If you’re worried about hair loss, washing your hair in the shower can become a source of dread. You may feel strands coming away from your head as you shampoo and condition your hair, or spot clumps of hair in the drain while you’re drying off. Some people see significant in-shower hair loss for a few months [1], before it relaxes back to its previous shedding rate.
Either way, it can be alarming to see just how much hair you’re losing in the shower.
Everyone experiences a certain amount of hair loss when they wash their hair — so how much hair loss is normal in the shower? And how can you tell if your hair loss is excessive?
People with healthy hair lose up to 100 strands everyday. Brushing, washing, and tying your hair back can all dislodge your hair from its follicles. Often, you won’t even notice it.
But showering can highlight just how much hair you’re losing on a regular basis. It can be distressing to discover that you’re losing significant amounts of hair — so how do you know if your hair shedding is normal?
Photo showing 100 hairs from a person with short hair (left) and longer hair (right).
The hair growth cycle causes people to lose hair naturally. Around 85-90% of your hair is in the growth phase at any one time [2]. The rest of your hair strands are in degenerative, resting, or shedding phases — and these are the hairs that are liable to fall out. When your hair does eventually fall out, the cycle begins again, with the follicle returning to the growth phase [3].
Washing your hair can speed up the normal hair shedding cycle, which means it’s completely normal to lose hair when you shower. However, there are also some hair washing practices that can increase the risk of hair damage.
Hair washing stimulates your follicles. For follicles that are in the resting or shedding phases of the growth cycle, this can dislodge hairs to make way for new growth. When you massage shampoo into your scalp, you may then find that a number of strands come away from your head.
This is completely normal. In fact, it’s been suggested that scalp massage can stimulate hair growth, so you may actually be helping your hair by treating yourself to a little in-shower head massage.
However, there are some conditions that cause excessive in-shower hair loss. Research suggests that noticing large clumps of hair in the shower (or on your hairbrush) can be a sign of telogen effluvium [2]. This is a kind of temporary hair loss caused by emotional trauma or stress. It can usually only be treated by addressing the underlying cause.
Excessive in-shower hair loss may also be a sign of the most common type of hair loss: genetic pattern baldness. This is more common in men, but it can also affect women.
Female hair loss is hard to diagnose without the right tools and tests. Get a professional diagnosis from a qualified trichologist so you can get the best female hair loss treatment for your alopecia.
Using harsh products such as hair dyes, bleaches, and chemical shampoos in the shower can damage your hair. While these don’t typically cause hair loss, they can make your hair brittle, so the strands snap off and give the appearance of thinning hair.
Washing your hair in water that’s too hot can also damage your hair strands, so try to maintain a moderate temperature.
If you’re noticing more hair shedding than usual in the shower, here are some tips for managing this:
Sometimes in-shower hair shedding can be a sign of more permanent hair loss. If you notice any of the following symptoms, you may be experiencing pattern balding:
If this is the case, your hair won’t grow back without medical intervention, so it’s a good idea to speak to a trichologist to see if there’s a way to address your hair loss. There are non-surgical ways to treat permanent hair loss, especially if it’s identified early, so book a free consultation to discuss a treatment plan if you’re concerned your hair loss may be permanent.
As well as genetics and haircare, other factors can also disrupt the hair growth cycle, impacting your follicles’ ability to produce new hair. In fact, there are 27 reasons why your hair could be falling out. This includes:
All these factors can cause your hair to fall out in the shower, so it’s important to focus on your mental and physical health in order to see healthy, sustained hair growth.
If you think you’re losing substantially more than 100 hairs a day when you wash your hair, it may be time to seek professional advice. Book a free consultation with a hair loss specialist to determine the cause of your hair loss, and create a personalised treatment plan to restore your hair and your confidence.
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