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View Full Version : Does every single hair stand on your head shed at some point?



Dreamkitty
November 18th, 2010, 12:14 PM
Say if a person has hip length hair, can they keep that hip length hair forever and maintain it at that length?. Ive read in a book that hair can stay on the head as long as 8 years. Does that mean all the long hairs will shed after 8 years, making the hair thinner?

Im just worried that when I get to waist length, the long hairs on my head might already be 8 years old and begin to shed and then I will be left with thin hair as well as more of the shorter hair strands

Its hard to put in words what I am saying, I don't exactly understand the hair growth cycle anyway!:o

Roscata
November 18th, 2010, 12:17 PM
I do believe that in 8 years all the new hairs coming in will make up for the other hairs shedding. When I had long hair it never looked like it got thinner.

slythwolf
November 18th, 2010, 12:23 PM
Each person sheds a certain number of hairs per day, which then immediately start growing again from new. You will not shed all the long hairs at once and they will be continually replaced. The hair that is currently on your head is already a mix of older and younger hairs and your thickness will maintain.

aenflex
November 18th, 2010, 12:25 PM
Does every single hair stand on your head shed at some point?

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YES :)

spidermom
November 18th, 2010, 12:34 PM
Not every hair on your head grows for the same number of years. I shed hairs as short as 2-4 inches long, and I know they're shed hairs because there will be a little root bulb on one end and pointed on the other end. Those hairs have a very short growth span. I've been growing my hair for 10 years now, and it gradually gets a little bit longer every year, so I obviously have hairs that grow for a very long time. How long exactly I don't know because I have also had a lot of trims, though only one this year (January).

As far as we know, every hair on your head does eventually shed out and a new hair starts growing. This happens every single day all your life, so you always have hairs that are nearing the end of their growth cycle growing along-side hairs that are brand new. So I don't think you'll ever run out of longest hairs, although I've seen the longest lengths get very thin for some people.

Really though, the only way we could know whether every hair on the head eventually sheds out would be to find a way to mark and keep track of each one. I doubt this has ever been done, but judging by the number of people who have stopped using dye and let the natural color grow in, they do eventually lose the dyed hairs, although most people trim, so perhaps the dye was eventually cut off rather than shed out. Who knows for sure? Not me.

aenflex
November 18th, 2010, 12:39 PM
Found an article that helped explain it to me:
http://www.hairlosstalk.com/hair-loss-news/PDFArticle225.php

Very interesting stuff :)

Roscata
November 18th, 2010, 01:50 PM
Found an article that helped explain it to me:
http://www.hairlosstalk.com/hair-loss-news/PDFArticle225.php

Very interesting stuff :)

That was a good read. Thank you for posting it.

spidermom
November 18th, 2010, 01:56 PM
Wow - very interesting. I made note of the fact that for the telogen effluvium test to be accurate, the hair/scalp must be washed every other day, otherwise more hairs will come out and give a false positive reading.

I knew there was a good reason for fastidious scalp/hair hygiene.

tigr
November 19th, 2010, 09:50 AM
Wow spidermom! Look at your hair! I love your new siggy picture!