What is your hair shedding like?

[Mrstran]

Maybe I’m blind but I’ve never in my life noticed my hair shedding, so I wouldn’t really know much about it. What is it like? How much hair do you lose? How long does it last?

Im not sure if I’m shedding, or if it’s stress. I have PTSD, Anxiety, and derealisation disorder, which have all been effecting me even worse lately. I’ve become extremely irritable to the point of trying not to explode over a simple little noise. I’ve been constantly tense for a few weeks, trying to meditate but it isn’t working much.

Possibly as a result, I lose handfuls of hair when I wash. It scared the life out of me the first time, now I take it as the norm.

Not it sure if stress related or shedding though.

ETA: During the day I also lose hair. Simply running my fingers though it. I am left with a bunch of hair wrapped around my fingers. I noticed that all the hairs are from the root. No breakage that I can see.

-Haven’t changed hair products, or medications, no change in diet or sleep habits. Taking multi vitamins.

[ReptilianFeline]

That do sound like shedding. I have my hair in a bun, so I won't notice it much until I brush. If all is well I have little in my brush on day two and three and if I brush before I wash, then I have little in the shower. With shedding I have more loose hair, and it freaks me out.

[Stray_mind]

I usually don't notice my shed until after washing my head i find hair stuck around the drain and pull out a small (or big) hair monster out of there, lol
I think i lose on average about 50 hairs a day. I used to shed a lot, but i never worried, as long as my ponytail circumference stayed the same. Now of course i can't measure it, but i think my shedding rate is pretty normal.

[clairyfaire]

I have thick wavy hair so it holds onto all the shed hair until the next time I shower or brush through it. As a person with a lot of stress (amongst other things) it tends to come out in handfuls when I finger-comb it in the shower... I've never noticed it thinning however. I just get a lot of extra hairs falling out. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[manuGmz]

Personally, I brush my hair over the sink, after washing, and that's when I gather most of the hairs that have ended their cycle. I get a handful out when I wash and wear my hair mostly in a bun, so they really have no other chance to come out. So when I see much more hairs in the sink, I know I must be shedding. Sometimes I count them, just to make sure, because the longer it gets, the more it tricks me into thinking I shed more. Also, if I leave my hair down, I brush it before leaving the house and if I'm out and about and find hairs hanging loose, then I know I'm shedding.
I've had stress related shedding for my entire adult life, so more than 10 years and every time I got it, I used topical treatments, like Vichy Dercos with Aminexil, or Revalid Tonic. They always helped me, and the fact that the shedding stopped brought my confidence back up and actually helped with the stress in general.
Last year I experienced diet related shedding for the first time, and the topical treatments didn't completely stop the shedding, but definitely kept it under control.
And I can't tell how much a shed would last, because I always panicked and got the treatments asap, thinking my hair is thin enough, I can't afford to lose anything.

[NightSister]

I don't shed so much just running my hands through my hair, maybe just a couple hairs or so. It is more noticeable after a wash, when I lose a bunch. I also loose some more finger combing after the hair has dried. Like Stray_mind, my ponytail circumference stays the same.

[lapushka]

I finger detangle through the week. Since Sunday is wash day, I lose 3 handfuls of hair that day. Then Monday, zip comes out, maybe one to 2 strands max. Tuesday through Saturday, I finger detangle, and a bit comes out (10-20 hairs), then so on and so forth until wash day again. I detangle before my wash, then lose hair during the wash (strainer) and then before styling I comb it out once more with a WT comb and lose about a handful again. It is what it is.

I would not blindly focus on it, just note it from week to week, and if that's what you shed and your hair doesn't thin out, then that's what you shed normally. If you are dead worried and it's too much, then maybe consider having some bloodwork done?

[MoonRabbit]

I wash around every 4-5 days. The first 2 days after washing, I will lose very few strands. When my hair gets greasy on days 4 and up and right before washing, I lose tons during combing I then lose tons in the shower when I detangle with conditioner. I have always had a heavy shed, in fact everyone in my family does as well.

[Mrstran]

I tried to do a multi quote but again I can’t get all of them in without making a huge mess of a response. I’m sorry about that.

I read each of your replies, and I can’t thank you all enough for the insight. All of your responses were very helpful and I’m now not worried as much. Perhaps this is just a shed, normal, or I should comb before washing. I’ve had blood work done to see my hormone levels, they were good.

Thank you all again! :

[Dark40]

When I'm washing I shed 15 hairs a piece a day. When it's dry, and I am combing it out I just lose up to 5 hair strands per day. My hair shedding isn't really that bad at all.