Daily shedding: Are my numbers normal or abnormal?

Are my shedding rates normal?

I’ve selected this question below for this week’s question of the week. It allows us to discuss normal hair shedding patterns.

QUESTION

I am a 37 year old female. I have been keeping track of my shed hairs as closely as possible for 70 days.  My 30 day moving average is a steady 40 hairs per day and my 5 day moving average ranges from 38 to 42 or so.  However, my daily shed is unstable and can range from 20 to 60 with periodic days of 70.  The 60 and especially the 70 hairs a day concern me. Is it normal for your daily shed to fluctuate this much even though your averages are stable?

Hair shedding can fluctuate over the month normally in humans. A few simple questions can help screen if shedding is likely to be abnormal or normal.

ANSWER

Thanks for the question. I can’t say whether your hair changes are normal or abnormal because I haven’t examined your scalp and I don’t really know what your shedding is like today compared to 2 years ago and 10 years ago. However, I can offer a few helpful points.

First, periodic fluctuations in shedding can be quite normal. There are changes in shedding with seasons, with stress, with the amount of seborrheic dermatitis, and across the menstrual cycle.

Second, the frequency with which one shampoos the hair also makes a difference. If one shampoos the hair once per week then I’m okay with shedding numbers in the few hundreds. If one shampoos the hair every day, the daily numbers should be well below 100 that’s for sure.

There are three very helpful questions that help me figure out if the shedding in women is likely to be abnormal:

QUESTION 1

Does the amount of hair coming out in the brush, in the shower and through the day seem similar to what remembers it being like 5 years ago?

Yes or No

QUESTION 2

Does the amount of hair the patient has on the scalp (ie the overall hair coverage) seem the same as 5 years ago?

Yes or No

QUESTION 3

Does the size of the pony tail seem to be the same ?

Yes or No

If one answers yes to all three of these questions, there is a fairly high chance that shedding is quite normal. The screen is not 100 % perfect of course but pretty good. A review of your full story with your dermatologist and a thorough scalp examination can help determine with certainty if the shedding is normal or abnormal.

In summary, fluctuations of this kind described in the question can be very normal for many people.

Thank you again for the question.