WEDNESDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- Counting the number of hairs shed after combing for 60 seconds in the morning is a simple and reliable way to assess hair shedding, according to a report in the June issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
Carina A. Wasko, M.D., from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and colleagues determined the normal range for a standardized 60-second hair count for 60 healthy men (20 to 60 years old) without alopecia. Subjects performed the hair counts.
The researchers found that the range was 0-78 hairs (mean 10.2 hairs) for men aged 20 to 40 years, and 0-43 hairs (mean 10.3 hairs) for men aged 41 to 60 years. There was little intrapatient variability for hair counts, and results were consistent when repeated six months later and similar to subject counts when repeated by a trained investigator.
"A properly performed 60-second hair count is a simple, practical, and reliable tool for the assessment of hair shedding," Wasko and colleagues conclude.
The study was funded by Merck. One of the study authors reports a financial relationship with Pfizer.
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