When you start seeing more hair in your brush, on your pillow, or in the shower, it’s easy to get worried. But before you jump to conclusions, it helps to understand something simple: your hair follows a cycle. Shedding is part of that cycle. The key is knowing when that cycle gets thrown off and what you can do to help it.
Let’s walk through it in a straightforward way.
Your Hair Is Always Growing, Even When You Can’t Tell
Every strand on your head goes through three main phases.
1. Anagen – Growth phase
This is the active growing stage. Most of your hair, around 80 to 90 percent, is in this phase right now. It can last anywhere from two to seven years depending on your genetics, age, hormones, and general health.
2. Catagen – Transition phase
A short two to three week period where the hair stops growing and prepares to rest. Only a tiny percentage of your hair is in this stage at any moment.
3. Telogen – Resting and shedding phase
This is when older hairs fall out so new ones can grow. Shedding 50 to 100 hairs a day is completely normal. But when the body is under stress or out of balance, more hairs can shift into this phase at once, which is when thinning becomes noticeable.
This constant cycle is why your hair grows, sheds, and renews itself over and over again.
So Why Does Hair Start Thinning?
A few things can interrupt the cycle and push more hairs into the shedding stage:
Hormonal changes
Stress or illness
Genetics and ageing
Scalp inflammation
Poor nutrition or nutrient absorption
DHT, which can shrink hair follicles
Damage to the scalp barrier
When these issues build up, fewer hairs stay in the growth phase and more slide into shedding. Over time, the hair can become finer, weaker, less dense, and easier to break. That’s usually when people start noticing a change in volume or coverage.
Your Scalp Is the Foundation
The easiest way to picture it is to think of your scalp as the soil and your hair as the plant. If the scalp is inflamed, clogged, dehydrated, or missing nutrients, the roots struggle.
Common signs of a scalp that needs help include:
Redness
Flaking
Dryness
Too much oil or not enough
Sensitivity
Areas that grow back slowly
When your scalp is healthy, the follicles can do their job properly. That’s when you start seeing stronger regrowth and less shedding.
How Active Ingredients Can Help
Research shows that certain ingredients can support the follicles and improve the conditions needed for healthier growth. Some of the most effective ones include:
Caffeine to encourage better circulation
Biotin to support keratin production
Rosemary extract to calm inflammation and boost blood flow
DHT-blocking plant extracts like saw palmetto
Panthenol and vitamin E to strengthen and protect the hair itself
Together, these help keep the hair cycle balanced, keep the follicles active, and create a healthier environment for new strands.
The Bottom Line
Your hair is constantly growing and renewing itself. When that natural cycle gets disrupted, thinning usually follows. When the cycle is supported, the hair gradually becomes fuller again.
Understanding how your hair works helps you make better choices, choose the right products, and care for your scalp in a way that actually makes a difference.
Healthy hair really does start with knowing what’s going on — and you’re already ahead by learning about it.
