Am I suffering hair loss, or are my hair shedding?
This is the common question asked at hair clinics as it seems confusing for many people.
Hair loss and hair shedding are broad terminologies. You might have surely heard about them and many of us find these words similar. Many use hair loss in place of hair shedding; however, these may sound similar but are different from each other. And, without clear direction, they go for surgical and non-surgical hair replacements.
In this blog, we are going to discuss the difference between hair shedding and hair loss. But, before that let’s try to understand the basic hair cycle, it will help clear confusion to a great extent.
Understanding the Hair Cycle
In your body, every hair strand goes through three phases of growth called anagen, catagen, and telogen.
The anagen phase is the first phase which is considered the growth phase where all our hair grows. This phase continues upto two to eight years that varies from body to body and person to person.
Next is the catagen phase which is a transition phase that continues for two weeks. During this phase, your hair comes into the transition phase where it stops growing.
The third phase is the telogen phase which is also called the resting phase that continues till two to three months. During this phase, the growth of new hair follicles takes place that pushes the resting follicles out. And, this process is called natural shedding and again new hair starts growing in the anagen phase.
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Difference Between Hair Loss and Hair Shedding
Every hair of your body is in different phases of this hair cycle and this is the reason that neither we see baldness suddenly nor do we see excessive hair growth on our scalp. And, interestingly none of us keenly observe this entire hair cycle.
When our hair starts shedding, we normally shed 50 to 100 hair strands every day – according to Cleveland Clinic. But, the problem arises when you start shedding more than 100 strands of hair, and that’s when you are facing excessive shedding. This medical condition is called telogen effluvium.
What Causes Excessive Hair Shedding or Hair Loss?
When a big change happens in your life all of a sudden, it results in stress and your body starts shedding excessive hair. There could be different reasons for experiencing stressors. The common causes of hair loss or excessive hair shedding include:
- Losing excessive weight
- Given birth
- Stress due to personal loss
- Prolonged illness
- High fever
- Recovering phase from illness
- Depression
- Mental anxiety
- Undergone big surgery or operation
However, hair shedding stops on its own after you have passed the stressful events in your life. However, if the stressors stay, hair shedding can be long-lived.
On the other hand, hair loss occurs when something stops the hair from growing and there is no fresh hair growth. Upon that you continue losing hair which results in baldness.
And, it is commonly seen in males where 95% of hair loss in men is caused by androgenetic alopecia as per the American Hair Loss Association. Also, 50% of all women start losing their hair by the time they are 50 years old.
Here are some of the common reasons resulting in hair loss:
- Hereditary hair loss
- Weak immune system
- Medical treatment like Chemotherapy
- Hairstyles that make hair roots weak
- Prolonged use of harsh hair products
The important thing to note here is that hair shedding can be controlled, but hair loss cannot be controlled until you identify the cause and stop the practices that were causing hair loss. Supposedly, a specific drug is causing you more hair loss, you may consult your doctor and immediately stop its consumption.
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What Can You Do to Treat Hair Loss?
To help stop hair loss, you should immediately consult a dermatologist. He would recommend some treatment plans, at-home treatments, procedures, hair systems, and concealers. We hope this information was helpful. Stay in touch for more such content!
Feature Image Credits – Hair care photo created by freepik – www.freepik.com
