People often ask me to suggest some ways to tell if they are losing too much hair or suffering from hair loss. Therefore, in the following article, I will offer some ways to try to determine if what you are seeing is normal hair loss or if it is excessive hair loss that you should be concerned about.

The hair pulling test: Often, if you go to a dermatologist’s office complaining of hair loss, one of the first things they’ll do is what’s called the “hair pull test.” Basically how this works is you take a handful of hair, gently tug, and see how many hairs come out. Basically, if your hair is actively shedding or shedding, you will see up to 10-25% (or sometimes more) of the hairs shedding. So if you took 60 hairs and pulled out more than 6, you would be determined to lose hair because 6 is more than 10% of 60. So if you took 100 hairs, you shouldn’t see more than 10 coming out.

But here’s why this is often best left to the professionals. First, it can be very difficult to determine how many hairs you really have. It’s hard to hold and tell. Secondly, it is important that you pull and don’t pull. Even the healthiest head of hair will produce a lot of loose strands if you pull hard or yank. Third, the number of hairs that come out depends on when you wash your hair. You are likely to get more strands if you wash that same day than if you wash the day before or even earlier.

Check your home and clothing for signs of excessive hair loss: There are other ways to check if you’re losing too much hair without attempting the hair-pull test (which can be complicated and may give mixed or questionable results). You can also check drain, vacuum, and dryer lint. and clothing for excess hair. It is very likely that you completed all of these tasks or chores when you were losing normal amounts of hair. So now you can just see what’s there now and compare it to different time periods when you were pretty sure your loss was normal.

Basically, if you’re shedding, thinning, or losing excess hair, there’s a good chance you’ll see more strands in the drain, on the floor, in dryer lint, in your vacuum, and on your clothes. This is quite easy to see and does not require subjective reading of the pull tests.

Examine your scalp and hair for signs of thinning or excessive loss: Another thing to do is take a look at your scalp and the overall appearance and volume of your hair. You know what looks normal to you when you run your fingers over it. You know the type of volume that is typical of you. And, you know what the part of him normally looks like. You also know how much scalp you normally see when you look in the mirror.

So, if your part looks wider or you’re seeing more of your scalp sticking out, these are all good indications that you might be losing or thinning out excessively. Also, if your hair is long, you may notice less to work with when you put it in a ponytail or try updos. This is because there is less to work with and this is often noticeable when compared to weeks and months past. Also, if the overall volume is low and your hair looks limp or flat, this could also be a cause for concern.