How much hair is it normal to lose each month?

External circumstances

In summer it is warmer and more humid. Then the structure of your outer hair can be affected. For example, it can be curlier. In general, we are more positive during warmer seasons and therefore think less about our hair.

In winter, the air is drier. You may find that your hair behaves differently. Sometimes this is interpreted as hair loss. In addition, winter tends to be a more stressful time and makes us think more about how our hair behaves.

The growth phases of hair

Hair has three growth phases; anagen, catagen and telogen.

During the anagen phase, the hair grows. Between 85-90% of all hair on the head is in the anagen growth phase. A hair has a lifespan of between 2-10 years when it is attached.

In older people, it is common for the hair to grow no longer than a certain length. This is because the anagenic phase is not as prolonged as when we were younger. The growth cycle becomes shorter and the hair falls off earlier.

The anagenic growth phase is also genetically determined. This means that some people have a longer anagen growth phase while others have a shorter one.

If 90% of the hair on your head is in a growth phase, the remaining 10% is in a resting phase. This cycle is called telogenic phase.

During the resting phase, the hair follicle is not supplied with blood and does not produce hair. The hair follicle will eventually die. However, it remains on the skin for up to 2 months.

When the hair follicle dies and falls away, the hair enters the third phase – the catagen phase. This is called the transition phase and is when a hair follicle starts to be created anew.

This phase is anywhere from 1-6 months long. The older you get, the longer the third phase becomes.

PRPrevives dormant hair follicles and is thus considered a solution to hair loss. PRPs are platelets that are extracted from your own blood plasma and injected into your scalp.

Losing hair in the shower

If you have started to lose hair or have thinning hair, brushing or washing your hair in the shower can be an anxiety-provoking experience. It’s common to feel like more hair is falling off.

It is important to remember that the hairs that you lose when you brush or pull your hair are hairs that are already in the resting or transition phase.

Hair that is in the growth phase is very difficult to remove. That’s why you can pull your hair without it falling off. Napping out an existing hair that is growing hurts, unlike the hair that goes with you when you brush.

The hair cycle has a long anagen growth phase, a shorter resting phase and a transitional phase. It’s all part of a repeating cycle. Every day there are a few more hairs in the resting phase. When we are younger, the resting phase is very short. As we get older, it gets longer, and therefore our hair gets thinner and thinner.

So even if you didn’t wash or brush your hair, those strands would still fall off. Therefore, it is unnecessary to avoid doing any of these daily activities, as they have no bearing on how much hair you lose.

There are also some differences between the sexes.