Losing over 10 hairs per day could be excessive

A recent Merck study [1] has concluded that to lose just 10 hairs a day is normal; any more may be considered excessive despite a widely held belief that to lose up to 100 per day is 'the norm'.

Commenting on research funded by Merck & Co. Dr. Jeffrey Miller, senior author of the study and associate professor of dermatology at Penn State College of Medicine has suggested that that losing a hundred is 'probably too high' [2].

The study
'The research study examined 60 healthy men whom did not have indications of male pattern baldness. Thirty of the subjects were aged between 20 and 40; the remainder were aged between 41 and 60.

Younger men shed an average of 10.2 per 60-second test and the older men shed an average of 10.3 hairs per test.

Identical tests were taken six months later in each age sector, the hair counts did not change much. The hair counts were repeated and verified by a trained investigator, with results similar to those of subject hair counts.

It was concluded by researchers that the low variability between the test results, both over time and across age groups suggests that the 60-second hair count is a simple and practical tool for assessing normal vs. problem hair loss in men. [3]

So what is 'normal' hair loss?
Until now there has been no standard method of checking the number of hairs lost per day but the assumed average 'daily hairs lost' figure amongst experts has been around 100.

This figure of one hundred was originally based on knowledge that people have an average of 100, 000 hairs, 10% of which are in the telogen stage of their growth cycle.

[4] There's more comprehensive info in our FREE Hairsense eBook.

References and credits
[1 - 2] "Countdown to Hair Loss" Kroger Website Health Section, http://kroger.staywellsolutionsonline.com/RelatedItems/
6,616575, Accessed 19/11/09
[3] "Standardizing the 60 Second Hair Count", Archives of Dermatology http://archderm.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/
144/6/759 Accessed 19/11/09
[4] "You and your hair" Hairsense 2009 eBook http://www.hairsense-online.co.uk/book.html  Accessed November 2009.

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