How Much Hair Shedding Is Normal?

The other night my husband pulled enough hair out of our shower drain to knit a sweater for a small child. Yes, it was disgusting, but it was totally normal, right?

I never thought I'd say that I learned something from MTV, but after watching the people on Room Raiders find hair everywhere it became clear to me that I was not the only one who shed worse than a golden retriever.  I mean, everyone's hair falls out. Whether you shed while washing your hair and then stick it on the shower wall or you're the girl that constantly has someone coming up behind you and pulling strands off the back of your shirt, everyone shed's. But how much hair shedding is normal?

Dr. James C Marotta explained to StyleCaster.com that “The average woman loses between 50 and 100 strands per day, even up to 150 in some cases.” So, before you freak out over the amount of hair tangled in the bristles of your brush, try this trick to see of you're losing the normal amount of hair.

• Grab roughly 60 strands of hair
• Run your fingers through that section of hair
• Count how many strands of hair have fallen out

According to Dr. Marotta, if 5 to 8 strands shed as you run your fingers through your hair then you are in the clear. It might seem like a lot, but that amount is completely normal.

You can check out more info on hair growth and the cause of excess hair loss on the StyleCaster website.