Every year, from the second week of September, the consultations change. Same sentence, different clients: there is far more hair in the drain than there was a month ago.
It is not your imagination, it is usually not permanent, and the thing most people reach for does not help. Here is what is actually happening.
What a seasonal shed is
Hair does not grow continuously. Each follicle cycles — a long growing phase, a short transition, then a resting phase that ends with the strand being released so a new one can start. At any moment a share of your head is resting rather than growing.
Stress on the body nudges more follicles into that resting phase at once. The catch is the delay: a follicle that switches over does not release its strand for roughly three months. What is coming out in September was decided in June and July — peak heat, peak humidity, and for many people a stretch of poor sleep and heavier scalp conditions.
So the shed you are seeing is a lagging report on a season that has already ended. That is genuinely good news, and it is the part nobody tells you.
Shedding is not thinning
These get used interchangeably and they are different problems with different answers.
Pick up a few of the fallen hairs and look at the root end. A small pale bulb means the strand completed its cycle and was released — that is shedding, and it is normal. No bulb, with the hair snapped somewhere along its length, is breakage, which is a damage problem and wants an entirely different shelf.
Then look at the part line, not the drain. Shedding that is seasonal comes from all over and leaves density unchanged — more hair falls, but your parting looks the same. Thinning shows up as a parting that has widened, or a temple that has receded. If your density has genuinely changed, stop reading product recommendations and read the last section.
What the monsoon actually did
The scalp takes the season harder than the hair does.
Weeks of humidity keep the scalp damp for longer between washes, which suits the yeast that lives there quite happily and produces flaking, itch and irritation when it overgrows. People respond by washing more often and scratching more often, both of which inflame the scalp further. An inflamed scalp is a poor environment for anchoring hair.
Add hard water, which across much of Gujarat leaves mineral deposit on the scalp and shaft, and you have a follicle sitting in conditions that were never great to begin with.
What helps
Treat the scalp, not the hair. The hair already on your head is not the problem — it is leaving on schedule. What you can influence is the environment the next cycle grows into.
If there is flaking or itch, clear that first. An anti-dandruff or soothing scalp serum used consistently for a few weeks does more than any anti-hair-fall shampoo, because it fixes the actual condition. Our Schwarzkopf BC Bonacure scalp serums are formulated for exactly this, and they are leave-in, which matters — anything you rinse off in ninety seconds has limited time to work.
If the scalp is calm and you simply want to support density through the turnover, a densifying serum is reasonable. Kérastase Genesis Sérum Fortifiant is the one we stock most of, and Spécifique Stimuliste is the daily spray version if you prefer something lighter. L’Oréal Aminexil Advanced sits in the same category at a different price point.
Be realistic about the timeline. You are influencing the next cycle, not this one. Nothing you apply in September stops September’s shed — it improves what comes through in December.
What does not help
More oil, more often. Heavy oiling on a scalp that is already congested from a humid season tends to make flaking and itch worse, and the vigorous massage that usually accompanies it pulls on strands that are already loose. Oil the lengths if you like; go gently at the roots.
Switching shampoo every fortnight. Nothing has time to work, and you never learn what helped.
Anti-hair-fall shampoo as a standalone plan. A cleanser is on your scalp for under two minutes. It can support a routine; it cannot be one.
When it is not seasonal
This is the part we would rather you read than buy something.
If the shed has run longer than about three months, if your parting has visibly widened, if there are patches rather than diffuse loss, or if it arrived alongside fatigue, weight change or a recent illness, pregnancy or crash diet — that is a medical question, not a cosmetic one. Low ferritin, thyroid changes, PCOS and postpartum shifts all present this way and all need a blood test, not a serum.
We will tell you this in the chair too. There is no product on our shelves that fixes low iron.
Not sure which of these you are looking at? Bring it to us and we will look at your scalp properly before recommending anything — including telling you when the answer is your GP. Message us on WhatsApp or ask our Beauty Advisor.