Increased hair fall

[rambo man]

Hi All

Do any of you ever have periods of increased hair shedding? and if so how long usually does it last for?

I have not had a hair transplant yet. I have been on propecia and 5mg oral minoxidil daily for a year now and have been NW3 for around 14 years with no further thinning but have been on propecia for around 8 of those years apart from stopping to have children.

I have noticed recently that i am losing aorund 20-30 hairs with brushing in the morning but this has always been the case and then every 2 or 3 days when I hair wash losing quite a lot. if its a hair wash after only 2 days around 60 or so but if left for 3 days without washing the number is nearer or even over 100 with the amount of hair product i put in to hide my receeding hairline. Just wondering if these numbers sound normal as never really given it much thought before

I also had Covid in July and have read that can cause a shed around 2-3 months after

 

Thanks

[Gatsby]

Everyday the average scalp sheds around 100 hairs or so.

[rambo man]

1 hour ago, Gatsby said:

Everyday the average scalp sheds around 100 hairs or so.

Thanks Gatsby. I know 100 hairs is about normal I just wondered if some days slightly more than 100 hairs would also seem normal? If I haven't washed my hair for 3 days then I see well over 100 just in the shower alone. would that be normal? Plus upon ruffling my hair I always see 2 or 3 each time

[baldbandito]

I would say it’s completely normal! Do you feel you’ve lost ground recently? I was under the impression, before starting fin, that my shedding would ‘stop’ after taking the drug.  It’s something  you read on the forums from time to time - “ I used to shed 300+ hairs a day, but  since taking  fin - 16 hairs max” like yeah sure bro….. My advice to everyone is to focus on what you can control - taking your medication daily,  exercising, making efforts to reduce stress in your life, sleeping well, eating a good diet etc, etc.  You have nothing to gain by counting hairs or worrying about shedding. Good luck!  

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by baldbandito

[Al - Moderator]

It's normal for hair to go through lots of periods of increased or decreased shedding over the years. I imagine for people who are on hairloss meds they may not have periods of increased loss, or it may be subtle enough to not notice.

With washing your hair, the reason you see more hairs falling out if you haven't washed your hair in a few days is simply because those hairs have been sitting there ready to fall, but haven't had that little push needed that a hair washing did. They were going to fall out anyway. It's like if you have trees growing in your yard and you rake the leaves every day you are going to have less leaves to rake than if you waited a few days to rake them.

Don't get too caught up with 100 hairs a day. It's just a general guide. If someone with a full head of hair loses 100 hairs per day he may not even notice, but if a NW 6 is losing 100 hairs per day then that will be very noticeable because 100 hairs is a much greater percentage of the remaining hair on his head.

As far as Covid causing hair loss a few months later, yes that's a possibility, but it's not just Covid. Any severe sickness, disease, or something that stresses your body and immune system can cause temporary hair loss. That loss shows up a few weeks to a few months later and then grows back. This happens to women who give birth for the same reason. Some of them experience temporary hair loss a few months afterwards.

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by BeHappy

[pkipling]

8 hours ago, rambo man said:

Thanks Gatsby. I know 100 hairs is about normal I just wondered if some days slightly more than 100 hairs would also seem normal? If I haven't washed my hair for 3 days then I see well over 100 just in the shower alone. would that be normal? Plus upon ruffling my hair I always see 2 or 3 each time

If you go 3 days or so without washing your hair, it's completely normal to see more hairs shed in the shower when you get around to washing it. It's likely that you're not shedding more - but that you're seeing the accumulated hairs you've shed over the course of 3 days. Especially if you're using hair product, a lot the hairs you're shedding are gonna stay there until you give it a good wash or brushing. 

Our hairs also go through various cycles when it comes to shedding, and it's normal to see more shedding at some times than at others. As long as it's staying fairly consistent over time, I wouldn't be too concerned. 

[rambo man]

On 9/30/2022 at 2:59 PM, baldbandito said:

I would say it’s completely normal! Do you feel you’ve lost ground recently? I was under the impression, before starting fin, that my shedding would ‘stop’ after taking the drug.  It’s something  you read on the forums from time to time - “ I used to shed 300+ hairs a day, but  since taking  fin - 16 hairs max” like yeah sure bro….. My advice to everyone is to focus on what you can control - taking your medication daily,  exercising, making efforts to reduce stress in your life, sleeping well, eating a good diet etc, etc.  You have nothing to gain by counting hairs or worrying about shedding. Good luck!  

 

Hey thanks for the reply. No I don’t feel I have lost any ground. Apart from my temples which have been receded for nearly 15 years now the rest of my hair is generally quite thick. I have only noticed the shedding increase this last week but thinking about it it’s probably just normal like you say. I have always shed loads. Even on the meds I shed the same but they must be doing something for my hair

[rambo man]

On 9/30/2022 at 7:55 PM, BeHappy said:

It's normal for hair to go through lots of periods of increased or decreased shedding over the years. I imagine for people who are on hairloss meds they may not have periods of increased loss, or it may be subtle enough to not notice.

With washing your hair, the reason you see more hairs falling out if you haven't washed your hair in a few days is simply because those hairs have been sitting there ready to fall, but haven't had that little push needed that a hair washing did. They were going to fall out anyway. It's like if you have trees growing in your yard and you rake the leaves every day you are going to have less leaves to rake than if you waited a few days to rake them.

Don't get too caught up with 100 hairs a day. It's just a general guide. If someone with a full head of hair loses 100 hairs per day he may not even notice, but if a NW 6 is losing 100 hairs per day then that will be very noticeable because 100 hairs is a much greater percentage of the remaining hair on his head.

As far as Covid causing hair loss a few months later, yes that's a possibility, but it's not just Covid. Any severe sickness, disease, or something that stresses your body and immune system can cause temporary hair loss. That loss shows up a few weeks to a few months later and then grows back. This happens to women who give birth for the same reason. Some of them experience temporary hair loss a few months afterwards.

 

Hey thanks for the reply. You’re right and I get your meaning with regards the hairs being more after a few days. I shall try not to count from now on as my general density overall seems the same 

[rambo man]

On 9/30/2022 at 8:31 PM, pkipling said:

If you go 3 days or so without washing your hair, it's completely normal to see more hairs shed in the shower when you get around to washing it. It's likely that you're not shedding more - but that you're seeing the accumulated hairs you've shed over the course of 3 days. Especially if you're using hair product, a lot the hairs you're shedding are gonna stay there until you give it a good wash or brushing. 

Our hairs also go through various cycles when it comes to shedding, and it's normal to see more shedding at some times than at others. As long as it's staying fairly consistent over time, I wouldn't be too concerned. 

Hey thanks for the reply.

Thats good to hear we have slightly increased shedding period. I have heard of a shedding cycle where we have increased hairs out to do with the seasons but not sure if that’s right.

like you say though with the product in is probably why I am seeing more. Hopefully with a hair transplant I might be able to just do my hair easier and with less product rather than looking at it every 10 minutes and putting a tin of hairspray on each time 

[SeanT1]

I made a poll a couple of months ago, it seems to be very common for at least 40+ hairs to be found each time after a shower.

 

[rambo man]

2 hours ago, SeanToman said:

I made a poll a couple of months ago, it seems to be very common for at least 40+ hairs to be found each time after a shower.

 

Yes thanks for the reply I did see your post. The only issue with that was I wasn’t able to tell how often people were washing. As mentioned if it’s every three days I am seeing lots more which makes sense but is scary but just need to accept it is probably normal and my mind seemingly make me worry it’s worse case scenario again

[SeanT1]

1 minute ago, rambo man said:

Yes thanks for the reply I did see your post. The only issue with that was I wasn’t able to tell how often people were washing. As mentioned if it’s every three days I am seeing lots more which makes sense but is scary but just need to accept it is probably normal and my mind seemingly make me worry it’s worse case scenario again

Used to wash every day and got 20 hairs or so each time, it's safe to assume after three days it will be 60!

I wouldn't worry about it honestly. It seems quite normal.
YouTube has a lot of videos discussing this topic with experiments also.  Guys that have really thick hair counting how much they lose each day.etc.

[Hairy Henderson]

100/day is normal? Wow! Seems like a ton.  I am seeing 10-15 per shower recently and it was freaking me out.  I’ve been on fin for 17 years and haven’t seen this before.  So now I’m wondering if my loss is starting to catch up and I should switch to Dut.

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Ramboman,

It is considered normal to lose approximately 50 to 100 hairs per day. There may also be certain times of the year where hair shedding is more prominent than another.  Where it becomes a real concern however, is when it starts to become noticeable on the scalp.  By the time thinning is noticeable, an individual may have lost approximately 50% of their hair in that area.   So if you start noticing an increase in the amount of hair shedding or a loss in a particular area, you may want to consider consulting a dermatologist to see if you have genetic hair loss and even potentially getting on non-surgical solutions such as finasteride or minoxidil prior to seeing visual signs of hair loss.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

 

[Hairy Henderson]

23 minutes ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

Ramboman,

It is considered normal to lose approximately 50 to 100 hairs per day. There may also be certain times of the year where hair shedding is more prominent than another.  Where it becomes a real concern however, is when it starts to become noticeable on the scalp.  By the time thinning is noticeable, an individual may have lost approximately 50% of their hair in that area.   So if you start noticing an increase in the amount of hair shedding or a loss in a particular area, you may want to consider consulting a dermatologist to see if you have genetic hair loss and even potentially getting on non-surgical solutions such as finasteride or minoxidil prior to seeing visual signs of hair loss.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

 

What’s your opinion on dutestaride?