Hair falling out :(

[SheeJee]

My hair is continually falling out, not in clumps but whenever I brush it, with my fingers, brushes, combs, wide tooth combs... anything... a lot of my hair is either breaking or falling out :( And everywhere I go, there is always hair on my clothes, surrounding me etc because strands are always falling out.

I just wanted to know if this is normal or not, my hair is shoulder length and 2b and it makes me feel really sad when I see all of this hair falling out :( I consider myself to take good care of my hair but the results aren't really showing I guess... :(

[silverpiper]

This happened to me a lot when I was dyeing my hair. My hair was thinner because of it. Are you using any chemicals on it?

[Eboshi]

Do you use any chemical processes (coloring, perms, straightening etc) or heat-styling on your hair? You haven't had a baby recently have you?

[silverjen]

The average shed rate is around 100 hairs per day. Do you think you are seeing about this many, or is it more? I know thyroid medications* can temporarily increase shedding, are you on any new meds?

*if it is thyroid, your shedding rate should return to normal as your body adjusts to the the meds. It's important for anyone with thyroid issues to take their medication! Not doing so can cause serious problems!

[indiana]

When I first started growing, all the shed hairs really bothered me. But, it finally dawned that I was shedding a normal amount but the length of each hair made it seem like a lot more than it really was. Wearing it up will protect it as well and not allow it to fall all over the place during the day.

Take your time, get to know your hair and what makes it happy.

[spidermom]

I find hairs all over the place, too (even though I wear my hair up most of the time!). Normal shedding can look like a lot.

[YepLilly]

First you have to rule out any medical issues. Get a blood test and check your thyroid. Sudden stress can cause shedding too.

All that said, how is your hair? Is it very fine or strong? Do you have tangly ends? Is it dry? mushy? Depending on your hair condition, the shedding/breakage may be do to a lack of moisture or protein.

[SheeJee]

I do have hyperthyroidism, I have recently gone in for a radioiodine ablation of my thyroid gland, so I will soon become hypothyroid (less thyroid hormones) and will in the future have to start taking thyroxine. No one has explained to me the effect this condition will have on my hair though :( I guess I should probably google it.

I used to heat style a lot, namely flat ironing (cringe, I have stopped now though, haven't flat ironed in two weeks which is a record for me as I used to flat iron around once or twice a week before). I don't use any dyes or other chemicals in my hair though, apart form of course shampoos and conditioners and deep treatments.

My hair looks very thin, I am also taking the contraceptive pill for the last few years, not sure if this is having an effect on my hair though as it's been so long that I've been on the pill.

I feel like my hair is very fragile and it is thinning so much, after I've washed my hair and it's still wet it looks like I have not much hair at all on my head :( then as it dries it becomes frizzier and thus looks like it is gradually regaining volume (not sure if that made much sense, for some reason my hair just looks very thinning when it's wet especially(

[julierockhead]

I think you should google and read as much as you can, pester your doc about this, and ask him to refer you to a nutritionist.

[lizdini]

I also have this problem. The last time I had this kind of shedding I had just become vegan. I am now an ovo lacto vegetarian. It's kinda disconcerting.

[getoffmyskittle]

MSM. I know I'm kind of a broken record but it works wonders for me.

[Yame]

My hair falls out everywhere, too. Everywhere I go, my hair can be found. My husband and I joke that my hair is trying to take over the world...

[The_Redhead]

Another thing to consider is shampoo/conditioner ingredients. Did you just change brands etc? Before I switched to shampoo bars with no conditioner, I was shedding handfuls. Now much less. I recently tried using suave in a henna gloss and I broke out, had screaming itchies and lost globs of hair.

Good luck.

Shannon

[amyhenna]

I just went vegan not too long ago and my hair is falling out in mass quantities. I'm not sure why, though, because I'd not been eating meat for about a year, and I hadn't been eating too much dairy either, so all I did was cut out the last of my dwindling dairy (occasional cheese stick or yogurt- never milk- and no more eggs). Also, since I'm focusing on eating stuff directly from the earth, I cut out organic cereal, pasta, bread, and anything else that doesn't grow from the ground. Also, I'm focusing on eating it raw instead of cooked, and I added sprouts, seeds, nuts, and mulberries to my diet. I'm eating more vitamins and minerals than ever, so I don't understand why my hair is falling out? It's all organic because of a health condition I have, so there are no chemicals in my food.

[Barb]

Hey Sheejee,

I've had times when I've gone through monster sheds and my hair has gotten very, very thin. There's LOTS of reasons for thinning hair. The impressive medical term for all this is . . . wait for it . . . Telogen Effluvium! Ta-dah!

I found a great link that gives some very complete information on TE. Here it is: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/effluviums.

Mind you, it's a very good idea to mention this hair loss to your family doc. If you don't find anything out with him/her then go see a dermatologist. Hair loss can be a symptom of something possibly more serious. (Not to sound alarmist; I'm just saying.)

[rita_shahrazad]

I also lost a lot of hair...MSM worked for me as well... I left my hair alone and kind of forgot about it.... the main reason of my hairloss was due to health problems and surgery..

[ssjhotau2]

If you really are losing alot of hair and you can notice your hair getting thinner- then I would suggest mentioning it to your doctor. Maybe do it anyways, just in case.

But it could just be normal shed combined with a bad hair care routine. If you use chemical dyes, harsh shampoo/conditioner and do/have done a lot of heat styling then that could explain much of it. Also a bad diet/exercise can effect your hair so vitamins and improving health could help aswell.

[PorkChop]

Mine is falling out more too. I just got to work this morning and pulled off 25 hairs off my jumper. And when I was combing it before work, about 20 came out then, and its only 9.30 am lol!!

[metricfuture]

My hair falls out everywhere, too. Everywhere I go, my hair can be found. My husband and I joke that my hair is trying to take over the world...

Heh, Hair: The Manifest Destiny

[Aveyronnaise]

I'm sorry. For me post childbirth and post breastfeeding caused a lot shedding , a lot , I had some balding looking areas in the front of my head. From what I have read hormones are another big cause of hair loss in women.

[linnepinne]

I'm experiencing the same thing right now. I don't shed many hairs a day normally, so I never understood this "I always find hair in/on my food/buttcrack/clothes"-issue. But now I understand completely! I find hairs everywhere! Long ones, with a pulp on the end, so I know for sure that they are sheds and not brakes.

But I think we should just sit tight for a while and see if it stops, because i read that it could be seasonal. A lot of people on the northern hemisphere have natural and seasonal growth cycels: Not so much growth in winter, lots of growth in spring and summer which ends with a BIG shed in september/autumn.

At least I hope this is the case for me (and you!), since I don't have any medical issues, take any medications or use any type of harmful chemicals/tools/handling on my hair.

[swetiepeti]

you may be short of B12. It's a bit hard to find for vegans but below does list some sources.
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.htm

You may also be short on protien. Yes I know nuts have protien, but are you doing other forms of protien as well?

You mentioned you were doing nuts. Almonds and Walnuts are two known to be high in Biotin (B7) Swiss Chard is also high. By the way, soy has Biotin, but not soy milk.

Good luck
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Re: Hair falling out :(


I just went vegan not too long ago and my hair is falling out in mass quantities. I'm not sure why, though, because I'd not been eating meat for about a year, and I hadn't been eating too much dairy either, so all I did was cut out the last of my dwindling dairy (occasional cheese stick or yogurt- never milk- and no more eggs). Also, since I'm focusing on eating stuff directly from the earth, I cut out organic cereal, pasta, bread, and anything else that doesn't grow from the ground. Also, I'm focusing on eating it raw instead of cooked, and I added sprouts, seeds, nuts, and mulberries to my diet. I'm eating more vitamins and minerals than ever, so I don't understand why my hair is falling out? It's all organic because of a health condition I have, so there are no chemicals in my food.

[celebriangel]

MSM. I know I'm kind of a broken record but it works wonders for me.

Thank you for your MSM recommendation! I was having a terrible post-birth-control shed and MSM seems to be slowing it.


I just went vegan not too long ago and my hair is falling out in mass quantities. I'm not sure why, though, because I'd not been eating meat for about a year, and I hadn't been eating too much dairy either, so all I did was cut out the last of my dwindling dairy (occasional cheese stick or yogurt- never milk- and no more eggs). Also, since I'm focusing on eating stuff directly from the earth, I cut out organic cereal, pasta, bread, and anything else that doesn't grow from the ground. Also, I'm focusing on eating it raw instead of cooked, and I added sprouts, seeds, nuts, and mulberries to my diet. I'm eating more vitamins and minerals than ever, so I don't understand why my hair is falling out? It's all organic because of a health condition I have, so there are no chemicals in my food.

Yeah...but 1) sometimes, the body absorbs nutrients better when food is cooked. This is because we've been eating cooked food since we invented fire. Go figure. Raw food is great, because some nutrients get destroyed through cooking, but cooking also makes other nutrients easier to absorb. So you really need to eat some cooked food.

2) It looks like you just cut out protein almost entirely from your diet. Which is probably a major cause of your hair loss. Hair is made of protein, and if you're not eating any then your hair will not grow. This, really, is the important bit. Are you eating any protein at all? It doesn't sound like it...

3) Please go to see a doctor specialising in nutrition about this. Surprisingly, all the things that are purported as "healthy" don't actually contain all the things the body needs. It sounds like you could be deficient in several vitamins and minerals as well as protein.

[JDzWife]

SheeJee - I also had the radionuclide iodine done for my thyroid 1-1/2 years ago. I have noticed my hair falling out as you describe and getting very thin. I think the older we get, our hair does fall out a little more.