What is telogen effluvium?
To Understand the Telogen effluvium, we should first understand the normal hair cycle. Our hair has a life cycle like leaves on trees. There are three phases in the healthy head hair cycle.
1.Anagen Phase (Growth phase):
- Hair grows half an inch every month(6 inches a year).
- The healthy head anagen phase lasts for 3–5 years; 80–90% of hair is under this phase.
2. Catagen Phase (Transitional phase):
- At the end of the anagen phase, hair enters the catagen phase.
- This phase lasts for approximately two weeks.
- The blood supply is detached from Hair follicles
3. Telogen Phase (Shedding/resting phase):
- In the telogen phase, 50–100 hair strands loosened from hair follicles. And fall out from a healthy head.
- 10% of hair is under the telogen phase.
- The hair follicles rest for 3-month, and the whole process gets repeated.
Each hair follicle is independent. Hair follicles are in different phases at different times. That’s the reason we lose hair for a whole year at various times. Therefore there is no such thing as zero hair-fall. A healthy head also sheds hair cause it’s a process.
What is telogen effluvium?
The state where an individual faces hair loss. Excessive hair shedding and hair thinning sum up the visual representation. A person sheds more than 150 hair strands in a single day for two to four months after the stressful event.
The growth phase is cut short, and most hair enters the telogen phase at the same time. In this situation, 30% of hairs are under the shedding phase. The person loses around 300 hair per day. This phase lasts for six months.
In chronic cases, a person loses hair for more than six months. It is an extreme situation where some people lose 70–80% of their hair. It is the most common type of hair loss. The question is how a person enters this situation? What is the reason behind it?
The person goes through bad events/incidents, which results in a hair fall. Severe hair loss because of stress is a sign of telogen effluvium. Not many people are aware of it and the reasons behind it.
Key-Highlights:
- Telogen effluvium is a disrupted hair-growth cycle.
- A person loses more than 150 hair strands in a day.
- The growth phase is cut short, and most hair enters the telogen phase at the same time.
- Hair shedding: hair starts falling out (clumps). It leads to the visible scalp.
- Hair thinning: The hair loses its density. Hair starts looking dull and fragile. Thin hair breaks easily.
- In TE, 30% of hairs are under the shedding phase.
- The person loses around 300 hair per day.
- This phase lasts for 6-month.
- In chronic TE, a person loses hair for more than 6-month.
Reasons for Telogen Effluvium:
- Sudden weight loss, illness, High fever.
- Improper nutrition, Restrictive calorie diet, metabolic imbalance.
- Stressful incident/event, drugs.
- Pregnancy & childbirth, menopause.
