How can you tell if you are actually losing hair?

It seems that everyone has hair loss troubles now, but in fact, hair loss is a normal phenomenon. As long as the hair you lose every day is within the normal range, it is not considered hair loss, and you don’t need to be too sensitive to every hair loss every day.

Under normal circumstances, most of the hair (about 90%) is growing continuously, growing about 1-2 cm per month for 2-6 years; another about 1% of the hair is in the degenerative phase, lasting 2-3 weeks; The hair in the resting stage does not exceed 10% for a period of 2-3 months. After the telogen phase, the hair falls out and is replaced by new hair, which is the next cycle.

Humans have about 100,000 to 150,000 hairs, and we usually lose 50 to 150 hairs a day. If you lose less than 150 hairs per day, it is not considered hair loss.

Of course, this amount is not easy to measure, because it is difficult for us to really count how many roots are lost each day. Unless a large amount of hair loss occurs suddenly and is easy to detect, when most people notice the decrease in hair volume, either because they find that the scalp is more and more exposed, or they feel that the hair is not as thick as before. At this time, there is usually more hair loss. 

Method of judgment

We can judge whether we are losing hair through a simple test, which is also a test method that clinicians may take - the Hair Pull Test. Hold a small section of hair (about 50-60 strands) with your thumb and forefinger from the roots close to the scalp, and pull gently toward the ends. If you have more than 6 hairs falling out, you should pay attention to whether there is hair loss.

The external manifestations of people with hair loss.

The most common is the gradual thinning of the hair on the top of the head, which gets worse with age, also known as "androgenetic baldness." Although called androgenetic alopecia, it can occur in both men and women.

In men, male pattern baldness typically begins with an M-shaped receding hairline, then thins on the top of the scalp and progresses to baldness, while still having hair on the sides and back of the head. For some people, the top of the head is affected first, and the receding hairline is not so obvious.

Androgenetic alopecia can occur at any age after puberty, but it mostly begins around age 30. Globally, about half of men suffer from androgenetic baldness before the age of 50.

"Female androgenetic baldness" is milder than male`s. It generally only causes thinning of the hair on the top of the head, and it is unlikely that all the hair on the top of the head will fall out. Although female androgenetic baldness can start after the age of 30, it will not happen until the age of 40 , and even more obvious after menopause. By age 50, at least one in four women will have some degree of thinning hair.

Androgenetic alopecia is closely related to genetics, not just the mother or father, but both. It used to be more popular to say that male hair loss is inherited from the mother's family, while female hair loss is inherited from the father's family. In fact, hair loss genes can be passed down from both parents' families in both men and women. And hair loss has the potential to skip generations, randomly affecting boys or girls in a family.