yes, shedding is a part of the hair cycle and is completely natural. on average, it is normal for us to lose up to 150 strands of hair per day! so much of what you see coming out of your head is likely just natural shed hair & nothing to worry about.
hair breakage means that there is damage. this can be caused by things like excessive dryness, overmanipulating the hair or too much heat, which ultimately leads to dryness. one way to minimize breakage is by protective styling...
breakage that results from weak or damaged strands can happen at any point in the hair shaft & therefore, will vary in length. the pieces will be shorter than your full hair length. shed hair is the same length of your hair & has a white bulb on one end.