• Question: if ur hair folles out dis it mine u ve cancer n wat causes hair 2 folling out . plzzzzzzzz answer im scared REALLY SCARED! help?

    Asked by queenofscience to Derek, Sarah, Tim, Tom on 22 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Tim Millar

      Tim Millar answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Hair falling out might be for a range of reasons including genetics, age, stress hormones and testosterone – the male hormone.

      Some drugs used ithe treatment of cancer cause the hair to fall out because cancer drugs target fast growing cells, and hair is one of those. Once the drugs are removed, the hair grows back.

    • Photo: Tom Crick

      Tom Crick answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Your hair falling out certainly does not mean that you have cancer — there are a number of causes, including natural breakage. However, if it is significant you should always see a doctor.

      As Tim said, hair falling out is associated with cancer, but it isn’t caused by the cancer — it’s usually the treatment!

    • Photo: Sarah Thomas

      Sarah Thomas answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Hey don’t worry! I know how you feel cos I have fine wispy hair (everyone tells me it’s like baby hair cos it’s super soft and fly-away), and I used to worry cos every time I wash it hairs come out and it’s fine enough already so I was worried about it getting thinner!

      But I found out that the average person has around about 100,000 hairs on their head (I know that’s unbelievable right?) and that made me feel a lot better!

      the number of strands of hair on a human head varies with color: BLONDE – 140,000 strands; BROWN – 110,000 strands; BLACK – 108,000 strands; RED – 90,000 strands.

      Each person loses roughly 50 to 100 strands of hair every day – so you really don’t have anything to worry about! The longer your hair is and the darker is it, the more noticable when these big long hairs fall out.

      My hair is quite brittle too so I’ve started using conditioner every day and that has helped I think to make it a bit stronger. I think it looks thicker too! hairspray is also really good for making your hair look thicker and things like dry shampoo.

      No more worries ok? Cos being stressed can make your hair fall out too! 🙂

    • Photo: Derek McKay-Bukowski

      Derek McKay-Bukowski answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      It depends on how much is falling out. For everyone, losing a few strands here or there is normal.

      Sometimes it can also depend on diet.

      As Tom says, if it is a lot (and you are still young), it is probably best to get it checked.

Comments