Getting rather frightened during two month hair-up challenge....

[Blackfire]

Ive been keeping it up for about 3 weeks now... I usually keep it up about 60% of the time anyway but Ive been strict with it being up 24 7 while on this challenge. I also went from washing every other day to every three days... my hair is just about apl while striaght, about halfway between sl and apl while clurly, so I though keeping it up would help it grow and be less damaged.... but Im getting a scary huge shed! idk if its just from keeping it up and not letting the loose hairs get away or what but I just washed and when I was oiling beforhand I got two good dime sized balls of hair, and one even bigger when I was running my fingers through the conditioner. after I got out of the tub I put on a little aleo vera and got another little blob of hair...smaller but my hair doesnt usually just keep coming out like that! It seems like when I had it down more I and washed every other day I only got a tiny ball of maybe ten hairs and only when I conditioned it and did my little rake thang.

any ideas as to why this is happening? could it just be from wearing it up and stretching washes or should I be worried? Please and thank you from a fellow hair-grower!

[heidi w.]

Are you detangling daily? We shed every day, and if we miss a day or two, there is usually more hair coming out because of the buildup of shed hairs still hanging around in the head of hair.

Make sure to wear your hair up, location wise on the head, in a slightly different location each day.

Don't pull the hair overly tight.

Hair tends to slide during the day, so you may have to redo the updo. That happens to me fairly commonly.

Otherwise I'm unclear as to why you're losing apparently so much hair. Wearing hair up doesn't usually affect the frequency that one needs to wash the head of hair. Most average people on average is around twice a week. If you're letting the hair washing go for longer than normal, this could be the cause for the uptick in hair loss. I can explain that later, but first I thought I'd let you answer if you're slowing the hair washing frequency down.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I re-read your post and at the very end you describe stretching your hair washes. What is your wash rate currently on this new agenda?

heidi w.

[Becky9679]

Unless your ponytail thickness is visibly reduced I'd say it's very very likely that this is due to wearing hair up constantly and not washing as often. As you say, when we wear our hair up loose hairs that would have shed throughout the day tend to come out all at once when you take down your updo. The process of washing tends to loosen hairs that are ready to shed naturally so if you're doing it less often then again you're causing more hairs to come out at one time. Overall you probably aren't shedding that much and it may well actually be less than you were before.

I think everyone who comes on here goes through their shed paranoia phase, I had it for something like 6 months after joining - there are tons of threads on here from people who are concerned about this and not many actually have a serious problem.

[Blackfire]

Yes I went from washing every other day to every three or four days.... when I wear it up and pull my bangs back I can go longer without washing so I figured why not stretch it?

Hair still seems the same thickness.... havent measured though I will once it dries completely.

Oh, and I do change position and type of bun every day, as well as wich way it was twisted if any twisting was involved.... also I tend to make my buns very loosey goosey so I dont think Im pulling any out with the sticks I use.... the only other things I have changes, is that I used to sleep in a pony loop top knot thingy and now I dont use a pony and just wear a silky sleep cap thing...

you may be right about the paranoia... I lost a LOT of my hair when I was a young teenager due to an autoamune disorder, but it grew back pretty quick and left me with some thin ends for a bit. for some reason it was straight before and then grew back curly.... idk whats up with that, lol. paranoia may be whats up, although now Im dying to know what heidi w has to say about stretching washes.... lol

[coldclarity]

I have similar hair to you I think, and I find the same thing. If I don't wash my hair for longer than normal or wear it up for a long time it seems like I'm losing more hair than normal when I do comb it through. It's because my hairs is curly so I only comb it when I condition it, so most of my shed hair comes out all at once. If it's been a week since I combed it there'll be a lot comes out in the shower. I do lose some through the day if I'm wearing it down, but if it's up all the time it never gets the chance to fall and it just sort of stays wound up in my curls.

[Amber_Maiden]

You are probably shedding at a normal rate- you just notice it more now because you wear your hair up and they get trapped when they shed.

[Blackfire]

I didnt even think of that! LOL the curlies would kinda hold on to the shed wouldnt they? LOL

[Madora]

I didnt even think of that! LOL the curlies would kinda hold on to the shed wouldnt they? LOL

Which would suggest that daily combing would help remove the shed hairs and keep them from tangling up with attached hairs.

You might also want to gently comb out your hair before you shampoo it.

[Maktub]

I agree with coldclarity, don't worry about it !

[melusine963]

Unless your ponytail thickness is visibly reduced I'd say it's very very likely that this is due to wearing hair up constantly and not washing as often. As you say, when we wear our hair up loose hairs that would have shed throughout the day tend to come out all at once when you take down your updo. The process of washing tends to loosen hairs that are ready to shed naturally so if you're doing it less often then again you're causing more hairs to come out at one time. Overall you probably aren't shedding that much and it may well actually be less than you were before.

I think everyone who comes on here goes through their shed paranoia phase, I had it for something like 6 months after joining - there are tons of threads on here from people who are concerned about this and not many actually have a serious problem.

I agree with everything Becky says. I also spent months worrying that my hair was getting thinner from stress. I clean my brush once a week, and everytime I did the hair ball seemed to be bigger than the last. Then I measured my ponytail circumference a few days ago and realised it hadn't actually changed and I had been worrying for nothing. Phew.

[dulce]

My own scalp likes[demands!] a daily wash,if I stretch my washes out I get tons of extra shedding plus a sore scalp.Some people do better on a daily wash,maybe you're one of them?

[dulce]

Also wearing my hair up 24/7 gives me too much constant pressure on my scalp.At home if watching tv or on the computer I wear it down and my scalp feels so much better.I don't pull it back tightly when I put it up.You need to find what works for your hair.All the LH community forum suggestions are great but not all of them will work for everyone everytime.Experiment to see what makes your hair happy!

[heidi w.]

any ideas as to why this is happening? could it just be from wearing it up and stretching washes or should I be worried? Please and thank you from a fellow hair-grower!

If you're stretching hair washes a whole lot longer than once a week, and even if around a week, shedding can increase slightly. The uptick in hair loss is likely more related to your hair washing schedule, and not to wearing hair up.

Here's the thing:

The sebum on the scalp skin builds a bit if you delay washing the hair overly long. And then some kind of bacteria sweeps in and can get into hair follicles and cause the early release of an otherwise healthy hair. This is the simple, simple explanation. It is unwise to extend nonhairwashing for too long for this reason. Maximum, I'd say, is about a week for most people. Washing perhaps twice a week is what most heads of hair need (once an Adult).

Younger people, in their teen years, depending on sport or other physical activity, likely will need to wash nearly daily.

People with hair length such as mine can do a full hair wash at the beginning of a week, then a scalp wash Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, followed by a full hair wash the following weekend.

I am unable to find reliable information for you online. I'm hitting a lot of hair loss forums none of which contain real information.

Anyway, this was explained to me years and years ago by a hair care person that I know somewhat well.

If you're losing clumps of hair and having bald spots, you may actually have an undiagnosed thyroid condition; however, that was not your description. Just that shedding had increased, it seemed to you.

heidi w.

[Silverbrumby]

Thanks for that info Heidi. When I first got here I let my scalp get really dirty by stretching my washes, hoping it would help my dry hair. I noticed.my scalp got sore and I shed a bunch more. I wont do that again.

[Blackfire]

I have hashomotos, but its been in check for years. Most likely not the cause this time!

Heres the good news... I measured my thickness and I PUT ON a quarter inch since I started the challenge.... not sure how it happened, im guessing just thicker because its happier! So I was most likely being poranoid, lol

heidi, that is good to know..... I had no clue that stretching washes could cause hair loss! Im still washing around twice a week or so, so probably not the problem

[Debra83]

If you're stretching hair washes a whole lot longer than once a week, and even if around a week, shedding can increase slightly. The uptick in hair loss is likely more related to your hair washing schedule, and not to wearing hair up.

Here's the thing:

The sebum on the scalp skin builds a bit if you delay washing the hair overly long. And then some kind of bacteria sweeps in and can get into hair follicles and cause the early release of an otherwise healthy hair. This is the simple, simple explanation. It is unwise to extend nonhairwashing for too long for this reason. Maximum, I'd say, is about a week for most people. Washing perhaps twice a week is what most heads of hair need (once an Adult).

Younger people, in their teen years, depending on sport or other physical activity, likely will need to wash nearly daily.

People with hair length such as mine can do a full hair wash at the beginning of a week, then a scalp wash Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, followed by a full hair wash the following weekend.

I am unable to find reliable information for you online. I'm hitting a lot of hair loss forums none of which contain real information.

Anyway, this was explained to me years and years ago by a hair care person that I know somewhat well.

If you're losing clumps of hair and having bald spots, you may actually have an undiagnosed thyroid condition; however, that was not your description. Just that shedding had increased, it seemed to you.

heidi w.

Thanks for the info on this Heidi. I just started wearing my hair up everyday last week, and noticed that I'm not washing every day now either, but every two or three days. I'll keep my eye out for more shedding too, and not get too alarmed it if happens.:o