Hair

[Scarlett]

How much hair do you lose when you wash/comb it? My hair is long and dark so I'm sure it looks more than it is. Are there any statistics that you know of, or just from personal experience?

[Octavius]

The average human scalp has about 100,000 hairs.  People with blond hair typically have more hair (average 140,000 hairs) than the average brunette (105,000 hairs) or redhead (90,000).

Most people routinely lose between 70 and 150 hairs from their scalp each day, mainly through washing, brushing, and combing.

Scalp hair starts to thin when more hairs are lost through normal shedding than the scalp is able to renew. About 40% of the density of scalp hair has to be lost before thinning of the hair becomes noticeable.

[CiderMonkey]

i have very long, dyed red hair. i seem to lose lots when i brush it and also when i wash it. the plughole always gets blocked up! my boyfriend also has long hair and finds that he loses lots like me. i think it just looks like there is a lot because it's long.

[Octavius]

My point above is that hair falling out when brushing or combing is hair that is due to fall out anyway.  If you get to the 40% mark then their is quite likely a follcle problem.

[milly143]

your hair is constantly falling and at certain times of year when there is a climate change most people will loose more hair then usual for a short period of time, just like animals malting. If you tie your hair back alot this will also mean you may loose more due to the tension on the scalp. Try not to use lots of products that dry your hair our such as sprays and mousses.