However, continuously pulling out clumps of hair or finding thin patches should raise a red flag. In general, hair loss and hair shedding refer to different things and call for different treatments—here’s how to spot the difference. So while these terms may be used interchangeably in casual conversation, they’re actually referring to completely different things. Once you begin to lose substantially more hair throughout the day, you may be experiencing excessive shedding. As Garshick says, “Excessive hair shedding may occur as a result of certain physical, emotional, or psychological stressors on the body.” The shedding generally occurs six to 12 weeks after a distressing event or time period, says consultant trichologist Anabel Kingsley. For example, ask yourself: Were you pulling on your hair? Just brushing through it? Maybe rinsing out your conditioner? Over time this will provide insight into your hair shedding patterns. An additional caveat: If you don’t brush or wash your hair daily (like many with curly hair don’t), you may notice much more hair than 50 to 100 stands once you do brush or wash your hair. This is because the hairs that were supposed to shed naturally day-by-day collect until you detangle the strands. Just another thing to keep in mind as you are tracking your shedding patterns. A few common causes of hair loss include: In addition, you may consider adding a nutrient-rich serum to the mix. There’s a plethora of hair growth serums on the market—here are a few of our top picks to get you started. In fact, in a 2016 study, a small number of men received a daily four-minute scalp massage. At the conclusion of the study, the investigators found an increase in hair thickness3. A more recent 2019 study found that of the 300 or so participants who followed a specific massage regimen, nearly 70% reported improved hair thickness at the end4. If you want to learn more about the ins and outs of scalp massage, including the how-to, check out this story. Here are 10 natural ways to reduce stress to get you brainstorming. Here, the six best hair growth vitamins, according to a scalp expert. These experts will likely look into your medical and genetic history, evaluate your diet and lifestyle, check up on your hair and scalp condition, and possibly even test your blood to figure out what factors may be influencing your hair loss.
