We hear many different myths regarding hair loss. Some of these myths are flat out wrong while others do have some factual basis to it. We recently had a client come to our clinic for a consultation and we discussed the following – My hair is starting to fall out more and more recently. My friend told me, it’s because you’re shampooing your hair too much. Is this true? “Does Frequent Shampooing Cause Hair To Fall Out?”
This can be a concern for people with dry or brittle hair. For people who have this type of hair, frequent shampooing can lead to breakage, especially if they use a drying shampoo. People of colour may need to wash their hair less frequently because it tends to be more fragile. Anyone with dry, brittle, or fragile hair, a moisturising shampoo and a good conditioner can help prevent breakage that can lead to thinning hair.
For people who do not already have an issue with their hair – It is natural to lose up to 100 hairs each day. Shampooing simply dislodges hairs that have already become detached from the follicle’s base and are ready to come out. On a day when you don’t shampoo, many of these strands will remain sitting loosely in the hair follicle, waiting until you wash to come out. The more days you don’t shampoo your hair, the more hairs you will see in the drain. You notice you shed hair in the bath or shower and decide to shampoo less often to keep from losing your hair. As a result, hair that would usually come out in the bath or shower builds up on the scalp. You’ll see even more hair loss with the next shampoo, confirming your original suspicion that shampooing causes hair loss but your panic is not warranted unless you have dry for brittle hair
Washing your daily, with the right shampoo, will not cause you to lose your hair. It actually can improve your hair health by clearing away all of that debris and giving your follicles room to grow and thrive. Keeping your hair clean and removing product, oil, pollutants, and other buildup can actually improve your hair and scalp health. Our scalp, as is with our face, produce an oil called sebum. In the right quantity, sebum can keep our skin moisturized and give our hair a healthy shine and soft texture. Too much sebum can make the scalp a breeding ground for a yeast which is a primary cause of dandruff.
One reason people may have a mistaken impression about shampooing every day is that they worry that doing so will dry their hair out, making the follicles more prone to damage and breakage. This is not caused by shampoo but by shampoos that contain too many harsh cleansers or chemicals. A shampoo that does not provide enough cleaning agents will not do you any good either. Most shampoos do a great job of threading the needle between the two. Most shampoos include mild cleansers that take care of business without leaving your hair dry or damaged.
