More hair falling out than usual during oiling?

[MariaPon]

So today I oiled my hair with coconut oil basically for the first time... And running my fingers through it, more and more hair started coming out. Now the thing is I don't brush my hair very often (1-2 times per day, sometimes even not at all), so what's more likely- oiling specifically makes my hair hate me and call quits or am I just pulling out all the shed hairs that are just.. There? Because even when I just run my fingers through my hair to braid it or something, there is never as much hair coming out, so I'm a bit worried shudder:

[lapushka]

Did you oil the scalp? Might be that your scalp doesn't take it well.

[Nique1202]

If you oiled the scalp for the first time, then your scalp may not like oil. Some folks do shed a lot more when oil or conditioner gets on their scalp. If that seems to be the case, wash your hair now or very soon to get the oil off the scalp, and try to avoid getting any oil on your scalp in the future. Keep it where it's needed most in the length and on the ends.

[MariaPon]

Did you oil the scalp? Might be that your scalp doesn't take it well.


If you oiled the scalp for the first time, then your scalp may not like oil. Some folks do shed a lot more when oil or conditioner gets on their scalp. If that seems to be the case, wash your hair now or very soon to get the oil off the scalp, and try to avoid getting any oil on your scalp in the future. Keep it where it's needed most in the length and on the ends.

Hmm I did oil the scalp :\ Interesting. At least now I know not to do that, good thing I only left it in for about and hour, when I washed it out even more hair came out :(

[mermaid lullaby]

Well, I don't oil and I'm having seasonal shedding right now. Just braid or bun until it stops.

[Llama]

Try brushing your hair right before oiling it and see if you still shed a lot afterwards.
Oiling the scalp doesn't make my hair shed any more than usual but I have heard that some people have that kind of reaction. Not sure how common it is...

[Anje]

Sometimes the additional manipulation is enough to get you to shed some of the hairs that were due to come out soon anyway, I believe. So if it's the first time you've oiled your scalp and it's more handling than you've had in a while, it might just be that. A lot of people find that some scalp massage with oil reduces their overall shedding and encourages a little more growth, but the first time in a while commonly has some extra shedding.

If you oil your scalp and see extra shedding again in the next few days, it might be that your scalp doesn't like the extra oil. That's also a complete possibility. Play it by ear.

[MariaPon]

Well, I don't oil and I'm having seasonal shedding right now. Just braid or bun until it stops.
My seasonal shedding was a couple of months back, that's why I got nervous....


Try brushing your hair right before oiling it and see if you still shed a lot afterwards.
Oiling the scalp doesn't make my hair shed any more than usual but I have heard that some people have that kind of reaction. Not sure how common it is...


Sometimes the additional manipulation is enough to get you to shed some of the hairs that were due to come out soon anyway, I believe. So if it's the first time you've oiled your scalp and it's more handling than you've had in a while, it might just be that. A lot of people find that some scalp massage with oil reduces their overall shedding and encourages a little more growth, but the first time in a while commonly has some extra shedding.

If you oil your scalp and see extra shedding again in the next few days, it might be that your scalp doesn't like the extra oil. That's also a complete possibility. Play it by ear.

I guess I'll try it again in some time, just to compare results. However, my hair isn't exceptionally awesome afterwards, so I won't be too broken-hearted over it if it turns out my scalp just doesn't like oil :)

Thank you all very much for the advice!!!

[adrenaline]

I have/had the same problem. Oiling seems to stimulate hair loss in my case, so I need to be careful with oil/butter treatments. How do you actually would describe your skin "behaviour" usually? In my case, my skin is usually very oily and so is my scalp. Maybe that´s the reason why it reacts so sensitively... I only oil (1-2 drops are sufficient!! 3 drops are already overdosed, crazy, isn´t it?) after washing, when the hair is still moist, and only the length. With this routine I don´t notice any additional hair loss :o

[lapushka]

It is well and truly "a thing". Some people's scalps can't cope well with oil or conditioner and it resorts to heavier shedding. Why? Who knows? I haven't figured it out yet. But I can't do it either. If it's only occurring each time you oil (or CO-wash if you do so), then it is a sure sign it's the culprit right there, and you don't have to look further.

I would stop oiling the scalp and just focus on the lengths of the hair; that's still fine!

[Garnetgem]

Interesting you say coconut oil as for some reason if ever i use anything with coconut oil i get a great big shedding...even shampoo that contains it i guess scalps react to certain things..i would avoid it on your scalp as your scalp has let you know that coconut oil does not agree...

[01]

When I was heavily oiling I was shedding more but also more hair grown back than before my oiling routine.

[spidermom]

My scalp doesn't react well to conditioner or oil either. What I usually do is wait until my scalp area is oily with its own sebum, then I oil the length, comb-comb-comb while bending forward to stimulate the scalp and distribute all the oils, braid, and wash the next morning. I've gotten consistent good results with this routine.

[lapushka]

Pretty smart using your own sebum, spidermom! :) I find that when I wait too long with washing, my hair starts to shed more. Maybe it's an SD thing, I'm not sure, or maybe I can't stand my own sebum. :lol:

[Ophidian]

My scalp loves oil massages (I only use a tiny bit), but conditioner makes it itchy. This is all very ymmv (as the variety of experiences with scalp oiling here shows!), but my own two cents is that the massaging itself--if you haven't done it in a while and brush/comb infrequently--is that you may have loosened a number of hairs that were shed or close to shedding. This happens to me if I don't massage for a while and then go back to it. Scalp oiling definitely doesn't work for everyone but the benefits of oil+massage for me have been wonderful (cleaner scalp, less itching/flaking, very relaxing). Perhaps it might be worth trying the massaging a few more times without oil to see if shedding decreases, and then add in a small amount of oil (if you do want to give it a a decent trial) and see if you notice a difference? Experimenting with different oils might be worth it too if you find that coconut just doesn't work for you. I personally use coconut on my ends and castor+EO's on my scalp. Good luck!

[Shepherdess]

There was a time period when I had a similar experience. I remember I stopped using oil for a bit because it got so bad and I was worried, though I think it was the type of oil I was using, and how long I left it in and how much I washed out afterwards. Too much castor oil left on for too long, and used on a regular basis, for example, made my hair shed terribly sometimes (at the same time, it made my hair feel amazing, so I was disappointed), though I think leaving it in shortly wasn't a problem. I think that my scalp wasn't agreeable with coconut oil either for some reason, and it is very hard for me to wash it out of my scalp too. I think that the oils that have been most agreeable so far with my scalp are jojoba, olive oil, and mustard oil. I think my scalp is okay with a tiny bit of castor if it is mixed with another oil, though I cannot put too much of any oil on my scalp, or leave any oil on too long or it starts to shed easier.

[Mirabele]

If you normally don't brush and it happens during oiling itself, it is hair that would shed anyway, it has nothing to do with oiling and it is not damage. If i understood tou correctly. This happens to me. I normally do not brush, maybe once in a week or once in two weeks. I normally do not shed at all except for a few hair strands. When i oil my hair (i oil only length) it falls more hair out. But these are the hair that already were ready to fall out anyway. For those who brush, they see more hair strands falling out each time they brush. It is like when you see more hair in the shower but it doesnt mean that shower makes your hair fall out.

[MariaPon]

My scalp loves oil massages (I only use a tiny bit), but conditioner makes it itchy. This is all very ymmv (as the variety of experiences with scalp oiling here shows!), but my own two cents is that the massaging itself--if you haven't done it in a while and brush/comb infrequently--is that you may have loosened a number of hairs that were shed or close to shedding. This happens to me if I don't massage for a while and then go back to it. Scalp oiling definitely doesn't work for everyone but the benefits of oil+massage for me have been wonderful (cleaner scalp, less itching/flaking, very relaxing). Perhaps it might be worth trying the massaging a few more times without oil to see if shedding decreases, and then add in a small amount of oil (if you do want to give it a a decent trial) and see if you notice a difference? Experimenting with different oils might be worth it too if you find that coconut just doesn't work for you. I personally use coconut on my ends and castor+EO's on my scalp. Good luck!

I massaged my scalp daily for some time, didn't see/feel any difference so I let it go :\ Now most of my massaging is while washing my scalp and there's never that much hair coming out, so I figured it was the oil.


I think that the oils that have been most agreeable so far with my scalp are jojoba, olive oil, and mustard oil. I think my scalp is okay with a tiny bit of castor if it is mixed with another oil, though I cannot put too much of any oil on my scalp, or leave any oil on too long or it starts to shed easier.

The thing is I never really oiled my scalp before. What I did notice, is that putting some jojoba oil mixed with EO on the ends of my hair after washing works magic :magic:



If you normally don't brush and it happens during oiling itself, it is hair that would shed anyway, it has nothing to do with oiling and it is not damage. If i understood tou correctly. This happens to me. I normally do not brush, maybe once in a week or once in two weeks. I normally do not shed at all except for a few hair strands. When i oil my hair (i oil only length) it falls more hair out. But these are the hair that already were ready to fall out anyway. For those who brush, they see more hair strands falling out each time they brush. It is like when you see more hair in the shower but it doesnt mean that shower makes your hair fall out.

Well I would've thought the same, unless there was also more hair falling out during the washing itself. Usually when washing my hair I will get a few hairs that fell out, but this time it was a massive migration of hair to the drain, and that's after a whole lot of hair coming out during he oiling itself :(

[yahirwaO.o]

I have never understood how oiling the scalp premise is beneficial. Scalps wants to get rid of oil not having more! Otherwise it's clumped pores mess thus creating horrible shedding (at least for me it is). Its great it works for some people, but most of us do have this problem.

I do better with very little oling and like spidermom, my actual hair reacts better with brushing my own sebum all the way to my ends. Hair care is great but caring for a healthy scalp is way more important to me. Dryness or split ends are fairly cured with deep conditioning, SMT or trimming!

[kuroi]

If you normally don't brush and it happens during oiling itself, it is hair that would shed anyway, it has nothing to do with oiling and it is not damage. If i understood tou correctly. This happens to me. I normally do not brush, maybe once in a week or once in two weeks. I normally do not shed at all except for a few hair strands. When i oil my hair (i oil only length) it falls more hair out. But these are the hair that already were ready to fall out anyway. For those who brush, they see more hair strands falling out each time they brush. It is like when you see more hair in the shower but it doesnt mean that shower makes your hair fall out.

I brush before washing my hair and lot comes out. And while washing it even more comes out. I'm not sure that hair would fall out any ways. It's always scary to see how much hair I'm shedding.

[Ophidian]

I have never understood how oiling the scalp premise is beneficial. Scalps wants to get rid of oil not having more! Otherwise it's clumped pores mess thus creating horrible shedding (at least for me it is). Its great it works for some people, but most of us do have this problem. !

I know, it sounds very counterintuitive:). I do get oily hair and skin, but I find that I have very good results using oils that tend to be on the drying side on my scalp (eg. Castor) mixed in a small bottle with a few drops of essential oils. I only use a tiny bit on my scalp every evening and I do not find that this makes my hair any oilier. I actually find that it helps me stretch washes because the EO's smell nice (I use rosemary and lavender) and the castor oil helps keep my scalp from building up waxy sebum. (that makes my scalp feel gross. I think the kind of sebum that a person has may affect results with this.

I use a castor oil blend to cleanse my oily face (oil cleansing method is a "thing") and it works amazingly well. Weird huh.

[pili]

I have never understood how oiling the scalp premise is beneficial. Scalps wants to get rid of oil not having more! Otherwise it's clumped pores mess thus creating horrible shedding (at least for me it is). Its great it works for some people, but most of us do have this problem.

I have a super dry scalp, so my scalp and hair love oils, but not now all oils. I actually can't use coconut oil without making my scalp and hair rebel.

[yahirwaO.o]

I know, it sounds very counterintuitive:). I do get oily hair and skin, but I find that I have very good results using oils that tend to be on the drying side on my scalp (eg. Castor) mixed in a small bottle with a few drops of essential oils. I only use a tiny bit on my scalp every evening and I do not find that this makes my hair any oilier. I actually find that it helps me stretch washes because the EO's smell nice (I use rosemary and lavender) and the castor oil helps keep my scalp from building up waxy sebum. (that makes my scalp feel gross. I think the kind of sebum that a person has may affect results with this.

I use a castor oil blend to cleanse my oily face (oil cleansing method is a "thing") and it works amazingly well. Weird huh.

Oh I see so using very little does help you! And the wonderful scents should be great! My sebum is actually just oily not really waxy and BBB keeps the oil just fine! Again a lot of people just can't deal or see no change when BBB but I do find it works like pro on my strands. And cleansing method does an amazing job but just for my face , I've done it since I was a teenager and never had a problem with skin at all :).... and well my face pores havent been clogged. Yes its weird! :p


I have a super dry scalp, so my scalp and hair love oils, but not now all oils. I actually can't use coconut oil without making my scalp and hair rebel.

Oh I have never heard of having a dry scalp to the point of loving oils :pirate: Yeah I know coconut oil has a weird tendency of leaving a crunchy mess. Its super great your scalp does great with regular oiling, mine just says: Boy, really, forget about it!!! :p

[Zebra Fish]

I shed lots whenever I do anything on my scalp. I don' t think it is any special problem, except thelat when the hair is sticky whatever you do and touch it, it pulls more hair out. I oil/whatever length only, mostly ear down or even shoulders down. But never comb or pass fingers through it, as it causes more hair pulling out also. The only thing I do is henna and then also try to manipulate on scalp as little as possible - use lots od conditioner only massaging in and wash with water, but not passing fingers through or combing untill fully dry (usualy morning after).


Every now and then I use sth on scalp, but then first massage stuff on scalp, before on any other part of hair, if not other parts (length) stick on finger and pull more out. Not sure if I helped anything... (and sorry for typos as I'm on phone).

[Bergelmir]

As long as not putting to much additional stress by the oiling process it may simply improve the shed of club hairs usually already in the telogen phase. But they may still stay attached for longer period as long as nothing is touching them, so the oiling is simply speeding up a matter that can't be avoided, just expanded. Finally i think it doesn't really matter as long as the amount of shed is not higher than what it's used to be. The shed could be anywhere between 10 and 100, but in average 30-40 should be a "normal" daily value. A condition of almost zero loss seems to be unrealistic and usually people experiencing this may have been putting a lot of combing-load on the telogen-phase hairs at some point so there is a decreased amount of telogen-hairs able to result in almost no shedding for many days. In this term they may shout "oh, i had so many losses, several houndreds or something", and then they are gonna use some treatment (iron meds or whatelse) and then all of a sudden they gonna tell "oh it has stopped, just 10 hair loss"; but it may have few meaning when they was already removing most of the telogen-phase hair prematurely and then there is just not much of them left anymore for extended period.

So, always take it with a grain of salt... and as long as the hair is not in a visible thinning phase i would not worry. However, i think it's important to truly keep an eye on the quality of the oil, any form of mineral or refined oils will not be of any use and simply use native and natural oils.

[spidermom]

Pretty smart using your own sebum, spidermom! :) I find that when I wait too long with washing, my hair starts to shed more. Maybe it's an SD thing, I'm not sure, or maybe I can't stand my own sebum. :lol:

I don't like hanging out with my own sebum for very long, either. Every 3 or 4 days (occasionally 5), I notice that the hair nearest my scalp is getting oily, then I figure out when I have time to wash it and proceed with my oiling routine.

[sommer]

I used different oils and never had such problem. Maybe it's a "beginning" reaction or just this oil isn't your type at all :( You can try the other ones or even the another natural products for the hair :confused:

[ChloeDharma]

For me oiling my scalp before washing is the only way I can get it clean. I have dry sebum which is a royal pain to remove with just shampoo alone, even harsh sulphate shampoo doesn't quite get rid of it and then my poor fine haired length is in a terrible state. The oiling dissolves the dry sebum making it easier to remove, plus depending on which oil I have used I get the nourishing etc benefits of that oil.
That said, I know my hair and skin are probably far more keen on oils than most people experience so I get the YMMV thing here. One exception is mineral oil, my scalp really doesn't like that stuff and as I see no benefit when comparing it to castor, avocado and certainly the infused oils and essential oils I just have no reason to use it on my scalp.

As for shedding, I notice that an initial shed when starting oiling is very common but if the oiling is done regularly, ie once a week or more it seems to slow right down. If I do take a break from oiling, which I always regret, then when I oil lots of hairs come out but these seem to be ones that are about ready to be shed anyway.
I would keep up oiling for maybe a couple of weeks then if the shedding is still at the higher rate I would assume that means scalp oiling is not for you, I know for some people oiling the scalp just does not work which is unfortunate but there are other alternatives if that's the case.