How do I know if I am losing too much hair? HELP ME PLEASE?

[Leslieslsa]

Okay so my hair is halfway down my butt and I am very seriously growing it. It means a lot to me. But lately it seems like I losing too much. Like three hairs at a time if I put my fingers through it. I tried to tell the doctor and he ran blood work but everything came back fine so he attributed it to stress. But I am freaking out! I don't want to go bald. What should I do?

[Marbid]

You could perhaps brush your hair with a clean comb and count the hairs... Then put it up and not touch it at all... Brush again with clean comb at night and count... Add night shed to morning shed to get days shed... Repeat for a week or two to get average shed and see if its more than normal or is all in your head.m

[&rea]

Try not to stress. That can make the shedding worse and lead to other issues. If the strands still have the follicles attached and are not just breaking off mid strand, it's possible that you may have a lot of follicles just going from the telogen stage to the early anagen stage. Roobios tea is thought to lengthen the anagen (growth) stage (plus it tastes amazing). Perhaps you could give that a try. I also think Marbid gave great advice about tacking it just in case it is abnormal or increases and trying to keep it up as much as possible. If it continues, maybe get a second opinion just to make sure it isn't a sign of something more serious.

[jeanniet]

If your hair is iii thickness (4+" ponytail circumference), then what you're describing isn't unusual. In fact, just to check I just ran my fingers through my hair in a couple of sections and came away with about 15 hairs--my pony circumference is 5ish inches, and that isn't an abnormal amount of hair for me. The more hair you have on your head, the more you'll shed, so what might be a high shed for a i or ii won't be for you. If you're suddenly shedding a lot more than usual, then it might be something to worry about--but on the other hand, if you just think you're shedding more because you hadn't been paying much attention before, you're probably stressing over nothing, and stress isn't going to help! Keep an eye on it, but try not to worry unless you're sure there's really something to worry about.

[Hele]

if i only lost three hairs at a time i'd be stoked! We seem to have similar hair and i lose much much MUCH more than that at a time. Just running my hand through my hair turns up quite a few loose hairs. I sweep the bathroom floor every couple of days and it looks like i'm sweeping a barber shop floor there's so much escaped hair down there. I just took my hair down and combed it after having it up at work all night and i counted twelve hairs, it looked like more though because of the length. And it's around that amount every time i comb it, which is several times a day. I daily wonder how i'm not bald but my hair is always the same thickness. But then i think to myself "good lord, if i didn't lose all this hair every day...just how thick would it be then?!" So i choose not to worry about it, and if you're a iii also it's probably totally normal. We just have a lot of hair!

[Panth]

Measure your ponytail circumference monthly. That's far better than counting sheds as it's a) less work (thus, stresses you out less and doesn't waste your time), b) more likely to be accurate (shedding varies day to day depending on how much you manipulate your hair and whether you wash it that day (among other things), measuring ponytail circumference averages all of that out). However, I agree with the others - 3 hairs at a time is nothing to worry about.

[Firefox7275]

Address the anxiety, freaking out is only worsening the issue. Nutrient dense very low GI diet, daily physical activity, stress management/ relaxation techniques, regular sleep habits, prescribed medication (eg low dose beta blockers) if required.

[lapushka]

If your hair is iii thickness (4+" ponytail circumference), then what you're describing isn't unusual. In fact, just to check I just ran my fingers through my hair in a couple of sections and came away with about 15 hairs--my pony circumference is 5ish inches, and that isn't an abnormal amount of hair for me. The more hair you have on your head, the more you'll shed, so what might be a high shed for a i or ii won't be for you. If you're suddenly shedding a lot more than usual, then it might be something to worry about--but on the other hand, if you just think you're shedding more because you hadn't been paying much attention before, you're probably stressing over nothing, and stress isn't going to help! Keep an eye on it, but try not to worry unless you're sure there's really something to worry about.

Yes, I also thought... "what 3 hairs"? What are you worrying about? That's nothing. I'd rather worry about the way you comb and the mats you recently pulled out. :flower:

[truepeacenik]

I think, based on several threads you have started, that suddenly realizing all the weirdness of hair is overwhelming.
Yes, you get snarly knots. Yes, hair comes out and the longer it is the more you notice. Yes, it's a PITA to get knots out.

Try just enjoying your hair.
That's really why we do this. We like our hair.

[furnival]

I lose more than three hairs whenever I run my fingers through my hair and I don't even count myself as shedding. As others have said, freaking out so much is going to cause stress and stress can cause shedding, so try to stop! Everybody sheds hair, there's nothing you can do about it- it's a natural part of your hair's growth cycle. It's extremely unlikely that you'll go bald. :)

[evalina]

Hi, had massive shedding last year from august to december. more than 100 hairs a day is serious, before my dermatologist told me not to really worry bc up to that limit it could still be seasonal.
My blood works showed some iron deficiency.

[bunzfan]

I have a 4" circumference and I shed quite alot and that's normal for me if you're wearing it up suddenly what is now coming out is basically loose hairs that would of combed out before. If I leave a long time between washes I loose more hairs.

[Leslieslsa]

I think, based on several threads you have started, that suddenly realizing all the weirdness of hair is overwhelming.
Yes, you get snarly knots. Yes, hair comes out and the longer it is the more you notice. Yes, it's a PITA to get knots out.

Try just enjoying your hair.
That's really why we do this. We like our hair.

This is not my first head of long hair, actually. I have done this before. But I have anxiety and other mental issues that cause me great stress so I have to watch out. And sometimes it seems like this head of hair is harder than the last which is one reason I ask so many questions.