How long does a seasonal shed last you?

[GoddesJourney]

My hair started shedding late January/early February. Until then I was shedding no more than ten hairs a day. Now there's a mess on my floor and next to my bed...I'm shedding every day the amount I shed on shampoo day. It's almost as much as I used to shed when I used to use full strength sls shampoo daily and coney conditioner. Other than a seasonal shed, I could really only link it to the Monistat experiment, which didn't help at all and I stopped using it within two to three weeks. I'm stressed out but that has been the case for most of the last three years. Still getting fairly healthy food and plenty of exercise.

Anyway, I'm in SW Florida and the weather has been heating up. It's been a few weeks of shedding and my ponytail has gotten thinner. It's not breakage and I have very few splits. Let's say it's a seasonal shed. How long does that usually last you?

Not that my hair seems to care what I think, but I'm not happy about having less hair and even less interested in this continuing for much longer. :/

[Theobroma]

I've only had one seasonal shed that I'm aware of, and if I remember correctly it lasted for perhaps three or four weeks, but I don't think I noticed a decrease in thickness from it.

Could this be a reaction to a new product or a change in your routine? (I shed insanely from letting conditioner get on my scalp, though the shedding happens only during washing, not on non-wash days.) If not, I'd suggest seeing a doctor just in case there's an underlying, fixable health issue you're unaware of.

[Squiggy]

I had a pretty sizable shed this past fall. It seemed to last a couple of months, and I did lose a bit of thickness from it. Fortunately, now that it is done, I have all sorts of new growth coming in and it is thickening back up.

I also second what Theobroma said about changes to your routine. If you've made any changes to methods or products those could be the culprit!

[GoddesJourney]

I had a pretty sizable shed this past fall. It seemed to last a couple of months, and I did lose a bit of thickness from it. Fortunately, now that it is done, I have all sorts of new growth coming in and it is thickening back up.

I also second what Theobroma said about changes to your routine. If you've made any changes to methods or products those could be the culprit!

A couple of months?! That sucks... and it is not a change in routine. That would have been my first guess. Still doing the same wash routine using the same products. I was just looking for a good guage on how long people's sheds usually last so I can try to ignore it for that amount of time and hope for the best.

[ceruleansky]

About 3 weeks maybe? I think I'm getting close to the end of one now. I had a significant shed this time last year too. It was when I first began experimenting with CO, so I attributed it to that. Having been successful with CO for months now, I'm thinking my current bit of hair loss is seasonal. I never paid a lot of attention to sheds until last year.

[Madora]

I've never experienced a seasonal shed. The only time I did experience a shed was when I had anemia and my hair fell out big time.

[jacqueline101]

I had my seasonal shed in the spring it was a two week deal. I didn't notice any thinning.

[Remi]

I experience most of my hair shedding in the hot months. But around here (southern CA) it is hot for about 7 months of the year. I know, I complain too much about the heat, but I hate it.

[Squiggy]

A couple of months?! That sucks... and it is not a change in routine. That would have been my first guess. Still doing the same wash routine using the same products. I was just looking for a good guage on how long people's sheds usually last so I can try to ignore it for that amount of time and hope for the best.

Yes, it just seemed to last forever, but it wasn't alarming, you know? Just a little bit of extra hair each day, not coming out in handfuls. Hopefully yours will only last a few weeks! And hopefully you don't find yourself with a fuzzy halo of new growth like me (if I don't tuck them behind my ears it actually looks like I have some crazy sideburns. Not cute!)

[Nadine <3]

I had one this fall. It was crazy, lost handfuls of hair every day for about 2 months. I was so terrified that something was wrong with me. i went to the doctor and everything checked out fine. I noticed one day that my shedding jut stopped and I was back to loosing very little hair again.

[longishhair]

OP, do you use oil treatments? They might improve/worsen the shedding. For me, using oil (castor+grapeseed) in the past few days has significantly decreased the amount of hair shed - but IIRC some people shed more when using (castor) oil.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I don't have seasonal sheds . I did have a big shed last year when my thickness went from 4.25" down to 3.5" in about a month, but that was a stress induced shed (marriage ended, moved across country, finding a new job, somewhere to live etc).

[QMacrocarpa]

I had one that lasted about a month, from mid-Sept. to mid-Oct. 2012.

[ravenheather]

I was shedding more than normal the end of last summer. It was about 6 weeks. Then I started using neelibringhadi oil overnight as a prepoo. Gradually it stopped. Now my shedding is less than it's ever been. Still using neeli oil. I love it.

[GoddesJourney]

OP, do you use oil treatments? They might improve/worsen the shedding. For me, using oil (castor+grapeseed) in the past few days has significantly decreased the amount of hair shed - but IIRC some people shed more when using (castor) oil.

I do use avocado or macadamia oil most days, but it's typically a small amount just wiped through wet hair and I doubt much if any gets on my scalp. I do the "shiny hands" method and it gets distributed while I'm detangling or throughout the day. My hair loves it. My face and skin like it too, especially the avocado oil although it's nice to mix it up and I love the macadamia scent. I beer rinse with flat diluted beer about three days a week and my hair seems to love that too (seems cleaner and softer/less buildup). I don't think that is making me shed either.

I haven't had a seasonal shed that I know of for a long time. Any major shedding seems to have been stress related, but I do know I've had them before albeit years ago. Maybe it was just that time? If it doesn't let up in a couple of weeks I'll start looking at other factors. Since I don't have any indication of health rated factors that I know of, I won't bother with that unless other possibilities are exhausted. It sounds like another couple of weeks should be enough to complete a major seasonal "shedding of the winter coat".

[HumanBean]

Have you lost weight recently? The research says a weight loss of about 15 lbs can trigger a shed as late as 6 months after the weight loss. That happened to me last year...it lasted about 5 months.

[GoddesJourney]

Have you lost weight recently? The research says a weight loss of about 15 lbs can trigger a shed as late as 6 months after the weight loss. That happened to me last year...it lasted about 5 months.

Now this makes a lot of sense. I had shoulder surgery maybe the last day or so of November 2012. I lost probably 20 lbs in the following 6 months between atrophy and some getting away from the food at work. Since then I have been able to put back on only like 3-4 lbs although I have leaned out a bit. I am at most 124 lbs at 5'6", which is about 10 lbs under my normal weight even if I'm quite lean. For example, I went to qualify at the range today and it was a lot of work holding long guns steady or even the pistol due to weakness...and this is a huge improvement from say six months ago.

It may be a bit late for a shed but I can see how the change in body composition and increase in ability to exercise would create a hormone shift that may result in shedding. I just figured it would be not related since I would expect it to happen when I lost all that weight instead of now. Do you think it would be too late for a correlation?

ETA: It was a posterior labrum repair and plication of capsule, which left me pretty much only walking for exercise for 4-5 months so I really got that full body atrophy. It was a slow and careful process when I was allowed to start rebuilding.

[longishhair]

Now this makes a lot of sense. I had shoulder surgery maybe the last day or so of November 2012. I lost probably 20 lbs in the following 6 months between atrophy and some getting away from the food at work. Since then I have been able to put back on only like 3-4 lbs although I have leaned out a bit. I am at most 124 lbs at 5'6", which is about 10 lbs under my normal weight even if I'm quite lean. For example, I went to qualify at the range today and it was a lot of work holding long guns steady or even the pistol due to weakness...and this is a huge improvement from say six months ago.

It may be a bit late for a shed but I can see how the change in body composition and increase in ability to exercise would create a hormone shift that may result in shedding. I just figured it would be not related since I would expect it to happen when I lost all that weight instead of now. Do you think it would be too late for a correlation?

ETA: It was a posterior labrum repair and plication of capsule, which left me pretty much only walking for exercise for 4-5 months so I really got that full body atrophy. It was a slow and careful process when I was allowed to start rebuilding.

If you say shedding is stress-related and you had shoulder surgery, that could explain the scary shed you're experiencing now. Probably "hair reactions" (Sorry for the non-scientific term) don't occur at the moment of trauma but later, since it takes a while (IMO) for hair to "notice" that there is a loss of nutrients etc. (from weight loss).
I might be completely wrong, but maybe that's what's wrong in your case.

[lapushka]

Other than a seasonal shed, I could really only link it to the Monistat experiment, which didn't help at all and I stopped using it within two to three weeks. I'm stressed out but that has been the case for most of the last three years. Still getting fairly healthy food and plenty of exercise.

Anyway, I'm in SW Florida and the weather has been heating up. It's been a few weeks of shedding and my ponytail has gotten thinner. It's not breakage and I have very few splits. Let's say it's a seasonal shed. How long does that usually last you?

Not that my hair seems to care what I think, but I'm not happy about having less hair and even less interested in this continuing for much longer. :/

I'd stop the Monistat, like you did, and see what happens next. You can only wait and see. Hope the shedding stops for you. Jan/Feb are odd months to have a seasonal shed in. Usually it's spring and fall.

Seasonal sheds can last a month up to two months for me, but they usually don't come with less ponytail circumference for me. Not that I've noticed!

[GoddesJourney]

I'd stop the Monistat, like you did, and see what happens next. You can only wait and see. Hope the shedding stops for you. Jan/Feb are odd months to have a seasonal shed in. Usually it's spring and fall.

Seasonal sheds can last a month up to two months for me, but they usually don't come with less ponytail circumference for me. Not that I've noticed!

I haven't touched the Monistat in two to three weeks because I was thinking that too. I really didn't lose a lot of ponytail circumference, but I did notice it. I notice stupid details though so it might not be as much as it seems to me. Also, we appear to be having spring right now in SW Florida. It's warmed up a lot. On the up side, I think the shed might be slowing down a bit. Hopefully it just goes away and I probably won't care why. :)

[Raging Wolf]

My shed lasted for six weeks around the start of fall last year. It wasn't anything drastic, just simple touch of my hair and seemed to shed. So, I just wore it up and forgot about it; until the shedding stopped.

[GoddesJourney]

Seems like my shedding has let up quite a bit. It's still more shedding than I want but nothing to worry over. Anyway, that being the case, who cares why it started anyway? :) I'm going to assume it was my turn for a seasonal shed.

[Norwaygirl]

Mine lasted for about 3 months, and I lost about 2/3 of my hair… This was due to severe illness, so it is probably not what happens to most people when they have a seasonal shed.