Looking for a bit of hope and reassurance over shedding

[Marymary]

Hello all,
I have been a long time lurker but very seldom post as I don’t feel like I can offer a lot of experience about longer hair. I have a long time ago talked about how I have great difficulty growing my hair longer than chin length. I have managed to grow it a couple of inches longer but it looks thin at the ends. My main issue is that every year I at some point either starting in summer or like this year in September my hair sheds at alarming rate for several months. Last year it was from September until the end of December. My hair has currently been shedding again since September and the amount seems to be steadily increasing. I hope it will slow soon. Mentally I am exhausted from years of this and am finding increasing hard to deal with it. I have read some members posts about seasonal shedding and am trying to reassure myself that maybe that’s what’s happening with me. I do have new hairs starting to appear which I am greatful for but they never seem to have time to catch up before I start shedding again. Can anyone share there own experience of how seasonal shedding happens for them in terms of duration and in particular if it is a constant amount of shedding or do you feel it sort of peaks with a larger amount and the tapers off. I am trying to get an appointment to see my gp to see if there is anything obvious like iron or thyroid that are causing a problem but this as I say has been going on for years. I think I’m just looking for a bit of hope that it’s not just me. Any thoughts from anyone would be very much appreciated.

[ZoeZ]

You're not alone - I've been going through a major shed since August - literally combfuls each time I shed, to the point it's taken off about a quarter-inch off my pony circumference. I don't have any solutions, like you I'm hoping it's just an annual shed. Have you tried a complete multivitamin daily? I'm due to see an endocrinologist (for other problems) but I will be discussing this with him.

Others with more experience will come along with some useful advice, I'm sure, but just wanted to let you know you're not alone in this.

[YvetteVarie]

Coming in to say, you are not alone. I have been shedding a lot lately and it's annoying. In my case it's postpartum shedding. Don't stress over the shedding, stress is also a cause of excessive shedding.

I have heard tea rinses (black tea) work to reduce shedding. Maybe research on those while you wait to see your gp

[Marymary]

You're not alone - I've been going through a major shed since August - literally combfuls each time I shed, to the point it's taken off about a quarter-inch off my pony circumference. I don't have any solutions, like you I'm hoping it's just an annual shed. Have you tried a complete multivitamin daily? I'm due to see an endocrinologist (for other problems) but I will be discussing this with him.

Others with more experience will come along with some useful advice, I'm sure, but just wanted to let you know you're not alone in this.

Hi ZoeZ
Thank you for your reply, I do take a multivitamin throughout the year so I don’t think I’m lacking anything but it’s maybe something I should get GP to look into. I’m so sorry your having to deal shedding too it’s soul destroying. I cry often. I also think the stress doesn’t help.

[Marymary]

I’m sorry you’re having to deal with shedding, postpartum shedding is a pain, hopefully it should stop for you soon. I have tried tea rinses in the past with little success, they made my hair sort of crunchy but sadly did nothing for the shedding, maybe I was doing it wrong? Has it helped you at all?

[lapushka]

My mom has i hair just like you, and she currently has between shoulder and APL length, that's where she keeps it. She has more hair in the back than in the front (also breakage due to hairspray). I feel you.

It's like it is i, and you don't want to lose more hair.

I would definitely go to get some bloodwork, then you'll be sure! It's not a luxury to have that checked every so often, just for health reasons alone.

Can I ask, do you still get it trimmed every 6 to 8 weeks or even sooner? Because that way your hairdresser is cutting off all your growth, and it is no wonder you can't grow your hair long.

It's nice to have you post! :D

[ZoeZ]

It is disheartening... I think taking a multivitamin will help. but I do think sometimes we are lacking in some of the essential micronutirents in our commercial food chains, so going getting bloodwork, if you can, would at least ease your mind and you can concentrate on other methods. Stress will definitely cause excessive shedding, as I've found out.

[Marymary]

Hi and thanks for your thoughts. I only get the ends trimmed about every three months, the back grows but the sides never get any longer. What blood work do you think would be useful?

[Marymary]

Also I can’t work out how to reply to a specific poster?

[eresh]

Every year september- december I shed a lot.
It's seasonal shed.
This year I had massive shed in other months aswell, this was due to lots of stress, being sick and going through grief.
I DID get my blood checked (vitamins, iron, thyroid and such) and this was all perfectly fine.

If it is every year the same for you, I wouldn't worry too much.
Everyone has seasonal sheds yearly.
But yes, stress does make it shed worse in many cases.

[Marymary]

Every year september- december I shed a lot.
It's seasonal shed.
This year I had massive shed in other months aswell, this was due to lots of stress, being sick and going through grief.
I DID get my blood checked (vitamins, iron, thyroid and such) and this was all perfectly fine.

If it is every year the same for you, I wouldn't worry too much.
Everyone has seasonal sheds yearly.
But yes, stress does make it shed worse in many cases.

Thank you for your reply and I’m sorry you’ve had shedding to deal with throughout the year. It just adds extra stress. I am hoping the reason for my shedding is seasonal but it just seams never ending. I really appreciate hearing real peoples experiences of this as google searches are so vague and pointless.

[lapushka]

Hi and thanks for your thoughts. I only get the ends trimmed about every three months, the back grows but the sides never get any longer. What blood work do you think would be useful?

Your hair would grow about one inch and a half in 3 months' time. If your hairdresser is conservative and only cuts one inch off (probably more), all your growth or almost all of it is going to be gone. If you want to really be serious about growing, less trimming would certainly be useful. Maybe go every 4 months or 5/6 months?

[Lady Stardust]

Marymary I think my hair grows in a similar way to yours. Mine grows faster at the back and the front/sides grow slowly.

It became really obvious after I stopped using henna, because I could see how much my hair grew in one year. I got about 5 inches growth at the back, and only 2 inches in some places at the front/sides. I found it incredibly demoralising, but actually it’s helpful to know.

I get half an inch cut every 3 months, measured from the centre back, so less comes off the front when it’s cut in a straight line. I tried leaving it 4 months but that backfired on me. My hair isn’t thick enough to look good with racers (the faster growing hairs) and I ended up getting slightly more cut off.

I grew my hair from a pixie to a bob with quarter inch cuts every 6 weeks, and then from chin length to APL with half inch cuts every 3 months, so it is possible as long as you have an understanding and accurate hairdresser.

The quality of my hair is much better at the back than the sides. The sides are prone to break, and also to look even thinner when I shed a bit more than usual. I find it easiest to keep the sides shorter, kind of face framing layers but not really because they’re all one length, at jaw length. It makes updos look softer and is long enough to tuck behind my ears so it doesn’t get in the way.

I think of you want to grow longer, you need to ignore the sides, to an extent.