Have you ever heard of Fall Shed? Why does it seem like we lose more hair in the fall?
Autumn already has enough problems. Think about it: the holidays are over, the light disappears at five, and suddenly there’s this feeling that you’re supposed to have your life together. Now our hair is getting in on it too. If, over the past few weeks, your shower, pillow and hairbrush seem to have filled up with strands, welcome to Fall Shed, the very TikTok name for a phenomenon that TikTok didn’t actually invent. A certain degree of seasonal hair shedding has been scientifically observed and seems to peak between late summer and autumn. One study that followed more than 800 healthy women for six years found an increase in the number of hairs in the telogen, or resting, phase during summer. Since this phase comes before shedding, those hairs may end up on your hairbrush a few weeks or months later. So yes, if we lose a few more hairs in September, we probably aren’t imagining it. But that doesn’t mean we need to declare war on our scalp.
@lunamyosotis Seasonal shedding is normal. Don't brush too harshly, keep protective hairstyle and massage your scalp ~ #longhair #hairtok original sound - ren
Your hair doesn’t check the calendar, but almost
The thing is, our hair doesn’t collectively decide to retire in September. Every follicle follows its own hair growth cycle, moving through different phases. It grows, slows down, rests and eventually lets the hair go so the cycle can start again. The telogen phase is the resting stage and can precede shedding by quite some time. This is why autumn hair shedding could, at least in part, be the result of what happened during summer or even earlier. Why this cycle seems to follow the seasons, however, is still not completely clear. Changes in daylight and biological rhythms are among the theories, but there is no single, definitive explanation. One thing to remember, though: Fall Shed doesn’t automatically mean hair loss. Losing hair is part of the normal renewal process, and the American Academy of Dermatology considers around 50–100 hairs a day to be generally within the normal range. Even the amount we notice while shampooing can be misleading: if we wash our hair less often, we’ll simply see more hairs coming out all at once.
@hairveda Say calm, seasonal shedding is amongst us and it knows what it’s doing But why September? As summer comes to an end and the seasons change, environmental changes such as daylight, temperature and humidity can influence the hair growth cycle. For some people, seasonal changes mean more hairs enter the shedding phase around so suddenly, you notice a lot more hair in your brush and shower. It can look alarming but shedding doesn’t automatically mean hair loss. This is also why your hair care ritual matters. Oiling helps condition the hair, reduce friction and breakage and feeds to follicles to promote hair growth. There’s no need to panic, it’s time to let go! #hairgrowth #seasonalshedding #hairshedding #hairloss #haircare original sound - Belinda Russell
The real question isn’t “How much hair did I lose today?”
TikTok loves photographic evidence. Science, not so much. A full hairbrush after shampooing can look alarming, but on its own it doesn’t tell us much about the health of our hair. It’s much more useful to look at what happens over time. If we notice more shedding than usual for a few weeks and then things gradually go back to normal, it can be consistent with normal seasonal shedding. If, instead, the shedding continues for months, density visibly decreases, the parting starts to look wider, the ponytail becomes progressively thinner or areas of thinning appear, then September probably isn’t the whole story. Stress, illness, hormonal changes, certain medications and nutritional deficiencies can all contribute to hair shedding and can produce patterns that are different from simple seasonal shedding. In those cases, the person to ask isn’t the comment section under a video, but a dermatologist.
So what do we do without entering panic mode?
The anti-Fall Shed strategy is much less cinematic than the one the algorithm has in mind for us. There’s no need to suddenly buy anti-hair-loss shampoo, serums, ampoules and twelve different hair supplements. If a hair has already completed its cycle, no product can convince it to stay attached to the follicle out of sheer team spirit. What we can do is avoid putting extra stress on the hair we still have: less heat, no aggressive brushing, be careful with very tight hairstyles and handle wet hair a little more gently. A balanced diet with enough protein and nutrients is important too, while supplements generally make sense when there is an actual deficiency to be assessed with a professional. In short, Fall Shed is real, but it isn’t necessarily something we need to fight. If the leaves are falling and a few hairs decide to follow them, maybe, for once, we can just let nature do its thing. The real thing to watch isn’t an especially hairy shower, but what happens to your hair over time.
