How to determine whether hair loss is abnormal? A small experiment tells you

Our hair grows periodically, and the "life" of each hair can be divided into three periods:

Active growth period

Generally speaking, the hair at this stage is like a "growing child", growing about 1 cm per month and lasting for about 3 to 4 years.

The gradual degeneration of the "catagen"

After the growth phase ends, the hair enters the regression phase, the hair follicles begin to shrink, and the hair stops growing. This period lasts about 2 to 3 weeks.

Rest period

After the regression period, the new hair follicle cycle has not yet begun. The "silent" period in between is the resting period, during which the hair usually falls off on its own. The resting period lasts about 3 to 4 months. After that, new hair will "sprout" from the same hair follicle and repeat the next growth cycle.

At around 20 years old, there are about 100,000 hairs on the human scalp, of which about 90% are in the growth phase, about 1% are in the regression phase, and about 8% are in the resting phase. A normal person loses about 50 to 100 hairs every day, but don't worry, about the same amount of new hair will "sprout" every day. If you lose more than 100 hairs on average every day and this continues for more than three months, you must be alert and go to the hospital in time to find out the cause. Never believe the exaggerated advertisements of some businesses, and be sure to seek scientific diagnosis and treatment methods.

Common factors that lead to hair loss include: lack of nutrients; endocrine disorders; the effects of certain drugs, such as immunosuppressants, anti-tumor drugs, etc.; disease factors, tuberculosis, lupus erythematosus, etc.; mental or neurological factors, such as mental tension, excessive stress, etc.; physical and chemical factors, hair dyeing, tight hair tying, etc.; genetic factors.

So, how do you test whether you have abnormal hair loss? You may want to do a hair pulling test. Use your thumb, index finger and middle finger to gently pinch about 40 to 60 hairs from the root of the hair, and stroke along the direction of the hair. If only 1 to 2 hairs fall off, it means it is generally normal; if more than 5 hairs fall off each time, you should suspect abnormal hair loss. It should be noted that you should not wash your hair at least 24 hours before the test to avoid affecting the results.