May 22 2007, 9:33 am PT | Posted in: Hair Loss Causes
I am not sure if you have been asked this, but could you explain the hair counting thing? Does counting the hairs that come out in the shower really tell you anything? Thats not really a good indicator of anything is it?
Counting the hair in the shower (hair by hair) would mean that you are likely obsessive about hair loss. It would be logical that if you are losing hair, the hairs lost in a single shower would vary by time of day, the vigor of your washing and massaging, the number of times you actually apply shampoo in a single shower, etc.. Generally all non-balding people lose about 100 hairs a day. If you see a change in number of hairs (a gross change) over a long time frame and keep all of the things you do constant, you may be losing hair.
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I completely understand where you’re coming from here. I’ve recently let my hair grow longer (about 8 inches) and now I’m not sure if it’s just easier to notice the longer hair or I’m actually losing it at an accelerated rate.
I have a thick head of hair and I’m ashamed to admit that I’m beginning to really stress out over the possibility I might be losing my hair. I’ve counted in the shower too, so I understand the urge to get some kind of data to answer a difficult question.
I’ve counted 50-75 hairs in the shower. Other times, less than 10. I see no pattern. Just a lot of worry.