When it comes to hair loss, most people know about androgenic alopecia (AGA). But there's another kind of hair loss that is perhaps more common than AGA: telogen effluvium.

Telogen effluvium (TE) is a hair shedding disorder. It occurs when ≥ 20% of our scalp hair enters into the shedding stage of the hair cycle. In many cases, this leads to excessive hair shedding and a visible loss in hair density.

Here's what people need to know about telogen effluvium (TE):

Fact #1: It occurs on a spectrum.

On the one hand, almost everyone in the Northern Hemisphere experiences a bout of telogen effluvium (TE) each year. It's called seasonal hair shedding, and it's caused by shifts in UV radiation that lead to a delayed telogen release (and excessive shedding) in July and August. For most people, this shedding is cosmetically imperceptible... even though it's still technically TE.

On the other hand, extreme stress, nutrient deficiencies, and disease states can trigger severe bouts of TE – whereby people lose 50% or more of their hair.

Fact #2: It can accelerate AGA.

TE is considered temporary. However, the shedding that occurs from TE can actually feed into (and accelerate) the onset of AGA. This is why so many hair loss sufferers confuse hair loss "cause" and "effect" – for instance, a bout of stress triggering telogen effluvium, which unmasks androgenic alopecia. More on this in the video.

Fact #3: Hair loss companies use TE to "cheat" in randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials.

First, they often manipulate the definition of TE to exclude this hair loss disorder at its extremes, but include patients with subtle TE from nutrient deficiencies. That allows them to achieve hair count improvements with patients taking nutritional supplements.

Secondly , they often design clinical trials for low-level laser therapy (LLLT) devices heading into periods of seasonal shedding... because they suspect those laser devices might protect against delayed telogen releases because of the UV wavelength overlap shared between LLLT devices and the sun.

This video dives into all of the details. I hope you enjoy it!

//Get A Free Course On Achieving Hair Regrowth, With Or Without Drugs//
https://perfecthairhealth.com/email-c...

About Rob English:
-Editorial board member of Dermatology and Therapy
-Medical editor specializing in hair loss disorders
-Peer-reviewed publications: https://perfecthairhealth.com/publica...

0:00 – Intro
1:10 – What Is Telogen Effluvium (TE)?
3:14 – What Causes TE?
5:53 – How To Cheat Clinical Trials With TE
7:40 – Example #1: Nutraceutical Supplements
9:17 – Example #2: Low-Level Laser Therapy
11:51 – How To Identify TE
14:07 – TE Can Accelerate Androgenic Alopecia
15:25 – How To Treat TE