New Delhi, March 24 -- There is a particular anxiety that hair fall triggers. Patients rarely say it casually. They lean forward and lower their voice. "It feels excessive," they share, almost apologetically.

Hair fall is unnerving because it is visible. We can count the strands on the comb. But counting is where the confusion begins. Losing 50 to 100 stands daily is considered normal. When you wash your hair, it can seem like a lot more, but often it's just the strands that were ready to fall coming away together. Some weeks feel lighter, others are heavier, but variability is not an issue.

What unsettles people is not shedding, it is the sense that it has crossed a threshold. When I assess a patient, I am not just looking at the quant...