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bubastis
January 23rd, 2016, 05:31 AM
As far as I can tell,there is no specific thread yet discussing this so I decided to make one! Counting your shed hairs is often seen as a bad thing to do,being somewhat obsessive and all that...then again,I guess most of us over here could be considered as a teensy bit obsessed with our hair ;) I think it could be useful to count for a while to be able to use the data as a diagnostic tool later on. For me personally, I started counting these last few months as I have been having a massive shed and wanted to monitor my progress. I wish I would have counted sooner so I would know what a normal shed rate for me is, so I have decided to keep counting daily for at least a year. So far,my shed has gone down from around 150 a day to 65 on average,which I believe is still higher than my 'normal'. I've also been able to determine things that make me shed more like oiling scalp and stretching washes. So here come my questions to you guys!

1. How long have you been counting and why did you start?
2. What is your average shed? Does it fluctuate, from week to week or seasonally?
3. Have you been able to determine things that influence your shed such as taking vitamins,oiling etc?
4. How accurate is your count? It would be most accurate if you wore your hair up all of the time and then counted every time you brushed.

Curious to know your answers!

lapushka
January 23rd, 2016, 08:40 AM
I don't count. A little too obsessive for me. As long as I don't see more in the sink, and I don't experience less thickness, then it's all good. I lost some of my thickness already going from about and slightly over 11cm to a bit over 10 (4.25 inches) but hey... it's stayed the same for a long time since. I think it went along with going all virgin with my hair (the bleach back then and henna were rough and roughened up the cuticle to a point where my hair felt "thicker").

Dessi
January 23rd, 2016, 11:37 AM
Sometimes, when I worry if I shed too much I start counting them for some time. So far, I've found out that about 30 hairs a day is normal for me. Lately I've been shedding less, like 10 hairs a day for some reason. It may be because of the nettle rinses I started doing or it could be also seasonal. I don't know if it's good though, because I've gotten used to shedding this little and the moment I shed 20 hairs I start worrying and I know I shouldn't since 30 hairs is actually normal for me. Well, I guess I'm too obsessed. :D

Mimha
January 23rd, 2016, 12:48 PM
Hi Dessi.

I have counted my shed hairs during one full year (last year, lol), just out of curiosity : to know what my shedding pattern was over the year (to see the influence of seasons, washings, stress periods, intake of food complements for my nutritional deficiencies, etc.). I had suffered heavy shedding in the past, due to undiagnosed health problems, so I wanted to know more about my personal growth cycles.

It was a very fastidious task, however, but I never gave up. (I can be perseverant when I really want to know something.^^) Now I have a very interesting collection of data to analyze and a nice chart with a one year curve showing my shedding pattern with great details. But yeah... after one year of counting I was rather fed up (as you can imagine !!) and I have not finalized my project to write an article about it, as I wanted to. Another reason of my... how may I say... demotivation ? is the fact that anytime I have mentioned it here, some people repeatedly came up to say that counting shed hairs day after day during one full year was far too obsessive for them and sounded kind of creepy and pointless. So... :neutral:

If I ever publish anything about it, it will probably be on my private "blog" only, for those who are really interested and can respect the dedication it has required from my part to collect my hair on a daily basis during 365 days in order to get a trustable dataset.

lapis_lazuli
January 23rd, 2016, 12:50 PM
I don't count. A little too obsessive for me.

Same here. I think I would drive myself crazy!

Dessi
January 23rd, 2016, 01:46 PM
Hi Dessi.

I have counted my shed hairs during one full year (last year, lol), just out of curiosity : to know what my shedding pattern was over the year (to see the influence of seasons, washings, stress periods, intake of food complements for my nutritional deficiencies, etc.). I had suffered heavy shedding in the past, due to undiagnosed health problems, so I wanted to know more about my personal growth cycles.

It was a very fastidious task, however, but I never gave up. (I can be perseverant when I really want to know something.^^) Now I have a very interesting collection of data to analyze and a nice chart with a one year curve showing my shedding pattern with great details. But yeah... after one year of counting I was rather fed up (as you can imagine !!) and I have not finalized my project to write an article about it, as I wanted to. Another reason of my... how may I say... demotivation ? is the fact that anytime I have mentioned it here, some people repeatedly came up to say that counting shed hairs day after day during one full year was far too obsessive for them and sounded kind of creepy and pointless. So... :neutral:

If I ever publish anything about it, it will probably be on my private "blog" only, for those who are really interested and can respect the dedication it has required from my part to collect my hair on a daily basis during 365 days in order to get a trustable dataset.

Sounds very interesting to me, I would definitely want to know if you publish something on that subject! :)

Mimha
January 23rd, 2016, 01:48 PM
Sounds very interesting to me, I would definitely want to know if you publish something on that subject! :)

You'll be welcome, Dessi ! :)

Sarahlabyrinth
January 23rd, 2016, 01:50 PM
I would also be interested to see your results, Mimha, should you decide to share.

I don't think I would have the patience to count my shed hairs - though I am saving them at the moment to make a ponytail.

sarahthegemini
January 23rd, 2016, 03:52 PM
Counting shed hairs? Nope, it's not for me!

bubastis
January 24th, 2016, 06:18 AM
I'd also love to read your article Mimha!

I don't get why counting shed hairs and collecting data about shedding is seen as so overly obsessive,since there are loads of people around here who do treatments etc that cost waaayy more time to do than counting. For me personally,I find it eases my mind to keep an eye on it. I have some health issues that cause me to shed from time to time and have caused significant thinning in the past;instead of waiting for that to happen again or to freak out every time I see a bit more hair in the sink, I prefer knowing exactly what amount of shedding is cause for concern for me.

Amode
January 24th, 2016, 06:35 AM
I'm new to LHC, and seeing this thread for the first time I assumed it was for people counting the amount of hair they have growing on their head. "These people REALLY go all out, don't they?"

Anje
January 24th, 2016, 07:18 AM
I don't get why counting shed hairs and collecting data about shedding is seen as so overly obsessive,since there are loads of people around here who do treatments etc that cost waaayy more time to do than counting. For me personally,I find it eases my mind to keep an eye on it. I have some health issues that cause me to shed from time to time and have caused significant thinning in the past;instead of waiting for that to happen again or to freak out every time I see a bit more hair in the sink, I prefer knowing exactly what amount of shedding is cause for concern for me.

It would be obsessive for me, personally, because I would probably get paranoid about stochastic data describing what is actually "normal" for me. That doesn't mean it would be problematic for you, but it's more an awareness of the fact that I personally can get a bit weird about such things if I let myself. Know what I mean?

Arctic
January 24th, 2016, 07:44 AM
One reason why it's seen in bad light is probably that shed hairs disgust many people.

I've never felt a want to count (bar just recently for few days after buying a new brush, I couted how many hairs were shed during the brushing and if they were broken or shed. I did it maybe 4 times and then stopped.). But even if I would feel a want, I'm like Anje above, I get obsessive easily and thus knowing myself, I avoid these kinds of things.

sarahthegemini
January 24th, 2016, 08:53 AM
I'd also love to read your article Mimha!

I don't get why counting shed hairs and collecting data about shedding is seen as so overly obsessive,since there are loads of people around here who do treatments etc that cost waaayy more time to do than counting. For me personally,I find it eases my mind to keep an eye on it. I have some health issues that cause me to shed from time to time and have caused significant thinning in the past;instead of waiting for that to happen again or to freak out every time I see a bit more hair in the sink, I prefer knowing exactly what amount of shedding is cause for concern for me.

Because to some people, it is? Personally I think it's way over the top but I think a lot of the things most people here do is crazy (putting eggs and other weird stuff on their hair for example) :shrug:

MsPharaohMoan
January 24th, 2016, 09:36 AM
It's too much for me, personally. Then again, if someone is doing it to learn more about their health I say all the power to them! Hair is cool because it shows nutrition, stress... I started growing silvers after an extremely stressful period of life and my hair until apl (when I joined lhc) looks healthier than below apl. Keeping track of health via hair is useful and if health is a major issue for someone (and I am so thankful it's not a priority for myself yet) and that health issue affects their hair, I don't think that is "crazy" or "obsessive". I imagine it would take a lot of perseverance.

If you made a blog post, Mimha, I would definitely love to read it, see the data you've accumulated, and hear about the things you've learned from your exp-hair-iment

:flower:

Silverbrumby
January 24th, 2016, 09:39 AM
I thinking counting is interesting and it can also be comforting to those of us with shedding issues and on the thin side to start with. It can give us valuable information on changes to our lifestyle and health. What's working and what's not helping. I did it for a year on and off and now I've got a better health, product, handling and vitamin routine for my hair.

I now mostly do ponytail diameter measuring when issues arise. It puts my mind at rest when I start shedding to see that it's just seasonal or it's not effecting thickness.

I shed about 75 a day now. That's down from 100 to 200 I had going for years. Also ponytail went down to 2.5 and is now back to 3.25. Yay! Interestingly my terminal is still just past BSL.

bubastis
January 24th, 2016, 01:03 PM
Because to some people, it is? Personally I think it's way over the top but I think a lot of the things most people here do is crazy (putting eggs and other weird stuff on their hair for example) :shrug:

Ofcourse it is obsessive to some people, I meant as compared to other things you read here. I mean,sure,if I go out in the street telling people I count my shed hairs they'd probably have me in a straightjacket by nightfall, then again I'd imagine telling them I spend hours searching for split hairs or I put monistat on my head in hopes of growing more hair would illicit a similar response :rolleyes:

bubastis
January 24th, 2016, 01:15 PM
Anje and Arctic, I totally get what you guys are saying and if you know it would make you obsess more then obviously that's a perfectly good reason never to go there :) For me it kind of works in the opposite direction; I tend to obsess over things I can't measure. When I was thinning I would think about the gobs of hair in the shower,wondering if it was more hair than the day before,if it was still an amount that would cause more loss in volume,etc...counting them and knowing exactly what was up stopped the constant ruminating for me. I don't plan on counting beyond one year, by then I'll have the data I want and I'll probably just count every once in a while to check or if I start shedding again.

MsPharaoMoan, the state of your hair can indeed serve as an indicator of your overal health. I get anemic very easily and am on thyroid medication, and when something is up with either of those excessive shedding is one of the very first symptoms for me.

MeAndTheMaz
January 24th, 2016, 04:01 PM
I think it would be an interesting experiment, but I know for myself, that I just don't have the patience to keep it up for long. Another thing, I don't see how you can catch all of your sheds to count. I guess you could assume that you're catching the same percentage of them every day, so the total my be off, but the rate should show you something.

If you and Mimha decide to publish, I'd be interested in seeing the results.

Jennah
January 24th, 2016, 05:27 PM
If I ever publish anything about it, it will probably be on my private "blog" only, for those who are really interested and can respect the dedication it has required from my part to collect my hair on a daily basis during 365 days in order to get a trustable dataset.

Can I see your blog!? I tried but it doesn´t let me! I want to read your writing :o