There are many reasons for hair shedding, but below I’ll go over some of the of causes of the excess shedding.
Have I Always Shed A Lot Of Hair Or Been A Heavy Shedder?
The reason that you need to ask yourself this question is because some people have a higher “normal” shed level than others. Basically, it’s considered “normal” for approximately ten percent of the hair that you have on your head at any given time to go into the “resting” or “shedding” phrase. So, obviously someone with a very thick head of hair will have a higher number than ten percent. Someone with a sparse head of hair would have a lower “typical daily shed” which would not really affect the over all appearance of their hair.
You likely had thick hair even as a child and although you may not have noticed at the time (because children really don’t pay attention to these types of things) your mom may have gotten a lot of hair in the brush when she combed your hair. It’s often only when we worry about aging that we start noticing these things. However, with that said, if the appearance of your hair looks more thin or sparse and you are starting to notice more shed hair then this combination is one that you should watch.
Have Their Been Any Changes In My Medication, Health, Or Scalp That Could Be Causing The Shedding?
Often times, changes or shocks to the body can cause a condition called telogen effluvium (TE) that causes much more than the “normal” ten percent of hair follicles to go into the resting phase. Therefore, you get a lot of hair falling out at once. Usually, you can go back about 2-3 months and pinpoint what is called the “trigger” or the change in your body that caused these changes in your hair.
Maybe you became pregnant or gave birth. Perhaps you started or stopped a medication. Maybe you were ill, stressed, or had surgery. Many medical conditions such as diabetes, thyroid issues, PCOS, and adrenal burnout (as well as many other conditions) can affect your hair. Or, perhaps you’ve noticed changes or damage to your scalp or skin. Any of these things can cause your hair cycles to reset and, as the result, you’ll see some shedding a few months later.
Hair loss treatment has come such a long way. But, the first step is determining why you are shedding in the first place and then aggressively meeting this challenge head on. Because the longer you have this problem, the harder it is to regrow your hair and get it to acceptable levels again. While you’re determining the cause of your loss, it never hurts to combat inflammation of the scalp (which typically is associated with shedding) and do everything that you can to stimulate healthy regrowth.
How do I know all of this? Because I lived it. I was constantly wondering why I continued to shed so much and couldn’t get any real answers. In my quest to end my hair loss, I looked at my triggers, my iron, my thyroid, my adrenals, my hormones, and my scalp. It was a long, hard, frustrating journey which all but wrecked my self esteem but I finally found something that helped quite a bit. You can read about it here: http://stop-hair-loss-in-women.com/.