Help, another shed

[diddiedaisy]

Last summer I had a massive shed which left me with see through patches on my scalp. I have been recovering from this and do have a lot of new growth. One lot which is 3-4 inches long and a second lot which is more than 1 inch. This has left me with very see through ends and although I've cut off 2 inches this year I still need to lose 4 inches of my length. When I put my hair up I look like I've been blown up with dynamite with the new growth sticking out.

However, I lost a baby 5 weeks ago I was 9 weeks pregnant. Over the last few days I have started another shed. I'm terrified of losing the same kind of amount of hair like I did last summer. I have started taking msm and biotin again, which I gave up while I was pregnant. Is there anything else I can do to stop this shed? I'm also taking multi-vitimins.

[monsoonstorm]

I'm sorry for your loss *hugs*

I don't think you can do much really as it will be hormonal. Just try to make sure you are looking after yourself in this difficult time. Stress can make sheds worse. Try to take some time for you to recover and make sure that you are eating well. Unless your last shed was hormonal too, I don't think there's any reason to think it will be quite so bad. Post-pregnancy sheds tend to be your body getting rid of all of the hair it was clinging on to whilst you were pregnant (you shed much less when you are pregnant).

No stress, plenty of rest and good food. That's the best thing you can do for yourself right now.

Do you know what caused your last big shed?

[ChloeDharma]

Oh yikes! First of all I'm so sorry you lost your baby.

As for the shedding, this is a battle I struggle with too. Hopefully the MSM and biotin will help. I remember reading garlic supplements help reduce shedding. What about regular scalp massage with essential oils like rosemary? Castor oil is one I'm trying at the moment, though combined with another oil to thin it and essential oils like rosemary, geranium and ylang ylang. I also am using the Lee Stafford growth treatment but have not used it consistently in the past and have only recently got back on this hair care wagon. I'm also brushing my hair with a BBB daily and even using pure essential oils with a scalp massage and brushing on non wash days (making sure to always include rosemary). It's very early to tell but in my last wash I lost very few hairs compared to my usual amount. Normally my hands and arms get covered by the shed hairs when I wash whereas last time only a few collected on my hands.

I don't know if any of these suggestions will be of use to you but I do hope you manage to get it under control soon and I really do relate at least to some extent to the shedding and loss of thickness issue.

[MiamiPineapple]

I would try biotin everyday, megatek which is a horse/people shampoo for rebuilding coat and scalp massages with cactus oil. All have helped me grow my hair and prevent shedding. I am doing all three right now because the summer I tend to shed more and I have hoping for some good new growth after my trim on the summer solstice last week. Good luck and so sorry for your loss hugs!

[diddiedaisy]

Thankyou for the replies. I think I'll up my msm and biotin see how that goes. I'm not on high doses at the moment. I do have sweet almond oil with rosemary and peppermint in it, but massaging tends to make me shed more, so I'm a bit scared to try that.

[Second Growth]

I have heard that prenatal vitamins, taken when you are not pregnant, help with hair growth. Does anybody have information on that?

[~Abi~]

I'm so sorry, diddiedaisy. Take some time to heal both physically and emotionally.

As for the shedding problem, I'll be watching this thread with plenty of interest as I just started a horrible postpartum shed and am hoping to minimize the damages if possible!