Impressive shedding

[Knittycat]

I had my hair trimmed earlier this week. I always knew I shed a lot. But after reading a bunch here, I was able to convince myself that it was a normal amount. It must just seem like a lot because my hair is long, right?
Well apparently, no. I shed a LOT. Enough for the stylist to comment on it and ask if I knew that taking vitamins would help. (no, she wasn't trying to make a sale. not at this shop! she didn't even sell hair products. I think I like her and I'll be going back)
I do take vitamins.
My hair is so fine and so thin. The news that I shed an unusual amount depresses me :( I'm never going to have nice thick mane.:wail:

[HeatherJenae]

If it makes you feel any better, I would swap you my super thick big hair in a second. Maybe you should try some vitamins like she suggested. I take Biotin which is pretty much just Vitamin B because my nails are weak as all get out.

[AspenSong]

I feel your pain...for some reason the last few months I've lost about 1/4 of an inch in my circumference. When your hair is already thin, that's a LOT! It's hard for us thinnies!

*hugs* Hang in there! Not everyone can have the crazy thick manes, but the fine long hair is beautiful too.

[MissAlida]

Talk about shedding...Today I was at the pool, and when I came home, my father told me that the neighbor that lives in the apartment inferior to ours, told him that some pipe got clogged and that water spilled on his bathroom floor. Guess what was causing the clog?:rolleyes:A big bunch of hair. My big bunch of hair...Sometimes I'm just amazed that I still have any on my head. It seems to be everywhere except where it should be.Oh, and it's been going on for 2 years, and guess what, my hair hasn't grown a bit in those 2 years. I was and still am at APL. I never straightened, never blow dried, never coloured. And still...I'm starting to loose hope.:(

[Toiréasa]

I have very fine,thin hair too and shed quite a bit my hair grow pretty fast but sometimes when I look in the sink after combing I wonder how I have any hair left on my head.
One of these days I am going to count them just to see how many I have lost maybe it just looks like a lot and its not as bad as we think it is.

[gthlvrmx]

I thought i had the similar problem, but then it turns out it just seemed like a lot because i wash once a week and do not detangle or let my hair down all week. I counted all my hairs i shed after a week, i roughly shed 50 hairs a day and that's still normal (i think 25-150 is normal).So if you shed around that amount a day, it's normal. If you lay your shed out straight, it will look like less, taking your shed hair in a ball will look like a lot, especially if it's longer. Curly hair tends to have that "poofy" look so :p, it'll look like a lot after you wash your hair. It's normal if your curly shed hair looks bigger than it really is. I have photos in my album if you want to check it out how it looks like, maybe you'll feel better..mine can sometimes get to be a palmful.
Have you always shed a lot?

[Knittycat]

I've always shed a lot. My hair is fairly straight, so no curly poufyness making it look bigger than it is. I brush my hair twice a day generally, three if I wash my hair. And every time I do, I get massive amounts of hair out. We're talking at least 50 EACH time I brush or comb. And I'm not being rough! I'm babying it! I just shed like crazy. It totally blows.

[gthlvrmx]

I've always shed a lot. My hair is fairly straight, so no curly poufyness making it look bigger than it is. I brush my hair twice a day generally, three if I wash my hair. And every time I do, I get massive amounts of hair out. We're talking at least 50 EACH time I brush or comb. And I'm not being rough! I'm babying it! I just shed like crazy. It totally blows.

So if the average is between 25-150 a day, losing 50 hairs roughly twice is like around 100 a day, 150 is you do it 3 times. But actually shedding that amount each time is kind of alarming if you're losing 50 hairs in a few hours over and over...have you talked to a doctor about this? Dermatologist?

[DuckyDot]

See a doctor - maybe this is a sign of an underlying health problem?

[Knittycat]

No. I do need to go to the doc and have some of my meds adjusted. It feels kind of silly bringing up that I feel like I shed too much hair.

[DuckyDot]

I went to my doctor - I felt kinda stupid too, since I had nearly died and I was complaining about hairloss. But I'm so glad I did! My hair is all fine now.

[torrilin]

Why does it feel silly? If you're losing enough hair that your circumference is gradually shrinking, chances are good that you have a nutritional deficiency, or that you have some other illness. A good doctor would want to know about this so they can find the root cause, because deficiency illnesses are *terrible* for your long term health. And if it's not a deficiency, chances are it is still a serious problem.

The most common ones are probably vitamin D or iron deficiency, but lots of things can cause hair loss. None of 'em are good problems to have.

[Madora]

If your hair loss is truly as dire as you wrote, then I'd definitely make an appointment with a trichologist (a hair doctor) PRONTO!

I speak from experience. My hair loss, which I had attributed to aging, was actually caused by very severe anemia (which required emergency hospitalization and several transfusions. I was low in everything pertaining to my blood). Acute hair loss is a sign of anemia.

Have a complete blood panel worked up..and have your thyroid checked too by your physican.

Good luck!

[Knittycat]

Well, I'll most definitely bring my hair up to my doc when I see him.
I guess if I'm losing enough hair for a stylist to comment on it, it must be bad. Thanks so much everybody!

[happybear]

Have your hormones check as well, an imbalance can easily cause shedding.

You really do need to actually count the hairs that shed to get an idea of how many, the hairball can look deceiving! Though it seems almost neurotic to count every hair!

I thought I shed a lot too, I keep my hair up all day, when I take it down and finger comb it seemed like tons come out, so I started counting, and I would say that I shed about 50 a day (including after washing, and when I take it down at night). It just seemed like a lot cause my hair is curly and long.

[Darkhorse1]

OMG! Welcome to my world!! This JUST happened to me on Weds!! I went for my trim and my hair dresser noticed my shed by commenting on it. I was like 'how can you tell?" and she's like 'it feels thinner'. Well, I have to say I'm lucky because I went from a 4' circumference to a 3.75, so I can't really complain. (((hugs)))!!!

Just to add, a stylist can tell your shed if they are using to feeling your hair---I remember when I was losing handfuls of hair due to stress, that people can only notice hair loss if you lose 50% of your hair or more. So, your stylist is going by feel. For me, if my hair doesn't get trimmed regularily, it will feel thin and even look thinner, but I measured it once and sure enough, it's the same thickness. Not sure how that happens, but it does :)

[SusanSt]

I feel for you! I've sometimes wondered if I shed more than is normal. (It was reassuring to read the numbers here.) I do know that certain medications can definitely affect how much I shed. Hopefully your doctor can make helpful suggestions for you.

[Chetanlaiho]

I'm also shedding much more than before recently. It seems to have slowed down on 'normal' days (although still more than before) but I pulled out several hands full yesterday when washing it and trying to detangle it afterwards =(