You really do lose more hair in the autumn – here’s everything you need to know
IF you start to notice slightly more hair being left on your hairbrush in the next few months, don’t panic.
Rather than being a sign that you’re about to go completely bald, shedding more hair in autumn is actually totally normal.
Why? Well, it’s all to do with maintaining your body’s natural temperature.
Last year, a study published in the British Journal of Dermatology suggested that a seasonal pattern of hair loss was completely normal.
Researchers from John Hopkins and Washington University looked at Google Trends data on “hair loss” from eight countries for 12 years.
They then compared the data on a month to month and season to season basis.
Results were the same in all eight countries – people searched the internet for clues about hair loss more frequently in summer and autumn compared to winter or spring.
Co-author Shawn Kwatra, an assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told Health: “Mildly increased hair loss in the summer and fall is normal.
“This is speculative, but from an evolutionary perspective one of the roles of hair is to provide warmth.
“This would be less necessary during the summer months.”
The average person loses between 50 and 100 strands of hair per day, as part of the hair’s natural growth cycle.
About 90 per cent of the hairs on your head are in their growth cycle, which lasts between two to six years.
Once they reach the end of their growth cycle they fall out.
But if you are worried you are losing too much hair there are several things you can do.
Firstly, you should speak to your GP.
They will be able to tell you if there is anything you should worry about and discuss why you could be losing your hair – sometimes something as simple as your diet can cause your hair to fall out.
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You may be prescribed with a drug, such as Propacia, which was reportedly used by Donald Trump to prevent him from going bald.
Or there are more drastic measures you can take, such as a hair transplant which has been favoured by the likes of Celebrity Big Brother’s Calum Best.
But any kind of procedure like that should not be rushed into, you should speak to a professional first to decide if the transplants are right for you.