Fall Hair Loss
Originally published on October 20th, 2016
Summer hair is amazing. That’s the time when our hair seems to be the thickest, shiniest, and most full of life. But when you start to see hair shedding in the fall, you may wonder if you should be worried about a serious problem.
Seasonal hair loss is something that almost all women go through, and normally there is no reason to be alarmed. Let’s take a look at seasonal hair loss, and how to prevent excessive hair shedding in autumn months.
Seasonal Hair Loss: Do You Lose More Hair in the Fall
Your hair follicles go through a predictable growth cycle. On any given day, 90% of your follicles are in the anagen phase, the growth stage, and about 10% are in the telogen phase, the resting stage. During this resting stage is when people shed their fully-grown hair to make room for new growth. The average person will shed between 50 and 100 hairs each day, but it goes mostly unnoticed. It’s usually only visible when you brush your hair, and there may be a few strands on your pillow or towel.
However, when the leaves on the trees start to change, so does your hair growth cycle. Beginning in October, the scalp begins to shed hair much faster — about four times faster. Whereas you may normally only notice loose strands every few days, it is normal for hair shedding in fall to be an everyday occurrence.
Science has shown seasonal hair loss to be sort of an “evolutionary leftover” from needing extra hair during the hot summer to protect the scalp from UV rays. When the weather cools down and the sun becomes less intense in the fall, all that protection isn’t needed as much, hence the hair shedding in fall.
How to Prevent Excessive Hair Shedding in Autumn
OK, so you’ve thought to yourself, “my hair is falling out more than usual in autumn.” Before you do anything drastic, remember that fall hair shedding is completely normal. Almost all women (and men, but less noticeably) lose more of their hair during the autumn months than any other time. Losing hair at 4x the normal rate seems like it’s going to change your look drastically, but usually your hair cycle will go right back to normal before it becomes visible to anyone other than you.
It is true, however, that some women lose more hair during the fall than others. It also can be hard to patiently let it fix itself. There are ways to take action. Nourishing your hair during seasonal shedding will help make sure that your hair will come back stronger than ever when the six weeks of autumn hair shedding are over.
Here are some tips you can use to minimize the look of excessive hair shedding in autumn:
Volumizing and scalp serums for autumn hair loss
Hair thickening and scalp serums are fantastic because they stimulate your follicles and make hair look thicker and healthier. We recommend the Viviscal Densifying Elixir because it contains key vitamins, nutrients and essential oils that your hair will love. This hair elixir really does wonders. It’s gentle enough to use everyday, so feel free every day to massage with hair serum for autumn hair shedding.
Deep conditioning treatment in fall
Most women don’t even need to consider deep conditioning treatments during those wonderful summer months. But in autumn, a deep conditioning routine in addition to your daily conditioner can really give your hair added thickness. Especially when you feel like shedding is taking away from your look.
A deep conditioning treatment penetrates your hair follicles and plumps them up with moisture. Moisturized hair is much less likely to fall out, so this can help minimize the amount of shedding during those drier autumn months. Make sure to choose the right type of conditioner for your hair and stay consistent with your routine.
Hair growth vitamins
Maintaining an ideal hair growth diet can be tough, especially when you feel like it’s an uphill battle during those months of seasonal shedding. Adding a hair growth vitamin ensures that you’re supporting your hair follicles from the inside out, and that you’re getting exactly how much you need. Nothing more, nothing less. We recommend the Viviscal Extra Strength hair growth vitamin because it contains all the good stuff that your scalp needs to stay healthy and grow hair at its full potential. Staying consistent with your vitamin will promote the growth of new, stronger hair.
Again, even if you think you’re shedding way more than others during the autumn, remember that everyone reacts differently to seasonal shedding. If there are no other factors in your life that could be causing hair loss, then most likely, you need to just remain patient and let nature take its course.