Your 'massive hair shedding'

[zainab]

I've already started a thread on my problem (apologies for starting another one) but I was curious about something I kept reading when doing a search on these fora and on the Internet in general. A lot of people have complained about their 'massive' hair shedding and it's hard to get a sense of perspective since everyone complains that the shedding was really excessive. I would like to see how people dealt with it, what worked for them, how much hair they actually lost, what they think was the cause, and how long the whole ordeal lasted.

I'll start:
Length of time: about three weeks
Actual hair shedding: about 300 strands of hair a day on really bad days
When it fell: all the time, without any provocation or touching
Cause: maybe topical application of Monistat, but still waiting for blood test results
What I am doing: taking hair vitamins and various supplements
End date: Hopefully soon

So give me some perspective :) And some hope from your stories.

[curlytiff27]

I'm sorry to hear about your shedding. I know how it feels, the feeling it gives you in the pit of your stomach and the aniexity it can cause to even wash your hair and have to look at what is comming out! Hopefully it will let up soon. Oh, I noticed on your other thread that you came off of BC about 6 months ago. What one were you on? Also, when you had blood work done, (if you don't mind me asking) what all did they test?

Length of time: I was always a high shedder but I'm not sure how long it went on before I truely took notice...sorry.
Actual hair shedding: over 100 a day atleast
When it fell: Mainly while washing and in the brush...I've since stopped brushing only finger comb and this has helped me personally alot.
Cause: Stress possibly. I think its more that I got a bad hair cut of layers and due to this I had to have 4-6 inches of length cut off. :-( Also went for bloodwork for my TSH T4 T3 Iron levels and Insulin levels. All came out good. I am not on any med, never have been. Never been on any BC either. No true family history of hair loss either. My father is a diabetic, and is having some hair loss but his is only on the top and thinned, believed to be caused by some of his high blood pressue meds and dibeties meds (which he is all off of now. :-) )
What I am doing: taking hair vitamins and various supplements. I take biotin, ultra nourish hair daily protein shake, biosil, EPO, vitamin c, vitamin d (Ive had a few skin cancer scares so I never sit out in the sun, work in doors, always wear a high SPF so I take this), and a multi womens
End date: Slowly been decreasing I feel.....keeping my fingers crossed.

[ambychelle]

Length of time: at least three months.. probably longer
Actual hair shedding: 200+ on wash days 2 times a week and 60-100 on all other days. I've been keeping track and it averages out to be about 125 per day
When it fell: obviously more on wash days but on non wash days, I brush once in the morning and once at night very gently. I know if I keep brushing, it will just keep falling so I choose to brush to detangle and then stop and pull my hair back in a low pony or bun.
Cause: not a clue. bloodwork came back clean and I have an excellent diet. I guess it could be female pattern baldness.
What I am doing: taking biotin, MSM, garlic and multi vits each day and treating my head very gently.
End date: Hopefully soon

I've become quite obsessed with my hairs betraying me and I do what everyone says not to and count my sheds every day. I'm terrified to wash my hair and terrified that if it's caused by DHT that I should be washing my hair far more often. Nothing I do seems to make any difference. It's probably just a mind game I play with myself, but I'm hoping that since I no longer blow dry or straighten my hair that I have less breakage and yanked out hairs and that helps to balance out a little of the shedding.

The other thing I've done is look into my options if my hair does become too thin for me to feel comfortable and there are some good options out there like toppers.

And I pray :)

[chrissy-b]

Length of time: about two months from the beginning of August until the beginning of October.
Actual hair shedding: about 200 strands of hair a day (I normally only shed under 50)
When it fell: I only noticed it while washing and combing but I would have huge balls of hair from each.
Cause: I think it was the climate change, stress from moving. I tried Nioxin for about two weeks and that only made it worse.
What I am doing: Scalp massages, they really seem to help me with shedding.
End date: I think I'm done with my Fall fall.

[Heidi_234]

I'll give you perspective :patrol:

(This is my hairloss episode I had few years ago, indulge yourself)
Length of time: about few months
Actual hair shedding: In the shower I was combing out hairballs which could not be pressed into size smaller than ping pong balls (my hair was APL/BSL at the time), and shed hairballs in between. I lost 3rd of my overall thickness, and I still grow it out.
When it fell: all the time, mostly in the shower because that's when I combed it
Cause: Very very very poor diet
What I am doing: Eating like I should, keeping my weight in the healthy range
End date: Few months later, but I still see the traces of my hairloss in my hemline.

I hope it makes somebody feel better. If you have hairloss, you probably know it. Go see a doctor first thing. And know that whatever thickness you lost now, you can regain, and you will be able grow it out to your length. I'm almost there.

[Amoretti]

I shed every October.

[davidvs]

Hm. Now I'm curious what is "normal"... I'll be back in a few minutes.

Okay, I've read that "normal" shedding is 50 to 100 hairs per day. For example, here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_follicle

What if I'm a heavy shedder? (I'm not, but let's pretend.)

Assume I shed more often than average but not oddly so: each hair has a shorter than average life and my head has more hairs than usual (but neither amount is too atypical). How about a 2.5-year cycle for each hair, and 140,000 hairs. That would mean each hair lives about 912 days. In other words, every day I would shed 1/912 of my hair, or 154 hairs.

So although I can't answer your question, I can now say that "massive" shedding should probably include much more than 150 hairs per day. Or maybe also someone who knows their normal rate is low, but has been shedding quite a bit more lately?

[Heidi_234]

Hm. Now I'm curious what is "normal"... I'll be back in a few minutes.

Okay, I've read that "normal" shedding is 50 to 100 hairs per day. For example, here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_follicle

What if I'm a heavy shedder? (I'm not, but let's pretend.)

Assume I shed more often than average but not oddly so: each hair has a shorter than average life and my head has more hairs than usual (but neither amount is too atypical). How about a 2.5-year cycle for each hair, and 140,000 hairs. That would mean each hair lives about 912 days. In other words, every day I would shed 1/912 of my hair, or 154 hairs.

So although I can't answer your question, I can now say that "massive" shedding should probably include much more than 150 hairs per day. Or maybe also someone who knows their normal rate is low, but has been shedding quite a bit more lately?
2.5 years is rather short. It means that that person hits terminal length at 15" - almost unseen or unheard of. It really depends on the shedding, and how long it takes.

Some people see big hairballs or scalp cleavage and freak out, when in fact the big hairball is their very long hairs doubling over and over, and the visible scalp is just it's nature (they might be on the thin side to begin with).

[Iylivarae]

Length of time: about a month
Actual hair shedding: lost about 800 hairs while combing on the mornings, didn't bother to count more
When it fell: all the time, without any provocation or touching
Cause: washing the hair too often caused a bad reaction of my seborrheic dermatitis
What I am doing: taking supplements, using seborrheic-dermatitis-shampoo and wash my hair only twice a week.
End date: August '08, but still recovering. Lost about 30% of my hair, maybe even more.