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Little_Bird
October 4th, 2008, 04:17 PM
I'm not just depressed enough... my hair wants to put me to death. I mean...

I posted about this last week: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=12818&highlight=scared

Today I washed my hair again and I just combed and counted my strands. Last week people mentioned it was impossible to be 300 strands in the picture I had posted. I counted about 450 strands today!

I am so sad... I don't know what to do. Am I losing my hair?

I am really down below today... help me :cry: On the other hand I measured my ponytail circumference the other day and I have 12 cm (4.72 inches). So is this a proportion thing with my natural volume or is it too much? Be honest with me...

jojo
October 4th, 2008, 04:21 PM
Aww sorry your feeling sad LB having gone through a major shed myself recently (like birds nest sized sheds) I totally understand how you are feeling, I am also going through a stall too so im feeling kind of upset too.

Don't really know how to comfort you, but just wanted to say your hair is still pretty amazing, pretty long and very thick. Try not to worry too much, this will just make matters worse, maybe a zinc or iron supplement may help? are you eating enough protein? maybe this is just shedding season for a lot of us, hope its over soon for you.

Take care and hugs xx

chrissy-b
October 4th, 2008, 04:25 PM
Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know if this is proportional to your volume or not, as mine is more than half of what yours is, but I do know that there are others (myself included) who are going through a shed right now -- a Fall fall.

I wouldn't worry too much about it right now if it's only been going on for a week or so, but if it continues I would think about seeing a doctor. Don't mean to scare you, but if you've ruled out dietary changes, stress, etc., it might be worth it to check with your doctor.

I'm sure others will jump in with more help.

Jeni
October 4th, 2008, 04:44 PM
I'm sorry your feeling down!

My own thoughts-

How often do you wash your hair? You got this much shed after washing and brushing it out right? Not everyday? If this is just on wash day it might not be as bad as you think. Ok say you only wash once a week (7 days) and loose 450 hairs. I got brave today and caught my hair ball in the shower (ewww), there was 53 hairs in that clump. I wash my hair daily meaning in a week I loose ~350 hairs (50 a day), and that doesn't count the ones I loose by brushing through out the day. That is not much less then you loose and your hair is much thicker then mine.

You also mentioned you have been tired and stressed which may or may not be leading to your increased shedding. If you are worried about it (or you start noticing your hair getting thin) do see a doctor.

Your hair is gorgeous btw.

MadHatter
October 4th, 2008, 04:50 PM
As Jeni said, if you're stretching your washes, you're going to see more sheds come out at once. Happens to me, too.
Just keep monitoring your tail circumference. If you notice a change there, then you may want to see a doc about any potential underlying issues.

Amara
October 4th, 2008, 05:01 PM
Your hair sheds. It's what it does. If you freak out about and it and stress out you'll be making yourself miserable for no reason.

There are so many productive things to do with your energy instead of creating drama for yourself. Relax! The ONLY thing you should do is keep maybe a quarterly (every three months) record of your thickness, and that's only so you can see for yourself your hair will have ups and downs and it'll just continue to do that whether you freak out about it or not!

Some days I shed not at all, some days I shed handfuls. It's normal. :flowers:

Jamie Lynn 40
October 5th, 2008, 06:30 AM
Littlebird-
You may already know this but a good hair vitamin helps with hair shedding ( at least it helped me).Also, I use a product called biosil ( the liquid) & since I had a hair nightmare at the salon the other day with bleach my hair should actually be falling out like crazy but it isn't. I give God the credit & then this biosil & hair vitamin. If you are intersted the hair vitamin is called Country Life Maxi Hair and I have taken it for almost 2 months now but noticed a difference in month one from taking it & the biosil. I also take 5000mcg of biotin ( walmart's brand ). I have heard /read that MSM also helps. If you do decide to try any of these please give them at least a month ( maybe longer) and don't miss a day of taking them. Consistency is very important. I hope this helps because you have beautiful hair. Have a great day.
JamieLynn40

Speckla
October 5th, 2008, 11:59 AM
The average hair lose is 100 per day. The amount of hair can be 100 hairs X however many days between washing/brushings. It looks like a lot but it's actually just several days of normal shedding together.
________
Naruto Advice (http://www.tv-gossip.com/naruto/)

spidermom
October 5th, 2008, 12:07 PM
First, don't count your shed hairs. This obviously causes anxiety for you. Guess what can increase shedding? Stress, anxiety. Anything you can do to optimize your health as a whole will benefit your hair: drink water, avoid eating junk, good nutrition in diet, enough rest, fresh air, exercise. You know the drill.

PseudoScot
October 5th, 2008, 12:29 PM
Your hair sheds. It's what it does. If you freak out about and it and stress out you'll be making yourself miserable for no reason.

There are so many productive things to do with your energy instead of creating drama for yourself. Relax! The ONLY thing you should do is keep maybe a quarterly (every three months) record of your thickness, and that's only so you can see for yourself your hair will have ups and downs and it'll just continue to do that whether you freak out about it or not!

Some days I shed not at all, some days I shed handfuls. It's normal. :flowers:

This is excellent advice. :)

Don't stress over a shed unless it goes on for months and months. You are still young and hormones/time of year/etc can come into play.

Just take normal care of it. Do what you've been doing, if you're concerned about part of routine change it, but don't start doing a million things at once or toying with it all the time, just let it be.

I know what I will say next might be unpopular here but remember: it's just hair. Take care of it, etc, but it will keep growing. You'll be fine.

salamander
October 5th, 2008, 12:29 PM
Stop counting your sheds! It only makes you unhappy. Measure your circumference once a month if you need the reassurance, but no shed counting at all! As long as your circumference stays roughly the same, then you have no problem. You have lovely, thick hair, Little Bird, I promise you!

Honey39
October 5th, 2008, 12:39 PM
When I had a major shed a few years ago, what really helped was that I absolutely FORBADE myself to stress out about it after a month. I washed it and kept it up in a gentle bun, and that was it. I figured that if it kept up for more than three months it was serious, but guess what...after about three months it stopped of its own accord! Yes, I lost a lot of hair, but no one else noticed but me - and it all grew back in thicker than ever!

Now, this has been one week, and it sounds to me like it's a season shed for you. That's GOOD, it's what your hair does. Your hair is a living, organic thing that constantly replenishes itself. Someone told me that it's actually a BAD sign when you don't shed at all, because your hair is no longer in a growth cycle, and that losing no hairs is worse than shedding a lot. Hmmm, am not entirely sure about that, but I kind of get the logic - your hair works on a cycle, that so many hairs are growing at any one time, some have finished growing, and some are resting. You have gorgeous hair, and it will be ABSOLUTELY fine!

Calista
October 5th, 2008, 12:44 PM
LittleBird, I suggest you go see your doctor and get a blood screening done. It will put your mind at ease, and if there´s really anything at all not as it should be, the blood test will show. Maybe you have a deficiency of some kind, like iron deficiency?

akurah
October 5th, 2008, 01:10 PM
If you go more than a day between washes, that amount of shed hair is hardly abnormal.

I've gone weeks between washes and the shed hairs that come out on wash day can be so impressive I wonder if I should look for a bald spot somewhere. However, thus far, no bald spot.

Unless/until you get bald spots, this isn't worth stressing or worrying over.

Vivien'
October 7th, 2008, 10:47 AM
Hi LittleBird.
Maybe a bit late... :)
Sit down and take a large breath of (h)air. Is there any reason in the world which can cause you a hair loss ? As far I can see, you have no visible health problem. Your hairline is perfect so you don't seem to have a MPB problem. You take care of your hair and I'm sure you don't use toxic product on it.
So ? Wait one month and then go to a doctor to see if it is a symptom of an unseen illness (I hope it isn't !). I think it's a "season shed". I have one 2 years ago, and I agree with you, it was freaking ! (I even had little balls of hair on the bottom of my ponytails...)

Try to not stress.

Edit : 12 cm of thickness is amazing for a guy !

mjm4
October 7th, 2008, 11:27 AM
hmmm... perhaps you should change your hair care routine?maybe you hair doesn't cooperate well with something that is n the shampoo/conditioner/oil/cream?

my hair used to be like that; the size of my palm would come out everytime i brused after a wash, and i disovered it was because my hair hates shampoo (it was very dry and dead; shampoo was too harsh). so with condition only, after just one wash OMG at the difference. maybe 2 fingers worth of hair fell out?! AMAZING!!!

so yeah, i think you should change the product or routine you use. especially as growing hair (from one length to another, e.g APL to BSL) can require different techniques to continue its growth and keep it healthy.

sorry about the blabbing but i hope that helped:o

Tressie
October 9th, 2008, 11:01 PM
Don't worry! I think you have great thick hair and you are going to shed a lot, but obviously it hasn't thinned you down! Many people would be glad to have your volume! (o:

birthmarkie
October 9th, 2008, 11:20 PM
I don't think you need to worry. People can lose about 80 hairs a day. If you are losing your hair through baldness, you will see a patch develop.

vindo
October 9th, 2008, 11:27 PM
Today I washed my hair again and I just combed and counted my strands. Last week people mentioned it was impossible to be 300 strands in the picture I had posted. I counted about 450 strands today!


I have to differ about the "don't worry" and don't count the strands"...
Fact is that 300 shed hairs or even 400 is way too much.
It should not be more than 100.

Granted it might just be temporary, illness, weight loss, stress can all be factors but I would still make sure to look for a cause now because in case it does not stop on its own you at least were able to do something early.

I agree with the "try not to stress too much", it can contribute to your hair loss.
I know its hard but try to stay calm an analyse what might be the reason for a sudden shed like that.

And NO, thicker hair does not shed more in proportion ;)

Keep us updated and I hope it stops soon! :flower:

ladyshannonanne
October 9th, 2008, 11:44 PM
Please don't take this as me being insensitive, because I am sure that you feel horrible for shedding your hair. I just had to say: 4 3/4 in ponytail circumference and you're worried that your hair is thinning!?!?!?!?! Even if it's a little less thick than you're used to, that's still a mighty impressive ponytail!

Honestly, it's probably hormones for some reason or another. After I had my son, I thought all my hair around my face was falling out for good! Turns out, it was just a massive shed and I got a bunch of baby hairs within a few months.

I think the best thing you can do it relax. Stress can make your hair shed. I agree with other people who say to give it a little time. You might just be adjusting to something of which you're not even aware.

Best of luck and keep us posted! 4 3/4 in circumference?! You're a lucky girl!

Magicknthenight
October 10th, 2008, 12:03 AM
I have to differ about the "don't worry" and don't count the strands"...
Fact is that 300 shed hairs or even 400 is way too much.
It should not be more than 100.

Granted it might just be temporary, illness, weight loss, stress can all be factors but I would still make sure to look for a cause now because in case it does not stop on its own you at least were able to do something early.



I agree. You should go to the doctors and tested. That way if something is wrong you can quickly find a way to fix it. If nothing is then you can relax and know its probably just a seasonal thing.
hope you find relief :thumbsup:

Arctic_Mama
October 10th, 2008, 01:55 AM
My experience has been much like the other posters - especially if you're wearing updos and stretching washes your shed will look HUGE compared to daily washing (abuse) and excess grooming and manipulation of the hair. I have TONS of hair, many more strands than most people (it is baby-fine and I still have well over 5 inches in circumference) and I know my shed total is almost double of what it should be some days. I do think hair sheds proportional to the amount of strands there actually are, just from my knowledge of body chemistry. I could be wrong, but unless it's a patterned occurrence, where you're constantly shedding that amount, I'd just cautiously take note and otherwise shrug it off.

I am sorry you're alarmed, though! It's no fun to get handfuls of hair, even if its normal!

Arctic_Mama
October 10th, 2008, 01:57 AM
Best of luck and keep us posted! 4 3/4 in circumference?! You're a lucky girl!

Psst! Littlebird is a man :p

Little_Bird
October 10th, 2008, 04:05 AM
Gosh, there'd a little duality here about wheter I should worry or not... It could be stress eventually, I have been very "unhappy" with some stuff anf stressed with other stuff but it happened before and it didn't cause a shed, just a little dandruff sometimes.

I am going to wash my hair again today and I'll see what happens. I have talked with my mother about getting exams (altough I didn't mention it was because of my hair, but I haven't done tests in ages and I think it's the time, altough I do feel really healthy).

Gosh... I hate seasonal sheddings or whatsoever!

I wash my hair once a week. I found this quote on this site: http://www.pg.com/science/haircare/hair_twh_toc.htm

"As we saw in Chapter 1, all hairs naturally fall out at the end of the growing period. Everyone loses between 50 and 80 hairs a day. They tend to come out with brushing and shampooing. So if you wash your hair only once a week, it is perfectly in order for you to lose several hundred hairs at one go!"

So does this apply to my case, adding to a possible seasonal shedding?

I don't know what else to think, I wish I could feel safe :o

Nat242
October 10th, 2008, 04:16 AM
Little Bird, I would say that the amount of shed hairs you have is because they "accumulate" and come out when you wash. THAT SAID - why not head to the doctor anyway and get checked out, if it will put your mind to rest, and just to be very sure that everything's okay.

brok3nwings
October 10th, 2008, 04:19 AM
little bird i think you had all the answers you could possibly imagine and i think they all say it. I think that whats happening is what you said... you only shampoo once a week and all of your old hairs are falling in that day. If you think it will calm you down make the medical exams, we all need to do them from time to time (that reminded me that i havent made mine for 3 years...)
One more think that you should consider. i used to shampoo my hair with elvive when i had my hair longer (about 5 years ago) and it was my favourite at the time for comercial brands but for what i remember i used to shed a lot more then i do now and i think you should reconsider changing your rotine. That shampoo is probably full of chemicals and maybe its not doing the best to your hair, you should pass the label and ask someone here what they think about it. I personally find hard to use a good shampoo here in Portugal so...

NeilTheFuzz
October 10th, 2008, 05:54 AM
Hey Joao,

You have to take it easy friend. I started counting my shedding hairs once and whenever I shed over average amounts of hair I started worrying about it. The fact is that you have 100,000 hairs on your head and when 400 fall out it doesn't mean that ALL 400 are gone forever. Some of those hairs will just have reached the end of their natural life and will be making a new start, destined to be long hairs again.

I suggest to you that you try to accept shedding and that sometimes it will happen a lot. Also, maybe you should stop counting you shedding hairs and just enjoy the glorious hair you have right now. The less you worry about it, the less of a problem there seems to be.

Take care :)

Little_Bird
October 10th, 2008, 06:30 AM
After further research on the hair loss matter... I think I get it now.

I found out some articles about exercise - increasing testosterone levels - hair loss. This might be my problem, so I'm going to do something about it. Even if it's not the problem and it's still related to stress or season, I won't risk it. Testosterone is my worst enemy, voice and hair related, and if I knew about extensive exercise leading to increasing production of this hormone and how related it is with hair loss and male pattern baldness I wouldn't probably gie in to peer pressure as I did years ago.

So one problem eliminated as for today! Let's see how my hair reacts!

Also, Barbara, for the Elvive matter. I might give it a quick reseatch too and ask here in the forum. If I find it's damaging in any way, I might try Herbal Essence maybe. I've been thinking about it for a while now.

Thank you all so much for the sweet replies and all the encouragement. I believe in my strong hair genes and I'm sure this is just temporary. I love my hair...
Thank you :flowers: :)

Pegasus Marsters
October 10th, 2008, 06:40 AM
I'd also like to point out that the longer your hair is, the bigger the shed amount looks. I freaked out over my shedding a few weeks ago and then realised that the reason the hairball looked bigger than normal is because my hair has grown! :lol:

Also, please, don't stop exercising! This is BAD for you, even if it's good for your hair. Do NOT allow yourself to become unfit, there are so many health problems that are exacerbated by being unfit, it's just not worth it! Keep exercising, it's GOOD for you!

birthmarkie
October 10th, 2008, 06:44 AM
I agree with Emi that 300-400 is a lot at one time and on one day. However, if you keep your hair up for a week and wash once, then that means you are accumulating a week's worth of shed hair (about 50/day) which is still in the normal realm. ETA: just like Nat said. Sorry to repeat. Good to hear you found the cause.

Pegasus Marsters
October 10th, 2008, 08:54 AM
Sorry to come back, but the idea of you not exercising is so crazy it's had my head spinning!

Your hair should be the least of your worries when it comes to health... just a little tidbit of information from the wiki page for exercise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise)


Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the immune system, and helps prevent diseases of affluence such as heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity. It also improves mental health and helps prevent depression.

Is your hair really more important than your health?

Dark Rosaleen
October 10th, 2008, 09:06 AM
I must say this: I'm really not a fan of the whole "count your shed hairs" thing. I think it harms more than it helps. For the past 5 years that I've been part of this community I've seen countless members stress over this practice. And when something is wrong, you'll know it. I'm just concerned that this causes more or undue anxiety.

Ok, forgive me, but I just had to say that. I certainly don't mean to offend anyone.

Moving on...


To the OP, hope that you are able to let go of some of your stress. Relax, you have a nice looking head of hair.

I hope you feel lots better soon. :)

Calista
October 10th, 2008, 12:45 PM
Pegasus Marsters, he talked about excessive exercising. Keep calm. ;)

vindo
October 10th, 2008, 01:39 PM
I found out some articles about exercise - increasing testosterone levels - hair loss. This might be my problem, so I'm going to do something about it. Even if it's not the problem and it's still related to stress or season, I won't risk it. Testosterone is my worst enemy, voice and hair related, and if I knew about extensive exercise leading to increasing production of this hormone and how related it is with hair loss and male pattern baldness I wouldn't probably gie in to peer pressure as I did years ago.


You are still pretty young are you? If youre not fully grown up your testosteron levels will rise.
Lower testosteron levels in men have been found in Asia, partially due to the soy heavy diet. :)

As to male pattern baldness, that is also believed to be a condition of modern days. Poor Diet and conventional cosmetic chemicals have been shown to promote protein denatureing. During research it was found out that Males in more rural areas away from civilisation battle male pattern baldness much less and even in Southern European Countries there was barely and MPB found. Also the Native Peoples that live completely away from civilisation never seem to deal with it either.
(excuse my bad english here):
Further Silicones are suspected to be bad for scalp health. The skin is a big Organ that spits out all the bad stuff to get rid off it, that also happens on our heads.
But what if the head is plastered with sticky silicone? It will not be abl to get rid of the bad stuff and instead ist remains and is being fed to the hair follicles...result can be hair in a bad health state and hair loss.

Hair accumulating over time?:

Yes if you do not comb/ brush out shed hairs daily.

Otherwise it should be only a tad more when washing.

heidi w.
October 10th, 2008, 02:04 PM
Sheds happen, even spikes in big ones every so often.

Here are some things to help you.
A. If you wash rather infrequently, something longer than every third day, say, you will have an increase in shedding at a hair wash. One reason can be that there's this bacteria that's ever present on scalp skin, and when the sebum increases, the bacteria increases to 'eat' it in a manner of speaking. This is all to help maintain the acid mantle health. Sometimes, on longer stretches such as around a week or longer, that hair begins to smell rather pungent meaning that the bacteria is quite active. This CAN sometimes, SOMETIMES, get into a hair follicle and cause the early release of an otherwise healthy hair. It's not necessarily the best idea to wait overly long between hair washes. Different scalp's have different concerns that can affect this too.

B. Are you counting this many full complete, full length strands, or are some of these little ittier bits, such as only 1-3 inches. IF the latter, they're not a fully shed hair necessarily.

C. Do you see anything resembling a hair ROOT on one end of a hair strand? IF yes, this IS something to concern yourself with and my advise would then be GET THEE TO A DOCTOR! Do not mistake the outer casing for a root. They can be deceiving and related to each other. Maybe someone else can get you a hair root pix; I can't. I am at work and unable to search for images. Firewalls.

D. If the hairs are being shed all about, somewhat evenly on the head, it's a lot less likely there's an issue. IF, though, it comes out in clumps or chunks, this is a problem and again, GET THEE TO A DOCTOR then! This could be related to thyroid then, or even things like polycystic fibrosis. There's a lot of ailments that show the earlier signs through hair behavior.

E. How's your nutrition? IF you are even borderline anemic (need a simple blood screen test for this knowledge) you can have low-grade, chronic hair loss that is increased for a long time, until the issue is fixed. Full on anemic people definitely will have this issue. The thing is, it'll be shedding all about the head, somewhat evenly, and you may not notice it until you notice that your overall volume seems to have decreased in a relatively short period of time, such as a year or less. Another reason to do those annual doctor checkups at the ob-gyn. This issue can potentially (don't throw any tomatoes folks!) be more of a concern for people who's mensus is quite heavy, overly frequent, lasts longer than a week, vegetarians (there are plenty of ways to remain vegetarian and get that iron), but even "meatatarians" can have this issue. If you have any health issues or any medications that may affect your iron storage (in bone marrow) and iron available in the bloodstream then this could affect you. The remedy for borderline folks is usually pretty simple: a basic multivitamin that has a little bit (I mean that, a little bit) of an iron fortification in it is good. I DO NOT recommend taking a straight on iron pill UNLESS SPECIFICALLY UNDER THE CARE OF A KNOWLEDGEABLE DOCTOR. Why? Iron pills DO cause constipation, for one. More importantly, too much iron is toxic. So it's better to go the multivitamin route.

Most people don't realize the connection between increased shedding and even borderline anemia (low iron in the blood).

The other thing is that some women test just fine for iron with the usual blood screen panel, BUT if they tested closer to their mensus, such as after day 14, to around day 27 (yeah, after the mensus is over), they may find they have a dip. This is because there's a temporary dip in iron in the blood following or surrounding the actual mensus. There's another type of panel that tests the storage of iron, too.

F. On any medication that may affect hair shedding? Been sick lately? (more than a cold or flu?) Check the side effects labels.

G. Products. Switched products relatively recently? Doing anything new that you didn't do before? Some people, when some products (believe it or not some people respond this way to conditioner being applied to scalp skin) are used, are sensitive, and there could be a reaction. This is less likely than you might think yet not impossible. IF you're doing something new, go back to your old way more than one time and see if the shedding slows down a bit.

H. Any scalp skin dermis problems? Exzema, psoriasis, overly active dandruff, seborrheic dermatitus (a type of dandruff) ???? These can sometimes affect hair shedding until they're under some kind of control. YOU MUST SEE A DERMATOLOGIST about these types of conditions.

I. Big sheds where it seems all that's happening is loss of hair do occur every so many years. Those who are new to going long usually experience this around 30-40 inches, somewhere in year 3-4 of growth. Most are shocked when this occurs because they never let their hair grow so they never had the opportunity to experience the full cycle of hair growth. If this is the case, it'll go on for a bit, and then stop. Meanwhile likely you'll soon see lots of new growth popping up -- a kind of halo effect on the top of the head.

J. Any pregnancy or breast feeding, or done with either of these? It's well known that after pregnancy AND breast feeding are over that a big shed will follow. I mean big. It can persist for around 3-6 months. IF it goes longer, DEFINITELY SEE A DOCTOR. You must remember that it takes about a month or two for the hormone shift of oh, we're done with pregnancy and/or oh, we're done with breast feeding to be recognized as over&done by the body...then it says, ok, time to go back to normal, and it sheds a lot of hair! Lots of things happen to hair around the time of pregnancy and following.

heidi w.

heidi w.
October 10th, 2008, 02:11 PM
A few more thoughts.....

Are you piling your hair when you wash and scrubbing all about? If yes, this is improper hair washing for longer lengths.

Are you in any way pulling hair while washing. When water is added to hair it becomes MUCH heavier. Any further pulling can cause hair loss.

Are you pristinely detangling your hair while sopping wet, or even, fairly wet to even merely damp? IF yes, this could be contributing.

Are you using a brush to detangle? Switch to a comb.

Are you using a brush on wet hair? Do not use a brush on wet hair. Use a comb.

Do you bind the hair in an organized manner while sleeping? IF not, add this to your routine.

Do you sleep on textured fabric on your pillowcase? Switch to a slippery fabric. Fleece sheets ok; fleece pillowcase - not ok.

heidi w.

heidi w.
October 10th, 2008, 02:12 PM
Do you bind hair too tightly during the day? Does the binding pull the hair at the roots?

Do you use hair toys or devices that can contribute to broken hair or stress on hair?

heidi w.

heidi w.
October 10th, 2008, 03:26 PM
oH, and as much as 100-150 hairs PER DAY is normal shedding volume.

Are you detangling every day? OR do you wait a few days, detangle? That'll appear to be an increase in shedding, but it's not.

heidi w.

heidi w.
October 10th, 2008, 03:31 PM
I'm assuming all naturale hair, BUT did you do any chemical processes to the hair recently? coloring, perming, straightening, anything?

If yes, did you do two different processes close to each other or even, at the same time?

This could be it! Usually though hair will break, not exactly shed. It may or may not shed in clumps. If this is the case, you could be sensitive to some agent in the process. Look for any burns, red spots, rashes on the scalp skin. This could indicate an allergic reaction. See a DERMATOLOGIST if you discover this is the source.

You don't do anything styling wise, such as overly hot anything to hair or scalp skin, or some leave-in products or products on the head.

Are you oiling your scalp skin? IF yes, are you possibly having a reaction to this? For example, many like to use Tea Tree Oil. I have HEARD people report that if too much is used, this can cause hair shedding. Be VERY CAREFUL with both carrier and essential oils when applying to skin. ALWAYS CONDUCT A SKIN PATCH TEST FIRST. This is imperative for small children, babies and elderly, especially anyone that has skin issues already.

heidi w.

heidi w.
October 10th, 2008, 03:32 PM
Even an unbalanced diet will shift the hair follicles into a resting phase. If you went on a wholly fat-free, that is NO FAT AT ALL OF ANY KIND diet, this could be the culprit. We need some fat in order to carry various nutrients, vitamins to our body for the uptake of those nutrients.

Do you eat a diet low in any source of protein? That too could be an issue. Hair is made up mostly of protein, and if you don't eat it, this could be a problem.

http://www.hairdiseases.com/preventing-hair-loss/causes-of-hair-loss.shtml


heidi w.

heidi w.
October 10th, 2008, 04:02 PM
http://www.onlyhairloss.com/hairlosscauses.htm

high fevers will do it.
High Fever, Severe Infection, Severe Flu - Illnesses may cause hairs to enter the resting phase. Four weeks to three months after a high fever, severe illness or infection, a person may be shocked to see a lot of hair falling out. This shedding usually corrects itself.

Low Serum Iron - Iron deficiency occasionally produces hair loss. Some people don't have enough iron in their diets or may not fully absorb iron. Women who have heavy menstrual periods may develop iron deficiency. Low iron can be detected by laboratory tests and can be corrected by taking iron pills.

birth control pills??? for some this can be a side effect!
Birth Control Pills - Women who lose hair while taking birth control pills usually have an inherited tendency for hair thinning. If hair thinning occurs, a woman can consult her gynecologist about switching to another birth control pill. When a women stops using oral contraceptives, she may notice that her hair begins shedding two or three months later. This may continue for six months when it usually stops. This is similar to hair loss after the birth of a child.

heidi w.

vindo
October 15th, 2008, 11:47 PM
birth control pills??? for some this can be a side effect!
Birth Control Pills - Women who lose hair while taking birth control pills usually have an inherited tendency for hair thinning. If hair thinning occurs, a woman can consult her gynecologist about switching to another birth control pill. When a women stops using oral contraceptives, she may notice that her hair begins shedding two or three months later. This may continue for six months when it usually stops. This is similar to hair loss after the birth of a child.


Great thoughts Heidi :), just one thing - why would a young man be taking birth control pills? :rolling:

-Little Bird, did it get any better?

GlassEyes
October 16th, 2008, 04:36 AM
Well, I will interject that many transsexual m-t-fs, before taking estrogen, actually take birth control pills, though I somehow doubt that's what's happening here. XD;

Also, since birth control, usually, is inducing a pseudo-pregnancy in the body, that isn't too surprising.

I'm curious if it got any better as well.

bgarrison
October 16th, 2008, 07:00 AM
The average hair lose is 100 per day. The amount of hair can be 100 hairs X however many days between washing/brushings. It looks like a lot but it's actually just several days of normal shedding together.

Doh! I've always wondered why I shed so much more when I spread out my washings! This makes total sense.

Thank you for stating the obvious! :)