So instead of panicking alone in my shower—I consulted some experts. Here’s how to know if you are shedding too much hair: But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay attention to your typically shedding patterns. Understanding your hair and scalp health on even normal days is how you more easily identify issues as they come up. “Having awareness of your general hair loss per day is important. That way, if or when the time comes that you are experiencing more shedding than usual, you are able to identify quicker,” says Taylor. But just mindful: If you are one to skip daily brushing, detangling, or shampooing, you will likely see an increased amount of hairs at the drain when you do shower. This is simply because said hairs would have shed naturally over the course of a few days but instead shed all at once when you detangle hair. “Yes, if you don’t brush daily, you will notice more hair in your brush or when your shower drains after you give yourself a nice shampoo and scrub your scalp,” says Manetti. Taylor agrees, “If you don’t brush your hair every day, you will notice more hair is coming out at one time. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you are shedding too much. It just means that the hairs that have fallen out naturally are getting stuck in small bindings or knots that happen when you don’t brush your hair.”
