from 4.7 to 3.9 inches??!!

[Cleopatra18]

I'm really stunned.last time i checked my pony circumference was 4.5 inches and it has been like that since i joined.and after my bangs grew out it became 4.75.
I just measured now and it's barely 3.9-4 inches.
I dont know how that happened.My previous measurement was done dozens of time on natural hair,oil-soaked hair,flat ironed hair and i had my sister measure it to me before and it was the same.
I just flat ironed my hair and put some serum on it and decided to check my circumference for no reason,i am SHOCKED.
I didnt notice any excessive shedding in the last period.it's not on the low side but its not high either and i didnt feel any loss in the thickness of my hair.
I have no idea what happened.I'm extremly sad right now.

[angelfell]

That doesn't sound fun :( I know you said your hair loss hasn't increased much.. maybe the individual hair strands are now thinner? I'm not even sure if that's possible but.. if you're not losing hair, and it went down by that much, that's all I can think. Unless your straightened hair now is significantly more compact than when you'd last measured.

ETA: I don't know if you consider this when watching your shedding, but breakage can do it too. I notice sometimes only half of a strand of hair or less will come out with my comb or whatever.. I suppose if that happens enough, that can certainly do it.

[CarpeDM]

Don't be sad :( My ponytail circumference is 2.75 so I would love to have anything in the 3's. Besides, the great thing about hair is that it always grows, I'm sure it will go back to being thicker.

[turquoisebud]

Do you flat iron you hair a lot? I mean, if the first time you measured you hair was not flat ironed and this time is was, it would be flatter. Flat ironing makes hair lay flatter so maybe that's the reason the measurement was smaller. I hope you understand what I mean. :) I'm not very good at explaining. :p

[Anywhere]

OP says she has got her larger measurement on flat ironed hair as well. :flower:

I have no ideas for you.. perhaps you are using a routine that makes you shed more and you just don't realize it? What's your current routine and what was your old routine?

[Cleopatra18]

I was never consistent on an exact routine,I mean even if i am shedding a bit more than average for me ONE INCH of thickness is ALOT. it must have been going on for pretty long time right?? atleast more than one or two months. since my bangs grew out i felt my hair was getting thicker and thicker i didnt expect at all to lose so much.
I'm sad over the loss but I'm literally going crazy on what caused this.
I tend to have "big" hair so maybe that's why i didnt notice? I dont know...*sigh*

[Cleopatra18]

I just made my album public : here's pic of my hair now,it was poorly flat ironed so it wasnt even the bone straight sleek look i get from a salon http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=5139&pictureid=93790
every time i straightened my hair in these photos i measured circumference and it was the same,and my hair was much flatter than its state now.
I keep thinking maybe my previous measurements were wrong but how could someone be wrong over a dozen time? and would my sis measuring for me make a mistake too?

[Anywhere]

You might not have noticed excessive shedding if you leave your hair down often, the shed hairs just kind of disappear. If you don't think it's routine-based then perhaps its health-related?

I just suggested routine because for some people conditioner on their scalp causes hair loss, for me shampoo on my scalp causes hair loss, etc.

[Cleopatra18]

I dont wear my hair up,i dont use heat (last year i used it 4 times only,months apart)
the only thing i can think of is how my always tangles badly,i may have been losing hair while detangling it,which is very often.
but again my hair always tangled :shrug: it's nothing new.

[Anywhere]

If nothing big has changed in terms of your care for it then I really would lean towards something medical. Anemia made me lose a good half inch or more of my circumference.
ETA: your hair is so thick eeee:love:
mine is pitiful compared to that.

[gretchen_hair]

I had huge differences in measurement when I was using different shampoos. I measured my circumference and it was almost half of it's normal size, my hair was flat and thin, I washed it in a different shampoo and it felt thicker, I measured it again and it was back to normal.

Maybe it's the serum making it flatter?

ETA: try using no serum and measuring, just to see if that may be the culprit. Wash and allow to dry and don't flatiron, you might be surprised! :flower:

[Darkhorse1]

It's possible you made an error the first time you measured--I know I take several measurments and still never get it right ;)

Try using a string then measure the string length to see if you are making an error--I know that flat ironing hair will flatten it out, but if that's the way you did it before--the only thought would be if you have a lot of breakage? I just went through a huge shed, and my measurement is oddly the same.

Hugs to you!

[Cleopatra18]

It's possible you made an error the first time you measured--I know I take several measurments and still never get it right ;)

Try using a string then measure the string length to see if you are making an error--I know that flat ironing hair will flatten it out, but if that's the way you did it before--the only thought would be if you have a lot of breakage? I just went through a huge shed, and my measurement is oddly the same.

Hugs to you!
That actually happened to me before! i went through TWO bad sheddings and my measurement didnt change,which is why i'm shocked now because it must have been something HUGE that caused it.
I really hope it's just the state of my hair after the flat iron and serum.

[lynnspin]

Has their been a change in your diet or exercise??

[lynnspin]

Stress maybe??! I'm just trying to think of things that could affect hair without you noticing!