I don’t believe we lose 100 hairs/day

I feel like this 100 hair a day thing is misleading for people that are shedding. I for example lose 200+ hair a day, and thats when I do a rough count in the shower and sink(when applying minoxidil). But if I ask a friend or my brother how much they lose in the shower they say little to none (single digits). If they run their hand through their hair or comb it a bunch, they still lose little to none. So how is this 100+ hair fall a day supposed to be accurate. Also most of us that have visible scalp already lost 50% or more of our density, so shouldn’t our normal already be 50 hair or lower per day?

The actual hair loss per day reflects: 

1- How many hairs do you have on your head.  A Typical Caucasian has 110,000, and a Typical Asian has 95,000.  

2- What is your growth cycle.  Hair grows in cycles and we lose long hair when hair goes out of its growth cycle (anagen) and into its sleep (telogen) cycle.  For an average young man in his early 20s, the growth cycle is between 2 1/2 to 3 years.  Assuming that it is 3 years, do the math, 100 hairs per day are about 100 hairs per day in a typical Caucasian male. With 365 days per year, 100 hairs lost per day would deplete the existing hair population by 36,500 hairs in a year, but the telogen hairs come back to life at the same rate of 36,500 hairs per day, giving a non-balding male a net zero for hairs lost on the head.  Asians, of course, have lower numbers by 15 – 20%, and Africans are still lower by 30% compared to Caucasians.  On the other hand, women tend to have longer hair cycles, some as long as 6-7 years, reflecting a very low number of hairs lost per day.  

3- Balding:  Balding adds hair loss to the above equations.  When a young man has hair loss, that hair loss is in addition to his normal 100 hairs per day, so it becomes more evident in the shower or on the bed pillow.

4- Most normal men lose their hair in the wind, in the shower, walking around at work or at the house.  The amount is so small that it is not noticed; however, when balding occurs, the extra volume of lost hairs becomes very detectable.