Does your hair shed more when there's shampoo or conditioner in it?

[jaine]

Just curious.
Mine sheds a hair or two when I brush it, a hair or two when I wet it....and then suddenly 30 or 40 hairs shed when I'm combing it with conditioner in it. I'm just wondering if that happens to other people too. I did and experiment combing it wet without conditioner and only got about 5 shed hairs. Then I added conditioner and the shed-festival began!

ETA: all of my shed hairs have white bulbs at the root (because I know someone will ask) :) So it's not breakage.

[virgo75]

My scalp hates anything creamy on it - meaning NO conditioner washing and NO creamy moisturizing shampoos.

However, my scalp LOVES clear shampoos and I shed very little when I use those.

I shed the absolute least when I do Indian Herb Washing with shikakai, but I'm lazy. lol

Hope that helps. :flower:

[dragonchickx]

interesting thread! I noticed that too! After I do condition my hair, I head bang a little bit to get the ends straight than rap it in a towel as long as I can and be as gentle as possible when detangling and that seems to help once its dry go over it again and youll probably notice a lot less hair falling out... yeah it sucks I know.

[hairg33k]

Yeah, my hair constantly sheds a lot anyway but when I do CO washes it sheds overtime! Not a big deal for me though, as long as I comb my hair (at least finger comb) in the shower and then don't forget to clean out the drain :)

[christine1989]

I hardly shed when I style and comb, shed about 10 hairs when I co wash (with combing) and shed like crazy when I shampoo (even with non SLS shampoo!) I think the harsher the ingredients, the worse the shedding.

[urara12]

Just curious.
Mine sheds a hair or two when I brush it, a hair or two when I wet it....and then suddenly 30 or 40 hairs shed when I'm combing it with conditioner in it. I'm just wondering if that happens to other people too. I did and experiment combing it wet without conditioner and only got about 5 shed hairs. Then I added conditioner and the shed-festival began!

ETA: all of my shed hairs have white bulbs at the root (because I know someone will ask) :) So it's not breakage.

I always wonder about it too.
my hair shed little or none when I brush or comb,
but shed when I use conditioner ,shed like up to 50 easy.

water only is much less shed. and I don't see much shed hair on the bath room floor even I do blow dry hair. :confused:

[RadiantNeedle]

I shed like crazy doing anything.. Except CO washing.. Curious! I think its the sulphates in shampoos, though even my sls free poo makes me shed. I think there's a less harsh sort of sulphate in there, I'll have to check.

[jera]

It's hit and miss with my hair. Conditioner actually seems to reduce any sheddies because my comb just glides through my hair pretty easily.
If you're shedding alot from creamy shampoos and conditioners check the ingredients. Maybe there's something they all contain that disagrees with you. :)

[MonaMayfair]

Yes! I've gone through 4 major sheds due to thyroid issues, and ever since the first one (about 4 years ago) I've stopped using wash-out conditioner as it makes so much more hair come out. (I never put it near the roots, incidentally)
I now just use leave-in conditioner.

[Henrietta]

Do you put the condish on your scalp too? If yes, it might cause the shedding. That's why some people cannot use CO washing method- putting a conditioner on their scalp=shedding.
I tend to lose more hair during washing, but I don't think it's because of shampoo. It's just the fact that I rub my scalp (gently, but...) and I think that when the skin on one's head is wet, the hair can fall out easier. Water softens the skin. It's like complexion clarifying- it's easier to pick blackheads or anything after washing a skin.

[Mel]

I shed like crazy doing anything.. Except CO washing.. Curious! I think its the sulphates in shampoos, though even my sls free poo makes me shed. I think there's a less harsh sort of sulphate in there, I'll have to check.

This goes for me as well. When I used to use shampoo my hair shed like crazy but no that CO wash I get very little shedding. It wasn't sulfates for me because when I used shampoo it was sulfate free.

[jaine]

Has anyone done a long-term experiment to see if your shed rate eventually goes back to "normal" with water-only washing or Indian herbs? I imagine the shed rate would have to stabilize eventually since all of your hairs would eventually reach the end of their growing cycle, even if the telogen phase is slightly longer without conditioner.

If conditioner is making my hairs shed a few weeks earlier than they would otherwise, I wouldn't care. But if it's making them shed a few years earlier than normal - that could make a noticeable difference in thickness.

[Qwackie]

It does that to me. Whenever I'm spreading conditioner out on my hair, I get a lot of hair shed, and it's not from breakage. I think it's pretty normal.

[virgo75]

Has anyone done a long-term experiment to see if your shed rate eventually goes back to "normal" with water-only washing or Indian herbs? I imagine the shed rate would have to stabilize eventually since all of your hairs would eventually reach the end of their growing cycle, even if the telogen phase is slightly longer without conditioner.

If conditioner is making my hairs shed a few weeks earlier than they would otherwise, I wouldn't care. But if it's making them shed a few years earlier than normal - that could make a noticeable difference in thickness.

I don't know if you would consider it long-term, but I did Indian Herb washing using shikakai exclusively for almost 6 months. My shed rate was the same low amount the entire time - about 10 hairs on wash day, a little less in between. The only time my shedding picked up was if I let too much time elapse in between washings(like more than 3-4 days).

I only stopped because when I went back to the Indian store to get more they were out. Plus I missed the scent of commercial products. Now if I had my way, I would probably still do it but I would probably need some conditioner on the ends in the winter as they got a little brittle then. But that could also have been from using henna without conditioner. :shrug:

Hope that helps. :flower:

[MsBubbles]

Yes, mine does this. For this reason I can't use coconut oil - it's too heavy for my hair, or something. I lose tons of hair with coconut oil, no matter how little I put on it.

Also, since doing scalp washes (shampooing the scalp only and trying to keep the length dry - no conditioner needed), I have shed whole lot less hair. When I do a full wash...out it comes. I have really wimpy follicles, apparently.

[MandyBeth]

I shed more with shampoo, but that's the only time I do scalp stuff so the sheds come out. Now, brush and comb almost no sheds.

[dropinthebucket]

Coconut milk makes my hair shed like crazy - no idea why. I can put it on the ends - just not on the scalp.

[Annalouise]

Conditioner makes my hair fall out much more. On shampoo only I don't lose many hairs.

I did water only for 2 months and surprisingly had such a major shed that I lost a lot of my thickness. We're talking a sink full of hair everytime I combed it. :( I don't know if was just a coincidence, like it was a thyroid thing and I just happened to be WO, or if was a result of the WO, but its the only time in my life I lost so much hair.

With herbs my hair loss was minimal as it is with shampoo only.

[heynormy]

I shed either way! I might have to pay more attention on my next wash day, but think I shed more when I have conditioner in my hair! I did realize that since I've stopped heat styling I don't shed nearly as much, so I think I can tolerate a little extra shed in the shower! :D

[Anje]

I shed a lot when I shampoo. With conditioner, it's less, though I'll lose quite a bit if I comb it through.

I definitely lose the least amount of hair with water only, but my ends weren't too fond of not getting conditioner. I'm contemplating going to a modified CO/WO combo, but I keep washing my hair because I dislike the idea of going through that transition again. ETA: I did WO for about 8 months before, and my shed rate stayed low.

[lapushka]

It might be because conditioner makes the hair really really smooth, so it makes the shed hairs (hairs that have already shed) come out of the hair way better. If I don't use conditioner (and I did for most of my teenage years), I lose about the same amount of hair, but it comes out after the hair's washed rather than during the washing process.

[jaine]

I have another question ... I assume water-only washing requires more brushing ... so for those of you who shed less with WO, do you think it's possible that you were shedding the same amount overall, just with different timing? (more shed during brushing and and less in the shower?) I've never tried WO for more than a couple of weeks so I'm not sure.

[Anje]

I never brushed much. The BBB was great at moving sebum onto the first 6 inches of my hair and no farther, while working the hair under the shower seemed to distribute it much further without making me a greaseball. I don't recall shedding any more when I brushed and combed than I do now (or really, no more than I usually do -- I'm in a shed right now and losing more than typical).

[ali beast]

Lapushka, that's exactly what I was thinking! I know that hair products can build up and lead to long term damage, but I find it hard to believe my hair would fall out from a single application of conditioner. Like PPs, I also find that I shed a lot of hair when S/Cing, but I always chalked it up to the fact that I don't really brush my hair, so loose hairs don't get removed as often as they probably should :P

[Cheeks1206]

Just curious.
Mine sheds a hair or two when I brush it, a hair or two when I wet it....and then suddenly 30 or 40 hairs shed when I'm combing it with conditioner in it. I'm just wondering if that happens to other people too. I did and experiment combing it wet without conditioner and only got about 5 shed hairs. Then I added conditioner and the shed-festival began!

ETA: all of my shed hairs have white bulbs at the root (because I know someone will ask) :) So it's not breakage.

Yes, this same thing happens to me. Sort of. Hah. I only wash my hair twice a week, so I get CRAZY shedding on wash nights. Tonight was a wash night and I had to move hair from the drain about three times because it kept stopping it up! (Sorry if that is TMI for some of y'all!) I have far less shedding on the in between days with only slightly more when I have product on my hair. I'm not sure if the product (condish, gel, whatever) makes my hands more sticky or what, but I do get more shed hairs.

[Cheeks1206]

Lapushka, that's exactly what I was thinking! I know that hair products can build up and lead to long term damage, but I find it hard to believe my hair would fall out from a single application of conditioner. Like PPs, I also find that I shed a lot of hair when S/Cing, but I always chalked it up to the fact that I don't really brush my hair, so loose hairs don't get removed as often as they probably should :P

This is what I was trying to convey in my last post! I'm not sure if I did, though, as I'm really tired and probably not thinking too clearly! I think the "agitation" from shampooing plus not brushing (due to having curls) might cause more sheds to come out on wash days.