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View Full Version : *Anything* besides shampoo on my scalp makes me shed!!



Rapunzal2Be
June 24th, 2011, 07:54 AM
Anyone else find that if they put anything on their scalp, they shed more?? Even the stuff that's supposed to stop shedding or promote growth?? Or am I alone in this?? :D

I shed hair a lot. Always have. Since I have very little hair to being with (my whole head of hair adds up to less than just one strand of most people's braids!) you would think I'd have none left by now, but my thickness has always more or less stayed constant, even with a daily shed that would pretty much freak most people out!

I have a big hair ball in the shower, another in my brush, and the hair on my white bathroom floor is so bad I have to sweep up after every single time I'm in there! I actually cringe when people (good friends and such) touch my hair, because I'm afraid they're going to come away with a few strands on their hand.

Fine/thin hair and female pattern baldness run in my family, so I've been checked out and my thyroid is fine, my iron levels are good, I'm otherwise healthy.

Anyway, enough of the woe is me. :p To what my post is about, I've done a lot of trial and error, read all of the other posts on shedding, tried to see what I can do to improve the situation.

And here's my conclusion...absolutely anything besides shampoo (okay, and tea rinses are working okay right now) on my scalp causes a shed. Weird, right?

Things that cause a shed:
MegaTek
MN
Oils (coconut, bhrinjaraj (sp?), Africa's Best, olive, sweet almond - emu isn't as bad, but it still makes me shed)
SMT
Conditioner of ANY type - my experiment with CO I thought I'd have NO hair left!!
Henna/Henndigo

Basically all of the things recommended for promoting hair growth and thickness actually cause a bigger shed when rinsing out. Doesn't matter if it's on for fifteen minutes or overnight.

But yet, if I just shampoo - whether I use a coconut oil soap based shampoo or Jason Tea Tree or plain old Suave Clarifying, I am good to go. Small hair ball in the shower, if at all, and less in my brush.

Oh, and I'm experimenting with tea rinses/scalp sprays right now and they don't seem to bother my scalp (black tea and rooibos). But it's only been a week or so, so we'll see.

Even though I've known this for a while, I still try - because it feels like I'm missing out on some great growth treatments and I need all the help I can get, my hair grows so slow - but now I am going to just give up.

So now I'm going to keep everything but 'poo and tea away from my scalp. I will condition from my ears down and use my MegaTek from my ears down (it's my protein treatment), and the only exception is Henna/Henndigo, which is only once per month or two, so that's worth it.

Hopefully this will help to thicken my hair up in time (and keep my bathroom floor a bit cleaner).

Anyone else like this??

MissAlida
June 24th, 2011, 08:28 AM
Hi there! I'm new here, actually this is my first comment, so please forgive me if I say something, well...um...stupid. I just wanted to say that I have the same shedding problem that you have. Every time I wash my hair, I get a whole bunch of it from the plug hole, and another one in my brush. I think I shouldnt have any more hair left, by the ammount I shed. It is partly because of stres, I think. The only piece of advice I can give, is something I found on this site back when I wasn't a member. I found a thread on hybrid washing method, which consists of conditioning the lenght and applying shampoo only to the roots. I've been doing it for the last 3 or so weeks, and I have noticed improvement in the quality of my hair, as well as in my sheding. I hope it helps, good luck :)

gthlvrmx
June 24th, 2011, 08:33 AM
Sam here, castor oil was a no no, big shed. But i realized shedding can be caused a lot by stress or internal issues, maybe that's affecting you? Have you tried seeing a doc?

Anje
June 24th, 2011, 08:41 AM
Not as weird as you think. A lot of people find they need to keep conditioner off their scalps.

Mine has its own quirks -- the cleaner I try to make it, the more I shed. I shed more with shampoo than with CO, and more with CO than with water-only.

trolleypup
June 24th, 2011, 10:30 AM
Sounds like you have a good plan. Some people find WO and/or vinegar rinses can be helpful (if you want to try more things that might anger your scalp). Any kind of product on my scalp causes anger and itchiness, although not so much shedding.

Since you seem to maintain your thickness despite copious shedding, probably the best thing is to just stay with a routine that doesn't cause excessive shedding and don't worry about it. Benign neglect might actually help if you are stressing over the shedding. But, likely, the shedding is just the natural expression of your genetic background.

RitaCeleste
June 24th, 2011, 10:55 AM
Anything with silk in it makes me shed even more. Its suppose to be good for hair. I always avoid my scalp when I condition because I figure I have hair oil there anyway and it helps me go longer between washes. There was one product Bio-Silk that really scared me. My hair felt great and it wasn't staying on my head. My hairballs were so soft though....oh, well.:D I have noticed a difference in how much shedding different conditioners cause with me though. Its to the point that when I try a new conditioner, I rate the shedding to decide if I can use what I bought. I got 32 ozs of an ok conditioner I refuse to try and use up. The shedding has me thinking waist might be my terminal length. I mean come on, I've been trimming layers out and it still looks layered and has short hairs in it everywhere! BLAH!

Rapunzal2Be
June 24th, 2011, 01:11 PM
Glad to see I'm not alone!

I feel a bit "cheated" as I don't get to test out all of the newest goodies that are supposed to speed up growth, but I guess if benign neglect is what my head and hair like the best, I'll take it! Considering I'm a bit on the lazy side, I think it should suit me just fine...;)

jojo
June 24th, 2011, 01:15 PM
I hardly ever shed anything but its normal to shed 100 hairs a day, dont forget when your hair is long it can look more. Anaemia and hypothyroidism too can cause hair shed. Poor diet and of course stress.

If you are sure you are shedding more than what is considered normal, then id advice you to see your Dr and ask for blood test.

Rapunzal2Be
June 24th, 2011, 01:21 PM
I hardly ever shed anything but its normal to shed 100 hairs a day, dont forget when your hair is long it can look more. Anaemia and hypothyroidism too can cause hair shed. Poor diet and of course stress.

If you are sure you are shedding more than what is considered normal, then id advice you to see your Dr and ask for blood test.

I wouldn't think my shedding is excessive to the point of being related to a health issue because I've been thoroughly check out by my Dr and because my overall (lack of) thickness hasn't been affected. My diet is balanced. Stress, yeah, maybe so, but I do my best at managing it. Maybe it's just my "normal" but it IS kind of annoying.

So anything I can do to keep the shedding more to a minimum would be a welcome change and maybe I'll gain some thickness along the way.

By the way, even though I haven't had the chance to post in your thread, I'm doing rooibos/black tea rinses and loving them, and I'm drinking a whole bunch of it as well! Yum :)