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View Full Version : 100% natural hair growth over 2+ years -- I've made mistakes. Please help!



tehmuffinmon
September 13th, 2016, 12:39 PM
Warning - long post ahead! The TL;DR of this post is that I let my hair grow completely naturally for 2-3 years and now I’m wondering what I should do to alleviate some of the damage I’d unknowingly incurred in that time aside from a trim/cut, which I plan on getting done within the week anyway. I’ve spent quite a bit of time over the last week trying to sort this out by doing ‘research’ of my own, but as with pretty much everything else in the universe, everything’s so variable and there’s so much information to absorb that it can be overwhelming. I thought that posting a more thorough and detailed thread explaining the particulars of what I’m currently facing would be more beneficial in getting to the core of what might be going on.

Plus, I’d honestly like more informed opinions than my own on whether or not my hair seems to be damaged based on my descriptions or the images provided; I know that in the end my best bet would be to go see a dermatologist if I’m concerned that I’m losing too much hair, but I want to lay everything out there first. I went into this blind, so I don’t know how much of what I’m experiencing is a result of ‘recklessness’ and how much, if any, is all a part of the process (or me over-reacting).

So, with that out of the way!

On a whim, I shaved my entire head in late 2013. I let it grow out for a while and wound up shaving it once again in late February/early March of 2014. And, well...I’ve just let it grow completely naturally ever since. Which wasn’t my plan, originally; just kind of happened. My 23rd birthday rolled around in July of 2014 and -- again, on a whim -- I thought to myself, “I wonder if I can grow a beard?”. That sent me down the path of growing out my facial hair, and because my hair was short-ish enough at the time I started growing the beard out, one thing led to another and it seemed natural to grow both the beard and the hair out simultaneously. Which all seemed to go off without a hitch for the longest time until just recently...though I’m sure there’d been signs of damage/split ends/etc that I’d simply missed along the way. In fact, looking back at older pictures now, I can identify what I believe are split ends from as far back as a year ago.

More to the point, however; over the course of the last two months (give or take) I started noticing more and more shedding out of the blue. I’d grown accustomed to seeing a certain amount of hairs strewn about the shower after washing, and practically overnight it seemed like the amount of hairs I was seeing mysteriously shot up by a significant margin. While I’m still unsure if I’m losing more than what’s considered ‘average’ for my type/length of hair, the fact that it seemed to start up so suddenly was what struck me as odd.

My initial knee-jerk reaction was that I was suddenly, inexplicably going bald. In retrospect...I’m quite sure this isn’t the case. Obviously nothing’s set in stone, but the odds are in my favor when considering my 'hair heritage’ on both the maternal and paternal sides of my family, at least. I know that’s not the only factor that comes into play when considering one’s chances of hair loss, but still.

I considered just about every possibility EXCEPT for my actual hair regimen until a couple weeks ago. Simply put, I’d genuinely not known some fairly basic things about hair growth that I probably should have. Such as, for example -- when growing your hair out, it actually helps to get it trimmed/cut every so often. I also didn’t know what, exactly, split ends were supposed to look/feel like. I had a preconceived notion in my mind that, as it turns out, was wrong. I thought they would be more immediately obvious and/or painful to deal with. Naturally, because I assumed I didn’t have any split ends by some miracle of nature, I just didn’t worry about it.

Up until the last couple weeks, I had never even used conditioner before, either. I started using some, but I think managed to screw that up, too, or simply used a conditioner that was wrong for my hair type, because it seemed to actually contribute to my hair feeling thinner/greasier. I was using it all over my hair, though, when I probably should have been using it just on the ends (from what I’ve since read). Just to be on the safe side, I’ve stopped using it for the time being until I figure out the best regimen for my hair -- including the ideal brush/comb for my hair type, best shampoo (my hair is of the oily variety and I use tea tree shampoo by Paul Mitchell, though I’m wondering if there’s anything out there that might work better), etc.

To lay it out there a little more plainly; I believe that my hair now has tremendous amount of split ends and other such damage, and that’s likely the #1 cause behind my current possibly-excessive shedding. I could be wrong, but I feel like that’s the case.

Simply running my fingers through the longer strands of hair at the sides of my head -- particularly around my shoulders or near the tips at the ends of the hair -- is almost guaranteed to bring a few loose/resting strands of hair out along my fingers, for example. It’s very heavily isolated to this area in comparison to other areas. Not that there’s no shedding from other areas of my hair, but the ends are by far the most prevalent.

Basically, I’m just kicking myself over all of this now because my mom grew her hair out to ridiculous lengths back in the day (down past the knees at one point, which I can’t even imagine) and my dad’s a barber, so I feel like I really had no excuse to not know some of these things going in to it. But, alas...here I am!

In conclusion; anyone willing to offer up any advice or suggestions on anything -- from general hair care to specific products or anything and everything in between -- would have my utmost appreciation. Thank you!

Here are some images covering different points from 2014 to where I’m at today with some context; figured the visual references would help.

July 2014 - A couple days after my 23rd birthday (http://i.imgur.com/vxfvBLe.jpg). At this point in time I’d been letting my hair grow back out since I’d shaved it for the second time back in March.

April 2015 - I remember taking this picture simply because I noticed my hair was longer than it had ever been before (http://i.imgur.com/MMowCN8.jpg); at one point during my high school years I’d let it grow quite long, but at this point I’d surpassed that length by a decent margin and decided to take this image.

May 2015 - I can’t say I had a reason to take this one other than simple vanity (http://i.imgur.com/DlckfJQ.png), but I think it does a good job of highlighting the texture of my hair, which may be helpful in some way.

January 2016 - Taken because I felt like I’d reached another milestone of sorts in hair length (http://i.imgur.com/gwrm2vN.jpg). Relevant because this image, in retrospect, is one where I feel like I can definitely see split ends, looking at it now. Looks that way to me, at least.

July 2016 - Taken right before showering (http://i.imgur.com/r1Lqz1X.jpg). While my hair is naturally vert soft/fine, it seems almost wispy-looking/frail here to me. I’m guessing it was quite hot out already, which could explain the frizzy weirdness of my hair in part, but I also feel like maybe this was around when my lack of proper hair maintenance was starting to catch up to me in more noticeable ways and I simply wasn’t aware of it.

August 2016 - I have no explanation for this photo (http://i.imgur.com/5YV585J.jpg), but to shift attention solely to my hair; it seems to me like while it appears fairly healthy here, it’s...I don’t know...flatter/thinner than it should be. Maybe it doesn’t look that way, but it kind of feels that way. For clarification, this was near the end of August -- could’ve been the last week of the month -- so it was fairly recent.

And here’s two mirror shots taken at the same time as the above photo (#1 (http://i.imgur.com/vOFuYqy.jpg) and #2 (http://i.imgur.com/qwU5zCE.jpg)), just to demonstrate length of hair from the back.

September 2016 - Just under two weeks ago (the 2nd, I believe). First up is a rather lovely (I’m lying, it’s actually fairly not-lovely) image of a bunch of hair I’d shed while showering (http://i.imgur.com/30SBbOl.jpg). This isn’t even taking into account the additional strands I lose when combing my hair.

I have no idea how many individual strands of hairs are in there and I know it’s not uncommon to lose quite a few strands per day at this length, but I just wanted to know if this looks about ‘right’ for someone with my length of hair or if this appears excessive. For what it’s worth, this was also after a couple days of not washing my hair; normally, I wash my hair every other day.

Here’s an image of my hair from the side (http://i.imgur.com/KlTOTA2.jpg) right after showering taken the same day. Wanted to have at least one picture of how my hair looks when wet just in case. Apologies for the slight chestal exposure. Wasn’t sure how to take a pic like this at the time and I tried cropping it as much as possible while still showing enough of my hair to demonstrate length, problem areas, etc. If I so much as touch any of the ends of my hairs after showering it seems like I’m bound to pull loose some thin strand(s) of hair. Don’t know if these are split ends or what, but it’s almost like a hair that’s ‘attached’ to another hair/multiple hairs. Hard to say for sure when it’s dripping wet since the individual strands are so fine.

Whew! I think that’s about it. Again, to anyone willing to help out, thank you so much!

Bhruninha
September 13th, 2016, 02:10 PM
The amount of shedding definitely looks excessive to me. I have never shed even a quarter of that per shower, not matter how many days it had been since I last washed. Have you consulted with a doctor about this? Have you been stressed lately? I doubt this is due to hair damage, seems more like an internal issue. Aside from the shedding, your hair looks very pretty and healthy!

lapushka
September 13th, 2016, 02:32 PM
When growing out your hair "just like that", you can't have split ends all over. And you need them all over to be able to cause you a vast amount of hair loss, so nix that as a cause.

I'd go see a dermatologist if you're worried, but I'd not panic yet. The fall is notorious among most for causing a tad more loss of hair. It's shedding season (may occur in fall and spring).

HeartofHaleth
September 13th, 2016, 02:43 PM
Disclaimer: there are several resident hair gurus around here. I am very much not one of them! Now that that's out of the way...I have never heard of split ends causing shedding. A split end is a hair that forks at the end, almost like a little snake's tongue. Sometimes a strand will fork in several places going up the length. Shedding can be caused by many, many, MANY things; Bhruninha suggested a doctor's visit. I would second her advice. This may be caused by a deficiency, imbalance or disorder. As for the conditioner, what kind was it? You said your hair is fine, and it seems quite straight. A heavy, highly moisturizing conditioner may have overpowered it (again, I'm not a product wizard. Please correct anything I say, experts of LHC!). While washing it so often without conditioner was probably not very good for it, you shouldn't have to worry too much about excessive damage and split ends at that length, especially without use of heat or bleach. Your hair does not appear very damaged to me. I don't think you need to be this concerned about split ends, unless you examine your hair and find a whole bunch (and I'm willing to bet you won't). Don't lose hope! :D Your hair is very nice, and split ends aren't as disastrous as they sound! Get some medical advice, and if that doesn't work, we'll happily help you figure out the next step to solving your shedding problem! Sheds can be confusing and frustrating, but you've got a whole community of people to help you through it! :grouphug:

ETA: Sorry for the text wall...I seem to be incapable of making tidy, readable posts on my phone.

Complexity
September 13th, 2016, 03:06 PM
How's your diet? Stress?

The "average" shed is about 50-100 hairs/day. Admittedly I didn't look at your pictures (I'm supposed to be working :p), but that will at least give you something to base your own off of. I know that if I wear my hair up for a long period of time (read: a couple of days), I have more sheds. I don't think this has anything to do with more shedding, rather they just hang out up there until they have a chance to escape. As for "needing to trim in order to keep your hair healthy", it really depends on your hair - Hair that isn't splitting doesn't actually need to be trimmed.

It could also be a seasonal shed. Something about the change in seasons seems to do that to some people :)

How does your scalp feel after washing? How do you wash? I know you said you're using a Paul Mitchell shampoo - How long have you been using it? A lot of us here have success with cheapies like Herbal Essences (harsher) or Suave (mostly gentler). Again, I didn't look at your pictures so I'm not sure how long you are but if it's past your shoulders, I would definitely consider using a conditioner as well. Most things are YMMV, but I think if you hang around here for a little while you'll find that you can work out your routine fairly quickly.

If you're that concerned about it, make an appointment with a dermatologist. A GP likely won't be able to tell you much.

tehmuffinmon
September 13th, 2016, 03:35 PM
The amount of shedding definitely looks excessive to me. I have never shed even a quarter of that per shower, not matter how many days it had been since I last washed. Have you consulted with a doctor about this? Have you been stressed lately? I doubt this is due to hair damage, seems more like an internal issue. Aside from the shedding, your hair looks very pretty and healthy!

Thanks for the response! I haven't yet consulted with a doctor, no. I've recently switched to a new primary care physician, however, and have an appointment set for the 20th, so I can certainly bring it up at that point in time. I hadn't considered stress as a factor, per se -- at least not in a daily, cumulative sort of sense -- but I can think of an event that occurred recently enough (near the very end of July/beginning of August) that could have perhaps had a residual sort of effect. I hadn't actually thought about that as a potential cause until just now, if only because there was no 'immediate' reaction thereafter. In my original thread I specified that I'd noticed excess shedding over a time-frame of roughly two months or so; that's true, and there was also a few weeks building up to the event I alluded to, which coincides more or less with that period of time. In that respect, it adds up, but I really can't say I have any understanding of how that correlation between hair loss/stress really 'works'. Still, certainly gives me something to think about!

And thank you for the compliment! :)


When growing out your hair "just like that", you can't have split ends all over. And you need them all over to be able to cause you a vast amount of hair loss, so nix that as a cause.

I'd go see a dermatologist if you're worried, but I'd not panic yet. The fall is notorious among most for causing a tad more loss of hair. It's shedding season (may occur in fall and spring).

Huh -- interesting (both in regards to the split ends and the seasonal hair loss). I voiced some of my concerns to a friend who kind of examined my hair briefly, but she said it looked really healthy and I had "no split ends". I said I believed her, but, well...I secretly didn't. I'd just gotten fixated on the notion of split ends being the cause of the shedding because I thought the strands I was losing were all, well, split ends. Again -- for all the hair I currently have, I'm a complete hair novice. Thank you! :rolling:


Disclaimer: there are several resident hair gurus around here. I am very much not one of them! Now that that's out of the way...I have never heard of split ends causing shedding. A split end is a hair that forks at the end, almost like a little snake's tongue. Sometimes a strand will fork in several places going up the length. Shedding can be caused by many, many, MANY things; Bhruninha suggested a doctor's visit. I would second her advice. This may be caused by a deficiency, imbalance or disorder. As for the conditioner, what kind was it? You said your hair is fine, and it seems quite straight. A heavy, highly moisturizing conditioner may have overpowered it (again, I'm not a product wizard. Please correct anything I say, experts of LHC!). While washing it so often without conditioner was probably not very good for it, you shouldn't have to worry too much about excessive damage and split ends at that length, especially without use of heat or bleach. Your hair does not appear very damaged to me. I don't think you need to be this concerned about split ends, unless you examine your hair and find a whole bunch (and I'm willing to bet you won't). Don't lose hope! :D Your hair is very nice, and split ends aren't as disastrous as they sound! Get some medical advice, and if that doesn't work, we'll happily help you figure out the next step to solving your shedding problem! Sheds can be confusing and frustrating, but you've got a whole community of people to help you through it! :grouphug:

ETA: Sorry for the text wall...I seem to be incapable of making tidy, readable posts on my phone.

Hmmm, okay! I guess I'd been operating under a series of misconceptions in regards to the specifics of what exactly split ends did; I kind of knew what they were in the abstract, but I thought they somehow specifically caused breakage which could lead to strands coming loose or otherwise impeding growth in one way or another? I really don't know, haha. Whatever the case, I likely jumped the gun, ran with that faulty assumption, and figured that it had to be that. Anyway! I'd actually originally specified the conditioner in the post but ran up against the 10,000 character limit and wound up cutting it out; the conditioner is something called Semi Di Lino Diamante Illuminating Conditioner. I was applying it pretty much all over. I didn't notice any immediate change, but I know that after a couple of days my hair almost instantly felt a little flatter and too soft for comfort.

And thank you very much! :D I absolutely appreciate the support!

HeartofHaleth
September 13th, 2016, 03:40 PM
Breakage can most definitely impede apparent growth; the end of the hair breaks off, so even though the hair is still growing, it appears to stay around the same length. You aren't wrong about that at all!

tehmuffinmon
September 13th, 2016, 04:10 PM
How's your diet? Stress?

The "average" shed is about 50-100 hairs/day. Admittedly I didn't look at your pictures (I'm supposed to be working :p), but that will at least give you something to base your own off of. I know that if I wear my hair up for a long period of time (read: a couple of days), I have more sheds. I don't think this has anything to do with more shedding, rather they just hang out up there until they have a chance to escape. As for "needing to trim in order to keep your hair healthy", it really depends on your hair - Hair that isn't splitting doesn't actually need to be trimmed.

It could also be a seasonal shed. Something about the change in seasons seems to do that to some people :)

How does your scalp feel after washing? How do you wash? I know you said you're using a Paul Mitchell shampoo - How long have you been using it? A lot of us here have success with cheapies like Herbal Essences (harsher) or Suave (mostly gentler). Again, I didn't look at your pictures so I'm not sure how long you are but if it's past your shoulders, I would definitely consider using a conditioner as well. Most things are YMMV, but I think if you hang around here for a little while you'll find that you can work out your routine fairly quickly.

If you're that concerned about it, make an appointment with a dermatologist. A GP likely won't be able to tell you much.

Ah, my diet could admittedly be better, haha, but considering the more sudden shift in hair sheddage and the lack of shift in diet, I haven't really considered it as being a huge factor in my case; of course, I could be wrong! As for stress, I addressed that in the post I made above, but to quote myself in part, "I hadn't considered stress as a factor, per se -- at least not in a daily, cumulative sort of sense -- but I can think of an event that occurred recently enough (near the very end of July/beginning of August) that could have perhaps had a residual sort of effect."

I'd read that 50-100 was roughly the average amount to shed per day, yeah. I'd been keeping my hair down exclusively for the last week for the same reason, though I agree -- probably more of a case of it seeming like it's doing more than it actually is to alleviate shedding by 'relocating' the hairs in question for release at a later date.

FWIW, I also feel the need to clarify that I mislabeled (I think) the length of my hair according to some of the other posts on this forum. I stated I had hair that was down to the center of my back or something to that effect, but I think it's closer to just past back shoulder length. Anyway, I think my scalp feels good after washing, but it's kind of difficult for me to say; I don't know what it "should" feel like, nor have I ever really felt around up there or looked for any telltale signs of trouble. I have noticed that the part in my hair seems to show up a little more readily -- it's always been there thanks to my cowlick, and it doesn't really show up unless I have my hair tied back, but still. I can see my scalp a little more clearly now whereas it wasn't quite as clear before.

I wash in a manner that's...eh...probably pretty haphazard. I honestly don't usually think about it. Or, well, normally I don't -- lately I've been more mindful of it. It varies from somewhat aggressive to more relaxed/lazy. I don't know if that really describes the process accurately. Oh, I also wash from front to back, though today I decided to try from back to front just because I'm actually thinking about this stuff now and I wanted to see if it made any sort of difference. I've been using the Paul Mitchell shampoo since...ha, probably my early high school days. I used to use head and shoulders but it left my hair feeling really greasy and weird, and I can't remember what other specific brands of shampoos I've used aside from that.

Thanks for the response! :)


Breakage can most definitely impede apparent growth; the end of the hair breaks off, so even though the hair is still growing, it appears to stay around the same length. You aren't wrong about that at all!

Ahh, alright! Yeah, that's something I'd been grappling with, then; trying to determine if I'm losing those ends, how to determine those ends from the regular hairs, and so on. I tried to describe that in the OP when talking about those 'thinner strands' that seemed almost 'connected' to other hairs, but I'm not sure how well that came across, or if I'm describing the same thing as breakage. If I type in 'hair breakage' into google images (not the most reliable barometer for determining this sort of thing, I know, but still), I notice right off the bat that certain images do bear quite a resemblance to very specific issues that I've noticed within my own hair -- i.e, this one (http://www.prevention.com/sites/prevention.com/files/articles/2015/07/getty-482136717-opener-alexander-bedrin.jpg). That caught my eye right off the bat, because I've got that same thing flyaway thing going on in my hair in spades, I think. I'm guessing it's likely just not very evident from the pictures I've uploaded. Granted, I had been lying on the couch binge-watching something on Netflix for a while prior to taking this, but I feel like you can see that much more clearly here (http://i.imgur.com/BqYfUfC.jpg) unless I'm imagining things.

spidermom
September 13th, 2016, 04:44 PM
Split ends can definitely break off, but they can't cause shedding. If you see bits of hair on your clothing or in your sink/on the counter/on the floor after combing or brushing, that represents split ends that have broken off. Entire hairs coming out of your scalp is something else altogether.

I often shed markedly more around this time of year than at any other time, although it doesn't seem to be happening now. I had a major shed last year when my father died, and I had to hang around his house in Ohio to do probate stuff. So maybe I'm being spared this year.

It's not necessarily a problem to have lots of shorter ends sticking out all over the place. Every single day of your life you shed out hairs, and every single day you grow in new hairs. Right now you have hairs on your head ranging from barely peeking out of the follicle to however long your longest hair is. Because of my shed last year, I am regrowing a lot of hair and have what looks like a second hairdo that is 2-4 inches long and curly sitting right on top of my long wavyish-straightish hair. Sigh.

cailinbee
September 13th, 2016, 04:45 PM
I wonder if a lot more of your hair is simultaneously in telogen (near-shed or shed to make way for new growth) phase all at once, since you've let it grow for so long? I've been considering just growing my hair to terminal and I wonder how my pattern of shed vs. breakage will be affected by simply not cutting my hair for a long period of time, as you have. I'm no doctor, biologist, etc. but the hair you've lost does seem above average, esp. if you're losing that much daily.

Not to inspire panic or anything, though. People go through sheds for seemingly banal reasons -- elevated stress, hormonal changes, diet, lifestyle changes, seasonal changes, etc. Definitely see a doctor and/or dermatologist if you're concerned!

As an aside, love your style. My husband is trying to grow a beard like yours and I've been trying to subtly convince him that the Viking look is an excellent one. :)

animetor7
September 13th, 2016, 05:02 PM
Could you give us some information about your routine with regards to your hair? Names of products and pictures of tools and such. This will help us know better what has been on your hair and could be affecting it, so we can troubleshoot this shed and damage problem. As for now, with the shedding it could just be the fall, I also know that as my hair got longer it seemed like I was shedding more, but I was actually just shedding longer strands so the hair ball after showering was larger, but the number of strands was actually about the same. You've mentioned that the increase in hair shed seems very sudden though, so that might mean something wrong such as diet, stress, or some of the other things that people have mentioned. I'd work on your diet, possibly take some vitamins, I know fish oil is supposed to help hair growth, and try to reduce your stress as much as possible and see in a few weeks if the shedding seems to decrease a bit. It may take longer for results to show up in this area, but it will help you stay healthier in general, so even if you don't notice it helping your hair right away, it's still a win. :) For the damage and splits, have you tried doing an S&D session or several? It's a method of carefully looking through your hair for splits and just trimming above the split on each individual hair that needs it. It's time-consuming, but saves length and protects the health of your hair. To prevent splits look at your tools for detangling etc. and see if they have sharp edges or seams, these can damage hair and cause splits. I would also look into oiling your length and/or using a coney serum to protect it from damage. You can also wear it in protective styles more such as a braid, to help prevent damage. If you give us your routine we might also be able to help with more specific recommendations about products. Good luck, and sorry for the monster length response!! :)

Obsidian
September 13th, 2016, 05:02 PM
Those shorter poky out hairs are usually new hairs that are growing in, we call them baby hairs. Even in cases of bad split ends, the hair doesn't break off that much. You can check your sheds to determine if they are actual sheds or broken hairs. A shed hair will have a small white root at one end, that is where it was attached to the head.

My hair is fine so its easier to feel the little bump then it is to look for it. Take one strand of hair and gently run the end through your fingers, do it on both ends. You should feel a ever so slight bump at one end. If your eyes are good enough, you can see the bump on one end while the other end will be more tapered.
Its very possible you are abusing your hair to death and some is breaking off, you need to know what exactly is happening to help determine how to fix it. I've collected all my sheds before so I could count them and check for the root, just to help me learn what is normal for me.

When you go to the Dr, have bloodwork done to check your vitamin levels, hormones and thyroid. All can cause excess shedding if out of wack. I'm sure there are other things to check for but I don't know what, others will come along with advice on that.

How often do you wash and how do you do it? I know my hubby digs at his scalp with his nails, that is too rough for longer hair. You should only rub your scalp with the pads of your fingers. Rub the shampoo on the scalp, not so much on the length. Use the excess lather to gently wash the length, don't scrub or handle it roughly. Use a widetooth comb to detangle while there is conditioner on, comb from the ends up and never rip through tangles. Only apply condition from the ears down, your scalp doesn't it and it can contribute to roots looking oily faster.

How you dry is important too, gently squeeze out excess water, never ring your hair and never rub your head vigorously with a towel.

lapushka
September 14th, 2016, 08:39 AM
Could you give us some information about your routine with regards to your hair? Names of products and pictures of tools and such. This will help us know better what has been on your hair and could be affecting it, so we can troubleshoot this shed and damage problem. As for now, with the shedding it could just be the fall, I also know that as my hair got longer it seemed like I was shedding more, but I was actually just shedding longer strands so the hair ball after showering was larger, but the number of strands was actually about the same. You've mentioned that the increase in hair shed seems very sudden though, so that might mean something wrong such as diet, stress, or some of the other things that people have mentioned. I'd work on your diet, possibly take some vitamins, I know fish oil is supposed to help hair growth, and try to reduce your stress as much as possible and see in a few weeks if the shedding seems to decrease a bit. It may take longer for results to show up in this area, but it will help you stay healthier in general, so even if you don't notice it helping your hair right away, it's still a win. :) For the damage and splits, have you tried doing an S&D session or several? It's a method of carefully looking through your hair for splits and just trimming above the split on each individual hair that needs it. It's time-consuming, but saves length and protects the health of your hair. To prevent splits look at your tools for detangling etc. and see if they have sharp edges or seams, these can damage hair and cause splits. I would also look into oiling your length and/or using a coney serum to protect it from damage. You can also wear it in protective styles more such as a braid, to help prevent damage. If you give us your routine we might also be able to help with more specific recommendations about products. Good luck, and sorry for the monster length response!! :)

I definitely second that. Also have you been letting oil get on your scalp, or conditioner (when you do use it). Some people can't take the oil or conditioner on the scalp and it makes them shed more to a lot more, depending on the individual.

tehmuffinmon
September 15th, 2016, 04:52 PM
Hello again! Figured I'd pop back in with an update. :)

Thanks for all the responses, everyone! I've read over each and every one of them and had planned on responding to each individually yesterday, but at the moment I'm a little short on time; I'll offer up a more condensed response that (hopefully) strikes at all of the big points brought up.

So, regarding hair routine! I have to be honest and say that up until joining this community (and doing some digging on the side before/after), I really had no idea about much else other than the 'usual' -- I suppose I probably knew on some level that people powdered/oiled their hair and so on and so forth, but really, I'd never thought about it before and never really ventured outside that shampoo comfort zone, haha. As stated in my original post, I had never even used conditioner until just recently (which, to address another post, I did run through my scalp). My routine consists solely of washing my hair with the Paul Mitchell tea tree special shampoo that I've grown accustomed to, and get out of the shower. At this point I usually lightly run/pat a towel through or over my hair very briefly just to ensure it's not dripping all over the place for the next five millenia, because I let it air-dry the vast majority of the time and only ever dry it using the cool/cold setting when and if I use a hairdryer. After this, sometimes I'll comb it then and there, while other times I'll wait until it's a bit drier and then comb it.

Speaking of combing! So, in addition to the (based on today's shower, at least) seemingly life-changing advice of using the pads of my fingers and not my nails -- which I've always done out of habit, since I have an oily scalp and all -- I'd mainly just used generic plastic combs and, for the first time, tried using a wide tooth comb today. Which, uh, was ALSO plastic, but still; it seemed to make an immaculate difference in combination with shampooing with no nails. Thank you, Obsidian!

I gathered up the hair I shed afterwards and...honestly, it practically seemed like it wasn't enough hair, haha. I couldn't believe it, but I'm hesitant to jump the gun. I'm still worried, but that put my mind at ease, at least. It was such a dramatic difference. I took photos and had planned on posting them, but I think what I'll do instead, because of time and also just to make sure this wasn't some miraculous fluke, is wait and take a comparison pic after my next wash. I combed using the wide tooth comb after, and while I did lose some hairs doing so, it was -- again -- a very forgiving amount compared to what I'd lost with the other comb. I know that the wide tooth likely isn't the right 'type' for my hair, but it certainly felt like it was doing its job, at the very least. :D

Oh, and to address something that was posted about the white 'bulbs' at the end of hairs; yes, I've held up hairs that I've lost and been able to see those bulbs.

In regards to stress, diet, etc; honestly, I really don't know at this point. I'm looking at everything now -- while simultaneously trying not to think about it too much. Bit of a difficult balance, haha.

animetor7
September 15th, 2016, 05:06 PM
I'm so glad to hear that your shed was much less!! I looked up your shampoo, and something to try if you haven't already is a sulfate free shampoo, as sulfates can irritate the scalp sometimes and cause shedding if you're sensitive to them. And hey, if this switch doesn't make a difference you know you're not sensitive to sulfates which is great because if you start reading shampoo ingredients you'll notice they're everywhere from suave to expensive salon brands.

I would also recommend checking your comb to see if it has sharp edges or seams which can cause damage. It doesn't matter if it's plastic except that plastic combs often have seams and sharp edges. But some plastic products can be very gentle on hair. Tangle teezers for example are wonderful and have quite a following here. They are made of plastic but are exceedingly gentle.

Good luck!!! Hopefully the shedding and damage will continue to decrease!!!

Obsidian
September 15th, 2016, 06:20 PM
Great to hear your shed may be slowing down! Its amazing how little things can have such a big impact isn't it? Wide tooth combs are always better then close tooth combs, regardless of hair type. Next thing to look into is a seamless comb, I use a swissco acrylic comb that I found on amazon for $13.

No need to scrub a oily scalp to death, you want to gently cleans it, not try to remove your hide:) You can scrub harder if you end up with gunky oily skin build up but you want to do it carefully.

lapushka
September 16th, 2016, 07:46 AM
No need to scrub a oily scalp to death, you want to gently cleans it, not try to remove your hide:) You can scrub harder if you end up with gunky oily skin build up but you want to do it carefully.

Or even, suds up twice or wash twice if you must. It's what I do. I am oily and have gotten to be a weekly washer. After my hair gets wet, the shampoo is globbed on, then sudsed up. Then when it's a big lather, I slightly rinse (about 20%) and re-suds what's left, it kind of washes more than once with the same bubbles, or more thoroughly if you will.