Temporary hair loss
Why do we lose our hair everyday? It is frequent to find some hair on the pillow, on our clothes, in the shower or a little bit everywhere in our house. It is thus normal for us to lose our hair everyday, this phenomenon isn't disturbing in itself. Hair is a living organ of the human body, and as such it is normal that it dies and falls in order to be able to start its cycle again.
Temporary loss of hair
Each hair lives its own hair cycle which leads to a loss of about 80 hair on average per day.
This amount of daily lost hair can increase during the changes of seasons. This loss is scattered on the entire scalp and bears the scientific name of acute telogen effluvium. It is an important hair loss at the end of life. This phenomenon is temporary and more importantly reversible.
Events that can lead to a temporary and important hair loss
Seasonal falls
During changes of seasons, such as Spring or Fall, hair has a tendency to fall more. It is also the case during Summer as hair endures the harmful effects of UV radiation.
Thyroid problems
People suffering of thyroid problems also endure important but temporary hair loss.
Psychological causes
When a negative event occurs like an emotional shock, an important stress or mourning, hair has a tendency to endure and to fall heavily.
Trichotillomania
It is a rare psychiatric pathology when the patient pulls his hair out. This disease remains unexplained and requires complex medical care.
Food causes
A weight-loss diet without any medical follow-up can impact the general health state and the good health of hair. That's why it is always good to remind that a diet is never harmless and that it is important to be followed by a medical team.
Medical treatments
Chemotherapy, radiotherapy...often generate an important loss of hair. This loss is reversible and hair generally grows back normally at the end of the treatment.
Other causes:
They are daily habits such as : the use of hair dryer that are too hot, the abusive use of dyes or stripping colors...
In any case, this important hair loss is temporary and limited in time. In general, once the cause or causes are identified, everything goes back to normal within a few weeks or months as hair is going to grow back and follow its own cycles.
However, hair loss can sometimes be permanent. Hair starts desappearing more rapidly than it renews. In other words the hair cycle is going to accelerate, exhausting the number of cycles that each person has by nature, which will lead to the formation of thinning hair areas on the scalp. This thinning will produce bald areas which we call androgenetic alopecia, the scientific name for baldness.
