Overview. Like dead leaves, beginning of the season hair loss returns every year, between the end of August and of November. It doesn’t last more than 4 to 6 weeks, but that is enough to affect the morale, just as the summer holidays are ending.
For many people, beginning of the season hair loss goes unnoticed. For others, it can lead to a hair loss that is 3 to 4 times greater than during the rest of the year…
In the summer and spring, sun rays increase the secretion of the hormones that regulate the hair’s growth, and cause a reaction similar to plants’: accelerated growth during the months when the weather is hot and greater loss in September, for hair that has reached the end of its life cycle.
That is however nothing to worry about: after a few weeks, everything should return to normal: the hair should progressively decrease, and then resume to normal.
So, should the loss be treated, or is it best to just patiently wait for end of the storm? It all depends on the state of your hair. If your hair is already tending to lose in density, it is essential to follow a supporting treatment, and it is better to begin that treatment before the loss totally settles in.
'Autumn Hair Loss’ test
To do youself... before shampooing, on hair that hasn’t been washed for at least 3 days.
With your fingers spread, lay a flat hand directly on the scalp’s skin. Then, tightly close your fingers together and make them slide while pulling your hair from the roots to the tips. Put the collected hair on a piece of paper. Repeat the action at least five times so as to cover the whole of your hair.
Results. If you have a total of…
Fewer than 10 hairs:
Everything is fine: your hair loss is normal for now.
From 10 to 15 hairs:
You are more than likely starting a seasonal hair loss process. You should immediately start a treatment of vitamins for the hair, by oral intake.
More than 15 hairs:
There is definitely a hair loss process taking place. A local treatment is needed.
What are the treatments for?
Hair treatments do not act on the hair loss itself (hair that falls has already been dead for several weeks) but rather on regrowing hair in order to make it as numerous and especially as strong as the hair that preceded it. It is all about preparing the transition. It does indeed happen that such common hair loss is not totally innocent. Some hairs, if they are not helped by an external input, can grow back thinner, thus making the hair progressively more scattered and harder to brush over the years.
What an expert can see under the microscope, after a seasonal hair loss:
Healthy scalp: here, the 10 hair follicles are filled. 7 are by adult hairs, 2 by regrowing hairs and 1 by a hair that is in the process of falling, with the new hair already present.
Deficient scalp: here, out of 10 hair follicles: one is sleeping and ready to disappear and 2 are filled by excessively weak regrowing hair.
Another important factor is time. Seasonal hair loss should not exceed 4 weeks (6 at the very most). If it does, it means that another factor is the cause: it is then important to identify it.
In case of doubt ...
It is not always easy to make the difference between punctual hair loss and a longer-lasting condition on your own. If you have a doubt, the Clauderer Hair Diagnosis will let you know whether it is simply seasonal or a deeper problem that could lead, every year, to a progressive deterioration of your regrowing hair.
What triggers it?
