Fess Up! How Many Hairs Do You Lose Daily?

[Katt73]

We always read that, on average, people lose 80 - 100 hairs each day. Some of you ladies post about having zero shedding and zero breakage. That seems unusual to me, but if it's possible, then it's a goal I want to work toward. Am I really in the minority, losing upwards of 10 hairs each time I comb (twice a day)?

Approximately how many hairs do YOU shed on a given day while combing and styling -- not counting the random few that may fall during the course of everyday business. And how many broken hairs do you see?

 

[dillard]

Between 10 and 30 sounds about right for me. The only time I comb my hair and NOTHING comes out is when it's wet.... especially after I've done a protein treatment.

 

[SpyCats]

Good question, I really don't know because I only comb my hair once a week.

 

[Jessofpal]

Since I've been working with my hair, probably 20-30. I've noticed that I don't lose as much now. But losing any still makes me anxious.

 

[SleekandBouncy]

I used to get (from the time I started relaxing) crazy amounts of breakage and shedding on a daily basis. I'm surprised I was able to maintain hair on my head. Now I get maybe 2-3 broken hairs (that I see) and 10-15 from shedding. I get the most shedding when I wash my hair, 40+.

 

[Everything Zen]

I shouldn't have said 10-30 a day because I don't comb or style my hair every day but on days when I do comb (about once a week) I would say between 20-30.

 

[silvergirl]

zero shedding is impossible. ppl shed hair all day, it could just be that the person notices no shedding.

for me,. since going natural and learning how to care for my hair i have found that i have no breakage though.

my shedding amount is only what i happen to see in the shower, about 10 hairs or so.

 

[Arcadian]

I really don't know because I don't comb every day. But I also think you just can't count whats in your comb. People shed constantly all over the place. Just because you don't see it, dosen't mean it didn't happen.

The longer my hair gets, the more I see strands everywhere. I find them in my car, on the couch, in the shower (on the ceiling no less!) found a couple in the refridgerator too!

Its not because I'm dirty and don't clean, I do. heck I even have cleaning services! but shedding is just one of those things that hair has to do..thats totally normal.

So even if I only see 10 strands in the comb, I can best believe I've lost hella lot more than that!!


I don't worry about it unless I'm seeing handfulls come out or short pieces.

-A

 

[Kurlee]

in the shower, maybe 15-25 and broken ones about 5 max!

 

[Alisha08]

See this issue still confuses me!! I comb my hair twice daily and I usually lose between 10-30 hairs but I think its considered breakage. All of the hairs I lose are usually long like shed hairs should be, but not all of them have a white bulb on the root. I mean, do ALL shed hairs have to have a bulb on the root?????

 

[AmilLion]

Using my widetooth comb, I might see maybe 2-3 hairs in the morning and the same at night. Shedding is usually an indication that I've stretched my relaxer too long or something internally is going wrong

 

[dlewis]

Normally about 5 strings or less. Yesturday it was a handful because I hadn't detangled in several days.

 

[Diya]

I am a mammal. Therefore, if I DON'T shed hair, therein lies the real problem. I never bother with counting because I know shedding is totally normal unless it's coming out in clumps!

Breakage, on the other hand, I've really tried to minimize as I've learned to take care of my hair. When I moisturize, I see maybe 2 or 3 broken hairs, and the same or less when I comb, if I'm really gentle.

 

[deejoy]

Less than 10. My shedding is related to my health so if I shed more than that, then that means I need more vitamins.

 

[growinstrong]

Considering that I only comb once a week and mainly finger comb on the other days, I guess its an average. At the end of the week, I see about 25-35 strands, so that's about 4-5 strands/day. This may seem like a little bit, but I see more hair on wash day, probably more like 80-100 strands erplexed, but I never count that, as I go to the salon and its usually in the trash. All in all, still below the average amount you are supposed to lose. Like someone else said, until I see it coming out in handfuls, I'm not worried .

 

[BillsBackerz67]

I comb about every 3-4 days and when I do theres a big glob of hair in the drain so Im thinking maybe about 100-125 a day? Whatever I aint bald so it is what it is

 

[InnerSoul]

I dont comb my hair daily... but I would say I lose more than I want to see... I get alot in the comb when detangling if I am not patient with my hair and just rake through it. I also shed some hairs daily.

 

[Cichelle]

I probably shed about 100 strands a day. But I have never counted, so I really don't know. I'm taking a guess by what I see when I detangle.

 

[TLC1020]

Since I wear a bun most of the time I will count maybe 5 hairs when I take my hair down to moisturize my ends.. When I wear my hair down I will count maybe about 7-10 through out the day. During wash I may loose about 20-25 b/c of the no combing throughout the week... So either way I don't loose much b/c of the low manipulation styles but I rather not loose any and retain all...

 

[sunnydaze]

I just had a rather traumatic experience yesterday. I normally wear my hair in a bun (see avatar) and over the last month I have washed, conditioned and pulled back to dry overnight and then woke up and tucked hair in bun - all without detangling my hair.

Fast forward to yesterday, I went to detangle it and sections of my hair were actually dreds. I could not get a comb through it. I was practically in tears becaus HUGE clumps of my hair were combing out. I would see golf ball sized balls of hair with straight ends combing out. I had to detangle it this time, so I coated my hair with CPR so I could get a comb through it. I just new that 25% of my hair had come out.

Turns out my hair is fine, but that taught me a lesson, even if I am doing the bun, I still must detangle. I shed alot of hair evidently and I need to help it along or it will get caught in my hair and cause serious damage.

 

[sareca]

I'm on a low manipulation challenge and I don't see many the first week maybe (3-5/day), but the second week I feel like they're all over the place.

ETA: I'm sure it's the standard 100/day.

 

[sikora]

Lately I've been shedding a WHOLE lot from my ends. If I finger comb my ends about 10-15 strands come out. I could do this 3 times a day and it will happen.

 

[Cichelle]

I just had a rather traumatic experience yesterday. I normally wear my hair in a bun (see avatar) and over the last month I have washed, conditioned and pulled back to dry overnight and then woke up and tucked hair in bun - all without detangling my hair.

Fast forward to yesterday, I went to detangle it and sections of my hair were actually dreds. I could not get a comb through it. I was practically in tears becaus HUGE clumps of my hair were combing out. I would see golf ball sized balls of hair with straight ends combing out. I had to detangle it this time, so I coated my hair with CPR so I could get a comb through it. I just new that 25% of my hair had come out.

Turns out my hair is fine, but that taught me a lesson, even if I am doing the bun, I still must detangle. I shed alot of hair evidently and I need to help it along or it will get caught in my hair and cause serious damage.

I had to learn this lesson too. There is no way I can get away with detangling infrequently.

 

[Katt73]

I just had a rather traumatic experience yesterday. I normally wear my hair in a bun (see avatar) and over the last month I have washed, conditioned and pulled back to dry overnight and then woke up and tucked hair in bun - all without detangling my hair.

Fast forward to yesterday, I went to detangle it and sections of my hair were actually dreds. I could not get a comb through it. I was practically in tears becaus HUGE clumps of my hair were combing out. I would see golf ball sized balls of hair with straight ends combing out. I had to detangle it this time, so I coated my hair with CPR so I could get a comb through it. I just new that 25% of my hair had come out.

Turns out my hair is fine, but that taught me a lesson, even if I am doing the bun, I still must detangle. I shed alot of hair evidently and I need to help it along or it will get caught in my hair and cause serious damage.

Lesson learned...
I'm glad it worked out okay!

Thanks for responding to my first poll, ladies!

 

[Cbgo]

I really need to read this board more often. I shed alot of hair, usually between 30 to 50 a day.

 

[SouthernTease]

Not much but I don't count... I just don't care I guess.

 

[Energist]

My hair shed depends on the way I choose to dry my hair after washing.

If I air dry, I get a lot of shedding for the remainder of the week until my next wash. I mean it could be like 30 strands a day or so. I don't count, but it's enough to make me feel uncomfortable about it.

If I choose to rollerset and dry underneathe a dryer, then I will shed under 5 hairs a day until it gets close to needing me to wash, which will be close to 10 or 15 hairs.

Also, while my hair is wet in the shower and while combing through afterwards, I don't get much shedding. NO more than 15 strands come out.

 

[Serenity_Peace]

It's been very difficult, but I think this low/no-manipulation challenge has really been helping me to keep the hairs on my head. (thanks, sareca ). So I don't comb my hair daily. I use my daily leave-in, then seal the hair with a light oil and the ends with castor oil. At night, I do this, then tie my hair up with a scarf. In the morning, I do the same thing, smooth with my fingers, then into the boring donut bun it goes. I really think doing this and protective style causes me not to lose too many hairs. When I finally do comb during wash days, I may lose about 20-30, but we're really suppose to lose 100 hairs a day. I think that small amount is actually not too bad. I'm sure that I'll lose more due to normal shedding.

 

[OneInAMillion]

My hair shed depends on the way I choose to dry my hair after washing.

If I air dry, I get a lot of shedding for the remainder of the week until my next wash. I mean it could be like 30 strands a day or so. I don't count, but it's enough to make me feel uncomfortable about it.

If I choose to rollerset and dry underneathe a dryer, then I will shed under 5 hairs a day until it gets close to needing me to wash, which will be close to 10 or 15 hairs.

Also, while my hair is wet in the shower and while combing through afterwards, I don't get much shedding. NO more than 15 strands come out.

This sums me up to a T. That's why I don't like to airdry so much, because I see the strands coming out all the time.

 

[growinstrong]

OT, SouthernTease your hair is gorgeous and has grown so much in such a short time. Keep up the good work

Not much but I don't count... I just don't care I guess.