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Lucyb
April 19th, 2020, 03:26 AM
I've got quite thick, curly, long hair (down to my lower back). For at least the last month I've noticed(*) that I've been shedding a fair bit of hair per day. On a rough count I lose about 40-45 hairs (though given that I try and stay active I presume more hairs could come out on the floor, on my pants, on the ground, etc). I never used to see this much coming out before. I know it's less than the 100 hairs which is the max people tend to lose in one day, but it's still more than I've been used to; previously I would notice about 5-10 hairs coming out.

So, why could this be? Is this Telogen Effluvium?

It's hard to say, but I guess the cause could be any number of things:



I had an operation in December. I got pretty stressed about this too. This would definitely fit the "hair loss happens 2-4 months after a stressor" thing.
Hormones. I suspect my levels might have gone a bit off recently--I did take some meds to adjust them a little for whatever reason, but this was only about a month before the shedding "started"
Seasonal? I noticed some shedding at about this time last year, but then I was laid off from my job in January and I did get quite sick with a bad chest infection
Illness? I had something which miggghhtt have been Covid-19 about a month ago. My fever did go up to about 103.5, but only for a day or so, and the illness was ultimately over within a week with only mild symptoms. I doubt it would have affected my hair quite so much though. I've also not seen any ridges in my nails, apparently another sign of stress to the body?


I think the most annoying thing is that we're all in a lockdown, so I can't go out and get my blood levels checked, or for someone to look at my scalp (which admittedly does feel super itchy sometimes but shows no signs of anything other than occasional and somewhat normal dry flakes). Though, there is one other possibility:

*) I'm just going loopy in lockdown. I mean some days I seem to shed far less--one day it looked like I wasn't shedding at all and I stopped counting. I only saw about 5-10 hairs then, but I was probably still shedding a lot more, just not noticing them. So maybe I've always done this and I'm just noticing it because I'm at home and can't work?

Ylva
April 19th, 2020, 03:36 AM
Shedding doesn't necessarily need to be a concern, but I would say it becomes at least noteworthy when you're clearly shedding more than you're used to.

My best guess in your case would be telogen effluvium from the operation in December. That's a lot of both physical and emotional stress. People sometimes get TE from much "lesser" things. It should pass within 6 months or so. Just focus on relaxation and taking it easy as much as possible in the mean time.

hennalonghair
April 19th, 2020, 04:15 AM
I agree. That’s a lot of stress on your body in general and hair is a part of that body.
Stressing about the loss won’t help but easier said than done.

I’ve been going through a massive shed lately due to some family drama which I shouldn’t really share since it’s too personal.

Stress can do a lot of damage to hair and there isn’t much you can do about it. Try and accept the fact that ‘this too, shall pass,’ cause fretting and worrying will only add to the total impact. Meditate, listen to music, maybe give yourself some gentle scalp massages. We all go through it.

Good luck in your hair journey!

Lucyb
April 19th, 2020, 04:16 AM
Shedding doesn't necessarily need to be a concern, but I would say it becomes at least noteworthy when you're clearly shedding more than you're used to.

My best guess in your case would be telogen effluvium from the operation in December. That's a lot of both physical and emotional stress. People sometimes get TE from much "lesser" things. It should pass within 6 months or so. Just focus on relaxation and taking it easy as much as possible in the mean time.

Thanks for the reply :o. Obviously there are loads of factors to consider, but I hope my hair won't noticeably thin. I like how I look at the moment and I'd still like to grow my hair out longer if I can. All of the TE cases I've seen seem to be folks who lose hundreds of hairs a day, and that's not obviously me, so I wonder how this will go.

Ylva
April 19th, 2020, 04:24 AM
Thanks for the reply :o. Obviously there are loads of factors to consider, but I hope my hair won't noticeably thin. I like how I look at the moment and I'd still like to grow my hair out longer if I can. All of the TE cases I've seen seem to be folks who lose hundreds of hairs a day, and that's not obviously me, so I wonder how this will go.

Yours might be a milder case altogether or it might drag out longer. When I had TE due to completely changing my lifestyle (for the better) and thus losing 10 kilos over 2 months, combined with moving, starting uni and the death of my friend, I lost huge chunks every wash. It lasted about 4 months of which 2 consisted of very heavy shedding.

lapushka
April 19th, 2020, 04:54 AM
In spring some people definitely lose more hair, but 45/55 hairs per day is not a lot at all. You can lose up to and about 100 hairs a day without it being concerning.

I think it will pass so wouldn't worry about it too much.

It's only when you lose "chunks", not a bunch of hairs, but really tufts of it, I mean. Or, get bald spots that you need to be alarmed!

CoriKali
April 19th, 2020, 01:48 PM
It could also be a side effect from anesthesia! Anesthesia can cause hair to thin somewhat after an operation. Not by a drastic amount, but slightly, which might explain why you’re noticing it slightly more than usual.

cjk
April 19th, 2020, 02:10 PM
By any chance did they put you on steroids after the surgery? For me, prednisone caused an actual bald spot.

Lucyb
April 20th, 2020, 01:58 PM
By any chance did they put you on steroids after the surgery? For me, prednisone caused an actual bald spot.

Nope, not been on steroids. It wasn't that long of an operation (3-4 hours) and I was discharged within a day or two. Thank goodness I had it in December actually, blimey...

I have noticed a bit more shedding today. I had a good clarifiying wash this morning and probably lost about 60-80ish hairs that way (about twice what I usually lose and most of the bits were shorter than the length of my hair--probably breakage, as most of my lost hair in a wash tends to be). I've then shed about 60-70 hairs throughout the rest of the day.

That's definitely more than it's been even in this week, but it has been a few days since I washed last, and my hair felt so tangled yesterday that I just put it in a ponytail to get on with chores. I hardly noticed any hair fall then, maybe only 10-20 hairs. So it's possible that it's just "stored" hair that's being released.

I'll see how the next few days go.

Lucyb
April 28th, 2020, 12:40 PM
Hrm, still appears to have stepped up a little over the past week or so.

My hair has felt a bit heavy with conditioner in places over the last few days. I hardly noticed any shedding, either in the shower or throughout the day, so I used a more intensive shampoo this morning. I've noticed that this usually causes an apparent increase in shedding when I do, I guess because the suds loosen any hairs that might have otherwise been stuck in my hair? Does anyone else notice this?

Does TE tend to increase before it decreases too? How much have other people shed, and has it been noticeable to other people?

Either way I've been shedding 50-60 hairs throughout the rest of the day, on top of about 30ish hairs in the shower. Still not vastly excessive but... hrm.

Ylva
April 28th, 2020, 01:11 PM
Does TE tend to increase before it decreases too? How much have other people shed, and has it been noticeable to other people?

Mine increased steadily to its peak over about 3 weeks. I shed heavily for 2 months, after which it reduced very suddenly. Then I shed a tiny bit more than I usually do for another month or so.

At its heaviest, I was shedding maybe 10 times as much as usual.

This stuff is very individual, however.

Belgrade Beauty
April 28th, 2020, 03:10 PM
I have a heavy shedding every time I wash my hair, about 150 and more hairs fall out..I counted. And that's a lot, it doesn't grow that much...It's visible to others too...

MusicalSpoons
April 28th, 2020, 03:46 PM
My hair has felt a bit heavy with conditioner in places over the last few days. I hardly noticed any shedding, either in the shower or throughout the day, so I used a more intensive shampoo this morning. I've noticed that this usually causes an apparent increase in shedding when I do, I guess because the suds loosen any hairs that might have otherwise been stuck in my hair? Does anyone else notice this?


Manipulation appears to give me more shedding, especially washing - I guess because it's a relatively prolonged amount of manipulation compared with my usual 'comb it once a day but not even every day'.

Lucyb
May 3rd, 2020, 07:07 AM
I can't seem to access my profile or send messages to people, but would anyone be willing to discuss their own experiences a little more over private messages (I presume we can still do this on this site somehow?) with me further? My shedding is definitely going up and it's getting a bit disturbing.

Ylva
May 3rd, 2020, 08:04 AM
I can't seem to access my profile or send messages to people, but would anyone be willing to discuss their own experiences a little more over private messages (I presume we can still do this on this site somehow?) with me further? My shedding is definitely going up and it's getting a bit disturbing.

I don't seem to be able to message you either. I think you just need to write a few more messages around the board. Just find a few threads and post something. There are lots of fitting ones in the polls section.

This is probably a safety measure to prevent spamming and advertisement. :)

MusicalSpoons
May 3rd, 2020, 09:46 AM
This is probably a safety measure to prevent spamming and advertisement. :)

To prevent creeps too.

Glitch
May 3rd, 2020, 07:34 PM
At one point I was pretty sure I was losing crazy amounts of hair. However, when I finally counted the daily shed hair I realized it wasn't that, but just really long strands of hair tangled up in a way that would make it appear to be a big issue. Anything up to ~100 strands per day is normal.

ynne
May 4th, 2020, 12:34 AM
Seasonal? I noticed some shedding at about this time last year, but then I was laid off from my job in January and I did get quite sick with a bad chest infection
I wonder how long a seasonal shed usually lasts? I have been experiencing unusual shedding too, and it could have many possible reasons, but I'm hoping it's seasonal so it would stop soon.

Lucyb
May 4th, 2020, 02:32 AM
I wonder how long a seasonal shed usually lasts? I have been experiencing unusual shedding too, and it could have many possible reasons, but I'm hoping it's seasonal so it would stop soon.

I've wondered this too! It's (as ever) hard to say; part of the reason I'm noticing the shed I'm going through at the moment is because I'm stuck inside with so little to do!

bugeyedmonster2
May 8th, 2020, 09:18 AM
I would add, that if you can get an appointment to the doctor, go ahead and get one.

You could be having thyroid issues. That can cause hair loss.

ynne
May 14th, 2020, 10:43 PM
OP, do you find it affecting your overall volume of hair? I already noticed a decrease in ponytail circumference (by feel and looks, not measuring), despite no visible bald patches yet, and it has only been going on for about 2-3 weeks. If stress-induced shed can last months, I can't imagine how thinned out my hair could be by the end of it... :/

Ylva
May 15th, 2020, 03:10 AM
OP, do you find it affecting your overall volume of hair? I already noticed a decrease in ponytail circumference (by feel and looks, not measuring), despite no visible bald patches yet, and it has only been going on for about 2-3 weeks. If stress-induced shed can last months, I can't imagine how thinned out my hair could be by the end of it... :/

A lot of that is just inside the head. I thought my ponytail circumference decreased a lot more during my shed than it actually did. Honestly, most people can afford to shed A LOT before it shows! :)

ynne
May 15th, 2020, 02:47 PM
A lot of that is just inside the head. I thought my ponytail circumference decreased a lot more during my shed than it actually did. Honestly, most people can afford to shed A LOT before it shows! :)

Thank you, that's actually reassuring! And it really helps to read about others' experience. I already shed a lot of hair as the normal amount (and struggle with untamable flyaways as they don't curl with the rest of hair), so any shed increase looks like handfuls, now it's at that point where I wake up and (I counted for once) it's over 100 hair strands at once, which is about 1/3 or 1/2 of a day, so it just... adds up a lot. :( But my partner also insists it's not as obvious as I say, at least not yet.

Bri-Chan
May 15th, 2020, 07:08 PM
Several years ago I had a huge shed. It started in late summer 2011 and ended in february, with almost 3 months wirh massive shedding. I was 15 at that time and my family didn't believe me, they thought it was only in my mind but it obviously wasn't. I never knew why, that was a happy period of my life. Maybe intense amd stressful but in a positive way. Who knows. But I became paranoid about my hair, and this lasted for years.
Actually, some friend noticed my hair was becoming thinner at that time. My sensation is that my hair never grew back, but it sounds not possible.

lapushka
May 16th, 2020, 03:57 AM
Several years ago I had a huge shed. It started in late summer 2011 and ended in february, with almost 3 months wirh massive shedding. I was 15 at that time and my family didn't believe me, they thought it was only in my mind but it obviously wasn't. I never knew why, that was a happy period of my life. Maybe intense amd stressful but in a positive way. Who knows. But I became paranoid about my hair, and this lasted for years.
Actually, some friend noticed my hair was becoming thinner at that time. My sensation is that my hair never grew back, but it sounds not possible.

I had a major shed in puberty as well (well at the very start). It was hormonal imbalance due to my hormones "kicking in". I had 3 bald spots and it came out in chunks. Grew in a different texture too. It was very noticeable and I totally freaked out! To the point where my mom bought me hair vitamins and a lotion (of course it didn't do much :roll: but it was the thought that I was "doing something" at least that helped me get over it). Took a year, just like the doctor said it would. At least he gave me about 6 months to a year for it to naturally settle. At the age of 13/14 you really don't want to be taking hormones if your own are barely there.

Bri-Chan
May 16th, 2020, 05:28 AM
I had a major shed in puberty as well (well at the very start). It was hormonal imbalance due to my hormones "kicking in". I had 3 bald spots and it came out in chunks. Grew in a different texture too. It was very noticeable and I totally freaked out! To the point where my mom bought me hair vitamins and a lotion (of course it didn't do much :roll: but it was the thought that I was "doing something" at least that helped me get over it). Took a year, just like the doctor said it would. At least he gave me about 6 months to a year for it to naturally settle. At the age of 13/14 you really don't want to be taking hormones if your own are barely there.

My family didn't belive me but at the same time they joked about my hair loss, so I think they also noticed but they didn't think it was something important. Watching some pictures, my sensation is that after that shed, my hair slowly grew back finer. I noticed for the first time in my life that I have fine hair.
However, about an year after the shed, I measured my ponytail circumference for the first time and it was 1/4 inch thicker than now, so the texture's change makes sense I guess.

Feral_
May 16th, 2020, 05:54 AM
I wonder if humans have hair shed cycles, like other fur covered mammals? My shed is always more noticeable in spring. Though the texture of my hair has also changed over the last few months too.

Ylva
May 16th, 2020, 06:16 AM
I wonder if humans have hair shed cycles, like other fur covered mammals? My shed is always more noticeable in spring. Though the texture of my hair has also changed over the last few months too.

Seasonal sheds are indeed very common in humans.

Feral_
May 16th, 2020, 06:28 AM
Seasonal sheds are indeed very common in humans.

Good to know some things are beyond my control - I’ll show your reply to my husband when he complains about cleaning out the shower trap! ;-)

Lucyb
May 22nd, 2020, 12:19 PM
OP, do you find it affecting your overall volume of hair? I already noticed a decrease in ponytail circumference (by feel and looks, not measuring), despite no visible bald patches yet, and it has only been going on for about 2-3 weeks. If stress-induced shed can last months, I can't imagine how thinned out my hair could be by the end of it... :/

*hugs from me*

Sorry if it's not a good idea to resurrect old threads, but I feel you. It hasn't affected my ponytail circumference yet, but then I have a lot of hair.

I do seem to have hit a bit of a "new phase" this week: I've been shedding a lot more hair every other day when I wash then I have before. I feel like I'm trying to find "justifications" for it, but man, I know that's a lot today. I probably shed about 50 hairs in the shower, and I've gone through another 60ish throughout the rest of the day. True, I wore my hair in a ponytail yesterday to keep it out of the way, but I still lost about 30 then.

It's frankly scary to go to the toilet, pop out for a few minutes, then go back to the bathroom to grab something and see another 8/9 hairs sliding out of my hair-mass in those few minutes, or running my hands through my hair and just getting so many off. And this being about 8 hours after I got out of the shower, and after I put gel in my hair to style it today (feels kinda icky, might have overdone it). There's probably even more trapped in there that's not coming off!

I hope it's TE because of my operation last year and/or illness in March. I have no way of getting blood tests taken at the moment and no way of getting my hair checked by a dermatologist. Someone put the idea it could be the products I'm using and that... frankly scares me. They're all gentle and curly-girl friendly. I might be applying them wrong (my scalp feels a bit heavy with gel at the moment) but it can't hurt my hair? Right? Right?

Lucyb
May 22nd, 2020, 12:46 PM
Yeah, it's just snowing out now. I'm used to a bigger shed after I finish a shower, but this is pretty rough :/

ynne
May 22nd, 2020, 05:44 PM
*hugs from me*

Sorry if it's not a good idea to resurrect old threads, but I feel you. It hasn't affected my ponytail circumference yet, but then I have a lot of hair.

I do seem to have hit a bit of a "new phase" this week: I've been shedding a lot more hair every other day when I wash then I have before. I feel like I'm trying to find "justifications" for it, but man, I know that's a lot today. I probably shed about 50 hairs in the shower, and I've gone through another 60ish throughout the rest of the day. True, I wore my hair in a ponytail yesterday to keep it out of the way, but I still lost about 30 then.

It's frankly scary to go to the toilet, pop out for a few minutes, then go back to the bathroom to grab something and see another 8/9 hairs sliding out of my hair-mass in those few minutes, or running my hands through my hair and just getting so many off. And this being about 8 hours after I got out of the shower, and after I put gel in my hair to style it today (feels kinda icky, might have overdone it). There's probably even more trapped in there that's not coming off!

I hope it's TE because of my operation last year and/or illness in March. I have no way of getting blood tests taken at the moment and no way of getting my hair checked by a dermatologist. Someone put the idea it could be the products I'm using and that... frankly scares me. They're all gentle and curly-girl friendly. I might be applying them wrong (my scalp feels a bit heavy with gel at the moment) but it can't hurt my hair? Right? Right?

From what I understand, on this forum it is acceptable to bring back old threads. :)

I think my experience is really similar, as I don't brush it much, only finger-comb it which doesn't get it all out, it usually comes out in bigger amounts of 100+ at once (at worst it seemed to be over 200/day, but I did not count the entire amount, and I think it's less now), instead of "smaller" chunks through the day, which I assume happens to unstyled/straight hair. I really feel you on the fear when you touch your hair and there are already new ones coming out. :( I've been wearing (hopefully gentle) updos to prevent myself from touching it.

I wish there was a clear way to tell if it's TE, like the duration or the way it progresses.

Did you change the products before the shed? As for gel, do you apply it upside down? I find it easier to keep it only on the hair that way, I don't know if the way I'm describing it makes sense.

I hope it gets for you better soon!

Lucyb
May 23rd, 2020, 09:58 AM
From what I understand, on this forum it is acceptable to bring back old threads. :)

I think my experience is really similar, as I don't brush it much, only finger-comb it which doesn't get it all out, it usually comes out in bigger amounts of 100+ at once (at worst it seemed to be over 200/day, but I did not count the entire amount, and I think it's less now), instead of "smaller" chunks through the day, which I assume happens to unstyled/straight hair. I really feel you on the fear when you touch your hair and there are already new ones coming out. :( I've been wearing (hopefully gentle) updos to prevent myself from touching it.

I wish there was a clear way to tell if it's TE, like the duration or the way it progresses.

Did you change the products before the shed? As for gel, do you apply it upside down? I find it easier to keep it only on the hair that way, I don't know if the way I'm describing it makes sense.

I hope it gets for you better soon!

Thanks, you too!

I did change my conditioner recently. Someone I spoke to briefly online mentioned that the brand I used caused some people to lose hair about 10 years ago which made me wtf stop for a moment, but the brand also changed it's recipe to be silicone-free recently. Still, that's kinda spooked me lol.

Did you ever feel like there was a noticeable difference in your hair (or did other people think this?) after the hair loss episode? That's my biggest fear at the moment.

ynne
May 23rd, 2020, 12:06 PM
Did you ever feel like there was a noticeable difference in your hair (or did other people think this?) after the hair loss episode? That's my biggest fear at the moment.

What do you mean by a difference? I can tell my ponytail/bun is smaller (judging by feel and also a claw clip), but that's all, I think! My partner still insists it's not visible, but I have a lot of hair, so it may take longer to be noticable.

Lucyb
May 23rd, 2020, 01:38 PM
What do you mean by a difference? I can tell my ponytail/bun is smaller (judging by feel and also a claw clip), but that's all, I think! My partner still insists it's not visible, but I have a lot of hair, so it may take longer to be noticable.

Ah, that's all I need to know lol. I similarily have a lot of hair.

My loss today is probably around 80 hairs. Which is within the average limits technically, but these are just the hairs I've seen coming out, and yeah, my hair is curly and I tried to spruce it up with gel. So maybe there's more, I guess maybe 100-120? It's the pretty sudden doubling in hair shedding that worries me a bit to be honest, as I was only seeing a loss of around 40-50 hairs in a day before.