May 8 2006, 9:34 am PT | Posted in: Age + Hair Loss Causes
Dear Dr. Rassman,
Im 17 an i have been noticing when i shampoo im losing quite a bit of strands, i know its common to loss up to 100 strands but i ask my friends if they lose any strands of hair in the shower an they all say no. Also none of my family members have ever gone bald, so does this mean that i can or cant go bald?
You are correct in that 100 (and even as many as 200) hairs a day and is normal to lose. Hair grows in cycles, so sometimes you may notice more hair loss. If your hair loss is within that range, I wouldn’t be worried. Your hair may be in a cycle where it is in its shedding phase, but when we go into a hair loss cycle associated with genetic hair loss, the loss in the shower may be higher. The best way to judge is to:
- compare what you are seeing to what you had been seeing in the past
- see a good doctor who will map our your scalp for miniaturization looking for the findings that are always present in genetic hair loss
Hair loss in your genetics can skip generations, so even if you do not see it in your immediate family, it does not necessarily mean that nobody in your family has experienced balding to some degree. And chances are that your friends do lose hair in the shower and it goes down the drain. I couldn’t tell you for sure though — I do not shower with your friends.
Hi Dr.
I am 17 and i’ve noticed more hair loss than normal lately, and i’ve been freaking out. when i shower i dont notice a whole lot of strands, maybe between 5-10 ussually. but i do notice that a lot of hair falls out when i dry my hair with a towel. is this normal? also, i do notice 3-5 hairs on my pillow each morning. when i count my hair loss each day i ussually get between 120 and 150 hairs a day…but then some days i lose 60 or 80. i just want to know what exactly is normal, just to ease some of the worry.
Heeey I have a question going towards my own hair..Im 18. hairloss is pretty common on my mothers side of the family but ever since i had a head full of hair Ive had a big forehead and a pretty noticeable hair spirl on the back of my head. ive also had thin hair all my life, and always had a problem with my scalp showing through my hair..ive grown used to this.. Stressed lately from begining college with all my friends moving away and a new enviorment killed me.. Ever since the first day of class. I noticed alot of hair in the sink after I dry my hair with a towel. and during the day I might run my fingers through my hair and have one or two hairs between my fingers. this has made me very Self concious. I dont know if Im just freaking out just to freak out like a venting thing, or Im actually losing my hair. I dont think I have signs of a receeding Hairline or thinning of crown.. no more then when i was like 12 haha but it kills me to worry about all this and not realy know what to think or do. can you help me?