How Much Is Too Much Shedding?

Recently, in our forum, we had a question about shedding, specifically what is considered too much shedding. This isn’t uncommon as a matter of fact; there are countless times that we will see posts with pictures of handfuls of hair with the question. “Is this too much hair to loose when you are detangling?”

The first thing I have to note is that it is hard to answer that question with an honest answer without knowing the background to your shedding, especially if you really do have an enormous amount of hair in your hands.

I could say the rule of thumb is, if it looks odd to you the first time you notice it, you should pay attention every time you detangle after that.

What is considered normal shedding?

It helps to know what normal shedding is so that you can make an educated decision about what you might consider excessive shedding.

Normal shedding is when you lose at least 100 hairs per day. If you are not detangling your hair daily or if you are in a protective style for a month or more, calculate 100 times the number of days you have not detangled and that is how much hair you should expect to loose.

This sounds very technical and though it is, you really should pay attention to what your hair does normally versus when something happens that makes you raise and eyebrow.

Trust your instinct

If you are washing your hair for instance and you notice mountains of long hair strands in your tub, chances are something is wrong. If you notice pieces of hair and not whole strands, your hair is breaking rather than shedding and that is an entirely different problem.

Once you have figured out that you are in fact excessively shedding you have few choices you can make on how to treat it, but the first one we want you to always consider is how you are feeling.

Are you under any stress? Are you taking medication that might cause shedding? Are you suffering from any sort of health issue?

Once you can rule all of those things out, preferably with a visit to your doctor you can move on to trying treatment for your shedding three of which we have linked:

1. Garlic

2. Black tea rinses

3. Garlic based shampoo and Conditioner

If you have tried everything to stop the shedding and nothing is working, you will need to visit a doctor for a second opinion. Our body is a remarkable thing, when things go wrong it gives us clues that we must take heed to. Go with your gut and a little bit of education and you should be able to get that shedding under control.