Normal Hair Loss in Men

Performing a standardized 60-second hair count is a reliable method for the assessment of normal hair loss in men, according to a report in the Archives of Dermatology.

At this time, there is no generally accepted or standard method for assessing the number of hairs shed every day.

The widely held belief that it is normal to shed 100 hairs per day is based on the assumption that the average scalp contains 100,000 hairs, ten percent of which are in the resting phase. However, this idea has not been scientifically validated. In addition, it does not reveal whether shedding remains constant with age or if it is similar between men and women.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, studied hair loss in 60 healthy men (half age 20 to 40 and half age 41 to 60) without evidence of baldness.

All participants were given identical combs and instructions to wash hair with the same brand of shampoo for three consecutive mornings. On the fourth day, they were asked to comb hair forward for 60 seconds and then counted hairs shed for three consecutive days. This procedure was repeated 6 months later.

Participants age 20 through 40 shed 0 to 78 hairs, with an average loss of 10.2 hairs per 60-second test. Men age 41 to 60 shed 0 to 43 hairs, with an average loss of 10.3 hairs per 60-second test.

Results were consistent on consecutive days for all participants. When repeated 6 months later in both age groups, the hair counts did not change much.

Studies of the 60-second hair count in normal women still need to be performed.

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