Newbie here with question/concern

[PoliticalPilot]

I have been lurking for several days, but am finally a member! So excited to be here.
I am trying to grow my hair out (3rd time in my life). I am forgetting a lot of things though, from the last time I did it. My hair was short when my daughter was born, and it went to the post-partum shedding phase at the same time I was trying to grow it out.
My daughter is now 18 mos. old and so the PP shedding is done, but it is still shedding what seems to be a lot--but I don't remember if this is how it was last time my hair was long or not. :confused:
I wash about every 3 days and it sheds probably 100 hairs between washing/combing it out. On the days I don't wash, it sheds between 20 and 40 hairs I think. Does all that seem pretty normal?

[Joribear]

Yep, sounds like you are perfectly in range of what is considered "normal" for shedding.

Good luck and happy growing! :)

[Misti]

Keep in mind that as your hair gets longer, the hair *feels* like a lot more hair than it did, even when it's the same number. That freaked me out at first, too. :)

[PoliticalPilot]

Thank you for your encouragement! I probably got at least 100 hairs between washing last night/combing it this morning. But it has also been up every day for the last four or five days--so I'm guessing it hasn't been able to shed as much?
It might take me a while to get used to this, I have to admit. 100 hairs at a time is pretty scary.

[Anje]

That sounds pretty normal to me. You might find that different wash methods affect your shed rate, too. Shampoo encourages shedding for me, and I've heard other people say that conditioner on their scalps encourages shedding.

[IanB]

Hi PoliticalPilot, hairloss of 100 per day is the norm - so no need to worry - which could cause more hair loss! :)

[Roscata]

Hi PoliticalPilot, hairloss of 100 per day is the norm - so no need to worry - which could cause more hair loss! :)

Exactly this^ :)

[PoliticalPilot]

Hi PoliticalPilot, hairloss of 100 per day is the norm - so no need to worry - which could cause more hair loss! :)

:) ha ha...very true!! :-)

[PoliticalPilot]

Agh, it is still happening. I know every one says it's normal. But there is this panicking feeling I have every time I wash/comb my hair--to see the bottom of the sink partly covered in hair. :( I read all these posts about women who have done "x y and z" who now only loose one or two hairs when they shower. So that makes me feel like something "must" be wrong with me. :p Of course, I've done everything they have done already--but it doesn't work for me (like all-natural shampoo, no brushing wet, taking vitamins, etc.).

Also, the ends are looking weird. Not dry--just almost like they are "matted" together--but they are clean, not greasy or dirty. Maybe I should try brushing with my BBB sometimes?

I've just started Omega 3's and my multi vitamin again. Also, I am thinking of trying to get the One-Step Hair/Skin/Nails someone on here mentioned. I also did a tea rinse last night, and am spraying my hair with a mix of rooibos/black tea. It doesn't seem to be cutting down on the hair loss though.

Oh, one thing I noticed is that some of the strands I lose are full-length hairs, but others are fairly short. How do I figure out what is causing the breakage?

Sorry--not trying to be whiny, I just need some encouragement that I'm not a freak, and my hair will look lovely, and I won't go bald. :cheese:

[MidnightStar]

Hi, PoliticalPilot, you are probably fine as far as your shedding goes. But I understand that panicked feeling! I had a massive shed this spring and it turned out it was because of two things: I was coming off a medication, and I had a massive, massive vitamin D deficiency. Now that's all been taken care of and things are "normal," but I do tend to freak a bit when I see all the hair in the sink! :(
So I guess what I'm saying is, try to calm down a bit, even though I know it's hard, and if you get really worried about how much hair you're losing, maybe see your regular doctor and talk to him/her about it. And yes, you will have beautiful hair!! :D

[Madora]

Brushing is the best thing you can do for your hair (apart from gentle shampooing/conditioning, and trimming regularly.

The hair loss you are experiencing is normal.

Here's what Dr. George Michael, famed "Czar of Long Hair" said about pregnancy in his book "George Michael's Secrets for Beautiful Hair" (Doubleday 1982):

"Pregnancy: Generally, hair condition improves during pregnancy--your body is revved up and all systems are "go". (If your hair doesn't seem healthier while you're pregnant, schedule a special visit to your gynecologist for a hormone checkup).

Hair loss that occurs AFTER the birth of a baby has little to do with the ovaries and much to do with the thyroid gland. Many women lose a great deal of hair with the first child, but shed less with the second and third offspring. The blame can be attributed to an abrupt change of lifestyle--the unaccustomed mechanics of caring for the first baby alter the thyroid's signals to the pituitary gland, which in turn affects the production of estrogen. Once a woman has had her second child and however many more children, she is used to the routine of motherhood and changes her schedule less drastically; therefore her hormone output remains stabilized and she loses less hair.

The normal hair loss after delivery (if you are breast-feeding) happens four months after birth and continues for two months; if not breast-feeding, hair loss will occur two months and four days after delivery and will last for 2 1/2 months."

Back to brushing...If you brush every day (with a pure boar bristle brush, the gentlest way to brush) you not only exercise the hair follicles, but brushing also removes dirt and lint from your hair and scalp, distributes your hair's natural sebum down the strands, and imparts lovely shine and softness to your hair.

HOW you brush will determine your hair's health. There is a certain way to brush that is gentlest for your hair. And if you don't already, be sure to detangle your hair with a wide tooth comb FIRST before brushing!

[Lostsoule77]

My mom told me a very long time ago that we lose about 100 hairs a day. I've never bothered counting or paying attention to whether I'm losing more or less hair. If I'm gentle to my hair and treating it the way it should be treated then that's that.
From what you've said your shedding amount is normal. Try to stop focusing on it. Focus instead on better hair care and taking care of your beautiful child. If you actively change focus after a time you'll find you don't have to do it so actively anymore and perhaps your unease will be gone. :)

[whitestiletto]

As per your shedding:

What previous people have said, it does seem like a LOT more with long hair, so try not to stress too much -- the stress itself could cause shedding, and we do naturally lose hair.

But if you feel it's too much...

Maybe you should experiment with the things people have tried that magically reduced shedding. My shedding was almost definitely due to severe seborrheic dermatitis, do you have any dandruff issues? I managed to make it go away completely by doing first concentrated apple cider vinegar soaks on dry hair (like, pour it on and wait half an hour, then shower as usual), then later cutting it down to 1/2 strength, then 1/4 strength, and now I do just a very dilute rinse at the end of my shower.

This made my shedding stop "overnight," like literally 2 soaks later it stopped falling out. It was VERY noticeable. So if you try this and you have the same problem as me, the change may be very quick, if not you should try other methods. A dilute ACV rinse is however a very popular method to seal the cuticle and add shine to hair, so it won't hurt.

I've heard that an allergy to sodium laureth/lauryl sulfates can cause hair loss, double-check your natural shampoos to make sure it's not in there.

Many people swear by conditioner only, perhaps try lathering up with conditioner for a week and see if that reduces the hair loss.

Many people also swear by scalp massages using a boar bristle brush. You can oil your scalp with whichever oil it prefers, or you can oil your palm and rub the brush on it before brushing. I think there are fancy essential oils for scalps, rather than plain old olive oil or coconut oil, but I'm no expert... I just put olive oil on mine.

What do you brush your hair with? Brushing it roughly or with the wrong tool could be causing the breakage even when dry. Ideally you should use a wide-tooth comb to remove tangles, then smooth the length with a boar bristle brush.

Do you put your hair up tightly with scrunchies? This can cause breakage. So can bobby pins and any plastic hairclaw or hairbrush that has 'seams' on it. Many people here file seams off with a nail file, or use only high quality hair items like boar bristle, smoothly sanded wood combs, hairsticks, and clips. I switched from scrunchies to hair clips (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31xXkx1kPtL._SL500_AA300_.jpg) recently myself.

As per your crunchy ends:
Do you use any products that contain protein? Crunchy, weird looking ends are often caused by a build-up of proteins. <<link to thread on protein buildup>> (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=72913) Check the ingredients of everything you put in your hair for silk protein, hydrolyzed soy, milk protein, whey, etc. What is the natural texture of your hair? As I understand, curly and coarse hair suffers more from protein build up, but everyone can suffer from it.

If you used to heat-treat or bleach/chemical your hair, the crunchy ends might just be the end of the lifetime of the damaged hair. (if you still flat-iron, blow-dry, or bleach your hair... you might want to reconsider if you really want it to get long)

A favorite softening treatment on LHC is the Snowymoon Treatment (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128). I haven't tried it myself because I have good results from overnight olive oil soaks and the very occasional overnight avocado soak (but beware avocado has mega protein so if that's your problem keep away from it). Olive oil is, believe it or not, one of the most popular hair oils. Not every oil works for everyone, so experiment, but olive oil really helped soften my dye-damaged hair and bring out its natural texture. To do an overnight soak you just put a tablespoon (or as necessary) oil rubbed through the ends of the length (but not the scalp usually), you can wear your hair in loose braids and sleep on a towel, then conditioner-only it out in the morning. Shampoo sometimes can't take the oil out but conditioner does.

Shampooing your hair atcould cause your ends to be dry. Do you shampoo the ends? Like do you actually lather them? You should really only shampoo your scalp. Try putting conditioner on the bottom half of your hair, then shampooing, then rinsing it all out and putting conditioner on the scalp and bottom half. This will protect your ends from the detergents in the shampoo. It's called CSC in LHC terms.

[skraprchik]

Also, you could just double check that they are shed hairs and not breakage. Check the end of the piece of hair. If you see a little white "bulb" on the end, it is a shed hair and not breakage.

[free_hug]

Keep in mind that as your hair gets longer, the hair *feels* like a lot more hair than it did, even when it's the same number. That freaked me out at first, too. :)

Wow, I totally have the revelation moment right now! After a couple of years of staying in the pixie/scissors addict trap, I finally managed to grow the thing around shoulder, and I, too, lose about a 100 hairs when I don't care about washing and brushing for 3-4 days.

And a 100 of those longer strands looks scary! I was just wondering lately if I should feel freaked out to hell, or is this completely normal...

[AshNight1214]

Sounds normal to me. :) If you aren't happy with that amount of shed, you can try spraying your hair with black tea. I hear it works wonders for reducing shed.

[PoliticalPilot]

MidnightStar--thank you! I will keep an eye on it, and if it still seems like a lot in a few weeks, I may see my doctor.

Madora--thanks for that information! I will start brushing again. I do detangle with a wooden comb, so I will make sure and do that thoroughly first.

Lostsoule77--you sound so relaxed about your normal hair shed-I love that!! I need to try and not focus so much on it, you are right. :)

whitestiletto--great, great thoughts! I have never heard of dermatitis causing hair loss! I have used ACV rinses for quite a while now, but always very diluted. I may try a straight rinse like you suggested, just to see. I don't think I have dermatitis, but who knows!?
I don't use shampoo with sulfates, so I know that isn't the issue. I don't use scrunchies either. But the cheap "mini claws" I use could be a problem. I think my shampoo and conditioner *do* have protein in them. :confused: So I will look up some honey at the store, and try the SMT for my hair! I don't use shampoo on the length, just the scalp--but I haven't tried the conditioner/shampoo/conditioner yet. That might be the next thing I try.

skrapchik--some of them are full-length hairs (I can see the white "bulb" on the end) but others seem like they have a skinny, broken end. :(

free_hug--me too! I never know what should be a concern, and what's totally normal. I never remember loosing hair like this last time it was long ('specially in the shower), but...I also kept it down all the time so it probably shed throughout the day when i didn't notice. :rolleyes:

AshNight1214--I mixed some black tea in last night with my rooibos, but I might make a full-strength concoction for my spray bottle. I'm glad you mentioned it works--I couldn't remember if that's what I heard or not. :o

thank you everyone for taking the time to reassure me and offer great advice!!