Post shed..."resting?"

[kitcatsmeow]

I vaguely recall reading that after a shed your hair will rest, or stop growing. Is this correct? I usually have some serious root regrowth going on after a week or two but I barely have anything after two weeks.

Also it has stopped producing sebum. That worries me. I usually wash once a week and after about 4 days I do some scritching and have a decent amount of sebum under my nails. I have NONE after a week. I haven't changed shampoo, conditioner, etc. I have added a new serum with oils and EO and have been using my castor oil again. Would that inhibit natural sebum production?

[spidermom]

Nope. The cycle goes: active growth, resting (while the root shrinks), shedding.

As for the sebum, I don't really know. I have noticed that sometimes my own sebum is thin and spreads easily, other times it is tacky and doesn't spread at all. I think it might be related to my diet but am not sure.

[spidermom]

Oh, and after shedding the cycle repeats. If a new hair is growing in from a follicle, it's going to take awhile before it's long enough for you to notice it.

[kitcatsmeow]

Cool thanks. Hopefully that means I'll be seeing some growth soon!

[CousinItt]

I would guess the low sebum is diet related. I tend to produce less sebum naturally, but if I eat too many starchy foods, my skin dries right up. If I eat more mixed veggies, salads, leafy greens, sea vegetables and make sure I get more than my share of healthy oils and fats (especially from fish), then my skin is soft and well moisturized.

[kitcatsmeow]

I would guess the low sebum is diet related. I tend to produce less sebum naturally, but if I eat too many starchy foods, my skin dries right up. If I eat more mixed veggies, salads, leafy greens, sea vegetables and make sure I get more than my share of healthy oils and fats (especially from fish), then my skin is soft and well moisturized.

Yeah that's def not it. First thing I thought of was diet but that hasn't changed. If anything I am eating more fish, added more fats like coconut oil and ghee and I'm basically paleo so no gluten/starch, flour etc. and lots of veggies.

[CousinItt]

It's possible your problem is that you're too low carb. I've read stories about women who are paleo who had to include more starchy foods in their diet, because they were becoming sick. AFAIK they were also all on the more slender side, as you are. It's apparently not a problem men face.

Here's an article about it: http://robbwolf.com/2014/02/20/females-carbohydrates-hormones/

[lunalocks]

I had major sheds from surgeries one year ago and 9 months ago and have all kinds of whispies 6 inches long and 4 inches long that reflect those hairs growing back.

[kitcatsmeow]

It's possible your problem is that you're too low carb. I've read stories about women who are paleo who had to include more starchy foods in their diet, because they were becoming sick. AFAIK they were also all on the more slender side, as you are. It's apparently not a problem men face.

Here's an article about it: http://robbwolf.com/2014/02/20/females-carbohydrates-hormones/

Interesting! Although I don't think it's that either. I'm Paleo-ish. I include white rice and chickpeas and fruit daily. Mostly I stay away from gluten and legumes. It's just bizarre!

[meteor]

For something as fundamental as hair growth cycles and sebum production, I'd only focus on health, hormones, nutrition... certainly not hair products. I can't see how your new hair serum would affect things at all.


Yeah that's def not it. First thing I thought of was diet but that hasn't changed. If anything I am eating more fish, added more fats like coconut oil and ghee and I'm basically paleo so no gluten/starch, flour etc. and lots of veggies.

I really don't know your specific situation, but I'll put this out there for your consideration. When people switch from standard diet (moderately rich in processed foods and omega-6) to paleo or other whole-foods based diets (rich in omega-3), they often notice more "liquidy" (less waxy, less thick) sebum, which results in less oily look, less acne/SD issues, cleaner body odor and other sebum-related changes. I wonder if your scratching scalp and not getting waxy buildup under nails is actually a good thing. Unless your scalp feels tight and uncomfortably dry and hair quality is beginning to get very dry, there is no reason to assume that your scalp stopped producing sebum. The quality of sebum might have changed.

[CousinItt]

Interesting! Although I don't think it's that either. I'm Paleo-ish. I include white rice and chickpeas and fruit daily. Mostly I stay away from gluten and legumes. It's just bizarre!
It's really fascinating how diet can affect a person. I'm paleo as well. I'm actually on a strict anti-inflammatory diet, because of recurring skin problems (acne, eczema). It's helping so far, but it's hard to stay away from certain foods :(

[kitcatsmeow]

For something as fundamental as hair growth cycles and sebum production, I'd only focus on health, hormones, nutrition... certainly not hair products. I can't see how your new hair serum would affect things at all.



I really don't know your specific situation, but I'll put this out there for your consideration. When people switch from standard diet (moderately rich in processed foods and omega-6) to paleo or other whole-foods based diets (rich in omega-3), they often notice more "liquidy" (less waxy, less thick) sebum, which results in less oily look, less acne/SD issues, cleaner body odor and other sebum-related changes. I wonder if your scratching scalp and not getting waxy buildup under nails is actually a good thing. Unless your scalp feels tight and uncomfortably dry and hair quality is beginning to get very dry, there is no reason to assume that your scalp stopped producing sebum. The quality of sebum might have changed.

Thank you for this! That helped a lot. I never have eaten a typical SAD diet. I was raw vegan for a few years and then slowly transitioned into eating meat and cooked foods although always clean gluten free, etc. I don't think it's my diet as it's only improved.

Althouhg LIGHTBULB! I am currently on prednisone which has effected my skin (acne when I NEVER have had acne) so I'm wondering if this could be the culprit??

[meteor]

Thank you for this! That helped a lot. I never have eaten a typical SAD diet. I was raw vegan for a few years and then slowly transitioned into eating meat and cooked foods although always clean gluten free, etc. I don't think it's my diet as it's only improved.

Althouhg LIGHTBULB! I am currently on prednisone which has effected my skin (acne when I NEVER have had acne) so I'm wondering if this could be the culprit??

Medication definitely could. And immunosuppressant drugs (like prednisone) can certainly strongly affect skin (and scalp). I'd look into all the stuff you've started ingesting regularly as the first potential culprits to analyze. So if I were you, I'd raise this concern with the doctor that prescribed it. Maybe he or she will shed some light, offer alternatives or something to reduce the side-effects, if it's truly the cause. Sorry, I don't have personal experience with prednisone, but maybe other LHC-ers do and will jump in.

[Panth]

Nope. The cycle goes: active growth, resting (while the root shrinks), shedding.

Although this is true, the general estimated figures for the phases are:
- active growth phase (anagen) = 2-6 years (though we know here that 6 years is almost certainly not the maximum possible - a, say, 0.5"/month growth rate or even a superb one of 2"/month would not get you past floor length in 6 years, and we know that growing hair past floor length is possible in at least some humans...)
- transition phase (catagen) = approx. 2-3 weeks (when the root shrinks)
- resting phase (telogen) = approx. 1-4 months

However, although the hair root shrinks, etc. in catagen, it's only actively shed when telogen moves back into anagen and the new hair coming out of the follicle forces the old one out.

So, no, there is no waiting between shedding a hair and growing a new one. However, there is a period of about 1.5-5 months when the follicle is transitioning and then resting at the end of a hair's cycle when the hair will no longer gain length (in preparation for being shed). Of course, this happens on a hair-by-hair basis, so is unlikely to be noticeable when considering the entire length unless you've had something to synchronise a significant portion of your follicles, e.g. post-pregnancy shed or a*very* large diet/illness related shed.