Standardizing the 60-second hair count.

OBJECTIVE

To define the range of normal for a standardized 60-second hair count in men without alopecia.

DESIGN

Convenience sample.

SETTING

Hospital-based practice.

PARTICIPANTS

The study included 60 healthy men (age range, 20-60 years) without evidence of alopecia.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Range of normal for a standardized 60-second hair count.

RESULTS

Among the 20- through 40-year-old men, the shedding range was 0 to 78 hairs, with a mean of 10.2 hairs. Among the 41- through 60-year-old men, the range was 0-43 hairs, with a mean of 10.3 hairs. Low intrapatient variability for hair counts was found in both age groups, indicating consistent results on consecutive days for all participants. When repeated 6 months later in both age groups, the hair counts did not change much. The hair counts were repeated and verified by a trained investigator, with results similar to those of subject hair counts.

CONCLUSION

A properly performed 60-second hair count is a simple, practical, and reliable tool for the assessment of hair shedding.