Understanding Hair Loss: Types, Causes & When to Act

Finding more strands than usual on your pillow, in the shower drain, or wrapped around your brush is unsettling — and the internet's advice tends to swing between "it's nothing, relax" and "you're going bald, panic." Neither is helpful.

The truth sits in between. Some shedding is completely normal. But certain patterns are early signals that your hair needs attention, and acting on them early genuinely changes the outcome. Here's a clear, honest guide to the main types of hair loss, what's driving yours, and when it's worth doing something about it.

First: some shedding is supposed to happen

Your hair doesn't grow continuously. Each follicle moves through a cycle — a long growth phase, a brief transition, and a resting phase that ends with the hair falling out so a new one can replace it. Because all your follicles are on slightly different schedules, you're always shedding a little.

Losing roughly 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal. So before you worry, the real question isn't "am I losing hair?" — you are, and you should be. It's "am I losing more than I'm growing back, and is it changing how my hair looks?"

The main types of hair loss

Most hair loss falls into a handful of distinct patterns. Knowing which one you're dealing with matters, because the causes and the fixes differ.

1. Pattern hair loss (the most common by far)

Also called androgenetic alopecia, this is the gradual, genetically driven thinning that affects both men and women.

• In men, it usually shows up as a receding hairline and thinning at the crown.
• In women, it more often appears as a widening part and overall thinning across the top of the scalp, while the hairline stays put.

It's driven by a mix of genetics and hormones (particularly DHT, a hormone that gradually shrinks sensitive follicles). The hairs don't vanish overnight — they get progressively finer and weaker over years, a process called miniaturisation. This is why early action is so valuable: it's far easier to maintain and strengthen a follicle that's still working than to revive one that's gone fully dormant.

2. Telogen effluvium (stress and shock shedding)

This is sudden, diffuse shedding all over the scalp, usually a few weeks to a few months after a trigger. Common triggers include:

• Major illness, fever, or surgery
• Childbirth (very common — "postpartum shedding")
• Crash dieting or rapid weight loss
• Significant emotional stress
• Stopping or changing certain medications

The good news: it's almost always temporary. Once the trigger passes and the body recovers, the follicles cycle back to normal — though supporting your nutrition and scalp health speeds things along.

3. Nutritional and lifestyle-related thinning

Hair is one of the first things the body deprioritises when it's short on resources. Low iron, low vitamin D, crash diets, and certain deficiencies can all show up as thinning hair. This is especially relevant for busy people skipping meals, frequent dieters, and anyone with a restrictive eating pattern.

4. Scalp and inflammatory conditions

Sometimes the issue is the scalp itself — conditions like dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis, or fungal issues can inflame the scalp and disrupt healthy growth. A flaky, itchy, or irritated scalp alongside thinning is worth getting looked at.

5. Traction and styling damage

Tight ponytails, buns, braids, and extensions worn constantly put steady tension on the follicles. Over time this can cause thinning, especially around the hairline and temples (traction alopecia). Frequent heat styling and harsh chemical treatments weaken the hair shaft too, which reads as thinning even when the follicle is fine.

What makes hair loss more likely in our climate and lifestyle

A few factors stack up for many Filipinos:

• Heat and humidity mean a lot of scalp sweat, which — combined with product buildup — can leave the scalp environment less than ideal for healthy growth.
• Hard water and frequent washing can dry out and stress the hair.
• Tight, heat-friendly hairstyles worn to manage humidity add traction over time.
• Busy, on-the-go eating can quietly create the nutritional gaps that show up in your hair months later.

None of these cause pattern baldness on their own, but they can accelerate shedding and make existing thinning look worse.

When to act: the warning signs that matter

A little extra shedding during a stressful month isn't an emergency. These signs, though, are your cue to get a proper assessment rather than wait and see:

• Your part is visibly widening, or your scalp is showing through more than it used to.
• Your hairline is receding or your temples are thinning.
• You're seeing noticeably more shedding for more than two to three months.
• Your ponytail feels thinner than it did a year ago.
• There's thinning plus an itchy, flaky, or sore scalp.
• Hair loss is appearing in patches rather than evenly.

The single most important principle with hair loss is this: earlier is dramatically better. Active, miniaturising follicles can often be revived and strengthened. Follicles that have been dormant for years are much harder to bring back. Waiting to "see if it gets better" is the most common — and most costly — mistake.

What actually helps

Get the basics right

Gentle washing, a clean and healthy scalp, not pulling hair back too tightly, easing off on heat and harsh chemicals, and eating enough protein, iron, and overall nutrition all form the foundation. If a deficiency is driving things, fixing it can make a real difference on its own.

Professional treatments

When thinning is genuine and you want to maintain and improve density, non-invasive clinic treatments target the follicle directly:

• Laser Hair Regrowth Therapy — uses low-level laser therapy (red and infrared light) to stimulate follicle cell function and boost scalp blood flow, encouraging healthier, denser growth without surgery or downtime.
• Hair Regrowth Therapy — red light therapy at specific wavelengths that penetrate the scalp to optimise follicle function, ideal for early-stage thinning.
• Infinite Drip — IV vitamin therapy that supports hair health from the inside where nutritional gaps are part of the picture.

Because the right treatment depends entirely on the type and stage of your hair loss, the smart first step is having your scalp assessed rather than guessing.

How much does laser hair regrowth treatment cost?

Laser-based hair regrowth is one of the more affordable clinic options because it's non-invasive and needs no downtime. Here's what it costs per session at SOI Clinic:

Because hair grows slowly, laser hair regrowth works as a course of regular sessions rather than a one-off, so it's best to think about the total cost to your goal — your specialist will map out a realistic plan at your scalp assessment. Message us for an exact quote based on the stage of your thinning.

A realistic mindset

Hair responds slowly — it grows on the order of a centimetre a month — so any approach takes patience. Expect to think in terms of months, not weeks, and to maintain results once you have them. The encouraging part is that hair loss is far more treatable than most people assume, especially when you catch it early. The people who get the best outcomes are simply the ones who acted before the follicles gave up.

Book a scalp and hair assessment in BGC or Quezon City

If you've noticed any of the warning signs above, the most useful thing you can do is get your scalp and hair properly assessed — so you know exactly what type of hair loss you're dealing with and what stage it's at, while your options are widest.

We have branches in BGC, Taguig and Quezon City, open daily from 10am to 9pm. Learn more about Laser Hair Regrowth Therapy or message us on WhatsApp.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Sudden, patchy, or rapidly progressing hair loss can have medical causes and should be assessed by a professional.