Whether your hair is thick, thin, short, or long, shower-related hair loss is a shared experience - and we know that the struggle is real!
Maybe you're frustrated because your hair keeps clogging your shower drain, or perhaps you're worried because your hair loss seems to be getting worse.
Either way, this article will explore why your hair falls out when you wash it and help you understand how to take back control of your hair.
Why Does My Hair Fall Out When I Wash It?
Experts estimate that every human has anywhere from 80,000 to 120,000 hairs. And each of these hair strands goes through a natural renewal cycle, part of which includes normal hair loss.
Beyond our hair's natural growth cycle, however, other factors may contribute to excessive daily hair shedding. Hair shedding is not only affected by our natural hair growth process but it can also be affected by outside influences.
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There are many other reasons why you may experience an increased amount of hair loss when you wash it. Keep reading to learn about some of the most common reasons why your hair may be falling out in the shower.
Wet Hair Means Weak Hair
Some of the hair on your shower floor may be breakage rather than shedding. Wet hair is much weaker than dry hair, and it's more prone to breakage due to the manipulation associated with washing.
When you scrub shampoo into your scalp, and throughout your hair, the combination of excess moisture and tension from the scrubbing causes hairs to break and end up in your drain.
If you brush your hair while it is wet, whether it takes place when you're in the shower or just after you get out, this issue may be exacerbated. This is true, especially if the proper detangling protocol is not followed (more on that later).
You Have Thick Hair
In general, people with more hair tend to experience more shedding than people with thin hair.
That's because if you have thick hair, you're more likely to have more hair on your head as compared to people with normal to thin hair. The more hair you have, the more your hair may shed.
Note: Some people with lots of hair think that they're losing more hair than others when they're not. If your hair is long and thick and you lose 100 hairs, it will look like you lost more hair than someone who has thin, short hair. This is true even if you lost the same number of hairs.
Certain Styles and Treatments
When you expose your hair to harsh treatments (e.g., dyeing, perming, heat styling tools), it is more likely to fall out as you wash it. If you tend to wear tight braids, ponytails, or buns, it may encourage breakage, directly contributing to the amount of hair loss you see in the shower.
Deficiencies in Nutrients and Vitamins
Your diet can also impact how much hair you lose in the shower. If you are low in specific vitamins and nutrients (e.g., vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, zinc, protein), you will likely experience more hair loss than the average person would.
How Much Hair is Normal to Lose in the Shower?
There are three main stages in the hair's natural renewal cycle: anagen, catagen, and telogen. Anagen is a period of hair growth, catagen is a period of transition, and telogen is the stage at which hair is at rest or ready to fall out.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, the average human head sheds between 50-100 hairs per day due to this process.
That figure is per day, not per wash. If you wash once a week, seven days of shedding comes out at once, which is 350 to 700 strands, or 500 to 1,000 at ten days between washes. Count the days since your last wash before you judge what’s in the drain, because a count on its own doesn’t tell you much.
Depending on how you treat your hair, you may experience increased levels of hair loss, especially when you shower. Fortunately, there are various things that you can do to help.
Start here
Is that amount normal?
Pick up a few strands from the drain, look at the end that came from your scalp, and find the row that matches.
| What it is | How to tell it’s yours | What to do | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal shedding | Most strands are your full length and carry a small pale bulb at one end, and the pile roughly matches your wash gap at 50 to 100 hairs for every day since your last wash. | That’s normal, and nothing needs changing. A week between washes adds up to 350 to 700 strands in one go. | Every wash day, and it doesn’t thin your hair. |
| Breakage | The pieces are short rather than your full length, they have no bulb at either end, and the tips look frayed or bluntly snapped. | Don’t detangle dry. Work on wet hair after a slippery product, from your ends up to your roots, using your fingers or a wide-tooth comb rather than a narrow bristle brush. | Fewer pieces within a few wash days. Damaged ends keep breaking until you trim them. |
| Shedding spike | The amount genuinely jumped, starting a few months after childbirth, an illness or high fever, surgery, losing 20 pounds or more, coming off birth control, or a long stretch of stress. | Handle your hair gently and give it time. This temporary surge, which doctors call telogen effluvium, shows up months after its trigger, so look back a few months for the cause. | Usually settles within six to nine months. |
| See a dermatologist | You can see scalp where you couldn’t before, your part is widening, the shedding has run longer than six to nine months, or there’s itching, pain, flaking, or visible inflammation. | Book an appointment. This is the one a chart can’t sort out for you, and the sooner treatment starts, the better it tends to go. | Depends on the diagnosis. |
Most wash-day piles hold some shed hair and some broken pieces. Go by whichever kind makes up the bulk of yours.
Top Tips to Reduce Hair Fall in the Shower
While some hair loss in the shower is normal, too much shedding might mean you need to do something differently. Being mindful of your hair care routine is essential: hair fall could be related to how you wash, moisturize, and style your hair or the products you use.
Continue reading to learn more about several transformational habits that you can start immediately to establish and maintain a healthy head of hair.
Avoid Brushing Wet Hair Without Detangler
Detangling your hair in the shower is often frowned upon, but there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. You can brush your hair while you're in the shower and avoid excessive hair loss. Just keep the following tips in mind:
- Only detangle your wet hair after applying a slippery product or detangler to it. Doing so will help the brush glide smoothly through your strands.
- Don't use a narrow bristle brush. Your best bet is to start with your fingers, and if needed, use a wide-toothed comb or shower brush to finish the job.
- Be generous with your detangler and gentle with your detangling tool.
Minimize Tension as You Wash
Every time you wash your hair or detangle it in the shower, you're putting strain on it. If you tend to pull on or yank your hair while spreading the shampoo or conditioner through your hair, the tension is magnified.
Doing so can weaken and damage your hair, directly increasing the likelihood that you'll lose excessive hair in the shower. Instead of haphazardly pulling and tugging on your hair, make it a point to be extremely gentle. Treat your curls like precious wool and handle them with care.
Limit Heat Exposure
Whether you blow-dry, straighten, or curl your hair regularly, exposing your hair to heat damages it over time and affects the amount of hair fall you experience in the shower.
In a perfect world, we'd advise that you stop using heat altogether. But we realize that totally avoiding heat may not be a practical solution for you. In that case, limit your hair's exposure to heat as much as you can. It can significantly decrease the amount of hair you shed.
Take Vitamins Only If You Need Them
Vitamins can reduce hair loss when your body is actually short on a nutrient, because many nutritional deficiencies have the potential to lead to hair loss.
If your levels are already fine, extra doses aren’t likely to give you more hair. Too much of some nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin E, and selenium, has been linked to hair loss, so more isn’t safer.
Ask your doctor about a blood test before you start a new supplement, so you’re fixing a real shortfall rather than guessing. And if you already take biotin, tell your doctor before any lab work, because it can throw off some test results.
Related Articles
- What Causes Women's Hair Loss?
- How To Stop Breakage of Curly Hair
- Best Shampoos for Hair Loss and Thinning
There are many reasons you may be experiencing hair loss in the shower, and pinpointing which applies to you can help you figure out what to do next. But no matter the reason behind your shower-related hair fall, the tips listed above are a great starting point for reducing mild hair loss.
Ultimately, each of these tips will produce varying results from one person to the next, but they could really help you out.
If you believe that you may be experiencing excessive hair loss (e.g., female pattern hair loss) consider setting up a consultation with a doctor to determine the next best steps for you and your hair. We wish you the best as you rectify your hair shedding/hair loss issues.
