Why Does My Hair Shed Sometimes More Than Normal?

Here in our Bondi Junction hair salon

we have been getting a great response from these pages, and our hairdressers have been asked so many times on this particular one. So given that August is National Hair Loss Awareness Month I thought what better topic to cover than this!?So here are some of the basics: Most of us can expect to lose between 50 to 100 hairs each day. But because our hair lives in a state of constant cyclical movement, chances are at different stages throughout the year our scalp will naturally shed more than we are used to seeing.

There are 3 Phases that our hair generally goes through.

These are known as:

1.Anagen – The Growth Phase2.Catagen – The Transitional phase3.Telogen – The Resting Phase

It is important to note that although at any given moment around 85% of all hairs are in one of these phases, each hair passes through the phases independent of the neighbouring hairs. When a specific hair follicle changes from resting to growth, the old hair is pushed out by a new hair. It is merely by chance that you will notice any given number of concurrent days that this happens simultaneously, meaning you find an abnormal amount of hair shedding than other times throughout the year. Unless this phase continues over weeks on end and you can see a patch occurring, most times your body is doing what it needs to do. When asked how to treat or prevent this, even our best hairdressers with more than 20 years experience here in Bondi Junction all agree, it’s best not to fight what your body is doing naturally.

1. Anagen Phase – The Growth Phase

This is the phase that lasts the longest, varying from two to six years. On average, your hair should grow 10cm each year and any individual strand of hair is generally unlikely to grow more than one meter long.

2. Catagen Phase – The Transitional Phase

At the end of the Growth phase the hairs enters into a Transitional phase which lasts about one or two weeks, during this Transitional phase the hair follicle shrinks to about 15% of the normal length. The lower part is destroyed and the dermal papilla*breaks away to rest below.

3. Telogen Phase – The Resting Phase

The resting phase follows the Transitional phase and normally lasts about 5-6 weeks. During this time the hair does not grow but stays attached to the follicle while the ?dermal papilla* stays in a resting phase below. Approximately 10-15 percent of all hairs are in this phase at an one time. At the end of the Resting Phase the hair follicle re-enters the Growth phase. The dermal papilla and the base of the follicle join together again and a new hair begins to form. If the old hair has not already been shed the new hair pushes the old one out and the growth cycle starts all over again. Thankfully we have received great feedback from these pages of Hair Tips and FAQ’s, if you have any questions you would like to ask please feel free to either contact us via the salon mailbox salon@evinaustin.com or come see us in person to speak with any of our very helpful hairdressers in our salon in bondi junction. *The dermal papilla is a group of cells that form the structure directly below the hair follicle. These cells supply nutrients to the follicle allowing the body to grow new hair.