3 Times In Your Life When Hair Loss Is Normal

Hair loss can be a very scary thing, so much so that we often find ourselves looking at our brushes and other hair tools to ensure that we are losing just enough hair to prevent panic.

The truth is there are periods in our life when our body will lose what might look like an excessive amount hair and it pays to know when these periods are so we are not caught off guard and forced to text the nearest hair guru a picture of an obscenely large hairball. With that said starting from birth here are the top 3 times that hair loss happens and it is totally normal.

Infant hair loss

We get a ton of questions from concerned moms who are noticing that the hair that their precious bundles* of joy is falling out at rates that is enough to cause confusion. We always recommend that you consult with your child’s pediatrician but for all intents and purposes hair loss in infants is perfectly normal.

Via the BabyCenter:

Here’s why it happens: Hair has a growth stage and a resting stage. The growth stage lasts about three years, and the resting stage lasts about three months (although anywhere from one to six months is normal). During the resting stage, the hair remains in the follicle until the new hair starts coming in.

About 5 to 15 percent of hair on the scalp is usually in the resting phase at any one time, but stress, fever, or a hormonal change can cause a large number of hairs to stop growing all at once. The shedding begins when the next growth stage starts up about three months later.

A newborn’s hormone levels drop right after birth, which can cause him to lose the hair he was born with. (New moms often lose large amounts of hair for the same reason.)

Parents are sometimes surprised to discover that when a baby grows a new head of hair it’s a completely different color and texture than what he was born with.

In my own experience, my son was born with a full head of hair, lost all of it by the time he was 6 months old, and had a new head of hair by the time he was 2 years old. Again, check with the pediatrician to be sure the hair loss is normal and if it is, don’t you worry your baby’s hair will be back in no time.