Telogen or androgen: why these are two completely different types of hair loss — and why they're treated differently

First, understand how hair grows: three phases, not one

To understand the difference between telogen and androgen, it helps to go back to basics — because hair doesn't grow "continuously". Every follicle on your head works to its own cycle, independent of its neighbours, constantly moving through three phases. That's why you don't shed like a cat once a season — at any given moment, different hairs sit at different stages, and the overall picture evens out. The key point in this whole story: hair loss isn't a malfunction — it's the normal end of a cycle. The only question is how many hairs reach that end point at once.

• Anagen — the growth phase (the longest). This is when the hair is actively growing, often for years at a stretch. In a healthy person, the vast majority of hairs on the head sit here. The longer the anagen phase, the longer the hair can grow — and genetics decides whether your hair "knows how" to reach your waist, or stops at your shoulders.
• Catagen — the transition phase (short). A brief "closing up shop" moment: the follicle cuts the hair off from its blood supply, shrinks, and prepares to rest. Only a small fraction of hairs sit in this phase at any one time.
• Telogen — the resting phase, then shedding. The hair stops growing — it waits. After a while it falls out, often pushed out by a new hair growing underneath it, and the follicle returns to anagen to start over. This is the hair that ends up in your hand in the shower. On its own — entirely normal.

And here's the key sentence of this whole article: losing a certain number of hairs every day is physiology, not disease. Follicles are constantly, quietly finishing their cycle and swapping in new growth. The problem starts only when those proportions shift — when too many hairs enter telogen at once, or when follicles stop returning to a full, healthy anagen. These are two completely different ways to disrupt the same cycle — and they are exactly our two types of hair loss.

Telogen hair loss: a storm that passes

Imagine a strong trigger — like a fire alarm — forcing a large group of follicles to abandon anagen and jump straight to telogen. Nothing permanent happens to them: they simply enter the resting phase all at once, in a single moment. And since telogen ends in shedding, after a while that whole group sheds almost simultaneously. Hence the dramatic effect: handfuls of hair on the brush, hair "falling like crazy", panic. This is telogen effluvium.

The most important — and most reassuring — feature of this process: it is delayed and temporary. The trigger happens "today", but the wave of shedding arrives several weeks to a few months later — which is exactly why people so often fail to connect the shedding with its cause. And because the follicles aren't damaged, just "startled", once the trigger passes, the cycle usually returns to normal and hair typically regrows. This shedding is diffuse — even across the whole scalp, with no bald patches — and that's an important diagnostic clue.

• Severe stress or shock — psychological or physical: a serious infection, surgery, high fever, an accident.
• Childbirth — a very classic scenario: during pregnancy, hair "stays" in anagen longer, and after birth all that surplus enters telogen together and sheds. This is the well-known postpartum shedding, which is alarming but usually resolves on its own.
• Deficiencies — iron above all, but also other nutrients; restrictive diets and sudden weight loss.
• Hormonal and thyroid disorders, certain medications, a severe illness experienced a few months earlier.

Androgenic hair loss: a drain that doesn't reverse on its own

Now for an entirely different mechanism — and an entirely different character. In androgenic (androgenetic) hair loss, follicles don't "flee in panic" into telogen. Something far more insidious happens instead. Under the influence of genetic sensitivity to androgens (male hormones, also present in women), specific follicles begin to gradually miniaturise. Cycle after cycle, the growth phase shortens, and the hair that emerges from it grows thinner, shorter and lighter. A thick, strong hair gradually turns into barely visible fuzz, until the follicle eventually falls silent altogether.

The key difference: here the problem lies in the follicles themselves and their programming, not in a temporary external trigger. That's why this process doesn't reverse on its own — it's progressive and chronic. Its second defining feature is the pattern: in men, classically the temples and crown (with the band at the sides and nape spared, since those follicles resist androgens), in women more often diffuse thinning at the crown with a widening parting, usually without the hairline receding. This isn't a storm that passes — it's a slow, steady drain.

Why the same treatment works for one and not the other

Now for the most important sentence in this whole article — the one worth reading about the hair cycle for: since these are two different mechanisms, they need two different strategies. That's why the worst thing you can do is "treat your hair" blindly, before knowing what you're actually dealing with. The same vial, the same series of treatments, can be exactly right for one scenario and a complete miss for the other.

Think of it this way. Telogen hair loss is the result of a specific cause — and that cause has to be found and removed. If low iron is to blame, the finest mesotherapy in the world won't replace iron supplementation; if the thyroid is to blame, it needs to be regulated by a doctor. Here, a salon treatment can be supportive — it improves circulation, nourishes the follicles, shortens the "storm" — but it isn't the core of it. The core is diagnosing what lies underneath. Relying on treatments alone, when the source is a deficiency, treats the symptom while ignoring the cause.

Androgenic hair loss, on the other hand, is a chronic, progressive process — and here the logic flips. There's no single "cause to remove" that you can tick off; there's follicle sensitivity that needs consistent, long-term support to slow miniaturisation and preserve what's there. Here we're talking about consistency, series and maintaining the effect — not one miracle treatment. And honesty is essential here: in androgenic hair loss, we're talking about slowing the process, adding density and improving condition, rather than "regrowth like years ago". The earlier you start, the better — it's easier to hold onto hair that's still there than to bring back hair that's already gone.

What to actually do about it — diagnosis first, then treatment

Everything above leads to one very practical conclusion: the most important "hair treatment" is an accurate diagnosis. Without it, even the best treatment is a gamble. That's why a sensible path always starts with establishing which type of hair loss you're dealing with — and that calls for specific tools, not guesswork in front of a mirror.

1. 01

   Step 1 — trichoscopy and consultation

   A specialist examines the scalp and follicles under magnification and asks what was happening to you a few months ago. This helps distinguish the pattern: diffuse shedding (telogen) from patterned miniaturisation (androgenic).

2. 02

   Step 2 — looking for the underlying cause

   If the picture points to telogen, the source needs to be found: iron, thyroid, deficiencies, hormones, medications, a past illness. This often involves testing and working alongside a doctor. Without this step, a treatment only addresses the symptom.

3. 03

   Step 3 — matching the strategy to the type

   Telogen: remove the cause, plus optional follicle support. Androgenic: long-term, regular follicle support to slow the process. Different goal, different pace, different tools.

4. 04

   Step 4 — consistency and follow-up

   Hair grows slowly, so results are assessed in months, not weeks. Follow-up trichoscopy shows whether the strategy is working — and allows it to be adjusted, rather than continuing blindly.

Below, we've listed our tools in the order that actually makes sense: diagnosis first — so you know what's really happening — and only once the picture is clear, treatments that support the follicles. Which of them makes sense for you, and for how long, isn't something an article can decide. Only an examination of your scalp can.