Every hair grows in a repeating cycle of three phases: growth (anagen, 2–7 years), transition (catagen, a few weeks) and rest (telogen, about 3–4 months), after which it falls out and a new hair grows from the same follicle. Because each follicle runs on its own timetable, losing 50–100 hairs a day is normal.
Medically reviewed by Prof. Irakli Bebiashvili, MD, PhD · Updated 2026-10-14
Cells at the base of the follicle divide quickly and build the hair shaft. The length of this phase decides how long your hair can grow, which is why some people can grow hair to the waist and others cannot.
Growth stops. The follicle shrinks and the hair detaches from its blood supply at the base, becoming a “club hair” that stays in place for now.
The follicle rests. At the end of this phase the old hair is released, often pushed out by a new hair starting to grow beneath it. Some sources call the release itself a fourth phase, exogen.
50–100 hairs a day is normal. The follicles are not synchronised: while most hairs are growing, a few thousand are resting, and each day some of them reach the end of that phase and fall out. You notice them in the shower, on a brush or on the pillow.
It is worth seeing a doctor if:
A shock to the body – high fever, surgery, childbirth, a crash diet or severe stress – pushes many hairs into the resting phase at once. Shedding starts 2–4 months later and usually settles within 6–9 months once the trigger has passed.
How shedding is diagnosed →In genetically sensitive follicles, the hormone DHT shortens the growth phase cycle after cycle. Hairs grow back finer and shorter until the follicle stops producing visible hair. It does not reverse on its own.
Pattern hair loss in men →The immune system attacks growing follicles and they drop into the resting phase, leaving round bald patches. The follicles usually survive, so hair can regrow.
Treatment options →Transplanted follicles keep the cycle of the donor area they came from. After surgery most of the transplanted hairs shed within 2–4 weeks while the follicles rest. New growth starts from around month three, visible density arrives by month six and the final result is assessed at twelve months. The shedding is expected; it is the cycle restarting.
See documented results →Losing 50–100 hairs a day is normal. Those are hairs at the end of their resting phase, and most are replaced by new hairs already growing in the same follicles. More than that over several weeks, or visible thinning, is worth having checked.
On the scalp, the growth phase (anagen) lasts about 2–7 years, the transition phase (catagen) a few weeks, and the resting phase (telogen) about 3–4 months. At any moment about 85–90% of scalp hairs are growing and 10–15% are resting.
A major stress moves many growing hairs into the resting phase at the same time. They only fall out when that phase ends, so the shedding appears 2–4 months after the event. This is called telogen effluvium and usually recovers within 6–9 months.
Scalp hair grows about 1 cm a month on average, roughly 12–15 cm a year. The rate varies between people and slows with age.
Yes. Transplanted hairs keep the cycle and the resistance to pattern hair loss of the donor area they came from. Most of them shed 2–4 weeks after surgery, the follicles rest, and new hair starts to grow from around month three. Visible density arrives by about month six and the final result is judged at twelve months.
Some treatments act on it. Minoxidil is thought to lengthen the growth phase, and finasteride lowers the DHT that shortens it in pattern hair loss. Neither creates new follicles, which is why they work best while follicles are still producing hair.