Hairfall remedies, and how to gain back lost hair: for thin hair and sensitive scalp

[Viv]

Hi! Newbie here:) I have finally reached an over belly button lenght, but then i had a huge hairfall (from exam stress) 2 months ago, and that resulter in some major weakening of my hair. In the most critical phase of it, I lost over 1/4 of my hair. Now it doesn't have the weight it used to have, and it looks flat, and even thinner.:( I am still shedding more than what i used to, but its better. I would love to completely stop the excess hairfall, and gain back the hair that i lost, as fast as possible. I have done blood tests, nothing out of the ordinary. I am also taking vitamins. Im doing scalp massage, but I don't know what masks are the best for this, since for example oil treaments on scalp can result in hairfall for me. So the question is:

How to regain hair or stop hairfall for those, who have sensitive scalp and thin, fine hair? :confused:I have unfortunately all of these, and as I mentioned treatments tend to make my hair fall out (like oils, especially coconut) if i apply them on my scalp. They make my hair grow faster too, but because of the hairfall i could never use them on scalp regularly. I wonder, whats the trick to avoid hairfall from oils? Should I mix them with water? Should I not use them at all? What about rinses? Are they better, and if so, which one? What can people with thin hair and sensitive scalp use for stopping hairfall and growing out hair? :o

[lapushka]

If you shed from using an oil on your scalp: STOP using the oil. Your scalp can't take oils. Period. It is unfortunate, and very, but it is what it is.

Have you been to a dermatologist to get to the bottom of this. 1/4 is a lot to lose, and especially since it appears to not be stopping. This honestly sounds like more than we can possibly handle.

Welcome to the forum, BTW! :)

[MusicalSpoons]

You can do scalp massages without oil or any liquid, just fingertips :) for me this also causes some extra shedding and produces plenty of my own oil (sebum) so just be aware that can happen.

As for regrowing, the excess shedding probably has to stop first. How long was the period of stress? I have heard of people losing more than 1/4 of their hair because of major stress so out could well be the single cause, and if that's the case it will stop in its own time. It usually starts 3 months after the stress started, so maybe it stops 3 months after the stress has gone? I'm not sure about that one. We have many members who've had stress sheds so hopefully they'll be along and can offer some advice about timing and how to cope :flower:

Oh, rinses you can do; there's a whole thread about tea rinses in the henna/herbal forum, if that's something that might interest you https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=127707 If there are any other types of rinses you have in mind, you can search the forum for info :) Though nothing is guaranteed to help, and they're unlikely to do so until the excess shedding stops anyway. Also, if your scalp is very sensitive I'd recommend doing a patch test for anything new before using it all over.

[The Lizard Wife]

As for regrowing, the excess shedding probably has to stop first. How long was the period of stress? I have heard of people losing more than 1/4 of their hair because of major stress so out could well be the single cause, and if that's the case it will stop in its own time. It usually starts 3 months after the stress started, so maybe it stops 3 months after the stress has gone? I'm not sure about that one. We have many members who've had stress sheds so hopefully they'll be along and can offer some advice about timing and how to cope :flower:

I should have paid more attention to my stress shed this year, for science. Unfortunately I did not so I can only give a very generalized "I think it was this, I guess??" kind of answer, but...

So I came down with flu-that-became-pneumonia on Feb 18. I know I was shedding a lot at a family event in early May...but I think it had only started shortly beforehand? So we'll say the last week of April. (I guess that was only 2 months post-stress, not 3, but maybe my hair is bad at counting.) I didn't make a note of when the shedding finally stopped, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't longer than 2 months? Definitely all of May, probably most of June, but I'm almost certain it didn't stretch into July. My ponytail circumference dropped from 4" to 3.5". I've got a ton of new growth poking out now, though, so I suspect it's all coming back eventually. And my shedding, when it calmed down, returned to its normal levels.
As for the pneumonia, I know I was still feeling not-right a month after it started...possibly longer. I feel like it wouldn't be overexaggerating too much to hazard that it was roughly 2 months of stress that correlated to roughly 2 months of shed? And the logic behind that sounds sensible to me...

Unfortunately I don't have any good advice to add, just that anecdote, since my hair type is very different from yours. But I wish you the best of luck!

[Kalamazoo]

Well, worrying about excessive hairfall is stressful, which causes more of it to happen; so I would recommend not worrying about it!

Something to think about to cut down on the worry: Remember that each hair follicle is constantly cycling through 4 stages: anagen (the growth phase, which we all like), catagen (the resting phase), telogen (the new-hair-forming-in-the-follicle phase), and exogen (where the old hair falls out). Each follicle absolutely HAS to pass through exogen, to get back into anagen. There is no other way.

So, if you're seeing a bunch of baby hairs sprouting up, it's a good sign that recovery has already begun!

[cactuses]

I would invest in a shampoo and conditioner that is geared towards balancing out your scalp PH, such as AG Hair's apple cider vinegar line. Yes, it is pricey but it helped me grow my hair back out to pre-lyme disease thickness. Make sure to take excellent care of your existing hair. Keep your hair in braids as much as possible, stay away from hairstyles that cause scalp tension. Try dry scalp massages nightly to stimulate blood flow to the area.
Best of luck.

[iamjessica26]

Have you tried essential oils or do those irritate your scalp as well? I feel like for me essential oils are much lighter and doesn't make my hair greasy than something like coconut oil. I use peppermint and rosemary they do very well for thickening!

[milosmomma]

Welcome newcomer! I had a big post partum shed so I understand :) I didnt notice anything during my shed that helped stop it, it just ran its course for 6+ months. I did notice that I had new sprouts towards the end of my shed so I think some hairs are in the growing stage still. I would maybe suggest an apple cider(or regular) vinegar rinse. For me it makes my scalp feel cleaner longer, keeps the greasies away, and that helps me shed less generally.

[Kalamazoo]

Have you seen this thread?

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=141868

[lapushka]

Have you seen this thread?

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=141868

It's been a while since OP last responded, though. :)

[Viv]

Hi, thank you all for the advice!^^ sorry for late resopnse, had been very busy lately. Unfortunately my hair suffered from my lack of time too. But i'm ready to get back to haircare, and will try your advices!
I also just finished reading through the recommended thread, and it is really helpful! Unfortunately I can't order things online, so there are several treaments that I am not able to get, use, but I will deffinetely try out the natural treatments!

[Kalamazoo]

It's been a while since OP last responded, though. :)

It's still a great resource, because Reyesuela did such a HUGE amount of research. Even if she never posts again, she's given everybody at LHC a wonderful gift.

[Kalamazoo]

OK, I'm catching on. LHC is like a giant progressive dinner, moving from "house" to "house", where each OP is the hostess at her own "house". So if one goes back in the archives to an old conversation whose hostess is no longer active, it's like reading a good book at the library, but there may be nobody to talk to? because nobody's home...

[01]

You're not supposed to use them undiluted, you can get chemical burns.

Edit:
Uh, I was replying to gal that uses EOs straight on her scalp, without adding them to base oil.