How Much Hair is Normal to Lose in the Shower?

There's no denying that the question of, 'how much hair is normal to lose in the shower' sends chills down the spine of many. Nobody, at the end of the day, looks forward to the day they lose their crown of glory and rock a bald haircut. However, it’s quite unfortunate that our hairline is one of those nature-given accessories that we hardly appreciate its presence until it starts receding or becoming sparse. Most people, for example, will barely pay attention to the state of their tresses until a lump of it collects near the shower drain. And this leads to the age-old dilemma of 'how much hair loss is normal in a day?'

Is it Normal to Lose Hair in the Shower?

Finding decent clumps of hair in your shower drain is usually enough to elicit a mini heart attack in women with long to mid-length tresses, especially if the strands are thick. But is it normal to lose hair in the shower or it could be an ominous foreboding for a disaster lurking in the shadows? Let's see.

Granted, losing hair in the shower, especially if it becomes a frequent affair, is no laughing matter. Nonetheless, before self-diagnose yourself with some incurable disease on WebMD, it pays to, first of all, get to the bottom of the question, how much hair should you lose in the shower? 

There's no shortage of generic and hardly-accurate information on the subject of "how much hair loss is normal in a day," that you can stumble upon online that barely paints the real picture regarding hair loss. Anyone who has thick hair knows that periodic shedding is almost inevitable especially during grooming as you comb or style it. But is it normal for hair to fall out in shower?

How many Hairs are on a Human Head? Rummaging Through Hair Facts

Before going into the details of, how many hairs do you lose a day, it makes sense if we started with the number of strands that are available in the first place. So, how many hairs are on a human have?

Like most things in the human body, the average hairs on head vary from one person to the next. No two people, as you would imagine, have the same exact number of hair follicles. Scientists, nonetheless, believe that this number hovers around 100,000 hair strands sprouting from a similar number of follicles. Speaking of averages, the human hair is estimated to grow by a length of about 6 inches a year or 0.5 inches a month barring any deficiencies or abnormalities. You'd also be surprised to know that male hair naturally tends to grow faster than the strands in females.

Now that you know how many hairs does the average person have, did you know that your hair color and texture is largely influenced by your genetic makeup? Yes, it's no wonder that 90% of the entire human population either has brown or black hair since natural selection tends to favor a higher melanin concentration to protect the underlying tissues from damage by UV rays. Your hair is also 10% more likely to turn gray after hitting 30 and the likelihood increases exponentially every year after that.

Given that we are debating about how many hairs does the average person have, you'd be perplexed to know that your tresses are stronger than you think. You see, one strand alone is capable of withstanding a strain of over 3.5 ounces per square inch.

We know how many hairs are on a human head but how many hairs does a human have in their entire body. Accurate approximations put this number in the vicinity of 5 million hair follicles or thereabout. We are born with all the hair follicles that we will ever have - it's virtually impossible to develop or 'sprout' hair follicles than we did not have in the first place. In fact, this explains why there are no follicles in the palms of our hands or soles of the feet or the inner lining or the lips.

Is 'Normal Hair Loss' a Thing? Debunking a Highly-misconstrued Misconception

'Normal hair loss' is a bit of a paradox - because losing anything (especially when there is no plausible explanation for it) is anything but normal. However, there are margins of hair loss in shower that are considered 'acceptable' or within the nominal range.

But even before dwelling on the subject of normal hair loss in shower, it is imperative to realize that hair follicles usually go through contrasting stages as long as they are active. And these are;

  • Growth or anagen phase: Hair experts believe that there is a direct correlation between how fast your hair grows and the normal amount of hair loss in shower. In other words, the faster your hair grows, the more probable you are to shed some of it in the bathroom when wet. It is estimated that 80 to 90% of your strands are usually in the growth phase at any given time.
  • Transition: This is the stage where the strands have stopped growth but are still attached to the hair follicle. Not many strands are likely to be in transition as it is often a very short phase.
  • Resting: The amount of how many hairs fall out in a day is directly proportional to the quantity of the strands in the resting phase. It is during this stage that the hairs are usually shed from the follicles to pave way for new ones to grow in their place. This phase is also known as the telogen phase.

Here's where it gets interesting - the above cycle is sometimes disrupted by a number of factors including your diet and the state of your mental or physical health. Less hair, for example, could be in the growth phase compared to the amount of hair in the shedding phase. And this is, in fact, the genesis of hair loss, thinning and balding. Otherwise, the cycle between anagen and telogen phases repeats itself several times in a year as long as the hair follicle sprouting the strand remains active.

Having said that, you are likely to lose between 50 and 100 strands of hair in a single day depending on your lifestyle, grooming routine, length of the hair and genetics. Hence, people with significantly short (or closely cropped) hair are less likely to notice shedding of hair in the shower than people with longer tresses. The explanation here is that women with shorter hair tend to have most of the strands in the growth phase and very few of them in the telogen.

Is there a Normal Hair Loss per Day Female Threshold?

Human hair is quite diverse. As such, it is quite difficult to come up with a definite number to represent the normal hair loss per day female hard limit, we can only work with averages. But as much as women are more likely than men to shed their hair given their grooming habits, it is not normal to lose more than 100 hair strands a day. In simpler terms, it is medically unusual to shed large lumps of hair in the shower or otherwise. Actually, if you suddenly start noticing significantly bigger clumps of hair falling out in shower, you could be experiencing a bout of abnormal hair shedding that necessitates an urgent check-up.

That said, there are several reasons for excessive hair loss in women - most of them revolve around significant body changes, chronic stress and physical ailments. They include;

  • Pregnancy and giving birth
  • Stopping or changing your contraceptives or birth control pills
  • Sudden weight loss
  • A bout of serious illness, especially if accompanied by a fever
  • Recovering from major surgery or life-threatening disease
  • Going through a significant emotional event such as loss of loved one, divorce, job or business loss
  • Certain medications

Fortunately, the human body is incredibly resilient. Your hair should be in a position to bloom back to its normal fullness and thickness six months to a year after a stressful event or treatment regimen.

Why Is My Hair Falling Out in Shower, Male Baldness or Just Thinning?

One of the tell-tale signs of premature baldness is definitely hair falling out in shower for a man. Sometimes, but not always, this is usually accompanied by a sharply receding hairline that begins at the temples going back all the way back to the crown. And it should be a cause of concern as men are less likely to have hair falling out in shower compared to men.

Here's the thing; the normal hair loss per day male is nominally lower than in women considering that men are less likely to have long hair which is usually more susceptible to breakages and shedding. As such, you may want to book an appointment with your physician for a comprehensive battery of tests when you start seeing significantly big clumps of hair falling off in the shower.

Why Does my Hair Fall out in the Shower?

If questions such as, "Why does my hair fall out in the shower?" are keeping you up at night, then the following section is critically important. One of the many reasons behind unexplained spate hair loss originates from using the wrong hair products or excessive styling using harsh chemical straighteners or bleach. Indiscriminate use of such products that are not properly formulated to protect your hair follicles from becoming less active will ultimately lead to a quagmire full of never-ending queries such as, "Why do i lose so much hair in the shower?" or "Why is my hair falling out in the shower?"

The solution to this is investing in the right products designed to replenish, nourish and restore the state of your tresses each you use them in your grooming regimen. A good example is Bloommy's Biotin Collagen Keratin Hair Treatment that is tailored to restore the lost vitality, strength and shine of your hair by infusing a range of beneficial nutrients to your scalp.

In Closing - The Takeaway

There is a very fine line between normal hair loss and a full-on balding disaster that requires urgent medical attention. And that's the reason aside from eating a well-balanced diet rich in hair-friendly nutrients, you should also use the right styling products in your grooming regimen to avert possible mishaps. Otherwise, taking good care of your scalp to ward off scalp infections such as tinea capitis or alopecia areata will go a long way in making sure that you keep a head full of hair for many years to come.



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