How Much Hair Are You Supposed to Lose Per Day?

By Kelly Conaboy November 16, 2016

And how to make sure you’re in the normal range.

A friend has been asking me to write this blog post for a long time, and I’ve decide to indulge her either because I don’t have another idea or because I am a committed public servant. How much hair is a woman supposed to lose per day? Incredible question.

When my friend, whose name is Leah, not naming names, asked me to write this post originally, I told her the answer right away: about 100 strands of hair. I knew this because every woman googles the question “how much hair am I supposed to lose per day” at multiple points in her life, because to be a long-haired woman is to be in a constant state of losing a stunning amount of hair, and does that mean you’re sick? It doesn’t. But don’t listen to me. Like with everything, I don’t know for sure and am just trying to remember what I read online last time and then filling in the gaps with guesses. What does online say now, this time? Let’s see. Oh but first I drew 100 strands of hair.

This is Google’s “featured snippet” about hair loss:

Womanshealthmag.com says:

In fact, the average person loses between 60 to 100 hairs a day, says Anabel Kingsley, a trichologist (a trained scalp expert) with Philip Kingsley.

Greatist.com says:

Most people have about 100,000 hairs on their heads and lose around 100 to 125 hairs per day (imagine trying to count each one).

American Academy of Dermatology says:

It’s normal to shed between 50 and 100 hairs a day. When the body sheds significantly more hairs every day, a person has excessive hair shedding. The medical term for this condition is telogen effluvium.

Bellatory.com says:

According to research, it is normal to lose 50–100 hairs every day. This may sound like a lot, but do bear in mind that we have a total of between 90,000 to 150,000 hairs on our heads.

Bustle.com says:

I spoke to celebrity stylist Ken Paves, who said that women naturally lose between 50–100 strands of hair per day. That number can increase when you rough it up with shampoo, have longer hair, or wear it up in elastic bands frequently.

OK, that’s enough. But what does 100 hairs look like, and how do you know if you’re in the normal range? Well, as I’ve already shown you, 100 hairs looks like this:

It’s silly to think you’d be able to count all of the hairs you lose per day because you’re not always in your apartment although you are there most of the time. What about the hairs you lose when you’re out of coffee and have to walk to the cafe? So here is what you do: