The nights are drawing in, and there seems to be more hair in the shower drain, on your pillow and wound round your brush than there was in the summer. If that sounds familiar, you’re far from alone. A heavier shed in late summer and autumn is common, and most of the time it’s part of the normal hair-growth cycle. And shedding doesn’t automatically mean permanent hair loss. Here’s how to tell an ordinary seasonal shed from shedding that’s worth having looked at, and what we look at instead of counting hairs.
Why do I shed more hair in autumn?
Usually because more hair follicles move into their resting (telogen) phase over the summer, and resting hairs fall out a few months later. Every hair on your head goes through the same cycle. It grows for a long time, slows down, then rests. At the end of the resting phase it falls out, and a new hair starts growing in its place. Because each hair is on its own timetable, you lose some every day and never notice most of them.
The timing isn’t completely even across the year. A study of 823 healthy women who had come to a clinic worried about hair loss, published in the journal Dermatology in 2009, found the share of hairs in the resting phase was highest in summer and lowest in late winter. Resting hairs fall out a few months later, so a summer peak in resting hairs tends to show up as more hair coming out in late summer and autumn.
That’s a general pattern, not a rule. Some people notice it every year, many never do, and a seasonal shed is usually mild and settles by itself.
Does less daylight affect hair shedding?
Not in any way that’s been shown, though it does lower your vitamin D. We make most of our vitamin D from sunlight, and the NHS says that in the UK that only works from about April to the end of September, so levels can fall through a UK winter. Vitamin D plays a role in normal hair follicle function, but declining vitamin D hasn’t been established as the cause of seasonal shedding. The NHS advises everyone in the UK to consider a daily vitamin D supplement in autumn and winter, for health in general.
Is it seasonal shedding or telogen effluvium?
A seasonal shed is usually mild and settles within a few weeks; telogen effluvium is heavier, often follows a strain on the body a few months earlier, and can last for months. Telogen effluvium is the name for shedding that happens when a much larger share of hairs than usual moves into the resting phase at the same time. It usually follows something that has put the body under strain. The American Academy of Dermatology lists common triggers including childbirth, a high fever, surgery, recovering from an illness, serious stress and losing a lot of weight. Alopecia UK adds hormonal changes, thyroid problems, iron deficiency and changes in diet.
The confusing part is the delay. Because hairs rest for a while before they fall, the shedding tends to start a few months after the trigger: Alopecia UK puts it at two to four months. By then most people have stopped thinking about the illness, the house move or the difficult spring, so they don’t connect the two. Telogen effluvium is usually temporary, and Alopecia UK says it typically settles within six to nine months as the cycle returns to normal. When it carries on for longer than six months, the British Association of Dermatologists calls it chronic telogen effluvium, and that’s worth having investigated.
Roughly, the difference looks like this:
- A seasonal shed is mild, arrives around the same time of year, and settles within a few weeks.
- Telogen effluvium is noticeably heavier, often follows an illness, a big life event, a hormonal change or a change in diet or weight a few months earlier, and can go on for months.
Both are shedding: hairs coming out from the root, all over the head. Neither is the same as gradual thinning. If your worry is less about hair in the plughole and more about a parting that looks wider than it did, our guide to telling shedding from early thinning is the better read.
Will my hair grow back after telogen effluvium?
Usually, yes. With telogen effluvium the follicles generally stay healthy (the American Hair Loss Association says they are not destroyed); they’ve simply moved into their resting phase early. Alopecia UK says the hair usually grows back once the trigger has passed, and the British Association of Dermatologists that it starts to grow back naturally, though full volume can take many months.
The catch is that recurring triggers can cause repeated episodes. The British Association of Dermatologists notes it can come back if a cause such as iron deficiency isn’t treated. If you’ve had more than one heavy shed, it’s worth finding out what’s behind it.
How much shedding is too much?
There’s no exact number: a change from what’s normal for you tells you more than a daily count. You’ll often see a “normal” figure of 50 to 100 hairs a day, which is what the American Academy of Dermatology quotes. It varies from person to person, and you’ll see more on wash days, because hairs that were already loose come out together. We’ve written about how much hair in your hairbrush is normal before.
Counting hairs every morning is close to impossible, and it tends to make the worry worse. In the Scalp Clinic we look at change instead:
- Density. Does your hair look or feel less full than it did, all over or in one area?
- Parting width. Is your parting showing more scalp than it used to, in the same light?
- Ponytail thickness. Does your bobble go round an extra time, or does your ponytail feel slimmer in your hand?
- Unusual shedding patterns. Hair coming out in clumps, a patch where there’s noticeably less hair, or shedding concentrated in one place rather than all over.
A simple way to keep track at home is a photo of your parting, and one of your ponytail, taken every few weeks in the same spot and the same light. Comparing them tells you far more than a daily count.
When should I see a GP about hair shedding?
Some shedding is a reason to see your GP rather than wait for it to settle. The NHS advises seeing a GP if your hair loss is sudden, you develop bald patches, you’re losing hair in clumps, or your head itches and burns. We’d add heavy shedding that hasn’t settled after several months, and shedding that comes alongside other symptoms, such as feeling unusually tired or unwell.
We’re not doctors and we don’t diagnose. Some concerns can be improved or better managed with the right scalp care, professional treatments and home routine. Others may need further investigation by a doctor or dermatologist, and we’ll always tell you when we believe that’s the right next step.
Does what I eat affect hair shedding?
It can. Hair, skin and nails aren’t essential to your immediate survival, so when nutrition falls short, hair is low on the body’s list. Hair follicle cells renew quickly, and a review in Dermatologic Clinics links too few calories, or too little protein, minerals, essential fatty acids or vitamins, with hair loss. Your follicles need enough protein, vitamins and minerals, and a balanced diet is where that starts.
Some clients also like to support their hair from within. Glowwa Hair Food is a supplement formulated by Glowwa with hair in mind, including biotin, zinc, folate, vitamin B12, MSM, L-lysine, niacin, vitamins B5, B6 and C, and rice protein. Biotin and zinc contribute to the maintenance of normal hair. A supplement supports a balanced diet; it never replaces one, and it won’t answer every cause of hair loss, so we’d only suggest it once we’ve looked at your scalp.
How can I look after my hair during a heavy shed?
Be gentle with it: go easy on tight styles, keep heat moderate, and keep your scalp clean and comfortable. A shed is not the moment to start a new routine built on whatever an advert suggested this week.
When shedding is part of a wider concern about your hair, the homecare we prescribe often includes Nioxin, our professional partner for scalp health, thinning and shedding. For shedding, that’s often Nioxin Hair Fall Defense, a leave-in scalp serum with Sandalore, caffeine and niacinamide, as part of a supportive routine. In Nioxin’s own testing, 93% of users noticed less hair in their brush, via improved hair anchorage, and 91% noticed improved hair anchorage (average results in 8 weeks, in a double-blind clinical study with 120 panellists). That’s hair fall: hairs held more firmly, so fewer come out as you brush. Diaboost or Night Density Rescue may be part of your plan too, with Glowwa from within: our Inside-Out Method.
Which products, if any, depends on what we see at your consultation. They’re there to support your scalp and hair routine. They don’t replace a conversation with your GP when that’s the right step, and we don’t believe in simply handing you products and sending you home.
What happens at a Scalp Clinic consultation?
A Scalp Clinic consultation starts with a conversation about your hair, scalp, lifestyle, diet, relevant history and current routine, including anything that changed in the months before the shedding started. Then we use our Nio-Scope, a high-magnification digital scalp microscope with up to 1000× magnification, to take a much closer look at your scalp and hair.
That helps us assess things such as dryness, oiliness, flaking, build-up, irritation, scalp condition and changes in hair density, so we can talk through what may be contributing and the right next steps, based on what we see rather than a guess. Every member of the PeterJames team has specialist education from Nioxin around the scalp, hair thinning and hair loss, so scalp health is part of the conversation whichever chair you’re in.
If you do come in, bring photos from six or twelve months ago if you have them, and a list of any medications and supplements. They tell us far more than a description can.
More hair in the shower this autumn is usually just autumn. If your shedding is excessive, has gone on for months, or something about it doesn’t feel right, book a consultation and let’s find out, rather than counting.
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