PDA

View Full Version : Autumn shed(?) is freaking me out!



Rosalind
October 21st, 2009, 07:20 AM
I've been shedding A LOT the past few weeks- several times as much as I normally do, and it's freaking me out. I've seen people around here talking about an "autumn shed," and I bet that's what I'm having, but I feel like my hair is just falling out!

This did start when I henna'ed my hair, though I expected a lot of shedding initially from getting the henna into and out of my hair. But other than that, I haven't really changed anything. :(

Tangerine
October 21st, 2009, 08:00 AM
Sorry to hear you are worried about your shedding :grouphug:
Could it be that you notice it more because your hair is longer than it was last Autumn? And/or that you are more into caring for your hair than you were last time round so you notice it more?
I hope this doesn't sound like I am trivialising. These are things that sometimes I come to realise myself now that I am much more into haircare and so on. I worry a lot more about my hair and certain things then seem a lot worse than they maybe really are because I just pay more attention to it.
Hope that makes sense :)

Just keep monitoring the situation, baby your hair only when necessary, and try not to handle it too much would be my advice. Good luck! :blossom:

aahavaa
October 21st, 2009, 08:27 AM
I'm also kinda freaking out over this, I find it hard to understand how I can shed all this hair and still have hair left on my head! and a lot of it at that..however I do not have the volume I had in pics back before the summer.Maybe cos my hair is longer and that pulls it down. Its disconcerted me enough that Ive put off hennaing this month and am waiting to see if I stop this crazy shedding.
Maybe Im just noticing it more this year .And I recently had extensive lab work done so its not my iron levels or thyroid, etc.
Anyway I just wonder how we dont go bald from all this shedding..hair is like men ..who can understand them both..LOL..temperamental too heheh!

RancheroTheBee
October 21st, 2009, 12:18 PM
Me, too. At first I was kind of thrilled because I rarely shed hair and new growth tends to suffocate my scalp. But now it's just kind of depressing. :( Don't worry. You're not alone!

daydreamer
October 21st, 2009, 12:26 PM
I feel your pain. I am just coming through the tail end of a MASSIVE late summer/early autumn shed. It does feel frightening. Mine is starting to ease up though and I remember I shed a lot last autumn as well, so I think perhaps it is a seasonal thing. I measured my ponytail circumference again, fearing that I'd lost half of it -- but it turned out the same. So I think perhaps that means there must be a massive new growth season as well as a massive shed season!

sharpclaw
October 21st, 2009, 12:41 PM
Seasonal shedding is normal? Whew! I just yesterday joined the forums because I was seeking information about hair. I was worried about the fact that I seemed to suddenly be shedding more hair than usual. I thought it might be due to the fact that I constantly wear my hair in a tight braid (and have been for the past fifteen years) and am losing my hair, but maybe it is seasonal shedding.

(My memory of cyclical things is shabby, but I do know that I've had bouts of shedding before that have left me worried, yet I still have hair.)

I am still looking for alternatives to my perma-braid, since it cannot be healthy for my hair or scalp, but now I am not as worried that I am killing my hair.

jesamyn
October 21st, 2009, 02:41 PM
I'm just checking in here to say I've been freaking out too. I remember shedding a lot last autumn, but I'd just moved 1600 miles and attributed it to stress from moving and being in a new place. Now that it's happened again, I'm trying to remind myself to stay calm, because this is happening to other folks too.

I can't tell if I've lost any circumference or not. The measurement varies depending on how compressed my hair wants to be on any given day. I should have lost some circumference due to some breakage from shoving my sunglasses on top of my head, which caused them to eat hairs (a habit I have since worked to break). I just don't know if I've lost any to shedding.

I suppose I should wait for a bit and see how it's going before I really panic. I'm glad to know I'm not the only freaking out, though.

wimitlee
October 21st, 2009, 02:45 PM
I was shedding very heavily for a few weeks, too. Then, I switched to shampooing just 2x a week and CO'ing the other days. That helped because now my shedding is back to normal.

lillithnight
October 21st, 2009, 03:44 PM
i shed twice as much during early autumn but my hair doesnt suffer for it.

Rosalind
October 21st, 2009, 04:40 PM
I suppose I should wait for a bit and see how it's going before I really panic. I'm glad to know I'm not the only freaking out, though.

Knowing that this is happening to and freaking out other people too actually does make me feel better. :)

Though to everyone commiserating with me, I'm sorry!

Rosalind
October 21st, 2009, 04:41 PM
So I think perhaps that means there must be a massive new growth season as well as a massive shed season!

That's a cheerful thing. :D

Rosalind
October 21st, 2009, 04:45 PM
Sorry to hear you are worried about your shedding :grouphug:
Could it be that you notice it more because your hair is longer than it was last Autumn? And/or that you are more into caring for your hair than you were last time round so you notice it more?
I hope this doesn't sound like I am trivialising. These are things that sometimes I come to realise myself now that I am much more into haircare and so on. I worry a lot more about my hair and certain things then seem a lot worse than they maybe really are because I just pay more attention to it.
Hope that makes sense :)

Just keep monitoring the situation, baby your hair only when necessary, and try not to handle it too much would be my advice. Good luck! :blossom:

I think that's most if not all of why it seems so dramatic- I'm definitely more conscious of my hair now than I have been in the past. And I definitely can over worry myself about things that aren't really that bad by thinking too much about them. :)

P.S. The group hug smiley is fantastic!

Fee
October 21st, 2009, 04:48 PM
*hugs to you*

I know exactly how you feel! I've been experiencing in the last couple of days 2-3 times more shedding than usual and I was freaking out. I've calmed down now. The best thing is to try not to think about it and concentrate on something else, a hobby of yours would be best :)

Hope you feel better soon!

:flowers:

twolunarspring
October 21st, 2009, 05:31 PM
I had never heard of an 'autumn shed' before... I have noticed this week that my hair is noticeably thinner and I have to admit I was feeling a little uneasy about it. Perhaps it is normal after all, and I'm only noticing it so much this time around because my length already is a little thinner sine having my daughter.

Jezerellica
October 21st, 2009, 05:32 PM
I understand seasonal shedding. But it would make more sense that we would hold on to hair to keep us warm in winter, like cats and dogs. Doesn't it?

I too have noticed more shedding and just thought I was more aware since joining LHC. Interesting isn't it? I do love long hair for a natural scarf come cold days!! Hair is so warm!

jojo
October 21st, 2009, 05:41 PM
I always shed more in September, this lasts a month and then I am O.K. It also seems much worse each year, but then I am longer now than last year, so it probably only LOOKS more.

It passes and is perfectly natural.

sharpclaw
October 21st, 2009, 06:19 PM
I understand seasonal shedding. But it would make more sense that we would hold on to hair to keep us warm in winter, like cats and dogs. Doesn't it?They shed in the autumn, too, though less noticeably than in the spring. They shed their light summer coats for their warmer winter coats. Maybe we are doing the same thing, but notice the shedding more than the growth.

Rosalind
October 23rd, 2009, 09:38 PM
My shedding actually seems to be calming down now (knock on wood!), showing that it is indeed just seasonal. Thank goodness!

Thank you all for your support/commiseration- I hope you all experience a similar relief soon! :D

:love::grouphug:

P.S. Fee, thank you for the flower smiley, it is awesome!

RocketDog
October 23rd, 2009, 09:42 PM
Another commiserating shedder here... thankfully I have a lot of new little spiky baby hairs growing in to replace the old stuff that's falling out, or I'd really be freaking out. Still frustrating to have to clean my brush out every day and unclog the drain after every shower, especially since my hair isn't all that thick in the first place. But there's not much I can do, other than eat healthy and take care of the hair that isn't shedding.

Speckla
October 24th, 2009, 07:52 AM
I had been shedding handfuls more than normal lately but it's starting to slow down now. It's just due to the seasonal changes.

brok3nwings
October 24th, 2009, 07:59 AM
im going through the same. i just try to calm myself down cause there is nothing i can do .. besides being even more gentle with my hair!

Peggy E.
October 24th, 2009, 08:02 AM
Considering it's a natural occurance, one that seems to be universal in nature, as well, I'm thinking that it's probably a healthy "cleansing" of dead hair and in the long run we all benefit from this frightening shedding period.

Mother Nature tends to do things for a reason, after all - who am I to question the reasoning behind allowing all this hair on my head to fall to the floor????!!!!! :o(

Or I'm delusional and living in denial....

rchorr
October 24th, 2009, 08:10 AM
I hate the fall "fall." Do you think that's why they call it "fall?" I think we should have shedding in the spring, LOL! :silly:

RCHORR'