Understanding Hair Loss: Distinguishing Normal Shedding from Excessive Loss

After receiving multiple questions about it, I've done some digging and found that hair loss affects around 50% of women these days. Isn't that crazy! And though that number is way too big, there still isn't enough talk about it. Seeing strands or sometimes clumps of hair in your hands when in the shower can be distressing at the least.

Though it can be scary to see, hair loss is quite normal and healthy. Here I'll be giving you answers to your questions about hair loss and how much is considered too much.

How much hair loss is normal?

It is normal and healthy to lose about 80-100 hair per day. There's also many people who lose up to 150 hairs a day and this is still seen as normal. Don't neglect to remember that if you have longer hair, those strands will tend to look like a lot more than they actually are.

Also keep in mind that when your hair is styled, many detached hairs can be stuck in your style, therefore making it seem like you're loosing more hair than before in your next full body shower.

If you have straight hair, you will tend to lose hair throughout the day. Those strands come out quite easy too. And when you wash you won't notice nearly as much hair fall out. For the curly gals, because you are more susceptible to tangles, your detached hairs can get stuck in those curls. This makes it seem like once you do wash your hair you're losing A TON but, really it's those 80-100 strands (per day) between the last time you had a hair wash day.

Therefore, if you're only washing every 3-4 days you can expect to see around 300-400 strands on the shower floor/wall. (I know you do it too)

When should you start to worry?

If you have started to see a massive increase in fall out that's when I would say it's time to pay more attention. Although, there are so many different things that could be contributing, and most of them are very easily fixable. So don't freak out and buy a bunch of stuff yet.

One of the number one reasons is stress. If you've been in a high stress mode recently, worrying and stressing about your hair now isn't going to improve your circumstance.

Low iron is another factor to excessive hair loss. If you are able to I recommend getting your levels tested so that you can go from there. Significant weight loss and weight gain can also be big contributors to your hair growth/loss.

If you are seeing big differences in your hair in short amounts of time, please check in with your doctor and see if you can get some blood tests to further determine a strategy to move forward in a way that best suits you!

Also know that more than half of women are affected by hair loss and you are not alone! When you notice something is up, start by monitoring it and paying attention without the instant panicking.

I hope this helps relieve some anxiety you've been experiencing and answers the questions you've been trying to find. If you have any more to ask, please do so in the comment section.

With love, Linnea