Anyone had post Covid shedding?

[Marymary]

For those of you who have suffered with post Covid shedding, how bad was it? I posted the other day about seasonal shedding as I thought that was probably what was happening, but it seems a bit too much for that. I had the dreaded Covid at the end of June and am now suspecting that this round of shedding is from that. Any experiences of this would be really appreciated. How long did it last and did it slowly get worse before it stopped or was it high shedding from the start. I’m just really fed up 😞

[Ylva]

Assuming that post-Covid shedding is a form of telogen effluvium (a stress reaction that can occur from a case of illness, among other things), it would start around 2-3 months after the illness, and end 2-6 months later.

I didn't experience shedding after my Covid, but my case was extremely mild (easier than almost any regular flu I've ever had). However, I've had TE from other causes. The shedding gradually increased for about a month, after which I shed heavily for around 2 months, and then again gradually decreased over a month, similarly to how it started, until it just one day stopped as if it had run into a wall.

[Lesley8]

I suffered shedding after covid,but my daughter was a lot worse than me she's lost around half her thickness. Mine wasn't as near as bad but bad enough.
Mine lasted a couple of months but my daughters went on for quite sometime roughly 4 or 5 month. She's still upset with how fine her hair is now, but I can see it's improving.
We had covid last year in June and I shed quicker but my daughter didn't start for a couple or so month's later.
It does get better x

[Obsidian]

My daughter had bad post covid shedding, she lost at least 1/3 of her hair if not more. I want to say it started a couple months after she recovered and lasted a month or two.

It was pretty heavy shedding right from the get go, she was really stressed about it but it did stop and within a few months, you could see the thickness coming back. She trimmed quite a bit of the thinnest hair off

[Laurel Rose]

I got COVID in early April 2022 and was bedridden for three days. After the third day I was mildly exhausted (and for a week or so afterwards) but could easily do my day to day tasks. Just when I thought I was in the clear I started shedding crazy amounts in late July and subsided sometime in December. It took a week for the shedding to ramp up to the full amount, and then it was pretty much the same amount every day until it went back to normal which also took a week. I went from a circumference of ~3.75" to ~3", but the new growth is coming in strong and my formerly sparse hairline is filling back in. My bun size now (I'm 1" shy of Classic) is the same as it was at Hip, which really puts into perspective just how much I really lost.

I had a sickness induced shed once before when I was down with the flu for two weeks straight in 2015. At that time when I was shedding mad amounts I counted my sheds from a whole day - stopped counting at 200, looking at the remaining sheds in the brush I'd estimate I was losing 250-300 hairs/day. Some time later I compared photos before the shed to a year or two after it and it was just as dense as before!

Because my COVID was relatively mild I thought the shedding wouldn't be as bad, silly me. It was quite a sight seeing all. that. hair. in the brush (again) but I did my best not to stress over it, knowing it will eventually come back. I used this opportunity to spoil myself with a few new products (retail therapy works :))

[Marymary]

Thank you all for your replies. I’m trying to remain calm and concentrate on the fact it will get better but am finding it really hard. If you look at post Covid shedding on google ( don’t!) it’s full of horror stories. So I really just needed to read some experiences from real people. Any tips on how to avoid panicking and keep calm?

[SandyBottom]

Hi, just seeing this. First off, sorry you're going through this. I got Covid mid-December 2022 and didn't start shedding until 3 or 4 months later (4, I think). It was a lot heavier than a normal seasonal shed and lasted a couple of months. I had heard that it was a thing prior to getting it, so I tried not to panic and took a D3 vitamin in addition to my normal multivitamin. Also, I really made an extra effort to eat hair healthy foods and be very gentle with my hair. I'm not sure how much I lost since I decided to stop measuring my circumference during that time. What was the point? It was just going to stress me out and that wouldn't help matters. Lavender EO is calming/relaxing and I got in the habit of lighting favorite scented candles while on my laptop (okay, on LHC) because it just made me feel comforted. I hope yours eases soon:blossom:

Oh! And scalp massages whenever I felt like it!

[Marymary]

Still shedding loads, about 3 or 4 times my usual amount, it was very bad this morning. Brushed before washing, she’d a pile, washed and dried, she’d another pile and carefully brushed afterwards and she’d another pile. I must admit I had a little cry. I’ve given myself a bit of a talking to now to remain positive. I had a good close look at my scalp and can see lots of new hairs growing which are probably only about half an inch or less, but they are there which hopefully is a good sign. I really hope the shedding levels of soon. I am thinking I may need to get it cut quite a bit shorter to make it look presentable which may also help me mentally cope with all the piles of hair, I don’t really know what’s best. The top layer of my hair has gone very frizzy which I fear is what happens before if falls out and also makes my hair look very messy when tied back because of all the different lengths. Sorry for the moan I know lots of people go through shedding and can take it in their stride but I’m definitely struggling with it.

[Lady Stardust]

Marymary I’m sorry you’re having such a rough time. It’s a really upsetting thing to go through. It’s particularly overwhelming when you can see it happening right in front of you.

There are some things you can do - not to stop the shedding, but I found that concentrating on nurturing the new growth helped me to think more positively. You can make sure you’re eating a good, balanced diet. Exercise encourages blood flow, which will also feed the new growth. It’s worth mentioning it to the doctor and asking for a blood test, just to make sure there isn’t a vitamin deficiency or some other reason that could be affecting hair fall.

I also used an oil mixture on my scalp which is said to stimulate new growth. I don’t know whether it worked, but it helped me to feel that I could actually do something. I used Igor’s recipe on page 1 of this thread, because it is exactly the same ingredients used in a study that was shown to increase new growth.
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2001

You’re right to concentrate on the positive. Sometimes when new growth comes in we go through that fuzzy phase, with short hairs sticking out before they have enough weight to bend down and blend with the rest of our hair. I’ve been through a few sheds and now I make sure I smile at the “dandelion seed” stage, because it’s a sign of better things to come. All of that healthy new growth, untouched by heat, sun, wind, rain, snow, central heating….gets a chance to spring out and get longer and longer.

As far as trimming goes, remember that we are our own worst critics. Some people can weather a shed better than others. It really depends on each personal circumstance and the trim doesn’t necessarily need to be drastic.

Good luck, and chin up! The shed will stop, and you can concentrate on moving forwards.

[Marymary]

Thank you all for your replies reading them definitely helps. X

[Marymary]

Hopefully not going to jinx myself but the last week has seen a slow down in shedding back to more normal levels. Such a relief.