Am I losing too much hair?

[DizzyGinger]

Over the past few months, I've been concerned that I'm shedding too much hair every day. I might be mistaken, though. My hair has been in pixies and very short bobs for so many years that maybe it was easier to not notice the shedding. And now that it's longer, I'm noticing it more.

I'm still concerned though. I feel like it's too much to lose in a day. Especially in the shower, as I run my hands through my hair so much comes out that I can see the red clumps going down the drain...and I'm not wearing my glasses obviously, I have very bad vision, so I was like, "Wow that must be a lot to see it!" haha

I take 8 different medications (I have bipolar disorder and chronic illnesses) and some of them can cause hair loss. Additionally, I've undergone extreme stress this last year and I know that can contribute.

It's kind of gross but I decided to save all the hair that came out in a day in a baggie. This is from the couple times I brushed it, from the 3-4 times I fixed my bun, and what came out in the shower. What do you guys think? Am I overreacting? Or should I be concerned? I don't want to approach my doctor if I'm simply not realizing what the normal amount of hair shedding is! :P thanks in advance. hopefully I'm just being silly.

http://i.imgur.com/LqGitcy.jpg?1

[HeartofHaleth]

I get a lot more than that from just one shower! Granted, it looks like more because each shed hair is longer, but even taking that into account, it doesn't look like too much to me.

[DizzyGinger]

Oh good. I've been wondering if some of the issue is that I only wash my hair about 2x a week and honestly don't even brush it (besides finger combing) every day. So perhaps when I DO shower or brush it, there's more coming out at once?

[vampyyri]

I clog my shower drain with more from detangling in the shower only, you're fine!

[ephemeri]

Yeah honestly that doesn't look like very much to me. :o

You can always count the strands so you have an idea of how much is coming out and compare it every once in awhile. But that might make you crazy. I think it's a good idea to keep an eye on your scalp and see if you notice more scalp showing over time.

If you really feel like you're losing a lot of hair, it doesn't hurt to talk to the doc. ;)

ETA: I also, over the years, have had my hair at several different lengths and every time, once I get past shoulder, BAM major shedding. Just, always. It just seems to be what my hair does. So yes, it could just be that you're noticing it more now that it's longer.

[DizzyGinger]

Thank you guys so much. I figured I was just being a worrywart but I really needed some reassurance! :)

[littlestarface]

Thats all you lose from all those things you gathered it from?! I lose 3 times that amount in just the shower alone.

[DizzyGinger]

Haha wow I thought it was so much! >.<

[Decoy24601]

Any where up to and around about 100 strands per day is normal, and that looks like it's maybe 50. I shed that much everyday at least and I still have a 5" ponytail circumference, so I think you're fine:p.

[kelseyxface]

I lose a little more than what you have in the baggy in my shower :P It concerned me too for a long time, since I have such thin and fine hair I was thinking I was going bald! But I realized after so many months of seeing the giant scary hair monster in my tub, I didn't have any bald spots or thin patches! so I figured it must be normal shed :P

I also noticed too, when I don't brush my hair very much I "lose more" in the shower. Because I'm not truly removing all the shed from my hair by brushing, I get a MUCH bigger glob of hair in the shower because all the shed over 3-5 days just comes out all at once!

[maborosi]

Oh good. I've been wondering if some of the issue is that I only wash my hair about 2x a week and honestly don't even brush it (besides finger combing) every day. So perhaps when I DO shower or brush it, there's more coming out at once?

This absolutely happens to me. I don't really wash every day- sometimes I don't even wash for several days, or just do a light scalp wash if my hair needs it. But if I use a cleansing herb, or shampoo, my hair sheds a lot more. I also think some of my loose hairs must be stuck in there, and washing will bring them out. It doesn't look like you shed an unusual amount of hair, and it can be really shocking as your hair gets longer- you might feel like you're shedding more. I'm a bit above classic and my shed hairs practically give me a heart attack lol.

[Lilith91]

I lose more than that amount in the bag every time I simply comb (with a comb or with my fingers) and am scared I'm shedding too much. Is this normal? I'm at hip-length now.

[lapushka]

I think that's not much at all. I lose way more than that. No worries! You can lose up to 100 hairs a day and that will *still* be normal. So...

[HairPlease]

Normal. I lose anywhere between half that and twice that every day. Since your hair is such a vibrant color and each strand is long, it looks and feels like a large mass of hair, but in reality it's a slightly below average shed. Good thing!

[sommer]

I don't think that it's such a much loss ;) It maybe seems more as it was mentioned in the previous replies because it became longer :rolleyes: To tell the truth, I firstly supposed that you had several experiments with dyes and bleaches because I had a very massive hair loss after making such colours on my head http://hairstylezz.com/best-dark-blue-hair-color-ideas/6/ :eek: But then I understood that your problem isn't so scary at all.
Maybe you should try to take the vitamins if it's ok for your health?

[CarrotTop]

I wouldn't say that's bad at all! Of course, I have hair that's a bit longer than yours, but I've counted up strands for wads twice the size of yours, and only come up with 35 hairs. If you can collect and count all your shed hairs for a day, that might help put your mind at ease. :)

[Mimha]

Hi DizzyGinger.

I want to contribute my two cents to all what has been said, because the question is recurrent and the answers always turn around "I shed more / less" etc. and this just makes no sense : you cannot compare your shedding to anyone else's to determine whether it's too much or not. First of all because your personal shedding pattern is personal and can vary as much as up to 20 times more depending on the moment of the year (seasonal shedding period or not), and also because nobody knows what the other person you are comparing yourself with has on her head. Not only does the shedding rate depend on the moment of the year it happens, but also on your particular and totally personal specifications : how many total hair you have on your head (it can vary extremely from one person to another, like 100'000 to 200'000, to give an idea), and also on how long is your hair renewal turnover (= the time you need to fully renew your complete head of hair). Someone who has a very long anagen phase, meaning a long "hair life expectancy" (let's say 10-12 years before each single hair sheds) will shed much less than someone who has a 4-5 years cycle.

It is pointless for example to compare someone who has tons of hair and a rapid renewal time with another one who has less hair and a long renewal time. One person can shed 4 times more than his neighbour and still be better off. And it is also meaningless to say "I shed 20 hairs a day". OK, 20 hairs under which circumstances ??

To give you an idea, I have followed up my shedding pattern on one full year, just to figure out how it worked FOR ME. And the result was very interesting. I noticed I mainly had one big seasonal shedding period during which I can shed up to more than 300 hairs when I wash, and about 80 hair the non-wash days, whereas during the "normal time" (non-shedding period) I shed about 5 to 10 hairs a day and about 40 when I wash. If I calculate my average shedding pondered on the whole year, I shed about 50 hairs a day. I can say this only because I have done a full year follow-up. Otherwise I would not have been able to say if it were 20 or 150. And I still don't know if this is significant, because 1) I don't know how many hairs I have on my head, 2) I don't know how long my anagen phase is, 3) I don't know if 2015 was a good or a bad year, hair-wise. So yeah... still a lot of experiments to do to figure out all these interesting questions !...^^ :popcorn:

A thing you can do, if you want to know if your shedding is normal or not (if your hair is not too layered), is to look at each single shed hair : if most of your sheds are long undamaged hair, it is seasonal shedding. Mainly oldest (and therefore longest) hairs are shedding. If among your sheds you find a lot of short ones (= younger hairs that should not go), or broken ones (meaning that your hair is fragile and damaged or that you brush too harshly), then you can have a closer look at the matter.

[sanguinebread]

I've had similar concerns to the OP, and I have a question for everyone here suggesting keeping track of shed hairs. How do you do that?

I mean, I can see how you collect hairs shed after a shower or brushing, but I tend to unexpectedly find hair in my food, bed, etc --I don't think I notice most of the hairs I shed. Is there some method you're using to make sure you catch everything, or are you only counting the hair you shed in a cluster?

[DizzyGinger]

Mimha, thank you for such an interesting and informative post. Much appreciated!

[lapushka]

I've had similar concerns to the OP, and I have a question for everyone here suggesting keeping track of shed hairs. How do you do that?

I mean, I can see how you collect hairs shed after a shower or brushing, but I tend to unexpectedly find hair in my food, bed, etc --I don't think I notice most of the hairs I shed. Is there some method you're using to make sure you catch everything, or are you only counting the hair you shed in a cluster?

For me it's easy. My hair is always in an updo when I'm up, and it always gets detangled above the sink in the bathroom! So almost nothing gets lost places. When my mom cleans she finds maybe 5 hairs at the most, weekly.

[Kirby-oh]

Might be that AZ summer, I'm losing more hair than I do in the winter right now.

[lapushka]

Might be that AZ summer, I'm losing more hair than I do in the winter right now.

For me it's the other way round. Fall is my "shedding" season. Normally spring too, but this year... not so much. I think I'm going to get a double dose of it in fall. LOL!

[sanguinebread]

For me it's easy. My hair is always in an updo when I'm up, and it always gets detangled above the sink in the bathroom! So almost nothing gets lost places. When my mom cleans she finds maybe 5 hairs at the most, weekly.

Ah, I see. I lose hair even in updos or braided -- my hair escapes everything -- so that wouldn't help me, but that does make more sense. Thank you!

[irodaryne]

Oh good. I've been wondering if some of the issue is that I only wash my hair about 2x a week and honestly don't even brush it (besides finger combing) every day. So perhaps when I DO shower or brush it, there's more coming out at once?

That may have a lot to do with how much shedding you seem to have. I tend to keep my hair in braids and then just get too lazy to comb it since it doesn't tangle when braided. And if I don't give them a really good brushing when I finally take them out for wash day I find myself pulling huge clumps of sheds out of the bulk of my hair. And it's not that I'm shedding this ridiculous amount, it's that I wasn't letting the sheds go anywhere, so I have like 3-4 days of sheds to deal with at once.

[lapushka]

Ah, I see. I lose hair even in updos or braided -- my hair escapes everything -- so that wouldn't help me, but that does make more sense. Thank you!

How does that happen, unless it's not all in the updo (like face framing layers). :confused:

[Mimha]

For me it's easy. My hair is always in an updo when I'm up, and it always gets detangled above the sink in the bathroom! So almost nothing gets lost places. When my mom cleans she finds maybe 5 hairs at the most, weekly.

Exactly ! :) I also detangle/comb/brush over the washing basin to avoid having hair falling on the floor everywhere in my home, as much as I can (otherwise I collect them when I'm done with my combing). I like to walk barefoot at home and HATE to feel sheds tangling around my toes !! Lol. Then, as my hair is long, it is mostly in a bun all day until I put it down in the evening and detangle once more over the washing basin (or in the empty tub, when my hair is longer). At night, my hair is loose over the pillow and I hardly ever find shed hairs in my bed either. Same when I take a shower : I thoroughly combed beforehand, so I hardly shed any more hair when I wash, all the more that I very gently massage my scalp to avoid oiling reaction from sebum glands. Unlike many people here, I don't have any drain clogging struggle at all. I check the drain every time I get out of the tub and pull out the one or two that have been able to make their way until there. So counting was quite an easy task for me. I have nevertheless taken into account a small % for the unavoidable hairs lost during the day, especially the days when I wear it down, and rounded the figures up. I think my figures are quite accurate, actually.

[sanguinebread]

How does that happen, unless it's not all in the updo (like face framing layers). :confused:

My hair doesn't stay completely in an updo or braid; strands will work their way out basically no matter what I do to it. I can do a very neat, tight braid with all of my hair and look at it three hours later, and a handful of my hair will have escaped. I sometimes think I lose more when it's contained, actually, because the individual strands are more fragile by themselves and snap off. (Plus the damage from restyling.)

[lapushka]

Exactly ! :) I also detangle/comb/brush over the washing basin to avoid having hair falling on the floor everywhere in my home, as much as I can (otherwise I collect them when I'm done with my combing). I like to walk barefoot at home and HATE to feel sheds tangling around my toes !! Lol. Then, as my hair is long, it is mostly in a bun all day until I put it down in the evening and detangle once more over the washing basin (or in the empty tub, when my hair is longer). At night, my hair is loose over the pillow and I hardly ever find shed hairs in my bed either. Same when I take a shower : I thoroughly combed beforehand, so I hardly shed any more hair when I wash, all the more that I very gently massage my scalp to avoid oiling reaction from sebum glands. Unlike many people here, I don't have any drain clogging struggle at all. I check the drain every time I get out of the tub and pull out the one or two that have been able to make their way until there. So counting was quite an easy task for me. I have nevertheless taken into account a small % for the unavoidable hairs lost during the day, especially the days when I wear it down, and rounded the figures up. I think my figures are quite accurate, actually.

We understand each other perfectly! :) :thumbsup: I'm the same, well, counting is too much for me, but I'm amazed that you lasted with this a whole year. I could never get a clear picture on my shedding, except to note the heavier sheds during spring (not this time woohoo) & fall. That's the best I can do. :o

[lapushka]

My hair doesn't stay completely in an updo or braid; strands will work their way out basically no matter what I do to it. I can do a very neat, tight braid with all of my hair and look at it three hours later, and a handful of my hair will have escaped. I sometimes think I lose more when it's contained, actually, because the individual strands are more fragile by themselves and snap off. (Plus the damage from restyling.)

Oh yeah, that explains it. I was thinking and thinking at how the hairs could possibly escape. :o

[teal]

That looks pretty normal to me. I've gone through some sheds - they were worse than that by a good margin.

You'll notice more come out after showering and scalp massaging, and also if it's been a while since you had a good scalp stimulation, eg. brushing. For me, I also notice more comes out right after a henna application, but then I lose less than average in the following days. It seems to even out.