Home | Consult Us | Hair Loss News

Hair Loss Article

Excessive Hair Shedding - What is Causing This? - Monday, May 12, 2008

Question:

I am a 21 year old white male. For the past year and a half I have been experiencing what I can best term as hair shedding. Whenever I run my hands through my hair a bunch of piece of hair falls out. The amount of hair that falls out is much more than normal daily shedding that people generally experience. There is no history of balding or hair loss in my family and my hair has not thinned at all since this shedding began. I also had a basic test of my thyroid and everything appears to be normal. Would could be causing this excessive hair shedding?

Answer:

Well the good news is, you've been experiencing hair shedding for over a year and you haven't noticed any signs of thinning hair or loss. As you know, hair goes through cycles and shedding can be normal up to 100 hairs a day. See more about the normal hair growth cycle. But if you feel that yours is excessive, you may want to consult with a dermatologist who can examine your scalp with magnification and see what you cannot in your bathroom mirror.

Of course, androgenic alopecia (typical male pattern baldness) is progressive and can take some time for signs of balding to appear to the naked eye. Typically a 50% loss in hair density must occur before signs of balding are visually evident. A dermatologist can look for signs of hair miniaturization and determine whether or not you are going bald.

Bill (Falceros) - Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.
To share ideas with other hair loss sufferers visit our Hair Restoration Discussion Forum.