Losing More Hair Than Usual? Here’s What Might Be Going On
A reader wrote in with a simple question: “I’m shedding hair all of a sudden. What could be causing it, and when should I worry?”
Sudden hair shedding can feel dramatic, even when it’s temporary. It’s also easy to miss what normal hair loss looks like when you see a clump on your pillow, in the shower, or on your brush.
It’s important to know that the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) says shedding 50 to 100 hairs a day is typical for many people. So if that’s what you’re experiencing, you’re very much in the normal range.
However, if you see a big jump in daily shedding, that could be telogen effluvium. It often shows up after a stressor, for example, significant weight loss.
Common hair shedding triggers
When it comes to telogen effluvium, information from the AAD shows that related hair shedding often stops as the body readjusts.
A key thing to know is that hair loss may show up months after the stressor, not necessarily within the same week. It’s often the delay that leads people to not connect the cause to the sudden hair loss.
For example, the AAD states that postpartum shedding can peak months after birth and is usually temporary, with fullness often returning over time.
Some of the usual suspects:
- Frequent high levels of stress, for example, a job with lots of pressure.
- Rapid weight loss.
- A recent high fever or a serious illness.
- Surgery.
- Changing medications or stopping certain hormones, including birth control.
Another potential cause of hair loss might be your hairstyle and products. For example, tight hairstyles that pull for weeks or months can lead to traction-related loss.
The Mayo Clinic notes that repeated tension from certain styles can cause traction alopecia.
Medication can also cause hair loss, for example, stopping birth control. The AAD warns that stopping a medication suddenly can cause side effects, so the safer move is a quick call to your doctor first.
When to contact your doctor
When monitoring your hair loss, the time to contact your doctor is when:
- Shedding keeps going for months and is stressing you out.
- Bald patches are appearing, and they’re spreading.
- You experience itching, pain, redness, or oozing on the scalp.
- You’re seeing a fast-changing hairline, especially a receding hairline in women.
- The hair loss coincides with medication you recently started, stopped, or changed.
Several major health channels highlight the above, including the Mayo Clinic, which lists patterns like circular bald patches (sometimes with itch or pain beforehand) and also flags scaly patches that spread on the scalp as a possible sign of ringworm.
WebMD reported that hair loss can be linked to a long list of conditions, and that’s why sudden shedding sometimes needs a medical check instead of guesswork.
Harvard Health found that thinning and shedding in women can have many causes, including genetics, hormone shifts (including menopause years), thyroid problems, and inflammatory scalp conditions.
As some inflammatory conditions can scar and lead to more permanent loss if ignored, it’s best to see your doctor sooner rather than later.
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