Shedding short hairs?????

[louzen]

Hi all

I'm a bit freaked out right now, I'm probably over reacting but I'm such a worrier.

For about 2 years now I brush my hair every day and always track how much I shed, simply because I had hair thinning before when I was on the pill, so I always like to monitor the shedding levels. I always check how many hairs I shed in the shower too.

This morning after I washed my hair, I checked as per normal how much hair was shed. But this time I saw loads of little hairs, about 1 inch long in the bath. There were about 10 of them in total. I have NEVER seen this before. And I'm thinking this isn't good???? (I normally shed about 10 long hairs a day)

I have been eating a very balanced healthy diet for years now, and I don't take any medication (I stopped the BCP a year ago).

The only thing that has changed is that I have recently started taking powdered MSM in my juice every day (about a teaspoon). I do scrub my scalp quite vigorously, as I CO, maybe I'm inadvertently pulling at these small hairs when I scrub? But I always vigorously scrub my scalp and haven't seen this before, but maybe I went too far this time??

Sorry for the long post, I guess I wanted to get this off my chest as I had a period when I was so upset and stressed at my hair thinning 2 years ago. I have been so pleased in the last year as it has been thickening up, but fear the worst now ...

EDIT: I have had blood work done and everything is normal - Thyroid, Zinc, Iron, etc

[spidermom]

I do it. I guess some hairs on my head have a very short growth cycle.

[Stiria]

I shed short hairs too. As Spidermom says, some hairs just have a shorter growth cycle. So long as you don't notice your hair is thinning, I don't think you should worry about it.

[lapushka]

I shed short hairs too. As Spidermom says, some hairs just have a shorter growth cycle. So long as you don't notice your hair is thinning, I don't think you should worry about it.

This. ^^ Perfectly normal, unless it's breakage. But if you S&D regularly and you have no damage, then it's fine (if you weren't straightening or heat damaging it in the past).

[louzen]

Thanks all, I feel much better now :-)

Guess it's one of those things that happens. I'll keep an eye on it, along with being gentler when I scrub my scalp when CO washing. (I did go a bit OCD with the scrubbing)

I must admit, googling doesn't help and can make you more paranoid! (unless I google just this site)

Because I haven't noticed it before, it just freaked me out. Maybe it has happened before, but I just didn't notice it. Anyway, I'll keep and eye and report back

EDIT: I don't think the hairs were breakage as they had a bulb at the top and were tapered.

[jacqueline101]

I she'd short hairs too my bangs, nape and temple hairs are short. Ten hairs isn't too big unless the thinning gets noticeable due to shedding.

[RapunzelKat]

I also get these occasionally, especially if I've brushed with my Tangle Teezer before washing. Mine are "baby" hairs at terminal length - I can tell because they taper from root to tip. They're generally about one to two inches long. It doesn't happen all that often, just every now and then :)

I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you seem to be losing thickness again :flower:

[RapunzelKat]

Thanks all, I feel much better now :-)

Guess it's one of those things that happens. I'll keep an eye on it, along with being gentler when I scrub my scalp when CO washing. (I did go a bit OCD with the scrubbing)

I must admit, googling doesn't help and can make you more paranoid! (unless I google just this site)

Because I haven't noticed it before, it just freaked me out. Maybe it has happened before, but I just didn't notice it. Anyway, I'll keep and eye and report back

EDIT: I don't think the hairs were breakage as they had a bulb at the top and were tapered.

Yep, sounds just like the baby hairs I shed :)

[turtlelover]

I get those, too, generally around my hairline and temples.

[louzen]

Ok, washed my hair again for the first time since it happened. I massaged this time very very gently. Checked the shed hairs in the bath, about 3 long and about 4/5 baby hairs this time. So not as much as last time. I really do hope this phase stops as it's turning me into a mad woman! Funny enough, I don't see any small hairs in my brush or when I detangle ...

[louzen]

Do you guys shed short hairs every time you wash/comb? I'm only noticing it when I wash my hair every 2/3 days. I don't notice it when I detangle/brush at all.

[Wosie]

Yes, I do, now that you mention it... I haven't really paid them much attention, but whenever I clean my brush (daily) I see some short hairs weaved in with the longer ones.

Have you noticed any thinning where the terminal length is shorter (i.e. around the sides of your face and nape)? If not, there shouldn't be any cause for concern. :flower: I've had hair thinning around the temples before, and I assure you, it's easy to tell when that starts to happen.

[mamaherrera]

I have this too, but now I'm sure that I don't shed them just from the nape/temples, because my husband looked and found some of these throughout/dispersed through my scalp. I mean, where I only grow long hair, like even at my crown/vertex, he finds these short hairs, that come out easily and they are super thin compared to my medium thick hair. Anyone else find this?? And is it normal. Now that I'm pregnant, I only lose like 10 long hairs and always 4-5 of these thin, short hairs, super thin. It bothers me, I hope it's not a hairloss problem, but just normal, maybe even a vitamin deficiency, but I've been seeing these types of hairs for the last three years. I'd rather it be a vitamin deficiency and not an alopecia type thing. And the same as you, I only notice it when I bathe. But as thin as they are, if they fell out on my pillow or something, I wouldn't notice them.