PDA

View Full Version : Guys! I need help- I nearly had a heart attack when I saw this...



Jennielee88
November 10th, 2013, 12:37 PM
How much sheddage would you consider a 'normal' amount? I know it can be anything up to 100 strands in a day but I just combed my hair and was left with this... (pics at the bottom, sorry about the size it wont let me resize them)


I was kinda shocked when I saw how much had fallen out so I tried to count it lol, I gave up at around 100 so I would estimate that theres around 150 there. My hair is bleached and a few of the hairs are breakage, but most of it has the little roots on the end so I know its sheddage. Whats scary is that I know if id carried on combing, more would have fallen out, so thats not even all of it.

Ive worn my hair up for a few days without brushing it, could it be possible that this is a few days worth of sheddage thats just not been brushed out because ive been wearing it up without combing?


I've been growing my hair for a year and a half and i would say im at the 'can i call this waistlength' stage, but it seems to be falling out a lot faster than its growing! I'm losing my mind here!http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af6/Jennielee_88/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps9651ae90.jpg?t=1384111661




http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af6/Jennielee_88/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsc5e1f9a1.jpg?t=1384111623

sumidha
November 10th, 2013, 12:46 PM
While I don't know about your usual shed rate, for me, I absolutely get more shed hairs after wearing it up without combing for a few days. Those hairs on my head are shed no matter what, if I go three days without combing them out there's going to be three day's worth of shed hairs at one go. :)

patienceneeded
November 10th, 2013, 12:48 PM
Looks normal to me. I shed absolute balls of hair if I haven't properly combed or brushed in days. I shed quite a bit anyway, always have. I wouldn't worry.

KittyBird
November 10th, 2013, 12:50 PM
Looks normal to me, especially if you haven't combed or brushed your hair for a few days. You should see the pile of shed hair I comb out before washing my hair, not to mention all the hairs that fall out when I actually wash my hair.. It looks a small, fluffy animal, but I have no bald patches and no noticeable thinning, so I don't worry about it. ;)

Jennielee88
November 10th, 2013, 12:55 PM
Thanks for the reassurance.
As i was brushing and more and more was coming out I had a lump in my throat like I was going to cry... ha. Especially as I'm really stressed at the moment going through a horrible break up, I thought the stress was making me lose my hair.
Maybe its because Ive not combed it out for a few days and theres a few days worth of strands there like I said *phew*

Kaelee
November 10th, 2013, 01:00 PM
It's almost certain that it's a few days worth of "saved up" shed hairs. If you don't brush or comb it, that 100 hairs a day has no where to go, so it just stays there.

martyna_22
November 10th, 2013, 01:09 PM
As it's been previously mentioned, after a few days of not brushing/combing it is the only natural thing that can occur. I'm sure it'd happen to me as well if this was a case here.

monsoonstorm
November 10th, 2013, 01:09 PM
I find stress sheds don't happen *that* fast.

I've had a couple where I've literally had bald patches by my temples, but they always happened maybe a month or so after the majorly stressful time (for me anyway), certainly not within a couple of days.

If I don't brush for a few days there's always a small dead animal waiting for me in the plughole after a shower. I shed a silly amount normally though.

Jennielee88
November 10th, 2013, 01:23 PM
It worries me because I dont have very thick hair to start with, its quite fine, so it seems like a lot of hair to lose!
Its kind of become an obsession, i'll literally sit there and inspect every hair that comes out of my head!

Cheyne
November 10th, 2013, 01:27 PM
I wash every other day and can clog a drain with the sheds (I do the CG method and finger comb in the shower). That amount looks normal to me. Try and de-stress; get some exercise, drink a glass of cold water and listen to some awesome music.

Madora
November 10th, 2013, 01:43 PM
Jennielee88, you might want to consider brushing (or combing) out your hair every day to get rid of the fallen hair.

As you've noticed, when you don't brush or comb the hair falls seem to be larger than expected, making you wonder about the state of your hair.

Also, daily combing is good for your scalp...and keeps those fallen hairs from getting tangled with the other hair...thus avoiding tangling issues. Before combing, be sure to detangle gently with a wide tooth comb, and remove any tangles with your fingers, never the comb.

Jennielee88
November 10th, 2013, 01:54 PM
Jennielee88, you might want to consider brushing (or combing) out your hair every day to get rid of the fallen hair.

As you've noticed, when you don't brush or comb the hair falls seem to be larger than expected, making you wonder about the state of your hair.

Also, daily combing is good for your scalp...and keeps those fallen hairs from getting tangled with the other hair...thus avoiding tangling issues. Before combing, be sure to detangle gently with a wide tooth comb, and remove any tangles with your fingers, never the comb.

I only ever use a wide tooth comb, I used to absolutely rag my hair with one of them big barreled metal brushes... when I think about that now it makes me cringe! The only reason Ive recently avoided combing is because my hair is a little dry right now and breaks easily so I figured if I comb it less then it will break less too... After this though i'm going to comb it every day so I dont have a big build up because I swear my heart was pumping when I saw all that!

tetisheri72
November 10th, 2013, 01:59 PM
I have thinnish hair too, and I will go with that looks perfectly normal, as well. If I leave my hair up a couple of days without brushing, it looks just like that. If you are really worried, then seeing normal amounts can be worrisome. I went through that after I got my thyroid levels right. Every shed hair convinced me there was a problem. It took my doctor to kick my butt, and for me to realize it was normal.

lapushka
November 10th, 2013, 02:09 PM
That's a small amount of hair, trust me. Hardly anything to worry about!

Isilme
November 10th, 2013, 02:09 PM
It looks absolutely normal! I would have had more shed hair than that if I didn't comb my hair for three days.

chen bao jun
November 10th, 2013, 02:12 PM
You should see what comes out of my head on a regular basis! that's nothing.
What I think is a worry is when I see a lot of little short pieces of hair, which means breakage--hair is going to shed as a normal thing, if you have abnormal shedding, its a lot more than that.

PraiseCheeses
November 10th, 2013, 02:12 PM
Another vote for "normal." In addition to others' advice, have you ever actually counted the hairs in the pile? It might be many less than you think - shed hair has a way of taking on extreme volume. :p I can't tell you how many times at the end of the day I've pulled out what looks like fistfuls of hair and panicked - until I counted them and found out it was only 40 or so hairs for the entire day. :lol: Knowing the actual, reasonable number helped me not to worry about it.

ETA: Just double-checked your OP and saw that you have counted. Sorry for skimming. :o In any case, it is still pretty normal. :flower:

Jennielee88
November 10th, 2013, 02:26 PM
Thanks guys... I feel a lot calmer now after seeing your responses! Although I just washed my hair and even more came out... but i'm going to try and not be so obsessive about it from now on unless I see any noticeable thinning!

meteor
November 10th, 2013, 02:31 PM
On the one hand, the pictures show very little shedding by my standards. I've always shed tons more than that in half a day.

BUT everybody's norm is different. Somebody with shorter, thinner hair will have smaller hair balls after a combing. If this is significantly more than YOUR norm and it persists for a few weeks, please do consult a doctor. Be realistic about your judgement (some people think they are shedding a lot just because they are noticing it for the first time in their lives) and remember that if you comb once every three days, you should have 3x daily shed.

Also, watch for changes in the quality of your hair: is it getting dryer than usual? is it more brittle at all? And did you change your diet in the last 3-6 months? If so, you should tell your doctor about these things in conjuncture with the hair shedding.

Stress usually hits hair after about 3 months, not right away. That said, it's best to try and reduce stressors: change up routines, start fun activities, do more exercise, eat well... anything to relieve stress. If you break-up was difficult, I recommend trying to avoid the reminders of your ex until you feel much better.

Best of luck! :) And happy growing! :)

Sillage
November 10th, 2013, 02:32 PM
That's nothing to me LOL! On a normal day I shed at least twice that.

Jennielee88
November 10th, 2013, 02:37 PM
On the one hand, the pictures show very little shedding by my standards. I've always shed tons more than that in half a day.

BUT everybody's norm is different. Somebody with shorter, thinner hair will have smaller hair balls after a combing. If this is significantly more than YOUR norm and it persists for a few weeks, please do consult a doctor. Be realistic about your judgement (some people think they are shedding a lot just because they are noticing it for the first time in their lives) and remember that if you comb once every three days, you should have 3x daily shed.

Also, watch for changes in the quality of your hair: is it getting dryer than usual? is it more brittle at all? And did you change your diet in the last 3-6 months? If so, you should tell your doctor about these things in conjuncture with the hair shedding.

Stress usually hits hair after about 3 months, not right away. That said, it's best to try and reduce stressors: change up routines, start fun activities, do more exercise, eat well... anything to relieve stress. If you break-up was difficult, I recommend trying to avoid the reminders of your ex until you feel much better.

Best of luck! :) And happy growing! :)


Thankyou :)
What worried me the most was that it didnt seem normal for me... but in saying that it has only been quite recently that I've tried to 'leave it alone', in that I try to wash it only once a week and dont comb it as often. Ive always washed it and combed it every day so I guess I wouldnt have had a build up of hairs like I do now...

meteor
November 10th, 2013, 02:47 PM
Thankyou :)
What worried me the most was that it didnt seem normal for me... but in saying that it has only been quite recently that I've tried to 'leave it alone', in that I try to wash it only once a week and dont comb it as often. Ive always washed it and combed it every day so I guess I wouldnt have had a build up of hairs like I do now...

I know it's hard to judge shedding rates when you have changed up how you handle hair. I really like that you put your hair up, comb it rarely and treat it very gently. So hopefully, you are just seeing trapped hair collected over a few days in one shedding.

Here's a good read that might help figure out the situation: it's an article about different evaluation methods for hair shedding that trichologists use.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2938572/
This is also known as the 'traction test' or 'Sabouraud's sign' or the 'pull-out sign.'[9]

"Approximately 20-60 hairs are grasped between the thumb, index and middle fingers from the base of the hairs near the scalp and firmly, but not forcefully, tugged away from the scalp. If more than 10% hairs are pulled away from the scalp, this constitutes a positive pull test and implies active hair shedding. The patient must not shampoo for at least a day prior to the pull test."

Jennielee88
November 11th, 2013, 12:25 PM
I know it's hard to judge shedding rates when you have changed up how you handle hair. I really like that you put your hair up, comb it rarely and treat it very gently. So hopefully, you are just seeing trapped hair collected over a few days in one shedding.

Here's a good read that might help figure out the situation: it's an article about different evaluation methods for hair shedding that trichologists use.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2938572/
This is also known as the 'traction test' or 'Sabouraud's sign' or the 'pull-out sign.'[9]

"Approximately 20-60 hairs are grasped between the thumb, index and middle fingers from the base of the hairs near the scalp and firmly, but not forcefully, tugged away from the scalp. If more than 10% hairs are pulled away from the scalp, this constitutes a positive pull test and implies active hair shedding. The patient must not shampoo for at least a day prior to the pull test."

Thanks for this. I gave it a read and did a little pull test and nothing came out... It would appear that I'm a drama queen

vanillabones
November 11th, 2013, 01:17 PM
It really doesn't look like that much hair to me. I had bleached white hair at one point and found I didn't shed more than usual and used protein treatments that worked wonders. I'd also probably put some type of oil on the very ends I find even just a little helps so much :)

r00ski
November 11th, 2013, 03:08 PM
Oh MAN, if THAT almost gave you a heat attack, wait until you see my bathroom sink/tub/floor/comb.. :run:

AmyBeth
November 11th, 2013, 06:00 PM
It looks so normal to me. If it is more than is normal for you, you may be going through one of those inexplicable, though harmless, periodic sheds some of us seem to endure. I went through one a year and a half ago that had me really panicking, but I got beyond it with my hair thicker than ever, thanks to LHC methods that I was learning at the time.

swearnsue
November 11th, 2013, 06:24 PM
The shed amount looks like a small/normal amount to me. You said you have some breakage? You could try a SMT to moisturize your hair and also give yourself a little TLC since you have been having a stressful time.

Bagginslover
November 12th, 2013, 04:50 AM
That's a small amount of hair, trust me. Hardly anything to worry about!

^this. I have more than that, twice a day ;) I know its scary if its more than usual though, don't feel you shouldn't have asked. The only silly question is the one you don't ask ;)

lapushka
November 12th, 2013, 07:44 AM
I know its scary if its more than usual though, don't feel you shouldn't have asked. The only silly question is the one you don't ask ;)

Yes, do ask. We're here to set your mind at ease (or not, but in this case hopefully we did do that).