Anagen Telogen Ratio: What Your Hair Cycle Tells You
Your anagen telogen ratio is the balance between scalp hairs that are actively growing and hairs that are resting before they fall. It explains why some shedding is normal, why a sudden surge of hair in the plughole usually traces back to an event months earlier, and when a change is worth a GP visit. This guide covers what the numbers are, what shifts them and how to read your own hair.
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The anagen telogen ratio compares growing (anagen) scalp hairs with resting (telogen) hairs. DermNet says that in a healthy scalp about 85% of follicles are in anagen and about 15% in telogen, with a follicle usually growing for around 4 years before resting for about 4 months. A shock such as illness, childbirth or stress can push up to 70% of growing hairs into telogen, reversing the usual balance and causing shedding.
Key takeaways
- About 85% of scalp hairs are growing (anagen) and about 15% resting (telogen) in a healthy scalp, according to DermNet.
- A follicle typically grows hair for around 4 years, then rests for about 4 months before the hair falls.
- The NHS says losing 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal.
- After a shock, up to 70% of growing hairs can switch to resting, and extra shedding shows up 2 to 4 months later.
- That kind of shedding usually tapers back to normal over 6 to 9 months, according to DermNet.
What is the anagen telogen ratio?
The anagen telogen ratio is the proportion of scalp hairs in the growing phase compared with the proportion in the resting phase at any one time. Each follicle runs its own cycle independently, so a healthy scalp always holds a large majority of growing hairs and a smaller share of resting ones that will shed and be replaced.
The hair cycle has three main stages. Anagen is the growth phase, when the follicle is building a hair fibre. Catagen is a short transition in which growth stops. Telogen is the resting phase, when the hair sits in the follicle as a club hair until a new anagen hair starts growing beneath it and pushes it out. DermNet notes that only a few hairs are in catagen at any time, which is why the growing-to-resting balance is the figure people talk about.
For a closer look at the growth stage itself, see our guide to the anagen stage and what shortens it.
What is a normal anagen to telogen balance?
A normal balance, according to DermNet, is about 85% of follicles actively growing and about 15% resting. Because a follicle usually grows hair for around 4 years and then rests for roughly 4 months, the growing phase naturally outnumbers the resting phase by a wide margin, which produces that roughly 85 to 15 split.
| Phase | Share of scalp hairs (DermNet) | Typical length | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anagen (growing) | About 85% | Around 4 years (3 to 6 years for pattern-hair research) | Hair firmly anchored, lengthening |
| Catagen (transition) | A few hairs | A short transition | Growth stops |
| Telogen (resting) | About 15% | About 4 months | Club hair with a small white bulb, sheds easily |
The resting share is what produces everyday shedding. The NHS says we can lose between 50 and 100 hairs a day, often without noticing, and DermNet gives a similar figure of up to about 100 hairs a day on the comb, brush, basin or pillow. Longer hair makes the same number look like more, because each strand covers more of the plughole.
How is the ratio of growing to resting hair measured?
Growing and resting hairs are counted by looking at the root. An anagen hair has a tapered, pigmented root often with a sheath, while a telogen club hair has a small, rounded white bulb. Specialists pluck or photograph a small patch of scalp and count each type, which gives a percentage for that area rather than for the whole head.
There are two common methods. A trichogram plucks around a set number of hairs and examines the roots under a microscope, and a phototrichogram uses magnified photographs of a clipped patch taken days apart to see which hairs have grown. Each has strengths and limits, covered in our guides to the trichogram hair test and the phototrichogram.
At home you cannot measure the ratio precisely, but you can see its effects. Hairs that fall out with a white bulb at the end are telogen hairs that have finished their cycle. A sudden rise in those, well above your usual amount, suggests more follicles than usual have moved into rest at the same time.
What shifts the anagen telogen ratio?
The anagen telogen ratio shifts when something pushes many growing follicles into rest at once, which DermNet calls telogen effluvium. DermNet says that after a shock to the system as many as 70% of anagen hairs can move into telogen, reversing the usual ratio, with extra shedding noticed 2 to 4 months after the triggering event.
DermNet lists typical triggers as:
- Childbirth, the cause of postpartum shedding.
- Acute or chronic illness, especially with a fever.
- A surgical operation or accident.
- Psychological stress.
- Weight loss, unusual diets or nutritional deficiency, such as low iron.
- Certain medicines, thyroid conditions, or stopping the contraceptive pill.
The delay is what confuses people. Because a hair rests for months before it falls, the shedding appears long after the event that caused it. If you are losing more hair now, look back two to four months for illness, stress, a crash diet or a new medicine. Our guide to telogen effluvium, how long it lasts and what helps goes through the timeline in more detail.
Why shedding can be a hopeful sign
DermNet explains that in telogen effluvium the new growing hairs push out the resting club hairs, so the extra hair fall comes with new hair already forming beneath. As shedding settles, a fine fringe of short new hairs often appears along the hairline.
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Is it hair loss, shedding or breakage?
Hair loss, hair shedding and hair breakage look similar in the brush but come from different places. Shedding is a shift in the growth cycle, with whole hairs and white bulbs; pattern hair loss is a gradual shortening of the growth phase and shrinking of follicles; breakage is the hair fibre snapping part-way along, with no bulb.
| Problem | What changes | How it looks | Usual course |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shedding (telogen effluvium) | Many follicles switch to rest at once | Whole hairs with a white bulb, all over the scalp | DermNet: tapers over 6 to 9 months |
| Pattern hair loss | DermNet: growth phase shortens from years to weeks or months, follicles shrink | Thinner, shorter hairs at the crown, parting or temples | Gradual, over years |
| Breakage | Fibre damage from heat, colour or friction | Short snapped pieces, split ends, no bulb | Improves with gentler care |
The first two involve the cycle; the third does not touch it at all. That is why checking the ends of the hairs you lose is so useful: a bulb means a completed cycle, a blunt or frayed end means breakage. DermNet notes that shedding after childbirth can sometimes run on into female pattern hair loss, so if hair does not thicken back after about nine months, it is worth asking a GP.
What helps while the balance settles?
What helps most while the balance settles is dealing with the trigger and protecting the hairs you still have, because DermNet says shedding usually tapers back to normal over 6 to 9 months once the cause has passed. Nothing you apply to the scalp can switch resting hairs back to growing, but a gentle routine limits extra losses from breakage.
- Look for the trigger. Think back two to four months, and ask your GP about blood tests such as iron if you have had heavy periods or diet changes.
- Wash normally. Skipping washes does not save hair; resting hairs will fall anyway, and they come out in bigger clumps later.
- Detangle gently. Use conditioner and a wide-tooth comb from the ends upward.
- Ease off heat and tight styles. They add breakage on top of shedding.
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When should you see a GP about shedding?
You should see a GP about shedding if you are worried, if it lasts longer than about six months, if hair comes out in patches, or if you have other symptoms such as tiredness or weight change, because the NHS says a GP may be able to tell the cause by looking at your hair and can arrange tests.
It helps to bring a note of when the shedding started and anything that happened a few months before. If your question is about products or a routine rather than a medical one, you can talk to Gail Waterman, our co-founder, as an AI avatar on the Watermans homepage. When that ratio stays tipped towards resting hairs for a long time, our guide to chronic telogen effluvium explains the pattern.
What are the frequently asked questions about the anagen telogen ratio?
What is a normal anagen telogen ratio?
DermNet puts it at about 85% of hairs growing and about 15% resting in a healthy scalp, with a few hairs in the short catagen transition.
How long does each phase last?
DermNet says a follicle usually grows hair for around 4 years and rests for about 4 months before the hair falls.
How many hairs a day is normal to lose?
The NHS says 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal. Longer hair makes the same number look like more.
Why did my shedding start months after I was ill?
Hairs rest for months before they fall. DermNet says extra shedding usually shows 2 to 4 months after the triggering event.
Can the ratio go back to normal?
Yes, in telogen effluvium. DermNet says shedding usually tapers back to normal over 6 to 9 months, although recovery can be incomplete in some people.
How can I tell a shed hair from a broken one?
A shed hair has a small white bulb at the root end. A broken hair has a blunt or frayed end and no bulb.
Can a shampoo change my hair cycle?
No product can switch resting hairs back to growing. A gentle shampoo and conditioner reduce breakage and help hair look fuller while the cycle settles.
Does washing less reduce shedding?
No. Resting hairs will fall anyway. Washing less only means they come out together in larger amounts on the day you do wash.
What is the bottom line on the anagen telogen ratio?
The bottom line on the anagen telogen ratio is that a healthy scalp holds about 85% growing hairs and 15% resting ones, which is why losing up to 100 hairs a day is normal. A shock can tip many follicles into rest, bringing heavy shedding two to four months later that usually settles over six to nine months. Find the trigger, be gentle with your hair and see a GP if it lingers.
While the cycle rebalances, a mild hair growth shampoo and conditioner keep your hair clean, tangle-free and looking fuller without adding breakage.
Sources & references
- DermNet, Telogen effluvium (hair shedding), checked 18 September 2026.
- DermNet, Male pattern hair loss, checked 18 September 2026.
- DermNet, Hair loss, balding, hair shedding, alopecia, checked 18 September 2026.
- NHS, Hair loss, checked 18 September 2026.
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