So there's this mythical number of 100 hairs as the standard for how much a "normal" person will lose each day... I don't know about you all, but when I get out of the shower in the a.m. I don't have time to stand around counting hairs. Has anyone seen on the web a picture of a clump of 100 hairs? Is there any other way to guesstimate the amount of hairs that are coming out?
(I suspect that I have more than 100 hairs a day, as there's usually a dollar-coin sized layer in the shower, and the comb gets full. I'd just love to be able to tell if I'm losing like 250 hairs, or 125, or what.)
Thanks!
Caitlin
__________________ Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
~ Leonard Cohen
Ok this will make me seem neurotic but I do hair counts at least once a month or if I see a change in the amount of hair in my shower hair catcher. How much 100 hairs looks like will vary depending on hair length and thickness. For me, I have fine shoulder length hair, 100 hairs is about a size of a loose dollar coin maybe.
I usually take an easy count by throwing the wet hair in the sink while I get ready, to let it dry. Once it's dry it's very easy and fast to count. For me, a good day is to lose about 80-100 hairs in the shower... I used to lose 200+ in the shower before Rogaine, Met and Diane-35 bcp!
__________________ PCOS w/ insulin resist, Iron deficiency anemia, Hyperlipidemia Metformin Iron Welchol
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It will also depend on how long your hair is. My hair is definitely thinning, but I also have long hair and I thought I was losing a lot more than I actually am (because there is always a big blob of it in the drain haircatcher) until I actually counted it for a week. I lose 50-75 hairs in the shower, and maybe 20 more throughout the day. The problem is, my shedding used to be *much* worse (I would run my hand through my hair and near-clumps of it would come out), and, while it has slowed and may even be regular now, it never "recovered" from the big losses of the past.
I haven't been successful in finding anything else, but it makes you curious as to how accurate that is
Thats interesting, thanks for posting. Thats pretty much what my shower wall looks like, and if I dont brush or wash my hair for a few days, its much more.
Which brings me to my problem; I have been losing ALOT of hair. Strands and strands just fall out, during showering and then when I'm combing afterwards. But this never happened until I was diagnosed and found out hair loss was a symptom. I was depressed about the diagnosis off the bat and I came on here and in my first post I complained about the hirsutism so I know I wasn't even thinking about hair loss until I talked myself into it. About 3 months after my diagnosis and constantly stressing out about going bald my hair really began falling out. I was having nightmares about my hair falling out, and it wasn't happening, but then it started! But it's still thick so I don't know whats going on. I can't go and complain to anyone about thinning hair because it doesn't look like its thinning. But I can't stand seeing all the hair. I put my hair in a bun and leave it that way for a week, or more. Then I have a nervous breakdown when I take it down and all the hair falls out. Apparently doing a bun all the time makes hair loss worse; I know if i just let it loose, like I used to before this phobia began, my hair would get a break. I know i should brush it everyday but i have become too scared to; even seeing a few hair strands makes me hysterical. It's just getting ridiculous.No
one takes me seriously,My Mom has thick hair and also loses TONS in the shower, the other day she called me in to show me, and then she made me watch her comb her hair afterwards and loads fell out again. She doesnt' have PCOS and we have the same hair thickness. She also says she used to have to always clean out my hairbrush because it was always full of hair- I never used to LOOK, and I'd lazily just leave all the hair in there, so only Mom knows how much would be there. And whenever I used to lose hair while i shampooed or brushed, I'd be relieved because my hair was so heavy. Now its just a major source of anxiety - so much falls out but my volume hasn't decreased so I don't know what's going on.
Heres my hair 4 years ago.
Here's my hair now.
I don't know what to do; if I do go on a med for hormones, and the hair loss is just natural shedding, I wont be able to stand it. Seeing my hair strands (unless its on my head) makes me sick. I do have alot of hair, and daily shedding is unavoidable. And if its stress, a med wont help either. I just don't want to go on medication if I don't need to. And a med wont stop natural shedding, right?
Its got to the ridiculous point where I don't want to wash, brush, or do anything with my hair anymore. What I need to do is stop putting it up all the time, and really see what my daily loss is. Leaving it up for a week, or two, then taking it out and having a nervous breakdown seeing all the hair fall out, is not helping.
I know this is sooo long, sorry ladies. But I had to get it out. I don't know if I need a doctor or a psychiatrist.
I haven't been successful in finding anything else, but it makes you curious as to how accurate that is
OMG! If that's one hundred hairs, I must have lost about 250-300 before!
It makes me wonder how long it would be before it's all gone! I use rogaine and it has stopped falling out. I still see some hair loss but I guess it could be worse if I wasnt making some efforts to cause it to stop...
I have also been curious about how to determine how many hairs I am losing a day. I have always had thick full hair, and keep the length just past my shoulders in the summer, and to the middle of my back in the winter months.
My friend commented that my hair was getting so long. However, it is frustrating because my hair is so thin on the front of my scalp that you can see my scalp which I could never see before. I usually do not have a drain that catches the hair so I am not sure how many I am losing in the shower. After I comb my hair I can usually pull out a group of strands.. I am just so frustrated because my hair is everywhere!!! except on my head..
How is it that the back of my head is growing okay, and the front isn't? I am afraid to cut my hair for fear it will not grow back..
Also, I am concerned about the hair loss but wonder at times if I am giving it too much attention, which in turn is actually affirming the loss of hair, instead of focusing my energy on the hair I have and the possibility for hair growth..
how much is 100 hairs? 
