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View Full Version : Acclimation period to daily brushing?



H.e.L
July 13th, 2018, 12:28 PM
Hey guys, I've been going WO and have started BBBing and wooden bristle brushing to move sebum.
Like ya do.
Previously I mostly finger combed or used a wide-toothed wooden hair pick. I'd done this for years, so my scalp was unused to much manipulation at all.
I only use low-traction hairstyles, too. Daily loose nautilus buns or braids.
I have generally lost very little hair with this technique. Probably 20-50 hairs daily.
Now that I'm brushing daily too I have lost more like 100-200 hairs daily since I started WO two weeks ago. I do not have any excessive itching or scalp sores so I don't think it's because of scalp irritation or infection.

My question is:

Is this merely a question of my scalp getting used to more 'exercise'? Is it just hairs that were already getting ready to fall out merely jumping ship early due to the slightly higher level of manipulation?
I'm being as gentle as I can on WO, massaging/scritching carefully, detangling gently with fingers and wide tooth comb before I finish SMPing with the wood bristle brush then BBB.
Does anyone else have experience with extra shedding when starting to brush after only combing for a long time? If you had lots of shedding as a result, did it eventually normalize?
Sorry for the text wall, I'm just kinda paranoid about excessive shedding after losing a ton of hair volume a year ago due to mysterious scalp irritation. (Turns out my scalp just suddenly REALLY hates anything but sebum. Contact dermatitis?)
Anyway. Still recovering from that.
What do y'all think? Thank you for your time.

lithostoic
July 13th, 2018, 03:37 PM
I couldn't do WO for the same reason. All the manipulation was destroying my hair. Nowadays I mostly cowash.

H.e.L
July 13th, 2018, 03:48 PM
Thank you for your response, lithostoic!

I wish I could do that, but everything I put on my scalp makes me shed even worse than I am now. :(
I've tried all different kinds of hair cleansing I've ever heard of: sulfate, no sulfate; all natural, generic drug store; eggs; shikakai; CO-washing... Pretty much every shampoo and alternative scalp cleanser discussed on this forum.

WO at least doesn't make my scalp itch/hurt.

But I'm mostly curious about the not brushing and then brushing shedding thing.

Anyone have experience with increased shedding when starting to brush initially, which then tapers off when the scalp 'toughens up'?

lapushka
July 13th, 2018, 04:44 PM
You will always have shedding, if that's what you mean. It's normal to lose up to 100 hairs a day. So there might not have been anything wrong with those other washing methods. Maybe you can only go x-number of days/months on WO and then need a different type of wash? Anyway, I'm not sure either why it would increase all of a sudden. If it is still within the norm, I would not worry about it.

H.e.L
July 16th, 2018, 12:31 AM
Well, whenever I use a normal method (S/C, CO, CWC, etc) my shredding steadily climbs until it's in the 300-500 range.
For a long time I was able to do heavily diluted shampoo, that's when I was consistently doing 20-50 hairs lost per day. This was absolutely static for over a year.
Since it's climbed back up to 100-200 I guess I'm just wondering what exactly that's due to.
When I'm losing tons of hair, I usually have a warning symptom like persistently itchy scalp or sore spots (or both.)
I don't have that (soreness or itchiness) this time, I just have more shedding than when my scalp is most healthy.
If you say this amount of shedding is normal, I believe you.

MidnightMoon
July 16th, 2018, 12:55 AM
100-200 does sound like a lot, at least for me. I don't count hairs, never have, but it's definitely nowhere near that number. You said WO works better for that than using other products, but I'm thinking maybe it's still not the best option for you?
I mean, excluding any other problems, like health issues, my only guess is it's related to your current routine.
I personally know I can't do WO. My scalp is too oily, and when oily, I feel I shed more, and feel uncomfortable in general.
I'd try reducing the amount of brushing (finger+wooden brush+bbb might be too much), though if those hairs were to fall out anyways, less brushing might not exactly be the solution. Perhaps you could give more products a chance, since you had luck once with diluted shampoo? There is probably something for you out there.

Simsy
July 16th, 2018, 01:31 AM
So my major query with this is, is it breakage or shedding? If it’s shedding, then the brushing is unlikely to be affecting it. If it’s breakage then you have a larger issue that the brushing might be escalating. From my own experience, the scalp doesn’t work like the rest of body getting used to exercise. It feels like the current brushing system might just be too much on your hair...

As a random suggestion, would a wide tooth comb and some additional oil possibly be the way to go? Or even reducing the number of brush strokes? The brushing is to move the sebum down, but it doesn’t appear to be working terribly well at the moment for you.

H.e.L
July 19th, 2018, 03:22 PM
After some research and experimentation, I think my problem was I was simply scritching/massaging too briskly.
My shed rate has gone back down to only slightly higher than my normal rate after I adjusted my technique. (I found a quote in the old NW/SO/WO thread saying that massaging/scritching should be done more gently than scritching a cats head.)
I tried it (much gentler than I'd like; apparently I prefer a more robust massage lol) and my hairs lost was much closer to normal parameters.
Go me for over thinking things yet again, haha.
Thanks anyway to all responders for your thoughtful replies!

lapushka
July 19th, 2018, 03:34 PM
After some research and experimentation, I think my problem was I was simply scritching/massaging too briskly.
My shed rate has gone back down to only slightly higher than my normal rate after I adjusted my technique. (I found a quote in the old NW/SO/WO thread saying that massaging/scritching should be done more gently than scritching a cats head.)
I tried it (much gentler than I'd like; apparently I prefer a more robust massage lol) and my hairs lost was much closer to normal parameters.
Go me for over thinking things yet again, haha.
Thanks anyway to all responders for your thoughtful replies!

That's good news!

hennalove
July 20th, 2018, 07:52 AM
Thank you for your response, lithostoic!

I wish I could do that, but everything I put on my scalp makes me shed even worse than I am now. :(
I've tried all different kinds of hair cleansing I've ever heard of: sulfate, no sulfate; all natural, generic drug store; eggs; shikakai; CO-washing... Pretty much every shampoo and alternative scalp cleanser discussed on this forum.

WO at least doesn't make my scalp itch/hurt.

But I'm mostly curious about the not brushing and then brushing shedding thing.

Anyone have experience with increased shedding when starting to brush initially, which then tapers off when the scalp 'toughens up'?

I do inversion brushing, very gently twice around the scalp. My shed count is well under normal at about 6 hairs if that but I've really worked to reduced both shedding and breakage. Any time you notice more shed, stop and reassess what you are doing. Make one change at a time when troubleshooting. Some here never brush their hair, others daily, while other occasionally. It all depends on how your hair responds to that type of manipulation.

Two things immediately come to mind: over manipulation and diet. Perhaps your hair simply does not like all the brushing or it could be the way you are brushing. Either way, brushing itself could cause breakage that you are perceiving as shedding. Second, and it can't be stressed enough is diet. If your diet is lacking it is common for hair to shed. The premise is your body diverts nutrients to organs to preserve life and hair growth is not essential.

Stress can also cause hair shed. Reduce your stress level and shedding reduces as well.

There are several herbs that can help reduce shedding. I see you have tried shikakai, one that I highly recommend. Have you tried aloe vera? It is very soothing, helps reduce shedding and promotes hair growth. Coconut cream might help give you a bit more slip so less breakage and it reduces shed promoting hair growth.