Most men face hair loss in their lifetime. Many notice how much hair they lose when they look at their shower drain. Is it severe to lose hair while showering? How much hair are we supposed to lose every day before risking baldness?
Here is everything to know about losing hair in the shower!
Table of Contents
Losing hair in the shower: why do we lose hair?
Even without baldness pathology, we lose hair every day. Hair follicles, like any other cell of our body, hair follicles have a life cycle. The hair life cycle counts three steps:
- The anagen phase is the hair’s growth period. Most of our hair follicles are in this phase.
- The catagen phase is a transitional phase: the hair stops growing and stops receiving blood supplies. This phase lasts for two to three weeks. The catagen phase concerns 10% of our hair.
- The telogen phase is the last one of the hair life cycle. It is a resting period, the hair is dead (it does not grow any longer), but it remains attached to the follicles for a few weeks before falling. Once felt, the cycle starts over. About five to ten percent of the hair is in the telogen phase.
Of course, the percentages do not concern the same hair. The hair follicles are not synched; otherwise, we would have moments we would be utterly bald before our hair starts to grow again.
Why are we losing hair in the shower?
Losing hair in the shower is not always a big deal. It is normal to lose hair every day, complete the hair life cycle, and naturally fall without pathology or problem. Shower time and especially shampoo time stimulate the scalp, so we lose more hair in the shower than in other activities. Shampooing or brushing hair helps remove the dead hair, letting the hair follicle grow a new one. Not washing hair for a few days leads to a more significant hair loss during the next shampoo because of dead hair accumulation.
A good piece of advice to not lose too much hair in the shower and avoid clogging your shower drain is to brush your hair before washing it to remove most of the dead hair.
Losing hair in the shower: stress and increasing hair loss
Stress is a well-known hair loss cause. Stress causes a hair condition known as telogen effluvium. Significant stress, such as a traumatic experience, disease, or tiredness, may lead your body to “save energy,” and just like the trees lose their leaves in fall. The body turns many hair follicles to rest mode, aka the telogen phase of the hair life cycle. It is not noticeable at first, but three months after the triggering event, the hair fell in dramatic quantity.
This condition is impressive but temporary. Most people experiencing telogen effluvium get their hair back in the following months. However, in some cases, telogen effluvium may be chronic.
Losing hair in the shower: how to prevent hair loss?
Hair loss prevention depends on the cause. For telogen effluvium, the best way to prevent it is to eat healthily, be physically active, and find a way to manage stress.
However, there is no way to prevent it for other conditions such as androgenic alopecia, as it is a hormonal-related disorder.
Androgenic alopecia is due to androgen, a male hormone. 70% of men experience this type of hair loss in their lifetime. The only way to get your hair back when you suffer from androgenic alopecia is to do a hair transplant.
Hair loss may be due to an autoimmune disease such as alopecia areata, alopecia Totalis, or Universalis. Better seek medical attention if the hair loss persists without apparent reason.
