Two physicians say more hairs appear to enter the resting phase in late summer, and the fallout turns up weeks later.
The extra hair in the shower drain around this time of year has a name — the autumn shed — and two doctors told Elle Beauty it may be a genuine seasonal pattern rather than something going wrong.
Hair cycles through growth, rest and shedding, and research suggests more hairs enter the shedding phase in late summer and early fall, according to Dr. Robin Smith, a regenerative medicine physician. Smith said shifts in daylight may influence when follicles move into the resting phase, while adding that researchers are still working out exactly why.
Dr. Sachin Parikh, a double-board-certified facial plastic surgeon who specializes in hair restoration, described the same cycle from the follicle's side: shedding becomes noticeable when a lot of follicles happen to enter the resting stage at once. They sit there for a few months, release the hair, and new growth starts — which is why the fallout appears to cluster in certain months rather than spreading evenly through the year.
Parikh drew a line between shedding and hair loss, which are not the same thing. Smith said the point to take it seriously is when shedding is heavy, drags on, or comes with visible thinning — and that persistent fallout or a real change in density is a reason to see a dermatologist, who can rule out other causes.
