I often hear from folks who are suddenly noticing a drastic increase in hair loss. Some of the types of comments that I hear are things like: "Suddenly, I'm noticing a lot more hair loss than normal. What could be wrong?" Or "I washed my hair one day and tons came out. Then when I styled my hair, I lot tons more. This hasn't stopped and has been going on for a few weeks. It's definitely not normal for me. Why is this happening?"
There are many potential reasons for sudden and sometimes worrisome hair loss. I will discuss some of them in the following article.
Normal Seasonal Shedding (Which Should Not Last For Very Long:)The first possibility to look at here is seasonal shedding. This happens to some people more often than others. And it's more common in the fall and in the spring. But, it generally doesn't include alarming amounts of spent hair for a long period of time. Often, by the time you notice it or really start to worry about it, you're also already starting to see some improvements. If this isn't the case or the shedding has gone on for more than a few days or weeks, it might be wise to look at some other possible causes.
The Effluviums: Telogen Effluvium And / Or Chronic TE:The next possible reason to consider when you are loosing more hair than normal is TE (telogen effluvium) or CTE (chronic telogen effluvium.) These types of hair loss usually rise to the level of shedding. You're not just seeing a few extra hairs coming out. You're typically seeing much more than what is normal for you and this usually goes on for more than a few weeks. (In cases of chronic TE, you're generally looking at over six months.)
There are many potential reasons which cause this type of shedding and hair loss. Things like hormonal changes, crash diets, stress, illness, or anything that could shock or change the body so much that it resets your hair cycles can cause this type of shedding. In some cases, the hair loss runs it's course. In other cases (like with CTE) it can really help to find and then eliminate the trigger which started the process to begin with.
Androgenic Alopecia Or AGA:I often tell people that determining when they noticed an increase in their normal hair loss can be important. If you notice the shedding in times of your life when hormonal changes come into play (like middle age, menopause, or the onset of adulthood or puberty) this can be one indication that you might be looking at AGA or androgen driven hair loss. What this means is that over time, certain people are genetically predisposed to being more sensitive to androgens. This makes it more difficult for the scalp to maintain the hair it has and to eventually regrow healthy hair (as the hair that is regrowing eventually becomes miniaturized because of the sensitivity.)
Autoimmune Conditions:Many autoimmune conditions also cause sudden or drastic shedding. Probably the one that gets the most attention in terms of hair loss is AA or alopecia areata. But you can also see changes in your hair with conditions like lupus, diabetes, graves disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Irritants Or Inflammation Of Your Scalp:Sometimes, you see drastic hair loss because you've used or tried a new hair product that has not agreed with your scalp. Also, conditions like psoriasis, eczema, bacterial infections, yeast overgrowth, or the inflammation that can go hand and hand with TE and AGA can be contributing to the shedding. Treatment is again often eliminating the trigger, going to work on lessening the inflammation, and then focusing on making sure that regrowth is healthy and is not miniaturized.
Of course, getting back to normal hair loss usually involves eliminating the case of it in the first place, unless you're dealing with something that just has to run it's course like with loosing more hair after giving birth and the like. However, even in those instances, good scalp and hair hygiene, as well as being deliberate about inflammation can help also.
How do I know all of this? Because I lived it. I knew that the number of hairs that I was losing each day was way too much and was certainly not normal. But many people assured me that I was overreacting and that everything was normal while my hair continued to thin. In the end, it was a stylist who helped me discover what was wrong. You can read a very personal story at / .
