Hair Loss Advice: Why Does My Hair Fall Out?

Hair loss advice is this week’s beauty question answered: Why does my hair fall out? A client and friend in for her regular haircut asked the above hair query and it was fitting for this Wednesday’s column.

Happy Hump Day hair and beauty lovers and welcome to another edition of advice from Ask the Pro Stylist, answering reader’s and client’s questions. This week we touch on hair loss and what is left behind in the sink, on the pillow and in the hairbrush.

Why does my hair fall out? When I wake up in the morning I am sweeping it off of my pillow.

There really is nothing to be alarmed at.  We lose hair naturally every day. The average adult loses about 100 hairs per day, which isn’t cause for concern since approximately 90% of the hair on the scalp is growing at one time, replenishing the hair loss.

Hair loss is also seasonal, yes we are animals and we tend to shed slightly more in the warmer months. Pregnancy will slow hair loss, with many women reporting thicker, fuller hair while carrying and an increase in hair loss following delivery. (Breast feeding and continuing with prenatal vitamins tend to counteract that-not in all, but definitely in some women)

Noticing more hair on the pillow may just be restless or stressful sleep akin to grinding the teeth at night. Hair that is in need of a cut and chemically processed hair will fall out more rapidly than untouched hair.

Other mitigating hair loss factors include diet, illness, antibiotics and genetics, which are a few of the causes as to why men and 50% of women over age 30 lose their hair and may become bald or thin sporadically.

If hair loss seems to be more than what has been mentioned, if it comes out in clumps with visible bald spots, then the first step is visiting a physician to find out the cause and if there is an available treatment or if there is a possibility of the hair growing back.  If a general Alopecia is diagnosed, then visit your hairstylist for cosmetic and holistic options.

If you have a question similar to the hair loss one above that you’d like to see featured here next week, then please email me at DeirdreAHagerty@gmail.com

©Deirdre Haggerty, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this article may be reproduced without prior written permission and consent from the author.