Are You Shedding or Losing Hair? – How Many Strands of Hair Loss Per Day is Normal ? : My Views

I had a small chat with someone recently. She was worried about how her hair fall issues never got an end. After discussing a little about her problem, I quickly realized something and convinced her that she’s NOT suffering from hair loss. I’m doing this post as to explain ‘why I said that to her!’ since I’ve been emailed several times a day with the same question – why does my hair-fall never stop?! If you’re stuck with the same question on your mind, please read below.

Hair Loss & Hair Shed – Are they same? : First of all, I’d like to differentiate ‘hair loss’ from ‘hair shed’ to make you understand things better. Hair shed is what that happens on a regular basis (daily basis, to be precise) in every human being! (And most of the other living beings as well). You WILL shed hair no matter what. And you must know that you cannot stop SHEDDING since it’s a natural process! But wait. It doesn’t give you a sad ending here. Whenever you shed an hair strand (which is at the end of its Telogen cycle), a new hair grows back at that place starting its new cycle (which is called Anagen) and it grows longer before falling out once it reaches its Telogen phase, once again. Each strand on your scalp is on a different phase right now and they ALL just don’t go through the same phase at once as we’d go bald if that happens.

I hope you got an idea now! So this is what – your hair grows in a cycle. Hence, shed is natural. If some product claims to STOP my hair shed with zero hair fall, I’d laugh at it because nothing in the world can do that!

How many strands of hair shedding is natural? Up to 100-150 strands of hair shed per day is natural and believe me when I say this, I shed 70 hair strands approximately in a day and I’ve a mid-thigh length hair if you didn’t know already. (refer my 6 months hair growth journey on this blog to take a look at my hair!) At times I shed more than 70 and sometimes less than that – (I lose a tad more on my hair wash/hair oiling days and it’s natural too! I’m not losing the heatlhy hair by the way. The ones that are at the end of their Telogen cycle comes off with the pressure given during the massage. Those strands are the about-to-shed-anyway strands so don’t panic if you notice more hair shed during a wash/oil massage. It is NORMAL)

Each day, some people shed 10, some shed 100 and it’s all normal. It matters how fast/healthy you grow out your hair! If you lose 200 or more, then there might be an issue and n0w you can safely call it a ‘hair loss issue’ and then find ways to fix it!

Note : I lost 200 strands a day when I had chickenpox (when it was not possible for me to follow a good hair oiling routine and diet) but then, eventually the ‘hair loss’ stopped in a matter of few months. To be honest, my hair didn’t get much longer at that phase of my life but I’m glad that I didn’t lose much of the thickness. Hence, if you have health issues, please get them checked!

So, do you shed more than 200 hair strands a day?! Probably NO. Ain’t it? So, please stick to a healthy hair care routine and diet and wait for your hair to grow! (You can email me at lancy@mabh.in for that! I’ve prepared a document on my hair care routine that I’d be willing to share with my readers!)

Do you shed less than 100 but still worried?!

I know why. I could read the next question on your mind – then why does my hair never get longer?! 

If your hair isn’t getting longer even with the normal shed rate, it may be due to several reasons. Once you’re able to figure out and fix that, nothing can stop your mane from getting longer and beautiful. Everyone has their own growth rate but it does NOT mean you cannot grow your hair after a certain length. With proper diet/routine, you will be able to grow long hair! But if you keep on worrying about ‘the normal shed’ rather than concentrating on the ‘hair growth’ part, I cannot promise you a long hair!

Reasons?: If your hair isn’t growing longer/past a length, it may be due to one/few of the reasons below! I’m listing out the common reasons (from my own experience!). If you feel something else can also contribute to this nasty ‘no-hair-loss-but-no-hair-growth-syndrome’, then please share it on the comment section below.

1. You’re NOT retaining the length you gain! You’re trimming your hair once in few weeks/months (as you read somewhere on the internet) and then wait for it to grow long. NO! Don’t do that! If you cut your hair and expect it to grow faster, you’ve been fooled by the myth. Your hair does not grow faster if you trim it at the ends. Your hair grows from the root. If you keep on trimming your hair, you won’t be able to notice a difference in length.

I’ve been growing out my hair for 3+ years now without a trim! (not even a single one!) and that’s why it was possible for me to grow it longer. So only trim if it’s highly necessary (if you hate the shape of your ends/have too many split ends etc) but I don’t recommend trimming even half an inch if you’re serious about ‘long hair!’! I say this because, I don’t trim even knowing that I’ve got tapered/fairy tale ends! (my previous hair cut before years was a ‘layer cut’ and that’s why the taper and I don’t plan on trimming it anytime soon!) So if you want long hair, you need to go without trims for months, even years! Even an inch is going to affect the length! Fairy tale ends are ‘natural’ and beautiful TOO!

3. Your hair breaks. Now breakage doesn’t mean ‘from the root’. But most of your hair strands break in the middle causing them to not grow longer, gradually. It can happen if your comb is not gentle (a very important thing to fix asap if that’s the issue! I suggest wooden combs or at least soft plastic combs that are not hard on your scalp), if your diet is bad, if you’re using heat tools/chemicals on your hair.. or even an anti-dandruff shampoo can cause dryness and breakage. Try to fix these issues to control breakage and eventually, your hair will get longer!

4. You’re not stimulating your hair growth. Hair grows normally without any special treatment but if your hair growth rate is slow-average, you should regularly stimulate it by a hair oil massage in order to grow it longer! Even if you’ve a good hair growth rate, a hair oil will add tons of benefits. I massage my hair and scalp at least twice a week with my product and it’s the top most thing that helps me grow my hair this fast. You can also use plain (but pure!) coconut oil for your hair.

5. You’re not on a good diet/sleep routine. This is the last but not the least point! I’ve experienced less shed and faster hair growth when I fixed my issues with food and rest. And I was surprised to notice the visible difference withing a sport span! So don’t take it lightly when I suggest you to eat on time, sleep on time and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Eating on time means – eating when you start feeling the hunger. Holding on to your hunger means not providing your body the nutrition it needs and so, your hair wont grow fast if your body fails to pass the nutrients to your hair roots. Sleeping on time means sleeping before 10 PM or at least by 11 PM. Your body needs NIGHT sleep to regenerate cells (hair growth cells, as well!) and you cannot justify it by sleeping during the day time. (Been there; done that with no luck!)

I’d experienced a very fast growth on times when I used to have a great night sleep. Now I’m guilty I could not do it due to all the work but I’m trying my best! If you don’t believe in my words, follow this diet and sleep routine for few weeks and check your hair shed/growth rate. You’ll know! (Don’t forget to take photos of your hair to compare the difference!)

Hope I helped solving your doubts about the hair shed! If you’ve a query, please feel free to drop it on the comment section below. I’d be glad to help!

Do also let me know your daily shed rate and your experience with different routines/practices that caused you less/more shed when you followed them. I will really appreciate it since we can have a good discussion below that will be useful for others as well!