A healthy and happy beard should be effortless, right?

But for anyone who has tried to grow and maintain a healthy amount of facial hair, you’ll know that it is often easier said than done. 

If you’ve ever looked down on your shirt, desk, or pillow only to notice a disconcerting number of beard hairs laying there, then you may have experienced beard shedding. 

To help you understand and rationalise what can be a concerning discovery, we have put together this comprehensive guide to beard shedding that explains all. 

What is beard shedding?

Beard shedding is a natural and normal part of growing and maintaining a beard. Just like the hair on your head, beard hair goes through the same growth (anagen), transition (catagen), and rest (telogen) cycle that causes hair to grow, settle, and then drop off your face. 

Is beard shedding normal?

Yes, beard shedding is completely normal. In moderation, beard shedding is a natural part of growing facial hair. 

But how much shedding is too much? Here is how we would classify normal vs. excessive beard shedding.

Beard shedding amount – quick guide

Low amount of beard shedding: 5-10 hairs per day

Normal beard shedding: 11-30 hairs per day

High beard shedding: 31 – 50 hairs per day

Excessive beard shedding: 51+ hairs per day

What causes beard shedding?

Beard shedding, in moderation, is a natural part of growing and maintaining a healthy beard. Just like the hairs on your heard, your beard goes through the same growth (anagen), transition (catagen), and rest (telogen) cycle which causes beard hairs to “shed” or fall out. 

Losing anywhere between 5-30 hairs a day is completely normal. Losing 31-50 hairs a day is on the high side of things although isn’t completely uncommon. Losing more than 50 beard hair per day could be cause for concern and mean that there is an underlying issue that is affecting your ability to grow and maintain beard hair. 

Excessive beard shedding can be caused by any number of different factors, including:

• Unhealthy diet or nutritional deficiencies

• Excessive stress or anxiety which affects the body

• Underlying health conditions from hormonal imbalances to more serious issues such as alopecia.

• Changes to the weather/exposure to extreme weather conditions (hot or cold)

• Poor beard maintenance or overall hygiene

How common is beard shedding?

Beard shedding is extremely common. Shedding of facial hair, in some capacity, is experienced by all men who grow a beard.

Losing a healthy amount of beard hair should not be cause for concern. If you are noticing somewhere in the realm of 10-30 hairs falling out each day, then there is no need for concern – this is well within normal tolerances. If, however, you notice beard hair constantly falling out on your desk, pillow, phone, shirt, or anywhere else – then it may be cause for concern. 

If possible, try to keep a manual log (difficult, I know) of beard hair shedding for a few days to get a gauge of beard shedding.

Is beard shedding preventable?

Whether or not beard shedding is preventable really depends on the underlying cause.

Beard shedding may be caused by something as simple as poor beard maintenance. I.e. not washing or moisturising enough.

On the other hand, there could be other issues such as nutritional deficiencies, underlying health conditions, skin conditions, or even hair loss conditions such as alopecia which could be affecting things. 

As a first resort to preventing beard shedding, we recommend cleaning and moisturising your beard regularly with quality shampoo and beard oil to improve the health of your facial hair. At the least, doing this will allow you to eliminate poor maintenance as a cause for excessive beard shedding. 

If, after implementing a proper beard care routine for a period of 3-4 weeks you do not notice an improvement in shedding, then it is worth consulting with a health care professional. A medical professional should be able to provide a definitive answer as to whether the excessive shedding is caused by nutritional, genetic, skin, or any other type of underlying condition.