Who told us that it is normal to lose 100 hairs per day? In every book I’ve read on the subject, that’s what they say. And, some say normal hair loss is 100-150 hairs per day. Because that’s what I have read, I have never questioned it and have repeated it many times. I must tell you, no matter how much I have read it and re-written it myself, I have always thought that I must not be normal because I am certain I do not lose 100-150 hairs per day.

It seems like, the number 100 for normal hair loss was picked out of the air. Maybe it came from the assumption that the average head has 100,000 hairs, 10% of which are in the telogen, or resting phase. This means they are no longer growing and are getting ready to fall out. But, they are going to take about 100 days before they hit the shower floor, curl up in the sink drain or wrap themselves around the bristles of your brush. So, 10% of 100,000 is 10,000. Divide that by 100 days and, you get a loss of 100 hairs per day, the magic number.

All of this math is based on…..nothing. First of all, it’s never been proven that we even have 100,000 hairs. The number has just been passed down with no one ever questioning it. So, a professor of dermatology at Penn State College of Medicine, came up with a quick and reliable way to figure out if you are experiencing abnormal hair loss. He and his colleagues studied hair loss in 60 men, half age 20-40 and half age 40-60. All of the men studied had healthy heads of hair and no signs of going bald.

They were given identical combs and told to shampoo every day for three days. On day four, before shampooing, they each combed their hair forward over a pillow case for 60 seconds. Then, they counted the hairs on the pillow case.

The average number was almost identical for both age groups: 10.2 hairs on the pillow case for the younger men and 10.3 hairs for the older group. And, when the same men repeated the drill six months later, the counts remained the same, indicating they were in no immediate danger of balding.

It doesn’t matter what kind of comb or brush you use as log as you use the same one, says the professor. And, make sure it’s clean when you start. The range of hair loss in the study was 0-78 hairs for the younger men and 0-48 among the older men, though most lost about 10 hairs in the 60 seconds of combing.

The number of hairs on your pillow matters less than that the number remains consistent. Do this exercise three days per month, and track it for six months. If the numbers of hairs shed remain consistent with each 60-second comb-out, you’re probably not “over shedding”. But, if there is a big increase, you might want to consult a dermatologist for an evaluation. As we have discussed, there can be many factors for hair-loss including thyroid issues, low iron levels and elevated stress levels.

So, I may have to re-think things before writing again that normal hair loss is 100 hairs per day!