How much hair is it usual to lose in the shower (gross pic attached)

[EnterFunnyNameHere]

Hi,

I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid or not... I feel like I'm losing more hair than usual when I wash it. I have always shed like a cat (!) but it just seems more dramatic, and I'm now also not sure my hair doesn't look a bit thinner all over.

But I have no idea what's "normal", hence the gross (sorry) pic! For reference I have just above shoulder length hair and wash it twice a week, so I guess at least I'm not losing this amount daily....

I have also managed to get some blood tests booked in for thyroid (am often at the low end of normal) and iron (have had anaemia before - although don't remember it affecting my hair)...

That would be normal for me, I have long, thick (thick strands plus lots of it) hair.

that looks more or less normal (to me).

I'm already feeling better for asking! I get quite anxious/paranoid about things and had a real "what if most people just lose a few strands and I'm going bald" thing happening!!

That would be normal for me at certain times of year - at other times I hardly lose any at all. It seems to be really seasonal. IME there's a reason for autumn being called fall

I loose double that then another handful while its drying😪 hair was just starting to recover post partum then i lost too much weight too quickly and what hair i had left fell out as a result. My hair was fine but i had a mane of it, i loved it. Now it's a thin rats tail😪

I have very long hair and I generally lose about that much. After conditioning I brush through and that is when I lose it.

I lost at least twice that this morning when I washed my hair (only wash it when I've been running...so 2/3 times a week). I'm always amazed I don't have bald patches, but I do have very very thick and heavy shoulder length hair that grows at a ridiculous pace.

If you have other things that could be linked to losing hair like fatigue then could be worth getting your blood checked out by GP but otherwise try not to worry.

Its a good idea to have the blood tests done. I have shoulder length, thick hair and loose about the same each time I wash mine.

In the past, I've lost a great deal more, about 3mths after starting a diet. Although both times I lost the weight slowly, ate well and no crash dieting. I had hair everywhere, it blocked the drains, was on my pillow and it felt like I was maulting when I brushed it. That lasted about a month each time before it stopped.

Have you been on a diet recently? I'm unsure how much a cat sheds, so your refernce to that is rather lost on me I'm afraid.

I have long hair. I lose approx that much whether I wash my hair a lot or infrequently.

I do wonder how I'm not bald!

My hair has always been fine, but it's much thinner than when I was younger. My pony tail is thinner than one pigtail would have been when I was younger (now 50)

It doesn’t matter what’s normal or not for other people.

You could be losing your hair whilst they may shed the same amount and not suffer from hair loss. It’s not the amount down the drain that’s important - it’s how fast you replace those hairs and whether your hair growth cycle has been disrupted or not.

In a normal hair growth cycle, your hair is constantly producing new strands so shedding is not noticeable (it’s normal to lose up to 150 strands per day!) If your hair is overall more thin, you’re probably losing your hair as it may be stuck in the telogen or exogen phases for extended periods of time.

Hmmm, I know it's not a straight comparison between people but I do feel better that it's not rare to be losing this much.

I don't think it's noticeably thinner to anyone else than before, although my ponytail is less full than in my teens! It could just be that I'm paying more attention and so over-analysing my parting!

I am feeling pretty knackered which is primarily why I want the blood tests, but I do know anaemia and thyroid can both effect hair so did wonder...

I don't think there's much I can do if it is thinning, assuming the blood tests seem ok

You can try thickening hair products which will give you an initial boost, as you haven’t lost much hair these will probably bring you back to your previous thickness!

Otherwise there’s hair supplements (iron too presumably) and scalp treatments. General stress reduction (water intake/diet/rest) will help as stress can cause hair issues.

Something to consider I guess, I would have thought aside from a temporary boost from shampoo, vitamins/treatments would just be snake oil!

Do you have any recommendations?

I could make a wig from the amount I shed from the state of the plug hole and carpet around where I dry my hair . I think that it being dark looks more too .

Yours looks normal to me .

That would be more than normal for me. Then again I have fine, thin hair that gets washed every day. I imagine that for those with long, thick hair that gets washed less often normal would look very different.

I get the hair loss anxiety. I’m about to get blood test done that I’ve been putting off for ages (amazing what vanity can do). Not only that, I find myself obsessively looking at how thick everyone else’s ponytail is and what their hairline looks like. I’m convinced I’ve got androgenetic alopecia due to thinning hair at my temples. I’m sort of embarrassed to bring it up with my GP. Ridiculous I know. I’m sure mid 40’s women worried about hair loss is an everyday occurrence for them.

I have always most at least that much and I'm not bald yet.

On average I lose a bit more than that each time I wash my hair. I only wash my hair twice a week though so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

Wearing your hair in a ponytail is also a factor, I believe. When it's tied up, the normal amount of hair you'd shed in the course of a day without really noticing doesn't fall out (the ponytail traps it in place), so when you unleash the ponytail and wash your hair it all comes out at once, and tends to look more.

that is little for me. I have medium length thick wavy hair and wash every 4 days. HTH.

That seems to be how much I lose when washing. However, after washing and when I'm brushing it I can pull about the same amount from my hairbrush in one go.
So about double amount in your pictures each hair wash.
I have thick thick hair so I can't see any difference at all

This is really helping calm my mind, thank you everyone who has posted.

@bluetongue I know exactly what you mean. Having never given my hair a second thought I am know over-analysing my parting and freaking out about how much comes out when washing - even though I've always shed quite a lot (maybe a bit more recently?) and it's never bothered me.

I had my blood tests today so will hold until I get that back, and see if it calms my mind more.

If not, I might try investing in some better quality shampoo etc. Either I'm just paranoid, in which case no harm no foul, or if it is shedding more than usual now's the time to try and do something about it!

And even taking action itself can lower the stress and anxiety, which by themselves are not hood for hair!

@lurkingfromhome that's interesting... I don't wear my hair up, but I really don't style it at all - so aside from a quick wide tooth comb each morning it doesn't get much attention.

So washing my hair/rinsing out the shampoo is by far and away the most "aggresive" thing I do.

I often find hairs on tops etc, but not like on my pillow when I wake up or anything...

I'm the same. I usually wear it in a pony, but when I don't, I hardly brush it at all when it's dry. I'm sure that also contributes to trapping the loose hairs that then all come out at once when we get in the shower.

I have quite long hair and wash it every other day - that would be fairly normal for me too. Hairdressers always comment that there is a lot of it so it can't be having too detrimental an effect! With me I think my hair tends to tangle up in the wind etc. a lot, and most of what comes out is a result of me teasing out the tangles.

Normal for me too.
My hair brush looks like I've been grooming an afghan hound.