Using oils causes hair loss (?)

[nereida]

Hello beautiful ladies

I have a problem - a big problem. Since 4 months I've been fighting with my hair loss. I lose big amounts of hair while I wash it and while I try to comb it out.
My mother says that these problems started when I bought a coconut oil and I started to put it on my scalp and all hair length. After two weeks of using this method, my head started to itch me, so I stopped using the oil on my scalp - now I use it from my ear line to the ends. Itching stopped but hair is still falling out. Since this time I've lost 1/3 part of my long, blonde hair.
Also I would like to tell you that I used to use silicone products in the past - a shampoo and a conditioner. My hair was very loaded and some parts were prone to glue together. That's why I decided to stop using silicone. Now my hair looks better, but I have another problem - it's very dry on all the length. I think that silicones were making an illusion of healthy, strong hair and now when I stopped using them my hair needs a special care.
So somewhere I heard about a baggy method - girls told me that I don't need to cut my hair if I try this method with an oil or a good conditioner inside a bag and on my hair, so I gave it a chance. Unfortunately I don't see any good results.

Do you think that I should cut my hair? Or is there a solution to bring my hair to life and prevent hair loss?

:blossom:

[skaempfer]

I don't know the answer, but I'll just tell you this in case it's helpful in some way, nereida:

I lost a lot of hair in the month of November. I'm still not sure why, but it started with a cassia treatment, so that may have been the culprit- or it may have been coincidence. I have noticed that my scalp does not like long treatments of any kind- off-the-shelf deep conditioners, henna, cassia, SMT (snowymoon's moisture treatment- there's a thread somewhere) even if my hair does. Whenever I leave my scalp damp for more than, say 15 minutes, my scalp will itch badly for days.

Before I joined LHC, I used an off-the-shelf deep conditioner about once every other month, and washed my hair about twice a week, and usually coconut oil the night before I washed. The coconut oil never made me itch. My hair was still too dry, though, so searching through the net I read about all kinds of moisture treatments and other things, and that may have been when the trouble started. I went mostly from benign neglect to throwing everything at my hair all the time. I tried every new updo I could (with my pathetically short hair), used cassia, olive oil, SMT, several new hair butters, and I can't say for sure which one was the catalyst (if any!), but I noticed it especially (along with an extremely irritated scalp) after the cassia, so I wonder if it was perhaps just too much physical manipulation and also just too much of a good thing with all the treatments?

Hope all this is of some use to you. I'm not sure what you mean about the baggy method, but since my scalp is irritated, I have started working a deep conditioner into the long part of my hair and then fixing a small baggy or bit of plastic wrap over it with a claw clip- that way the dry part gets conditioned and the scalp doesn't stay damp. This is working very well for me now.

About the loss of hair: I lost about 1/4 of my hair I would guess. However, when I look in the mirror and part my hair randomly, I see lots of little baby hairs sprouting up, so it seems to be regrowing- I'd wait a couple weeks or a month and then do that.

About cutting: you're going to have to decide this, of course, but cutting your hair won't make it thicker or grow faster; some people find it easier to disguise hair loss by not cutting, because they can put their hair up and it looks like loads of hair piled on their heads...

I don't use silicones, but my impression is that most people around here who have had good success with silicones have very straight hair. Some people use them but need to use a good clarifying shampoo periodically, others hate them.

Sorry this is so long!

Good luck, and welcome to LHC.
:grouphug:

[milagro]

Wait, how many hairs you lose a day? are those hairs shed or broken? Have you had yearly shedding in autumn (usually this season but it may vary)? Maybe it's not that tragic and you're just having your yearly big hair change :flower:
I think oil shouldn't be a problem unless you are allergic to it or use way too much. Try quit oiling for a while and see what happens.
And obvious damage after going cone-free is what I experienced, too :( I don't think it can be mended significantly so I am going to trim tips a bit and deep moisturize the length to prevent its getting worse.
HTH

[nytquill]

I had the same problem after quitting cones. Very dry hair in bad condition, especially the last 3 inches or so. It has now been a year of no cones for me and the feel of my hair has definitely improved as the bad parts grow out and fall away. Although I find without cones I have to work a lot harder at keeping my hair moisturized down to the ends, but if I were using cones that moisture would not be getting to my hair at all, it would just SEEM soft and shiny from the cones. But some people really do need them or their hair is a mess and they can't grow well at all. Me I think I'm better off without them but it may be different again for you :)

Most people do have a period of the year where they shed more. I have just recently been through an experience where I thought my shampoo made me shed more. What I learned from people here was that it's very unusual, nearly impossible for something you put on your head or hair to make it fall out unless it's a very strong chemical like bleach or dye that can damage the hair until it breaks. I do think when I was having a skin reaction to my old drugstore (coney) shampoo that I lost more hair but that was because my scalp was irritated (and because I was scratching it a lot) and not from the shampoo itself touching my skin or hair.

What I learned was that sometimes shed hairs will be held in place or held to the other hairs around them by the oils that are naturally in your hair, and when you shampoo very well and vigorously those oils are removed, and the hair that was already shed no longer has that sticky oil to hold it up so it comes out - but the hair was shed anyway so you're not really losing any more hair, it just looks like it because all the loose hairs come out.

This is why any mechanical action to your head - like the motion of shampooing/scrubbing, massaging your scalp, etc. can make it seem like you shed more, because you are moving the hair around and releasing the loose hairs that were just being held in place by oils or by other hairs holding them up. It may be that with the coconut oil and then with washing it out, you were simply touching your scalp and your hair more and more of those loose hairs were coming away. Or it may have been the season of the year. Or something else entirely - you will read on here about people having sheds or stalls fur reasons that are unclear but it happens. Unless you are allergic to coconut oil I don't think the oil itself could be making you actually shed more than you would normally.

[nereida]

Thank you so much for all your replies
For the first month of my hair loss, my hair used to fall out like crazy - I think sth about 300-400 hair after washing and while combing out. It was falling with my bulbs, now it seems that everyday I lose 100+ hair, but it looks like cut in 1/4 way from my head.
Maybe I will stop oiling my hair like one of you wrote me, but last time I was thinking about using another oil. I heard and I read here that a lot of you use olive oil before washing hair, so maybe I will give it a try, but I am still very afraid about that...
I hate cutting my hair, but I think that a hairstylist appointment is needed. I was reading about self trim of hair, but I need my hair to regrow in one line, because now unfortunately I have my hair cut in some layers - that drives me crazy; and I wouldn't be able to trim it properly :)
If you have any other ideas or comments - please write :) I really appreciate your help. Have a nice day ladies

[MandaMom2Three]

I cannot put oils on my scalp! I hate it because it feels so nice to oil my scalp, but I loose crazy amounts of hair if I do, no matter how gentle :(

[Avital88]

I also lose hair if i put oil on my scalp:s its so weird especially because its an indian oil against hairloss.
Maybe it just depends per individual. Good luck!

[maus]

I don't leave oil on my scalp for longer than an hour, two at the most. Anything longer than that and my hair seems to be shedding more. I used to shed a lot, anyways, though, Biotin and MSM helped with that...

[princessp]

It doesn't sound like your scalp and maybe even your hair likes oils at all. I believe there are people on here who have the same problem. Hopefully they will chime in. As far as the hair loss. Have you tried diluted ACV rinses? These helped decrease shedding for me. But with that said, I might suggest you don't try anything new for a while until things even out. Then gradually you can try other things like adding an ACV rinse and see how it goes. Perhaps you have product overload right now.

[Sunsailing]

Oil can clog the scalp and trap DHT (causing hair loss).
Some people seem not to be affected by oil on the scalp, while others will experience extreme shedding.


If you use oil in the future, try not putting oil on the scalp.

Also, use a good clarifying shampoo on your scalp (not the length of the hair).
I would wash your scalp daily to make sure it's not becoming clogged (but don't forget to protect the length of your hair.)

Try taking some biotin and MSM....it helped to end my recent shed.

[spidermom]

My method is to wait until my scalp gets oily from the natural sebum, then I oil the length and wash later that day or the next day. I can't think of a mechanism whereby applying oil to the length could make hair fall out by the roots. It's more likely to be stress, a nutrition deficiency, illness, something like that. Take the best care of your health that you can, and your hair should follow.

Also, don't try too many things at once. One change every 2 weeks; that's the limit.

[redwoman]

Like spidermom said, nutrition. I take a well rounded multivitam daily and only lose ten or so hairs per day where I used to lose more before the vitamin. I don't know exactly what I was missing but the multivitamin really helped me. Good luck with this. I know how scary it can be to have gobs of hair coming out.

[PolarCathy]

In the past I tried different oils on my scalp. The worst was coconut oil, the second worst (for em) was olive, those both clogged my pores I *think*. I washed it off after an hour or so because it was itching so much that I couldn't leave it on overnight (as planned). No hair loss, fortunately, but I could feel that it wasn't the right thing for me. I heard the same thing about jojoba oil, that it can dissolve the sebum so it acts as a cleansing agent but if left on the scalp for too long, it can actually clog the pores.

What does work for me, is mustard oil, walnut oil, grapeseed oil and avocado oil. Prob grapeseed is best (lightest). That's my carrier oil for the rosemary essential oil I occasionally use. Still, I don't like to leave oil on my scalp overnight just because "better safe than sorry".

Another thing that had a major influence on my shedding was the water temperature (on my scalp). Cold water is better because it constricts the pores around the hair follicles. People who apply oil on their scalp often wash it off with warm to hot water which I think can contribute to shedding. It's harder to wash it out with cold water but not impossible (a little cornstarch may help before washing).

[nereida]

I didn't expect that I will get so many replies :) Thank you

I read all of your advices and I have a question... What is exactly "MSM"? Is it a vitamin? I've been using some of them for 1,5 month now and I see that it's working - it helps

I use "Merz Spezial" available in Poland. It's rather expensive, but the best in my opinion and other people here who have the same problem as I have.

The composition (for one tablet - but I need to take 2 daily before a meal)
vitamin C 75,00 mg
L-cystina 30,00 mg
vitamin E 9,00 mg
B-carotene 0,90 mg
nicotinamide 10,00 mg
calcium pantotenicum 3,00 mg
vitamin B2 1,60 mg
vitamin B6 1,20 mg
vitamin B1 1,20 mg
vitamin A 1500 j.m.*
vitamin B12 2,00 ug
vitamin D3 50,00 j.m.*
biotin 0,01 mg
dry yeast extract 100,00 mg
iron (II) 20,00 mg

*j.m. - international units (?)
Do you think that its composition and its quantity are good enough? (And I am sorry for the translation. It was really hard to translate all these chemical names from Polish to English - hope it means the same hihi)

[milagro]

Looks like good supply of vitamins and minerals.
Nicotinamide AFAIK increases blood circulation which should help nourish follicle.
I guess the amounts are safe on average basis but if you need any special treatment I suggest you visit a doctor and have necessary tests. In your age you also may be going through hormonal crise and that can cause some hair loss / change, so medical test and advice would be very helpful.
Good luck! :flower: