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TheHealthyWay
August 4th, 2018, 04:40 PM
I am a female, 20 years old. I have long hair and it was thick until 2-3 years ago. I started straightening my hair daily (no protection) and was neglecting it heavily around that time. I was shedding hair like crazy. Up until recently I suffered from dandruff for years, which I have kept to a minimal as of now thanks to treatment. I no longer use heat and try to keep my hair in a loose braid 24/7 (still get a lot of tangles).

It’s been a little under 2 months since I started taking care of it. I switched to a natural shampoo/conditioner (alba shampoo) but I don’t know why I noticed more hair fall after using it. So I’m currently relying on a mild baby shampoo. And yesterday I tried a hair mask which i left in for 2 hrs (I don't know if its because of this, but I lost a little more than a handful of hair).

Also I have done a blood test and everything was perfectly normal according to my doctor. Other than my iron which was 'slightly' low. I've started taking supplements for it.

My parents, grandparents, etc. Have not suffered from any form of severe hair loss (other than that which comes with age) or such. My dad is 50 y.o., mom is 45 y.o. both have a head full of hair.

I am finding myself constantly thinking about the fact that I can see my scalp (mostly in the crown area), and it really is stressing me out. I try hard not to stress but its tough. I've been considering visiting a trichologist, but I don't know if this would be a good choice.

I have not noticed any improvements as I can still see my scalp, and i am too afraid of styling it in updos, ponytails, etc... to hide the areas with scalp showing. I have a hard time telling if there is any new growth at all in these areas.

Thank you for taking your time to read this!

lapushka
August 4th, 2018, 04:55 PM
What kind of "treatment" do you have for your hair, did you get a diagnosis?

Straightening can wreak a lot of havoc, I don't have to tell you probably. It will take years, it's like growing out from bald again to get your hair back the way it was (hopefully). 2 months is nothing, I'm sad to say.

Some people can't put oil or conditioner on their scalp as they will "mysteriously" shed more; it is what it is and it is a "thing".

There is no quick fix, especially not for heat damage, I'm afraid.

So be patient, hang around here and keep taking care of your hair! :flower:
You'll get there!

Arciela
August 4th, 2018, 04:59 PM
For me it took about 2 years for my hair thickness to come back properly when starting from the roots. The first year is the worst..after that it's pretty easy :) I just did lots of updos and braids the first year..tried to ignore it best I could. You'll get there eventually, every day is a day closer :flower:

TheHealthyWay
August 4th, 2018, 05:14 PM
What kind of "treatment" do you have for your hair, did you get a diagnosis?

Straightening can wreak a lot of havoc, I don't have to tell you probably. It will take years, it's like growing out from bald again to get your hair back the way it was (hopefully). 2 months is nothing, I'm sad to say.

Some people can't put oil or conditioner on their scalp as they will "mysteriously" shed more; it is what it is and it is a "thing".

There is no quick fix, especially not for heat damage, I'm afraid.

So be patient, hang around here and keep taking care of your hair! :flower:
You'll get there!

Thank you for the reply, Lapushka! It means a LOT. Yes I am trying my best! I hate to admit but I did not even do weekly washes at the time! Now I am shampooing and washing my hair once a week! I also am using my dandruff shampoo every 2 weeks to prevent it from coming back, I lost a lot of hair from constantly picking and scratching at it over the years! Also, I am not sure what is mean't by treatment? The only thing I've done is visited my family doctor and she ruled out all possibilities from my blood test, other than the iron which was slightly low. She put me on iron supplements (its been about 1.5 weeks).

TheHealthyWay
August 4th, 2018, 05:19 PM
For me it took about 2 years for my hair thickness to come back properly when starting from the roots. The first year is the worst..after that it's pretty easy :) I just did lots of updos and braids the first year..tried to ignore it best I could. You'll get there eventually, every day is a day closer :flower:

Thank you for the reply, Arciela! If you don't mind me asking, what resulted in the thinning? Yes it has been a very tough 2 months for me, I was thinning like crazy but it didn't hit me until 2 months ago when I could feel how thin and clumped together my hair was after taking a shower. I've been trying to figure out different ways to style my hair too! Updo's would be most effective, hopefully I can convince myself to try them out! I'm glad to know there are more people out there like me who have struggled with this!

guska
August 5th, 2018, 02:08 AM
Hi! I've also gone through a bad round of shedding pretty recently (late 2017) where I lost 1/3 of my hair and sadly it has not yet recovered. I went from iii to ii. I know what you've gone through! For me, the shedding was probably caused by stress and lack of sleep, my hormones got pretty messed up. I'm also pretty unobservant so I didn't realize something was wrong until the shed was over.

lapushka
August 5th, 2018, 03:52 AM
Thank you for the reply, Lapushka! It means a LOT. Yes I am trying my best! I hate to admit but I did not even do weekly washes at the time! Now I am shampooing and washing my hair once a week! I also am using my dandruff shampoo every 2 weeks to prevent it from coming back, I lost a lot of hair from constantly picking and scratching at it over the years! Also, I am not sure what is mean't by treatment? The only thing I've done is visited my family doctor and she ruled out all possibilities from my blood test, other than the iron which was slightly low. She put me on iron supplements (its been about 1.5 weeks).

You were the one that said treatment, so I thought there was a doctor and a diagnosis involved. And apparently there was. If you still have flakes, consider going to a dermatologist, or asking a referral. It is worth it! Anti-dandruff shampoos are only so strong.

Give it time. 2 years sounds about right to have shoulder length hair again (that is nice and healthy). But do give up the heat straightening.

This doesn't mean you need to give up a blow dryer, but if you do use it, use it on a cool/warm setting and not on HOT as that would be equally damaging.

I diffuse my hair weekly for 5 min. after airdrying for 2-4H as after that time, that's all it needs to get 90% dry (roots are dry then but lengths not so much).

ETA: low iron is notorious for hair loss. If the iron goes, so does your hair! So keep the values up. And after it's fine again, it might take a while.

Joules
August 5th, 2018, 04:23 AM
I am a female, 20 years old. I have long hair and it was thick until 2-3 years ago. I started straightening my hair daily (no protection) and was neglecting it heavily around that time. I was shedding hair like crazy. Up until recently I suffered from dandruff for years, which I have kept to a minimal as of now thanks to treatment. I no longer use heat and try to keep my hair in a loose braid 24/7 (still get a lot of tangles).

It’s been a little under 2 months since I started taking care of it. I switched to a natural shampoo/conditioner (alba shampoo) but I don’t know why I noticed more hair fall after using it. So I’m currently relying on a mild baby shampoo. And yesterday I tried a hair mask which i left in for 2 hrs (I don't know if its because of this, but I lost a little more than a handful of hair).

Also I have done a blood test and everything was perfectly normal according to my doctor. Other than my iron which was 'slightly' low. I've started taking supplements for it.

My parents, grandparents, etc. Have not suffered from any form of severe hair loss (other than that which comes with age) or such. My dad is 50 y.o., mom is 45 y.o. both have a head full of hair.

I am finding myself constantly thinking about the fact that I can see my scalp (mostly in the crown area), and it really is stressing me out. I try hard not to stress but its tough. I've been considering visiting a trichologist, but I don't know if this would be a good choice.

I have not noticed any improvements as I can still see my scalp, and i am too afraid of styling it in updos, ponytails, etc... to hide the areas with scalp showing. I have a hard time telling if there is any new growth at all in these areas.

Thank you for taking your time to read this!



The highlighted part concerns me.

First of all, you don't just go bald because of heat styling. Yes, your hair can dry out, get damaged and break off, but the roots aren't affected. So is the case with bleaching and dyeing your hair: unless you get a severe allergic reaction/chemical burn, you shouldn't be losing hair from your scalp. You also can't go bald because of shampoos and conditioners, unless someone mixed hair removing cream into it.

Thinning hair on the crown can be a sign of androgenetic alopecia (female pattern baldness). It is treatable, but it's important to get diagnosed as soon as possible. I would advise seeing a trichologist asap. Regular blood test doesn't really mean anything in this case, there are specific things that are usually neglected that impact hairloss.

TatsuOni
August 5th, 2018, 07:08 AM
Welcome!

I really think that you need to find a way to stress less over this, as stress can cause hair loss.

spidermom
August 5th, 2018, 08:52 AM
I think seeing a trichologist is a good idea, if you can afford it.