Raechele Cochran Gathers, MD Have you ever had excessive shedding? That is, combing your hair in the morning and noticing that the bathroom counter is covered with your hair. Or maybe it’s wash day, and you notice your hair all over the shower floor!
How Much Hair Shedding is Too Much?
Surprisingly, it can be normal to lose quite a bit of hair everyday. In general, it’s normal to lose between 50 to 100 hairs a day Depending on your genetics, and other factors, you could be on the high or low end of this range. Hair goes through cycles of growth and rest, and each hair is programmed to be shed at a certain time. Normally, shed hairs are called ‘telogen hairs.’ You can recognize them by the small white bulb at the ends. If you are losing more than 100 hairs per day, you might be suffering from a condition called telogen effluvium.
What is Telogen Effluvium?
Telogen effluvium is a common cause of hair loss. It’s typically caused by an underlying physiologic stress or disease. Normally, only about 15% of your hair is in the telogen (resting) phase. In telogen effluvium, however, a lot more of your hairs are in this phase and you will experience a lot more shedding than normal.
Common Causes of Telogen Effluvium
- After a severe infection or high fever
- After a surgery or hospitalization
- Endocrine problems (e.g., thyroid conditions)
- Chronic illnesses
- Early stages of female pattern hair loss
- Medications (some blood pressure, thyroid, and blood thinner drugs, among others)
- Scalp injury
- Dieting or significant weight loss
- Childbirth
People with telogen effluvium can lose anywhere from 150 to 400 hairs a day. Even though that’s a lot of hair, people with telogen effluvium usually don’t go completely bald—though it’s not uncommon to see some thinning, especially thin edges.
In general, you won’t start to notice the excessive shedding of telogen effluvium until about 3 to 4 months after the causal event. In other words, sometimes we have to do a little detective work, and work backwards to find out what could be the cause of your excessive shedding
Outlook
The good news is that telogen effluvium usually stops all by itself. Once the cause has resolved, or has been treated, the excessive shedding gradually stops on its own. If you’re losing an excessive amount of hair, it’s important to first always see a dermatologist. Your doctor will be able to determine if there is a serious underlying condition that needs to be addressed. Your doctor may do some lab work, or even take a biopsy of your scalp. Depending on the cause of your telogen effluvium, your doctor may recommend topical minoxidil to try to slow your hair loss.
