Holy shedding, Batman!

[tcheney91]

I've been going through a big shed lately. A BIG shed. This is a picture of the hair I lost in ONE shower on Saturday. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=5202&pictureid=72296 What should I do? I'm so scared that I'm going to lose a lot of my hair! I have no diagnosed diseases, and I haven't changed anything about my routine or lifestyle. I get migraines, but I don't think that would affect my hair. Also, recently my scalp has been feeling tender. Kind of sore. I would guess that would be affecting my hair. Arg! I'm just frustrated and worried. Any advice? Anything you can suggest that would help? By the way, I'm going to the doctor tomorrow for both the migraines and this new shedding, so hopefully that will shed (ha) some light on the situation. Just wanted to see if you all had some remedies. Thanks!

[CindyLea1]

As long as your hair is, that doesn't look like much to me. Did you wear a bun, or braid that day? If I wear mine up all the shed hairs can't fall out on the ground all day so it looks BAD when I brush it after taking it down.

Could it be a season change thing? I had a lot of shedding when the weather turned warmer here. I almost panicked, but it only lasted a week or two; and I noticed my dogs started shedding about the same time. My house was so hairy, I almost killed the vacuum. I had to empty the container after every room!

ETA: I just noticed your age..Could it be just normal hormones and stuff. In my late teens and early 20's my hair and skin and everything else was crazy!!!

[tcheney91]

I had been wearing my hair up all week. But I combed it a few times. Maybe I'm just freaking out... I think it might be the season change causing the shedding, but the scalp tenderness made me lose my mind. Gah! Thanks for the advice!

[missmandy]

Well Monistat always reduces shedding for me, but if your scalp is sore, it's probably not the best thing to use. Good luck!

[Gumball]

Remember that someone can shed 50-100 hairs a day. The longer the hair, the bigger a ball that amount of hair can make. Also, given that your hair is curly, it adds more space to the ball and makes it seem even bigger. Like others have mentioned if you've had your hair up before that then any hair that shed would likely still be held up in the style, so when you take the style down and shower then all those hairs can finally come free. Also remember your hair is course, so an equal amount of hair from a head of fine hair would look smaller because the individual strands aren't so big. Length + course hair + curl = Larger balls of shed hair.

It can possibly be a seasonal shed. It's also possibly some of it might be breakage and not all shed hair. If that might be the case, then staying as gentle as possible with your hair is the best method to use.

[tcheney91]

I guess what freaked me out was that it was a bigger ball o' hair than I usually get. I have always pulled out big chunks of nastiness in the shower, but this one was abnormally large. That's why I noticed it. But you're right, my hair is longer now, it's coarse and curly. Hmm... maybe I just really took a look at one of my hairballs and realized that they are big? Uhg, maybe I need to stop thinking. Yep, stopping the thinking seems like a good plan...

[spidermom]

Shedding happens sometimes for no particular reason. I was leaving piles of hair on the floor with combing at the end of summer 2005. Nothing to complain about since then; I guess a lot of hairs reached the end of their growth cycles at the same time.

I've got a niggle of memory about a long-hair stylist by the name of ?George Michael (something like that ) saying that adults could expect a major shed about every 7 years. If so, I should be good to go until 2012.

Try not to worry. The hair wad you show doesn't look like more shed hairs than normal to me.

[halo_tightens]

Don't worry about the shed hair you see-- worry about the hair on your head! Does it feel the same as usual, or does it actually feel thinner? If you don't notice any actual thinning of your hair, it might just be perfectly normal.

I shed massive hairballs all the time, with every wash, and have for as long as I can remember. There's still lots of hair on my head, though! I think that's what's important in the end anyway, right? :)

[Loreley]

It doesn't look too much to me. Do you take any supplements? They can reduce shedding. Hair vitamins are very good. I shed less since I've been taking them. :)

[tcheney91]

I just moved back from college in Chicago to Minnesota, which was stressful. I also started classes the very next day, so I haven't had a ton of down time. Maybe all of that contributed? I do take a multi, but I hadn't for about a week before this shed... Sometimes my hair feels a little thinner, but it might be because I think it is... power of the mind, ya know...

[emmabovary]

That's about as much as I shed every shower, and my hair is much shorter than yours.. I wouldn't worry too much as long as the hair you've got left still looks fine :)

[tcheney91]

Whew. I guess the general consensus is that I'm totally overreacting! If it gets worse, I'll have to do something about it, but I guess my hairs are just reaching the end of their growth cycle. Thanks everyone! Freakout controlled. You are all the best!