Does your brush yield tumbleweed-sized hairballs? Not to worry – some daily hair shedding is completely normal ... But how much is too much?

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, shedding of about 50-100 strands of hair per day happens to most of us. While that may sound excessive, we have over 100,000 follicles on our heads so that's a mere drop in the bucket.

What can you do to slow down hair shedding?

Turns out, many things that we do on a regular basis could be making us shed more hair than we should be. Here are some things you can avoid to make your hair stay put.

• Brushing or combing your hair when wet. If you have curly hair, you should comb your hair when wet, preferably with a wide-toothed comb. Everyone else should wait until it is dry to work out those knots.
• Wearing tight ponytails or buns. This goes for both women and men – the undue stress on your locks isn't good.
• Blow-drying your hair too frequently. Switch it up and let it air dry or set your blow-dryer on cool every now and then.
• Wearing tight hats every day. Like a ponytail, a tight hat is ultimately going to put pressure on your hair follicles, and you don't want that!

What is the difference between regular hair shedding and actual hair loss?

Permanent hair loss occurs when the hair follicle simply stops growing hair – it's not the daily shedding of a strand here or there. One of the most common causes of permanent hair loss is heredity. In both men and women, hereditary hair loss can cause visual patterns on the head.

Some medications like chemotherapy or radiation therapy drugs also cause hair loss. In some cases, after the treatment is stopped, the hair can begin growing again. If you feel like you have true patterned hair loss, consult your dermatologist to see if anything can be done.

Bottom line, retire your thermal hair tools, stop pulling your hair, and don't sweat the small stuff. We're all losing it eventually!

**All photos in the article are courtesy of Unsplash.

Have you experienced accelerated hair shedding or permanent hair loss? Did you try anything to slow it down? Let us know in the comments.