Hair Shed Quantity?

[captaincrunch]

I was wondering what is a typical amount of hairs to shed in a day. Can you tell me how many hairs you typically shed as well as your hair type?

[skeletonous]

In general, it is normal for a person to shed between 50-100 hairs per day. I personally don't shed that much *knock on wood* :p I find most of it happens when I'm massaging my scalp in the shower, and that's maybe 20 hairs maximum? Not quite sure. I also happen to have low porosity hair.

[FallingDarkness]

I have thick 2a hair, and I shed about 20 hairs in the morning, and another 20 at night. Wash days I probably shed an extra 20 just because I'm massaging my scalp and my hair is wet and weak. I only wash my hair once a week though so it's not TOO bad.

[Wosie]

When I don't scratch my scalp at all I lose around 20 hairs a day. As I scratch it daily, though, most of the time I lose around 50 every day (I scratch very hard :/). :hmm: When I wash my hair I can lose between ~10-100.

[ExpectoPatronum]

I used to shed 150 just in the shower, and then another 30 when combing and another handful when braiding. It wasn't a good situation.

I'm on birth control now and that has really really helped my shedding! Now I don't think I lose more than 100 in a day - including wash days!

[Silverbrumby]

I shed about 60 to after washing if it's been longer than four days.

Comb out about 30 to 50 in the morning.

Lose stands during the day.

Another 30 to 50 at night.

[Larki]

I shed about 20-30 hairs per day. I have fine 1c hair, 3.7"/4" ponytail circumference (without/with bangs), and I co-wash.

[StellaKatherine]

I never counted how much I actually shedding.. I know I loose more hair when washing my head, but as long as it looks normal I do not count. My wild guess would be around 20 long strands per day ?

[Silverbrumby]

Captain crunch, I have noticed that some heavy shedders don't have long terminals. Just a casual observation.

[lapushka]

Up to 100 hairs a day is normal, that isn't to say that you have to lose that much a day, it's just an established limit for non-problematic vs. problematic shedding.

I tend to lose a sink full when combing/brushing it out before a wash. Then about 20-50 hairs during the wash and another sink full when combing it out when damp. Then at the beginning of the week I don't use practically anything. Until day 4/5 after washing when it's another sink full a day until day 7 (wash day). Pretty normal.

[Yenn]

define sink full? I'm shredding probly 20 a day and a bazillion on a wash day. oh and bazillion times million if a wash day includes 20 min scalp massage in a mermaid rinse v.v I might stop those. Although I don't loose more than normal quantity of hair, it always feels like too much :/

[lapushka]

define sink full? I'm shredding probly 20 a day and a bazillion on a wash day. oh and bazillion times million if a wash day includes 20 min scalp massage in a mermaid rinse v.v I might stop those. Although I don't loose more than normal quantity of hair, it always feels like too much :/

A light but definite sprinkling of hairs in the sink. Can't describe it further, 'cause I don't count them. :shrug:

[Yenn]

oh gee that's much more realistic that what I have imagined

[gthlvrmx]

I shed about 100 hairs a day im guessing and my hair type is 2c/3a.

[lapushka]

oh gee that's much more realistic that what I have imagined

I do keep it tied up 24/7, so what comes out is really what comes out. My hair gets let go out of its updo and then the sheds all come out. So I never lose hair on the floor. That might make it seem as if I'm losing that much more hair. Other people who wear their hair down and lose hair throughout the day (on the floor) might discover far less hair in the sink, but they actually have to calculate in all that hair that's on the floor as well.

[Yenn]

I think that's what happens with me since I don't really loose hair unless I comb it out, I remind myself of a poodle v.v

[Lindenare]

I shed about 6 hairs per day, although I do have occasional days where I'll shed 15 or so hairs for no apparent reason. On wash days, I usually have 15-20 sheds.

[jacqueline101]

On wash day I shed 100 hairs roughly. It looks more due to the length and the hairs being folded over.

[pastina]

i don't mean to hijack, but i'm wondering if there's a way to prevent (or at least *lessen*) the amount of hair lost? i'm one month postpartum today, so i'm expecting a big shed sometime soon and i want to keep as much hair as i can!

[captaincrunch]

These answers are interesting. Since so much hair loss occurs in the shower I am wondering if that is inevitable? Are these hairs that are loose and the shower make it easy for them to fall off our heads or is the shower actually damaging the hair and making it fall out?

The above observation about hair quantity and terminal length makes sense. Since if the hair has a shorter terminal length it has to shed and regrow more often. I had thought of that.

[Silverbrumby]

Yep. I have a short terminal and I'm pretty sure that's why my shed rate is higher than some 100 to 150 a day.

[LipstickGirl]

I believe it's the washing process that makes the hairs fall out, as in they are ready to fall and the water and finger movement helps them along, or loose hairs trapped by the bulk of your hair come out. Shower shouldn't be damaging enough to make healthy hair fall out by itself.

[Imalath]

I am shedding a lot more than 100 hairs atm, but my scalp is really acting up. A few of them are terminal, but most are not. If i wait too long between washes, I shed more after washing my hair than normal. I have also noticed that no matter how loosely I try to bun my hair (with sticks, forks, pins, etc), if it is tight enough to hold securely, I shed way more in that spot than elsewhere on my scalp (not breakage, there are roots). When I braid my hair or wear it down on special occasions I don't have the same concentrated shedding I do from trying to bun.

When my scalp is healthy? I lost between 10-30 hairs a day, maybe 50 on wash days. On a side note, I have sustained long periods of above-average hair loss without any noticeable loss in volume and length, so don't be too discouraged. Everybody's hair is different :)

[MINAKO]

thats todays worth of shed, about 15 i would say. its usually like that and twice as much on wash day.


http://i1153.photobucket.com/albums/p506/Nori_Ko/image.jpg1_zpse7vhfldb.jpg (http://s1153.photobucket.com/user/Nori_Ko/media/image.jpg1_zpse7vhfldb.jpg.html)

[Nique1202]

Hair type is 2a/f/m/iii, low-porosity. I think I shed about 5-15 hairs a day, and maybe 30-40 on wash day, once a week. I shed more hairs as the week goes on, though. Like, the day after washday I might only lose 3-5 hairs, but the day before washday I'll be back up to around 10-15.

I leave my hair in buns through the week, and generally I massage the scalp lightly for a minute or so (to ease any follicles that didn't like being pulled in the direction of my bun) and finger comb my hair before putting it back up again, so I don't go all out.

On wash days, I brush my scalp gently but thoroughly to dislodge any dead skin and grossness, and then I have to massage my scalp/hair with shampoo on to get off my waxy sebum, so it gets a pretty rough treatment on washday and out come any well-I'm-not-quite-ready-but-I'm-about-to-go sheds.

[Silverbrumby]

Shed rate down to under 70 a day now. More like under 50. It will be interesting if this keeps up, to see if my hair gets thicker.

[Mimha]

Hi there.

Hair-shed rate is an interesting question. I have started to hold my own stats about it : I daily count my shedding since September, and I hope to do so until I have one full year of observation to make my own personal conclusions. My actual figures are already very interesting, and show tremendous differences over the time : when I was in my heavy seasonal shedding period, I lost about 100 hairs a day and up to 350 in a wash day. Now, I shed about 25 hair a day, and about 100 when I wash. If you are interested, I can post the diagram I have made, showing the evolution curve over the time, and between washes. Another interesting point I noticed was the fact that my best day (= lowest shed) was usually my second day after wash. It is also my best hair day in terms of volume, shine and gorgeousness. It definitely teaches me that my hair doesn't like washes (traumatic shed), but doesn't like greasy scalp either !

[zellfaze]

How do you count how many hairs you shed in a day? Is it an estimate or do you actually try to count the hairs?

I know when I brush my hair there is a small, but noticeable amount of hair that ends up stuck in it. I can make a small hair ball. When I run my hands through my hair during the day I usually get a hair or two. I usually empty the drain in my shower twice.

I must shed more frequently than just what I see there though because I always seem to be able to get reasonable sized hairballs out of my carpet and people are always finding random strands of my hair places.

I'd be interested to try to actually get a count.

[Aubkabob]

I'm about like Silverbrumby with the hair falls. It feels like OH SO MUCH MORE because I feel like I find my freaking hairs EVERYWHERE, even though it's in a bun if I'm not sleeping or bathing. (Yes, I know that hair ties are BAD BAD BAD, generally, but I'm here to learn!) I seem to lose more when I'm severely stressed (e.g. 4th quarter nursing school, when I was actively failing).

[TwilightShadow]

How do you count how many hairs you shed in a day? Is it an estimate or do you actually try to count the hairs?

I know when I brush my hair there is a small, but noticeable amount of hair that ends up stuck in it. I can make a small hair ball. When I run my hands through my hair during the day I usually get a hair or two. I usually empty the drain in my shower twice.

I must shed more frequently than just what I see there though because I always seem to be able to get reasonable sized hairballs out of my carpet and people are always finding random strands of my hair places.

I'd be interested to try to actually get a count.

IMO, the best method is to brush your hair thoroughly, making sure you get rid of all the loose hairs, then put your hair up in a hairstyle that can last 24 hours without any hairs getting out (something like a crown braid or twin french/dutch braids). After 24 hours, you unravel the braids and brush your hair, this time counting the hairs shed. For more accuracy, I'd put a newspaper on the floor to catch any hairs that may fall out without being noticed.

[Stray_mind]

I usually shed out up to 50 hairs a day on my seasonal shed time and now, when the seasonal shed is over i think i shed about 20-30 hairs a day. I found only 6 hairs in the shower after washing and a few more fell out while i was air drying my hair. Even as i brush my hair with a TT, i find much less hair in it than i used to, say, in december....

[lapushka]

I'm shedding less ever since last week. No clue as to why... Maybe that autumn shed is finally over. :lol: