I get a lot of emails from people wanting to know if their hair loss is normal. The other day someone asked me how much hair can you see in the shower and still be with in normal ranges. (This person was starting to see a lot of hair lying in or clogging the drain.) The answer to this question depends upon many factors, all of which I will discuss in the following article.
Determining 10 Percent Of What's On Your Head?: To get right to the point, dermatologists tell us that during high shed seasons, it can be normal to lose up to 100 hairs for the whole entire day. This 100 number is based on 10 percent of a person's hair going into the "resting phase" at any given time. This is based on a head with an average of 100,000 hairs. However, if you have more than most (often red heads or folks with very curly hair), then a number higher than 100 may be acceptable to you. And, if you have less on your head than most (which often means your hair is thin and fine), then your acceptable number may be lower. All I'm saying is that "normal" is based on how many hairs are on your head and then taking 10 percent of that number.
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How Much Manipulation Are You Doing In The Shower?: Remember that 100 accounts for your whole day, not just what you do when in the shower. So this would include shampooing, conditioning, combing, blow drying, styling, and daily wear and tear. But, if you're someone that takes a comb and applies conditioner while pulling, then you're going to lose more than someone who has a very simple, short, and gentle routine. But, it's not really what's in the drain that counts. It's what you lose for the entire day.
Many people ask me if they should skip shampooing so much when they are shedding or having hair loss. My answer is mostly no because frankly, the hairs that come out were in the resting phase anyway. They were already on their way out and there's nothing that you can do to stop this other than to take preventative measures in the future. It's so important to have a healthy properly stimulated scalp for regrowth also.
How Long Has This Been Happening?: People do shed more seasonally. There's no doubt about that. And, changes in your body or stress can cause short term shedding that should resolve on it's on pretty quickly. So, a few days or so of seeing excess hair in your shower may not be a cause for concern. But, if this is something that's very noticeable, has been going on for a while, and you're seeing hair in other places like on your clothing, your pillow, your lint trap, in your shower, and your vacuum bag, you may be above "normal" limits and you may want to keep an eye on what could be causing this.
What is the Normal Amount of Hair to Lose in the Shower? I'll Tell You
How do I know all of this? Because I lived it. I wanted so badly to tell myself that the hair I was seeing in the shower was normal. But, over time, it became obvious that it wasn't and not addressing it immediately made it harder to overcome. It was a long, hard, frustrating journey which all but wrecked my self esteem but I finally found something that helped quite a bit. You can read my very personal story at http://stop-hair-loss-in-women.com/