My boyfriend sheds like crazy... help?

[serabelle]

My boyfriend is an "honorary" member of the LHC. (Aka, he lives vicariously through me on this forum, asks questions, etc.. but won't actually get around to joining up here.)

He has very, thick, curly hair - the kind of hair that makes most women squeee! with glee whenever he walks through the door. He's growing his hair out again, it's a couple inches below his chin. He want sit long enough to get into a pony tail, and it's been three months since his last trim.

His hair is very healthy, no split ends, etc. He washes about once a week, with various shampoos, and conditions pretty much daily. He uses a mouse and hair spray to define his curls.

Here's the issue:

He sheds like it's going out of style.

He has TONS of hair, and he leaves it everywhere! It's like having a third cat around the house. I have to empty the shower drain every few days, and I know it's not coming from me - my hair is pin straight. He clogs up the drain, he leaves hairs all over the bathroom floor the day after we vacuum..

What should I do? Is there something that I can encourage him to use? Stop using? His shedding is really out of control.. yet his hair never seems to get thin! His hair is so beautiful, but it's a shedding monster!

Any and all advice is appreciated.

[Gumball]

People can shed on average 50-100 hairs a day. That's pretty normal. Imagine that, then multiply it by the amount of days in a week and there's the possibility you'll have lots of hair everywhere. He could very well just be shedding normally. If there isn't a marked thinning of his hair then maybe it's just time to keep track of trying to clean up hairs on a regular basis before they begin to pile up again. Also the longer it gets the more you'll notice it. 20 shed hairs that are an inch long throughout a room isn't as noticeable as 20 shed hairs that are 7+ inches long.

[Fantak]

Maybe you can get him to brush/comb his hair in the morning and again in the evenings so that all the hair that's going to shed sheds then instead of throughout the day. I know it works for my hair ^.^

[serabelle]

Gumball, thanks for the information. I guess what makes it more obvious is that I don't seem to shed nearly as much as he does. I pick up hair off the bathroom floor daily, and out of the shower drain about every two days.

I'm wondering.. since he has really curly hair, is he ever supposed to brush it? Maybe his lack of brushing contributes to his shedding around the house. I think most of my shed hairs come off in a brush, or a comb when I'm styling.

[serabelle]

Maybe you can get him to brush/comb his hair in the morning and again in the evenings so that all the hair that's going to shed sheds then instead of throughout the day. I know it works for my hair ^.^

Hehe, you wrote this JUST as I was replying before! Do you have curly hair? His hair's majorly curly, and I'm wondering if he could brush it before going to bed or showering..

I'm not a curly-head myself, so I wouldn't know the first thing about curls and brushes!

[Fantak]

Ah good Q I was wondering the same as I was typing.. I guess he can finger comb or use a really wide toothed comb, it should have the same effect (of getting hairs to shed) without disrupting the curl structure too much ^.^

[serabelle]

Ah good Q I was wondering the same as I was typing.. I guess he can finger comb or use a really wide toothed comb, it should have the same effect (of getting hairs to shed) without disrupting the curl structure too much ^.^

I may have to give him some combing encouragement, maybe give him a scalp massage before bed or something..

And I really didn't mean for that to sound nearly as sexual as it did.

:blush:

[morguebabe]

MSM is a vitamin for joints which prevents shedding...
I get headaches from it though.

[Medvssa]

A brush helps in catching shed hairs... but it is a curlie's worst enemy :P My shed hairs just stay in my hair until I comb it in the shower with conditioner, because it is so curly it doesn't fall off. If his does, because of finer hair or not so curly hair, then combing may also help (my BF has TB lenght straight hair that would be everywhere if he didn't comb it every morning), but it may give him a head of frizz. Do you wear your hair up? this also helps, maybe when he can wear ponytails it will gert better.

Otherwise, just put in a hair catcher net thingy in the shower drain and get used to it ;P most people shed more in autumn too.

[serabelle]

A brush helps in catching shed hairs... but it is a curlie's worst enemy :P My shed hairs just stay in my hair until I comb it in the shower with conditioner, because it is so curly it doesn't fall off. If his does, because of finer hair or not so curly hair, then combing may also help (my BF has TB lenght straight hair that would be everywhere if he didn't comb it every morning), but it may give him a head of frizz. Do you wear your hair up? this also helps, maybe when he can wear ponytails it will gert better.

Otherwise, just put in a hair catcher net thingy in the shower drain and get used to it ;P most people shed more in autumn too.

Let me make sure I get this right.. so you do CO, but you use a comb in the shower when you do it? That might really help him, as he very rarely combs - if EVER. I'm assuming you use a wide toothed comb?

I occasionally wear my hair up, but as you can see by my signature - it's not quite long enough to do this all the time!

I have a hair catcher in the drain, but I think we need a better one - it doesn't cover the drain as much as it should - and results in NASTY hairballs that need to be removed with pliers.

I'm also going to start insisting that he remove the hairballs himself. He does it on occasion, but "forgets" to do it the rest of the time.

He did, however.. vacuum today, which makes me very happy.

[Medvssa]

I don't CO anymore, but I still condition. I leave the conditioner there for a while, then comb before rinsing. I am not sure if this works for people with thin strands, but for medium-thick it seems to work (BF does it too), and in general curlies do this.

[Isilme]

get him a wide toothed comb and make him comb it once in a while, I know it will probably cause frizz, he can braid it and keep it contained so he won't shed so much on the floors . And even better, the hair is much more protected:) What's imprtant is that he learns to braid his own hair, otherwise you will have to be his braider forever, even if it's nice you don't always have time or you simply don't want to, trust me, I have been bf's personal hair care assistant for as long as we have been together. But on the other hand, it gives me very much freedom to do just about anything with it :wannabe:

[mellie]

1) Washing with soapnuts has helped me majorly with shedding. I use a homemade soapnut liquid, that is just squirted onto the hair and ever so lightly rubbed (so barely any friction), and since it is liquid it runs through the hair on its own. I went from losing tons of hair in the shower, on my chair at work, on my clothes, etc...to barely any at all. There was one hair on my shower drain cover today! Plus, no tangles either, since you're not really creating any friction.

2) Also when drying your hair, be sure not to rub with the towel at all. JaneyTilllie at YouTube has a great idea to dry your hair, it has also really helped me to decrease shedding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa70bmRgF6Q&feature=related

My hair dries a lot faster that way too!

3) And lastly, I don't brush or comb at all - so of course I lose much less hair there!

[serabelle]

I don't CO anymore, but I still condition. I leave the conditioner there for a while, then comb before rinsing. I am not sure if this works for people with thin strands, but for medium-thick it seems to work (BF does it too), and in general curlies do this.

I'm going to suggest that he do this - next time I head over to Sally's I'm going to pick up a better wide toothed comb for you to try this out. Thanks for the suggestion!


get him a wide toothed comb and make him comb it once in a while, I know it will probably cause frizz, he can braid it and keep it contained so he won't shed so much on the floors . And even better, the hair is much more protected:) What's imprtant is that he learns to braid his own hair, otherwise you will have to be his braider forever, even if it's nice you don't always have time or you simply don't want to, trust me, I have been bf's personal hair care assistant for as long as we have been together. But on the other hand, it gives me very much freedom to do just about anything with it :wannabe:

Teehee - I can't imagine him learning how to braid! We're both growing our hair out at the moment, and we're around the same lenght, just above the shoulders. So we have a little more to grow before either one of us can do braids successfully. I can do a miniature French braid, but I can't imagine teaching him how to do that! I totally hear you onthe personal hair care assistant - as that's my job too!


1) Washing with soapnuts has helped me majorly with shedding. I use a homemade soapnut liquid, that is just squirted onto the hair and ever so lightly rubbed (so barely any friction), and since it is liquid it runs through the hair on its own. I went from losing tons of hair in the shower, on my chair at work, on my clothes, etc...to barely any at all. There was one hair on my shower drain cover today! Plus, no tangles either, since you're not really creating any friction.

2) Also when drying your hair, be sure not to rub with the towel at all. JaneyTilllie at YouTube has a great idea to dry your hair, it has also really helped me to decrease shedding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa70bmRgF6Q&feature=related

My hair dries a lot faster that way too!

3) And lastly, I don't brush or comb at all - so of course I lose much less hair there!

Thanks Mellie - I honestly think a lot of his shedding and frizziness might come from how he dries his hair. Next time he washes it, I'm going to show him how to better dry it. It makes sense that this would be the issue, because one of the worst shedding areas is right outside of the tub..

[rhubarbarin]

I shed like this too, as does my mom. 100-150 hairs (which is what I shed when I have counted) a day is supposed to be normal, but I don't know many people who shed as much as I do!

I also have curly hair, which means I can't brush or comb daily to get the shed hair out.. it gets trapped in my curls until it falls out. Sometimes I will fingercomb my ends at the end of the day to try to pull out some sheds.

I wash every 2 or three days, fill my hair with conditioner and fingercomb until every last shed hair is out.

Once his hair is long enough to put up, that will help contain the sheds.. other than that I have no advice. With three cats, two dogs and me in my apartment, you can just imagine the amount of hair I have to deal with..

[zara]

1) Washing with soapnuts has helped me majorly with shedding. I use a homemade soapnut liquid, that is just squirted onto the hair and ever so lightly rubbed (so barely any friction), and since it is liquid it runs through the hair on its own. I went from losing tons of hair in the shower, on my chair at work, on my clothes, etc...to barely any at all. There was one hair on my shower drain cover today! Plus, no tangles either, since you're not really creating any friction.

2) Also when drying your hair, be sure not to rub with the towel at all. JaneyTilllie at YouTube has a great idea to dry your hair, it has also really helped me to decrease shedding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa70bmRgF6Q&feature=related

My hair dries a lot faster that way too!

3) And lastly, I don't brush or comb at all - so of course I lose much less hair there!
how do you make your homemade soapnut liquid? i have a hairshed problem too and would love it to stop shedding! Thanks

[Sally2009]

He needs to switch to Rhassoul Clay and a Horn Comb. My husband used to leave trail of fine broken hairs everywhere, shower, bath, pillow. Yuk. Basically he was going bald. Now he used clay (no other products) and a horn comb, his hair has strengthened, got its curl and shine back. [moderation: edited to remove commercial self-promotion]

[Katze]

I don't CO anymore, but I still condition. I leave the conditioner there for a while, then comb before rinsing. I am not sure if this works for people with thin strands, but for medium-thick it seems to work (BF does it too), and in general curlies do this.

Combing with conditioner works well for my BF, who is a thick, fine-haired wavy/curly (fine and thin are NOT the same thing!). It gets rid of tangles well, but does nothing for his shedding!

My BF is also shedding like mad, and his hair has lost about 1/3 to 1/2 of its thickness since Fall. :( I don't know what to do about it, since he is otherwise healthy - very physically fit - but is a "low maintenance" kind of guy - the less fuss, the better (hence long hair). He wears his hair in a ponytail with the elastic in the same spot about 98% of the time and I cannot convince him otherwise, no matter how much I praise his soft, thick, beautiful dark gold curls.

Lately I've noticed how much thinner his ponytail is, though he's shed like this since we met. We have almost the same hair color and length and wave (mine is a touch darker, longer, and straighter) so it is sometimes hard to tell, but the necks of his clothing are always full of hairs.

I would also like to know what to do to help stop my sweetie from losing all his beautiful hair! He's "only" 37 and I don't think he's going bald, but the shedding makes me worry...

[lilalong]

I used to shed a lot, and I mean A LOT, until I stopped putting conditioner loaded up with cones directly on my scalp. I'm only using it from my neck down now and it makes all the difference.

[Katze]

I used to shed a lot, and I mean A LOT, until I stopped putting conditioner loaded up with cones directly on my scalp. I'm only using it from my neck down now and it makes all the difference.

Hm, my BF rarely uses conditioner (he uses leave in and oils instead) and never on his scalp. I do notice he has a lot more dandruff lately, and remember I used to see a connection between dandruff and shedding...maybe I can attack him with sulfate shampoo and an SMT this evening, since honey always helps flakes... :D

[Anje]

I've got DH washing with a CV "Cafe Moreno" bar, because the last few years have yielded some research saying that topical caffeine blocks DHT, at least in men. He was commenting to me the other day that he thinks his thin, fine hair (possibly thinning, but hard to tell, hence the bar) feels thicker.

I seem to recall that there are also caffeinated shampoos directly for this purpose available in Germany, though I haven't seen any around here.

[DeeM]

Hi Serabelle,
Firstly, get your boyfriend to join up here, it was my husband who got me to join up - he was already a member (and still is!).
Your boyfriend shouldtreat his hair very gently, just like we do, and this applies especially in the mornings when getting ready for the day ahead. Hair should be 'finger combed' at first to get the worst of any tangles out, then use a boar bristle brush should get it looking presentable.
Good luck to both of you, and happy growing! :eyebrows: