Hair on a person’s scalp always undergoes three phases: 1. Anagen phase 2. Catagen phase 3. Telogen phase Anagen is termed as the growing phase for hair. At any given time, at least 85% of a person’s hairs are actively growing. Usually a hair is in anagen phase for about 4 years. Then catagen phase cause the end of the anagen phase and marks the beginning of the telogen phase. So catagen phase is the transition period. The hair in telogen phase are resting and eventually in 3-4 months fall out allowing new hair to grow. So, an average person loses about 100 hair a day. Telogen effluvium is triggered by:
- Weight loss
- Surgery
- Change in diet
- Hormonal changes
- Iron deficiency
- Hypothyroidism or Hyperthyroidism
- Fever or infection
- Physical or mental trauma
Telogen Effluvium is a common form of hair loss in men as well as women. When a person experiences shock or has a mental trauma, more hair (about 35%) stop growing and go into the resting phase. This results in the gradual thinning of the hair. So, if a person is experiencing Telogen Effluvium then the person will lose about 350 hair per day instead of 100. Because the hair takes 3-4 months to shed, most of us will not realize that Telogen Effluvium is triggered until after 3-4 months of the actual incident. You may be scared of losing most of such hair in a short amount of time, but this condition is usually temporary. Each hair that falls off is replaced by a new hair so you may not face the problem of baldness.