Help recovering from telogen effluvium?

[Vanille]

Hi, all:

There's a lot I could say about how hard last year was, but some of the worst effects showed up after the new year.

If you have hair that is classic length or longer, and have ever had a massive shed (due to stress and/or illness), I'm sure you can relate to this.

Now that the shedding has slowed down, and new growth is starting, there's the prospect of re-growing several feet of hair in order to catch up to the overall volume it was just a few months ago.

And although the natural response is to be hugely angry and sad over this loss, I don't let myself grieve -- because emotional anguish = stress which might cause more shedding!

So, while I'll be working hard to apply all the nutritional and other methods I can find to boost regrowth, I'll also be working to manage stress levels, sleep, etc. etc.

I've been doing a lot of research online, and I've also searched Google for LHC threads that might relate to this, but if anyone can suggest some helpful threads here about any of the various factors that can help with hair regrowth, I'd really appreciate links to them.

Thanks in advance, and here's to better times!

[SandyBottom]

Oh Vanille, I can so relate! Sorry you're (also) dealing with this. Long story short, I got COVID very end of 2022 and started a pretty significant shed 3?4? months later. Handfuls. Tried not to stress over it, eating healthy and now even healthier, better sleep, quit measuring circumference etc. Fast forward to now: I can feel and see a lot of baby/teenage hairs on my scalp and was feeling pretty pleased...until I took a 1 year length comparison shot. I felt sick when I saw the difference in thickness staring back. I was so upset I never did post it. That was about 3 weeks ago. The picture on the left was taken end of Feb '23 (so after Covid and before I started to shed). The one on the right was taken just about 3 weeks ago-a year later. I'll post it now, to let you and others know you aren't alone. I know "it's hair, it'll grow back", but it still stung. There are other threads. One is https://forums.longhaircommunity.com...t=1124&page=50 Best of luck to you

[Vanille]

@SandyBottom Thank you for sharing your experience.

I am thankful to have otherwise recovered, but still wishing that somehow I had known that this could happen, and thus might have been able to take steps to minimize the loss. It just never occurred to me that a severe illness could be such a shock to my hair.

Up to now, although it was in the "good idea" category, I have not been very motivated to consistently manage my stress. But now, for the sake of my hair (as well as all the other reasons, of course), I"m taking actual steps to minimize stress on a daily and hourly basis.

And I'm also taking better care with nutrition and supplements than I was before.

Perhaps other aspects of my health, as well as my hair, will benefit from these improvements.

Here's wishing you all the best in your hair recovery journey!

[SandyBottom]

Thank you for that.

[evernia]

hello, i also went through something similar a few months ago... now it stopped at least and i can enjoy such an amount of untameable flyaways and frizz i've never seen before (which means it's growing again, yay). also went through a phase where i regretted every small thing, it's best to let those things be, but let yourself process the emotions naturally and don't bottle your anger or sadness up. one of the more optimistic things i've noticed was that with stress shedding (at least for me), the hair is regrowing instantly so it'll grow in much quicker than you think. and the feelings that some catastrophe has happened will pass and soon you'll be able to take it as it is.

i don't want to send you looking for a holy grail in vain and there is a big YMMV - but i think taking NAC (acetylcysteine, 500mg) as a supplement might have helped me with the stress and secondarily also the shedding - every pharmacy has it. i definitely felt less stressed, the hair of course may have been just a correlation, but it slowed down some time after starting to take it. i originally got it recommended because i can't breathe at night and the doctor said it's one of the safest things to take long term, but check it with your doctor or the pharmacist just in case.

i hope it goes better and wish you strength <3

[Vanille]

...one of the more optimistic things i've noticed was that with stress shedding (at least for me), the hair is regrowing instantly so it'll grow in much quicker than you think. and the feelings that some catastrophe has happened will pass and soon you'll be able to take it as it is.

Thank you for the encouragement. I guess it's time to stop chastising myself for not drinking more protein shakes (and/or any other things that I think "could have" helped to prevent or minimize the loss) while I was sick and during recovery.

Being kinder to myself NOW can only help, right? It can be part of that "stress management" stuff that has now become more important to me.

Thanks also for the NAC recommendation. I actually have that on hand for other occasional uses, but had not heard that it might also be good for hair health (and possible regrowth). I'll definitely look into adding that to my current regimen of supplements.

I hope your health and hair continue to improve for you!

[LittleQuill]

Oh Vanille, I can so relate! Sorry you're (also) dealing with this. Long story short, I got COVID very end of 2022 and started a pretty significant shed 3?4? months later. Handfuls. Tried not to stress over it, eating healthy and now even healthier, better sleep, quit measuring circumference etc. Fast forward to now: I can feel and see a lot of baby/teenage hairs on my scalp and was feeling pretty pleased...until I took a 1 year length comparison shot. I felt sick when I saw the difference in thickness staring back. I was so upset I never did post it. That was about 3 weeks ago. The picture on the left was taken end of Feb '23 (so after Covid and before I started to shed). The one on the right was taken just about 3 weeks ago-a year later. I'll post it now, to let you and others know you aren't alone. I know "it's hair, it'll grow back", but it still stung. There are other threads. One is https://forums.longhaircommunity.com...t=1124&page=50 Best of luck to you

I just wanted to say - thank you for being so brave and posting your 'after' picture, even though it's hard for you to look at. Your hair is still very pretty!

To the OP, it sounds like you're taking the right steps, and I'm sorry to both you and SandyBottom that you've gone through something so intense. In additon to paying closer attention to yourself and your health (which is great to hear, by the way!), maybe you can wear your hair up a lot, if not majority of the time? That way, it can grow back out and you're not having to 'look' at it every time there's a reflection. Out of sight out of mind kind of deal. I don't have hair loss, but I did go through a stage last year where I experienced some pretty disheartening amount of breakage that affected the thickness of the hair on the left side of my head, and it broke off well above my ears. Now, most of it is at chin length, and my hair is in a much better state, but my hair's about classic length, and I still see all these short hairs poking out every time I wash, and it makes me a bit sad that it'll take years to reach the rest of my length. To help deal with it, I don't look at my hair as much as I can. I brush and put my hair up without a mirror, and I try not to wear double braids anymore because one is a little thinner than the other now. When I do have to look in the mirror (when brushing my teeth for example), I make sure my hair is up, or hidden within a bonnet. You don't see a difference in my hair, but you can certainly feel it when you grab the affected side as opposed to the other one.

I hope your newfound regime can help you grow your hair back and get you to a better state of health!

[foreveryours]

Oh Vanille, I can so relate! Sorry you're (also) dealing with this. Long story short, I got COVID very end of 2022 and started a pretty significant shed 3?4? months later. Handfuls. Tried not to stress over it, eating healthy and now even healthier, better sleep, quit measuring circumference etc. Fast forward to now: I can feel and see a lot of baby/teenage hairs on my scalp and was feeling pretty pleased...until I took a 1 year length comparison shot. I felt sick when I saw the difference in thickness staring back. I was so upset I never did post it. That was about 3 weeks ago. The picture on the left was taken end of Feb '23 (so after Covid and before I started to shed). The one on the right was taken just about 3 weeks ago-a year later. I'll post it now, to let you and others know you aren't alone. I know "it's hair, it'll grow back", but it still stung. There are other threads. One is https://forums.longhaircommunity.com...t=1124&page=50 Best of luck to you

[evernia]

Thank you for the encouragement. I guess it's time to stop chastising myself for not drinking more protein shakes (and/or any other things that I think "could have" helped to prevent or minimize the loss) while I was sick and during recovery.

Being kinder to myself NOW can only help, right? It can be part of that "stress management" stuff that has now become more important to me.

thank you too! i think a good way to approach it is just kind of replying to the thoughts that make you upset as if you were talking to a close friend who was telling you that. there's no use trying to stop thoughts or make them stop by force, kindness and patience with yourself is the way to go.

regarding the protein shakes thing, TE as a reaction to illness is usually immune based so you can't really know how much that would have helped... it sounds like realistically there was not much you could've done and your body did a good job dealing with the illness

[evernia]

the way our society views women's beauty makes it harder to come to terms with things like hair loss and age and basically anything that leaves a mark. like in nature ve view the things that are imperfect, dramatic or tell a story as beautiful, and what's perfect is usually kind of boring... but to be conventionally beautiful as a woman you have to try to be perfect and like a plastic or porcelain doll it seems. and i feel it could be so much better if we could let our apperance tell a story and be like a tree struck by lightning or an old river instead of a barbie aisle