Have you ever washed your hair and noticed what looks like almost an entire wig on the floor (or walls lol) of your shower?? You’ve probably thought, “Am I going bald??” or, “How do I even have that much hair to lose?!”

I know it feels like you’re losing like half of your hair when this happens, but that is totally normal!! It’s estimated that the average human loses between 50-100 hairs A DAY! Everyone has over 100,000 hair follicles on their head, so while losing 100 hairs a day can feel like a huge amount, it honestly doesn’t make as much of a difference as you might think!

What’s even crazier…each hair on your head only has a 2-5 year life cycle! The hairs you are losing are simply at the end of their cycle, while other hairs may just be beginning theirs. 

Now, there are obviously some special circumstances where health issues come into play. If you suspect that you are losing more hair than you should, I always recommend that you see your doctor!

Keep in mind that there are times when you may see more hair loss than others.

When you’ve had your hair in a style for a few days

If you’re a big fan of the messy bun, there may have been an occasion or two where you haven’t taken your hair out of the same bun for a couple of days. In this instance, when you remove your hair and wash it, you may notice a LOT of hair loss. This is simply because while your hair was up in a style, your hairs were still shedding like normal, but the style held them into place. The hair you’re seeing is a culmination of a few days of hair loss.

Extension maintenance appointments

The reason so many people think that extensions will cause them to lose hair is because of the amount of hair they see fall out at these appointments. Much like the above reason, your extensions are holding hair into place while it is still falling out like normal. So when you see a large dusting of hair fall out during your maintenance appointment, this is because it is a culmination of sometimes 6-10 WEEKS of hair loss. In reality, you are losing no more hair than you normally would, you’re just seeing it all at once.

In the shower while washing

The act of washing your hair and scrubbing your scalp stimulates your follicles, assisting any hairs that may have been already on their way out. NO, this does not mean that washing your hair causes it to fall out. Those hairs are going to shed regardless of washing or not! It is super important to continue to stimulate your scalp as this promotes hair growth and helps lift any dirt or product that may be stuck at the root.

See! There are so many reasons why losing your hair is NORMAL! So next time you see that clump of hair on the floor of your shower, you can save yourself the heart attack and remember that your body is performing properly! And maybe don’t let the hair go down the drain, save yourself the plumbing bill too.

xoxo,
Katlyn