Chin length hair already thinning & shedding.

[LegoCaltrops]

My hair is currently chin length, I'm growing it but already it's got lots of shorter ends & visible fluffiness. I don't use heat, sulphates, cones etc on it. I have a good comb with no seams. It is very shiny & silky but gets oily within a couple of days so I'm on a 2 day wash cycle, I mostly CO wash with the occasional use of a natural shampoo bar. I have no split ends as far as I can tell.

I used to have it much longer, it was always just the same - silky but fluffy & shed a lot. It was for this reason I cut it short before, as I was worried about how thin it was & felt that it didn't look good.

I've heard of the SMT method, would this help? I'm going to try it anyway but I'm already getting so worried about my shedding.

I'm in the UK & I know that makes a difference as some products aren't available here, e.g. Monistat.

Does this sound like a DHT issue? Something else? I do have PCOS & am on medication which has widely reported side effects of hair thinning, but this is not officially recognised - however I wasn't on this when I was a teenager & my hair was pretty much the same.

Doctor has checked out all the other usual / obvious causes, multiple times, previously. Everything was always fine.

[carrie30]

do you take any hair - specific vitamins? Maybe try sea kelp ? X

[LegoCaltrops]

I take one for general skin, hair & nails, a high dose B complex, & an omega 3/6/9. I hadn't looked at kelp. Think I'll get some though - it's not that expensive & I don't think I get a lot of iodine in my diet. Thanks for the quick reply!

[lapushka]

Some people get more shedding with CO-washing and have to switch back to shampoo for this reason. Please rule out if this isn't the case with you. Also, it's a bit of a seasonal shedding period right now, so that might account for the shedding, if you've noticed an increase lately.

[LegoCaltrops]

I didn't realise that about CO washing. I have been doing it for a few months, increasing frequency / decreasing shampoo, so that could make sense. If I switch back to the shampoo bars how quickly should I stop shedding? So I can figure out if it's the CO-washing causing it or not.

[Nique1202]

I second the possibility that it could be your CO routine. Lots of scalps react really poorly to oils and conditioning agents getting onto them, and it's totally possible to develop a skin problem even in your scalp and even after using the same product for years, but it sounds like this might have been a long-standing problem for you. Especially if your scalp gets oily in a couple of days, you may not need to put conditioner above your earlobes ever, and taking conditioner away from your scalp may help you go longer between washes on top of everything.

You can try just your shampoo bar for a couple of washes (applying conditioner ONLY to the last couple of inches of your longest ends, not near your scalp) but if the shedding continues with the shampoo bar consider getting some cheap shampoo from a store that has no or minimal plant extracts or oils in it. Something like Pantene Aqua Light, or a clarifying shampoo. You can always water it down (put a squirt in an empty bottle or cup, add a cup of water, and use that to wash your hair with) if you think it might be too harsh, but the important thing is to see if it's the conditioner or fancy extracts in general that might be causing your shedding. Sulfates are not the enemy unless you're allergic to them.

As for shorter ends, well, not all hairs on your head grow at the same rate. The front of my hair has grown two inches less than the back in the last year. It's possible you're getting a combination of short new growth and uneven growth rate that's showing up the way you describe. If you don't like the look of it, you may have to occasionally trim to even up the ends, but you should be able to keep whatever length the slowest sections gain.

Fluffy hair could be a sign of some kind of weakness or damage, or it could be that your hair type is just finer, lighter-weight hair than you'd prefer. Fluffy isn't necessarily bad, but it can be tamed somewhat with a drop of oil (one literal drop, spread all over from your ears down, maybe even half a drop at your length) or by using a heavier conditioner on your ends (maybe one with cones, if you're shampooing regularly, or if you only use it when the fluffiness acts up) though either one runs the risk of making your hair look weighed-down, greasy, or stringy on the ends if you use too much.

[Christine_O]

Also, don't rule out the possibility that you can see the shedding more now that your hair is longer, and it seems thinner to you because it's longer. Since you have had the same issue in the past, this is a possibility. I'm getting much more visible shedding now that my hair is collar length than when it was a pixie, but then that's the way it's always been. As long as it's not coming out in clumps I figure I'm probably okay.

[lapushka]

I didn't realise that about CO washing. I have been doing it for a few months, increasing frequency / decreasing shampoo, so that could make sense. If I switch back to the shampoo bars how quickly should I stop shedding? So I can figure out if it's the CO-washing causing it or not.

Within a couple of washes. I'd give it at least 4 to 5 washes to get back to "normal", though. Don't let the conditioner get near your scalp - at all. Ears down only. Just like Nique said.

[LegoCaltrops]

Ok, thanks, I'll try that. Do essential oils count or should I keep them away as well do you think? I was trying peppermint oil etc for growth but I'll stop if it's making it all fall out...! I have noticed a fair bit of shedding when I CO, I assumed it was just more noticeable because it wasn't just washing straight down the drain, & is getting longer. I didn't see any more when I used the EOs, compared to plain conditioner though.

[lapushka]

I'd take it all out bar the actual shampoo, and conditioner for the lengths, no additional stuff! Let your scalp restore itself first.

[LegoCaltrops]

Right, will do.

It's just occurred to me - this will include SMT method, won't it. :-(

[lapushka]

Whether you do conditioner on the lengths or an SMT, I don't think that matters! As long as it doesn't touch the scalp! Quite hard for shorter lengths, though!