Shed or Broken: How to Tell
One hair from your brush tells you.
Pull one hair from your brush and look at the root end. A tiny pale bulb means it shed. No bulb, and a blunt or split end, means it broke.
If It Shed
Losing 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal.
Source: American Academy of Dermatology.
Shedding more than usual two to four months after a fever, a birth, surgery, a new medicine or a hard stretch is common, and it isn’t breakage. More in When something changed.
Source: DermNet NZ.
If It Broke
- Detangle gently. Straight hair: before you wet it, starting at the ends. Waves or curls: only with conditioner in, fingers first. More in how to detangle.
- Only iron hair that’s fully dry.
- Swap tight elastics for soft ties.
- Trim split ends. In damaged hair, a split can keep running up the strand.
Stuck at One Length?
Scalp hair grows about a centimeter a month. If your length hasn’t changed, the ends may be breaking about as fast as it grows. More in Hair won’t grow past a certain length?
Source: DermNet NZ.
If it feels like more than a hair thing, trust that. Have someone look at your scalp in person. You deserve a real answer.
Related: Shedding · Breakage · Thin
Sources: American Academy of Dermatology, Do you have hair loss or hair shedding? (no date on page; checked 17 Oct 2026) · DermNet NZ, Telogen effluvium (updated Nov 2019, re-checked 17 Oct 2026) · DermNet NZ, Hair loss (hair cycle section; updated May 2023, re-checked 17 Oct 2026) · Taylor D et al. Interface Focus 2024;14(3):20230063 (checked 18 Oct 2026)
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