Constant breakage

[Jessfoz]

Hey
I'm sure there have been many complaints and call for advice from people regarding hair breakage but often there have been some obvious causes and answers. Like many on here I hung around LHC for a long time, for about a year before I really started posting and more actively tried to care for my hair. So I had known about most of the methods on here, harshness of shampoo and all about cones and CWC/CO washing and had stopped straightening and colouring my hair long ago.

But for the past couple of months it seems my hair, which had a very long way to go in that year to improve, has taken massive leaps backwards. I had to grow it out a lot and it seemed heaps better, still dry though. My hair now just keeps breaking, to be honest it just seems 'angry'. I don't straighten, colour, I try handling it more carefully, although sometimes I am reckless and can wake up with some knots but this surely couldn't account for its hugely diminished state. But I am guilty of just tying it up hastily or doing a quick bun and not brushing. I take supplements, prenatal and hair, skin, nails. It's scary how much can fall out in the shower, it's just falling down all over my shoulders, big clumps. When it's worn down I always feel loose hairs. Since I've noticed this I've stopped using shampoo and silicone conditioners, upped the SMTs. It hasn't stopped. (I had done this before but went back to using Salon products for a while there) I can't help but feel perhaps it's internal? Perhaps a thyroid problem? Or not enough protein in my diet. I have tried some homemade protein treatments, no vast difference.

It does seem to tangle more now since being cone free. Since it's like this though, I've noticed I seem less inclined to brush it much, I hate seeing the hair come out. I feel I can almost hear it snap. It can get quite dry, I live in Northern Aus so it's really hot and humid, tropical, here all year round. I feel quite disheartened, all the time, effort and money, to treat and care for my hair feels wasted.

Appologies for such a long post. :( Sick of researching products/home treatments and nothing really eventuating, would be nice to get some feedback from people who might have an idea? :rolleyes: Cheers

[bumblebums]

Regardless of what the "best recommended practices" are for other people, it may be that the no-cone thing isn't for you. I would try to go back to the routine and products that were working for you in the past and see if things don't improve.

Since you mention having straightened in the past, though, I would venture a guess that your hair might be already quite damaged. If so, trimming it off gradually might be the only realistic option.

Finally, routines and products might not be responsible for your hair falling out in clumps. That is more likely to be due to health issues...

[spidermom]

If you've been following good hair care for a year, that means that from scalp to about 6 inches is in good condition. The rest was damaged before, and as it gets older, it gets worse.

I agree with going back to the last routine/products that worked for you and comparing. (Personally, I don't like being cone-free; it is much harder to detangle.) And trim regularly. Eventually that damage will be history.

[Jessfoz]

Hey bumble :) I thought it might be the silicone absence too - but it was the severe breakage which prompted the cone free routine. I haven't straightened since late 2009 now after which, early 2010 I chopped short and started with regular trims and now am at 22 in. I went cone free for a while but finding the conditioners was tough, since found a few more cheap onces though. That said, I have thought perhaps of trying to go back and seeing if I notice anything.

Thought about seeing a Dr too, not keen, hoping its something external I can resolve.

[Madora]

Perhaps a checkup is in order? You might have anemia or thyroid issues.

Also, since your hair seems to be in a fragile state, I'd recommend fingercombing it every day, followed by gentle detangling from the ends up..with a wide tooth comb.

It isn't a good idea to let you hair go w/o some kind of detangling every day. Hair that is not detangled tends to tangle even worse..and then detangling it creates even more damage.

Even though your hair is comparatively short, you might want to look into wearing a snood to confine it. I'd stay away from ponytails for the time being. If it is long enough to braid, then 2 loose braids might help.

Many here use silk pillowcase covers to protect their delicate ends while sleeping.

Also, maybe a humidifier in your room might help.

Good luck!

[turtlelover]

One other possibility is an imbalance of female hormones vs. testosterone -- if the testosterone gets too high, you can lose hair. This is what happens in PCOS. I would want to rule out that disorder, too, if I had extensive hair loss, along with the thyroid and anemia possibilities.

[heidi w.]

You profess that sometimes your hair is falling out in droves, in clumps. This can be a sign of a thyroid condition, and the ONLY way to rule that problem out is to get a thyroid check, which is a relatively simple blood test. Us here on LHC can suggest all kinds of other possibilities, but a medical condition is not something that we can help you with. Only a qualified physician can help rule that out. There are 2 kinds of thyroid conditions. Both have symptoms that show in the hair. Even a borderline case can prove problematic.

IF you have such a condition, your hair will eventually grow back once the medication for it is all settled. It's my understanding that it can be a little bit of trial and error before the right medication, dosage, and timing of dosing can be settled upon as reliable.

PLUS hair tends to have a delayed reaction. Because hair may be behaving a particular way right now, doesn't mean the cause is right now. It could be a response to something that occurred as far back as 3 months ago, or 4 months ago. There's typically a 2-3 month delay for hair to respond.

IF you had damage in your hair previously, such as, let's say you flat ironed (which you did NOT say you did), you could have a volume of white dots (which is a burst hair cuticle) and hair can specifically break off right at the point the white dot is. Those who flat iron daily have boatloads of white dots, and eventually they can experience hair breaking off easily, a lot, with just a swipe of their hand through the hair.

IF you're in less than 6 months window of time with recovery from past hair damage, you've got a while to wait. It can take as much as 2 years before that damage is finally all removed from the hair.

All you can do is check the medical, rule that out, and take good care of your hair, and consider small trims along the way to remove damage. This might mean that your growth rate for gaining length is somewhat slowed down, but it's kind of no good to have long hair that contains a lot of damage.

Just kind of FYI stuff, that I wasn't clear if you knew or not. Hopefully this post is some kind of help.

heidi w.

I also concur with Madora.

[heidi w.]

One other possibility is an imbalance of female hormones vs. testosterone -- if the testosterone gets too high, you can lose hair. This is what happens in PCOS. I would want to rule out that disorder, too, if I had extensive hair loss, along with the thyroid and anemia possibilities.

Anemia can mean a chronic increase in hair loss. Losing a bit more than normal is what happens in anemia, not losing clumps of hair, though.

They claim that losing up to 100 hair strands a day is considered normal.

I'd also conduct an evaluation of your diet, and ensure you're getting enough protein.

heidi w.

[jacqueline101]

I'd go back to your old routine and products see what that does.

[HelloKitteh]

I take supplements, prenatal and hair, skin, nails.
I hope that's not too nosy, but are you pregnant? Or trying to, and if yes, have you been trying for a while? What are the vitamins and minerals? Do you have enough natural iron in your diet? (would be from meats, liver, more than from plants) Have you been on any sort of diet since the last time your hair was normal?

[Jessfoz]

Thanks heaps, this is useful, enough that I will go and see a doctor and try and get a blood check.

I'm still breastfeeding my 1yo daughter, so just continued the prenatal/lactating supplements rather than switching to a multivitamin. I've already had a bit of a postpartum shed so I don't think it's that. Although I do BodyPump (resistance training) and I'm now strongly suspecting that this extra strain for protein could be the problem as, although I try getting more protein (incorporating protein shakes and more chicken, yogurt, meat) I know I don't always get my reccommended intake.

With a thyroid problem, would this be hair falling as opposed to snapping (this is what I've been having). This further adds to the case for the protein defficiency...

Cheers, I'll get in to see a doc and let you know, thanks for the wise words :)

[Starry_Eyed]

Thanks heaps, this is useful, enough that I will go and see a doctor and try and get a blood check.

I'm still breastfeeding my 1yo daughter, so just continued the prenatal/lactating supplements rather than switching to a multivitamin. I've already had a bit of a postpartum shed so I don't think it's that. Although I do BodyPump (resistance training) and I'm now strongly suspecting that this extra strain for protein could be the problem as, although I try getting more protein (incorporating protein shakes and more chicken, yogurt, meat) I know I don't always get my reccommended intake.

With a thyroid problem, would this be hair falling as opposed to snapping (this is what I've been having). This further adds to the case for the protein defficiency...

Cheers, I'll get in to see a doc and let you know, thanks for the wise words :)

I hate to even bring this up, but it was around your age that my hair became a lot more fragile due to the natural aging process. (boo!) Which seems crazy, because 25 is still super young! I asked my mom questions though and this is when her hair started thinning out and becoming more fragile too. I would certainly talk to a doctor and try the suggestions people posted for you before chalking it up to age though since everyone is different. Good luck!

[Silverbrumby]

Thyroid disease doesn't involve chunks of hair 'breaking off' but loss of hair at the scalp. What I've noticed is when I don't brush it often or handle it rarely that sometimes it feels like I'm losing tons of hair when I'm not really. What for me is happening is that with very little manipulation my lose hairs mainly come out in the shower. It might be different for you but I'd try the following:

* Get the iron and thyroid blood tests done
* Get a satin pillow slip for helping the hair gets less tangled at night
* Wide tooth comb out before bed and braid or bun it. Wide tooth comb first thing in the morning then boar bristle brush, a few drops of oil on the length it before braiding it or wearing it up.

I use cones on my hair and it likes them. I love using Marrakesh oil which I got from Amazon. One last thing. I had two babies and the shedding went on for over 6 months for me.