune system to drugs among others.
The hair loss is reversible sometimes but only to a few people. The hair loss results in baldness, alopecia and other conditions.
Hair shedding
This is the normal breakage of hair per day. But if you are losing more hair per day, we say you are experiencing excess hair shedding. You will mostly notice the shedding a few months after you encounter a stressful event.
Should I Be Concerned About the Amount of Hair I Lose in The Shower?
I know what happens to those of us with long and mid-length hair. You get in the shower, wash your hair and then you notice clamps of hair. So, most people wonder, is this really okay?
Yes, it is. Remember you can lose about 100 strands per day and often times this will happen when you are bathing or styling the hair.
If yours is straight hair, you will quickly notice it because you will find the pieces of hair everywhere. From the drainage to the brush and sometimes even on your clothes.
On the other hand, for curly hair, when you shed the hair, it sticks on the other hair strands. Until you wash it or comb it you won’t know it was shedding.
When Should I See the Doctor?
If you experience the following know that you need to see a doctor.
There’s excessive shedding
If you are seeing more of the hair on the drainage as you are shampooing the hair, you should go to a dermatologist.
The ponytail is too thin
Do you usually have a very thick ponytail but all of a sudden you are experiencing the thinning of the ponytail? Ask questions about it.
Visible scalp
You may not have noticed just how much hair you have lost already but if you notice that you can see through the hair to the scalp, ask questions.
How to Stop Hair Loss?
Before you go to see the doctor, you can do some tricks with the aim of stopping the shedding of the hair.
Relax
The number one factor that will cause you too much hair loss is stress. Stay away from stress. Handle the problems and don’t let anything stress you out. Take a walk in nature to help you ease the problem.
Sometimes you just have to breath in and out anyway and everything will soon be okay. If you for a second begin to freak out because your hair shedding then you will cause even more shedding.
Check the regimen and change the products you use
We all have a routine and regimen that we follow but to be on the safe side, always take a look at the regimen choice you have. Use the right products for your hair. Also, wash the hair with lukewarm water and never hot water.
Get enough sleep
Most people don’t know how vital sleep is to their overhaul health. But it is quite important. Without enough sleep you can’t function well and it’s because your body cells don’t function well.
Find out the problem
Before you embark on the journey to rejuvenate your hair, you need to find out the root cause of the problem. Find out the level of shedding, is it going on and on three months after it began? It’s time to see your doctor.
FAQs On Hair Shedding
How much hair loss is healthy when washing your hair?
It doesn’t change. Whether you are washing the hair or just letting it be, the reasonable amount you can lose is 100 strands.
Some hairstyles cause hair loss, right?
Yes, if you are going to braid the hair or hold it into a ponytail, make sure it is not too tight as that causes hair loss. This is especially true if you have sensitive hair follicle.
When I experience hair loss, should I immediately begin to take preventive measures?
Yes, of course. You should take preventive measures to protect even further hair loss. Nevertheless, use a strategy that will work for you.
Will I be bald when I begin to lose my hair?
Not necessarily. Some form of hair loss will always lead to baldness, but not all conditions. Some hair shedding is just normal.
Should I rush to the doctor the moment I discover I‘m losing my hair?
Only if its unexplainably massive hair loss. You will need to know what is causing it. If you are losing a lot of hair, visit the dermatologist.
Chemicals and Shampooing the Hair Causes Hairless. Is This True?
No, it’s not true. The chemicals will remove the weak hair that is ready to shed.
However, if you experience burns, you may experience hair loss.