My hair + shedding.

[Coffee.and]

Hello everyone. I'm Coffee& and I'm 28 years old. In the last 3 months or so I've had major shedding, and the reason remains unknown for now (blood panel came just fine, am waiting to check my hormones). I really love my hair and I hope the shedding will stop. It always was thin. I think my hair is 1a\1b, as well. So, at the moment I'm using Caffeine shampoo and taking special vitamins, and also trying to take smaller doses of my meds.

Anyway, I'd like to show you guys my hair. Most of it is virgin hair, there's still some bleach on the tips, but I'm gonna trim them. It's been in a braid before the picture was taken, so it's more wavy than usual. Hope you don't find this picture offending (it shows my hair best). Would like to have some input and advice, thanks in advance.

http://i61.tinypic.com/muqv.jpg

[Wosie]

To me, your hair doesn't look thin at all. Are you sure your hair is i-thickness?
The ends are a bit see-through (doesn't look bad at all, I assure you), but that's normal if you don't trim your hemline regularly to maintain a thick hemline (do you?). Interestingly, my hair has also been shedding the past few months. Maybe it's a seasonal thing?

Oh, and--what kind of medications are you taking?

[Wusel]

To me, your hair doesn't look thin at all. Are you sure your hair is i-thickness?
The ends are a bit see-through (doesn't look bad at all, I assure you), but that's normal if you don't trim your hemline regularly to maintain a thick hemline (do you?). Interestingly, my hair has also been shedding the past few months. Maybe it's a seasonal thing?

Oh, and--what kind of medications are you taking?

Same here. Shedding past few months. It's seasonal, believe me.

[Arctic]

If you worry about showing so much skin, why don't you just crop the photo??? :confused:

Hopefully you'll find a reason to the shedding and are able to regain your thickness! :flowers:

[Aderyn]

To me, your hair doesn't look thin at all. Are you sure your hair is i-thickness?
The ends are a bit see-through (doesn't look bad at all, I assure you), but that's normal if you don't trim your hemline regularly to maintain a thick hemline (do you?). Interestingly, my hair has also been shedding the past few months. Maybe it's a seasonal thing?

Oh, and--what kind of medications are you taking?


Same here. Shedding past few months. It's seasonal, believe me.

I also had a fair bit of shedding the past couple of months. Definitely seasonal.

Mine has let us the past couple of weeks, though.

ETA: I agree with Arctic, if you are nervous about the photo, why not crop it? I would have cropped it just because this forum is visible to the entire internet, not really because it's "offensive".

[Coffee.and]

It seems like I don't have premission to edit my posts. The photo doesn't bother me so much, actually, so I guess it's okay. I don't trim my hair often since I'm a bit scare of hairdressers, still haven't found the one I can fully trust (I'd like to keep the length). You can see the thinning in my scalp, it's quite noticable, which is scary. :< And the meds I'm on are Seroquel, Zoloft and Klonopin. Trying to reduce the dosage. My doctor is aware and is fully supportive of this step, so it's quite alright. It is said to me it might me the meds, and also stress. Thank you all for your kind comments. :>

[Arctic]

You need 25 posts to edit your own posts. Meanwhile, if you do want to crop your photo, go to your photo hosting site, and it they have editing tools, crop the image there. If they don't, break the link (delete the photo), and edit it on your computer, upload the edited photo to the photo hosting site, and post again.

I don't find your photo offensive (I'm a Finn after all lol), but I have to say I sometimes wonder why people want to post almost nekkid photos online, for all the world to see. You images are visible to everyone browsing the web, and not everyone on long hair sites are friendly - or maybe I should say they are too friendly, IYKWIM. Many members also browse LHC on work or bus or coffee shops, where having a photo of nekkid woman appering when opening a thread can be embarrasing.

Do you leave the caffeine shampoo on for several minutes? Caffeine needs some time to get absorbed into the skin. It is known to help some shedding cases, but I'm not sure if medication related sheds are included.

Losing hair is extremely devastating, seeing the clumps. Hope your hair will fully recover!

[scrivener827]

If you don't mind me asking, what was included in the blood panel you had done? Have you had your thyroid checked lately? Hair loss can be a symptom of hypothyroidism, which often goes undiagnosed, because many doctors don't do the right tests. If you have any other reason to believe your thyroid might be off, find a doctor who will run test for Free T4 and Free T3, not just TSH or total T3 and T4, as these tests are very poor indicators. PCOS can also cause hair loss, and often accompanies thyroid problems, insulin resistance, and irregular cycles. No idea if any of these apply to you, jus throwing some thoughts out there, as I have thyroid disease myself.

[Coffee.and]

I really don't mind the photo, to be honest. Yes, I am leaving the Caffeine shampoo for awhile and also massaging my scalp with it. The tests, though- it was only TSH, and not Free T4\T3, I can ask for it, and I gotta wait till I get my period and it's over in order to check my hormone levels.

[Anje]

I really don't mind the photo, to be honest. Yes, I am leaving the Caffeine shampoo for awhile and also massaging my scalp with it. The tests, though- it was only TSH, and not Free T4\T3, I can ask for it, and I gotta wait till I get my period and it's over in order to check my hormone levels.
Just FYI -- if you want something changed before you have the permissions to edit posts, me or one of the other moderators (look for green or pink names) will happily help you out. Since you can't private-message people yet, probably the easiest thing is to report the post that you want to change (It's the ! in a triangle on the bottom of each post) and tell us what you need. The report also lets us find the post that needs looked at easily. :)

[AmethystLily]

Interesting that folks have had a seasonal shed this time of year. I don't think I've ever noticed that with myself (at any time of year). Matter of fact, I think I had a slight growth spurt this past month or so.

But back to the OP: Low iron or low vitamin D can cause excess shedding, as can certain medications, surgery, and extreme stress. Hormonal imbalances and thyroid problems can also be causes.
Maybe you should take notes of any other symptoms you've recently had, even if it doesn't seem related. Do you have chronically dry skin or dry eyes? Chronically cold hands/feet? Fatigue? Irregular heartbeats or palpitations?

[maborosi]

Your hair is very pretty and looks healthy. I'm also having shedding right now, I think it's the weather. Interestingly, my growth rate looks like it's sped up as well.
Go figure!

[Lavendersugar]

Your hair does not look thin to me. It looks like medium thickness.

Shedding can be all kinds of things or just a stage your hair is going through. Try to not stress about it because stress can cause hair loss too.


I've been shedding a good bit. Had to put a hair catcher in the shower and sink.

Shedding is good. Shedding is a natural cycle. Typically not shedding is more of a concern as it means your hair is not going through its cycle. This leads to thinning.

How much is the shedding? Clumps?

As for the pic I think you and your hair look beautiful. Just looks like you are in a swimsuit to me. Heck going to the beach I'll see way more! Not ever offended by skin. Everyone has it. ;)

[M.McDonough]

It seems like I don't have premission to edit my posts. The photo doesn't bother me so much, actually, so I guess it's okay. I don't trim my hair often since I'm a bit scare of hairdressers, still haven't found the one I can fully trust (I'd like to keep the length). You can see the thinning in my scalp, it's quite noticable, which is scary. :< And the meds I'm on are Seroquel, Zoloft and Klonopin. Trying to reduce the dosage. My doctor is aware and is fully supportive of this step, so it's quite alright. It is said to me it might me the meds, and also stress. Thank you all for your kind comments. :>

You said the reason remains unknown. Are you sure? Then u said stress..there must be sth

[tigereye]

I would get shedding from stress every year while I was at uni, usually in the months leading up to exams. So yes, it could be stress. I also had a medication-induced shed, but the medications I was on was completely different to yours. I lost an inch off my ponytail circumference over the course of a few months, before my body got used to one, and the doc took me off the other. It's growing back, slowly but surely.
it could be the medications. Hair loss tends to be a relatively rare side effect, but it is a possibility with those drugs, probably through a similar sort of mechanism as the stress causes. How long have you been on them? It could just be a case of waiting until your body gets somewhat used to them. Kits good you're running things by your doctor.