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View Full Version : Amount of shed hairs, another theory



ilovelonghair
April 3rd, 2012, 07:17 AM
I'm trying to figure out how this is possible:

I have thin-ish hair and I shed like crazy, I find hair everywhere. It's not that I get less and less hair, it has always been this way.
Now compare to my BF, he has 3 or 4 times the amount of hair I have and looses 2 hairs a day (we count). When brushing maybe one comes out, if it comes out. When washing a few more come out, but just very few.

You'd think someome with more hair sheds more, but maybe it has to do with the growth cycle? If someone has a very long cycle, lets say a hair sheds only every 10 years, they would shed less hair a day.

Any thoughts?

CharleaMurphy
April 3rd, 2012, 07:30 AM
That sounds logical.
You hair is probably thinner BECAUSE you shed more, and his thicker as he loses less hairs.

summergreen
April 3rd, 2012, 11:50 AM
You'd think someome with more hair sheds more, but maybe it has to do with the growth cycle? If someone has a very long cycle, lets say a hair sheds only every 10 years, they would shed less hair a day.

Any thoughts?

But they'd have to shed the hairs sometime wouldn't they?! maybe they would have a massive shed every 10 or whatever years when a lot of hairs ended the cycle at once? I'd love to know the answer to this - and whether it's to do with something they do and we don't (if only it could be 'eat more chocolate' or something!). I had a friend who hardly shed any hairs - even when I helped her do henna only about 2 would come out - soooo jealous!

spidermom
April 3rd, 2012, 12:37 PM
I did once see a woman at the grocery store with thin hair in a ponytail that tapered to nothing right about calf length, and I thought that she must shed very few hairs compared to the small animal that comes off my head every week.

Amber_Maiden
April 3rd, 2012, 12:44 PM
Not sure about your theory. I have VERY thick hair and have always shed a TON. I figure the more hair I have the more is likely to be shed. I loose between 100 and 150 hairs a day.

EdG
April 3rd, 2012, 10:14 PM
My theory is that the total length shedded per day remains relatively constant, not the number of hairs shedded per day.

Hairs with a short growth cycle will shed short strands frequently. Hairs with a long growth cycle will shed long strands infrequently.
Ed

Laylah
April 3rd, 2012, 10:40 PM
It would make sense to me that a person with a longer growing cycle would lose less hairs per day.

Think about it this way:
Person A has 100 hairs and person B has 100 hairs.
A has a growing cycle of 50 days and B has a growing cycle of 25.
On average, supposing the hairs are at random stages of growth, A should lose 2 hairs per day and B should lose 4.

Silverbrumby
April 3rd, 2012, 11:10 PM
Most long haired gals I know personally don't lose that much hair everyday. My girlfriend has butt length hair and she is lucky to get even a 1/4 of what I get each day.

My shed was really high and my ponytail had a drastic taper between shoulder and APL. It's improving now, the shedding is decreasing but that's because I started Monistat I think. There is a direct link. I'm now losing only a 1/3 of the hair I did before. In about 6 to 12 month's I should be able to see the difference, if this is helping.

So for me yes, before monistat at I'd turn up at her place and just be pulling out hair everytime I touched or played with it. I'd collect a small ball of about 20 to 30 + hairs to throw in the bin. This was after I had combed my hair in the morning quite well.

ilovelonghair
April 17th, 2012, 10:48 AM
I have a lot of hairs that never grow long, mostly on top on my head. It's strange, I think a third of my hair never reaches a long lenght, it just doesn't get past shoulder lenght. Those hairs would have to shed very fequently. The long ones less, but still I think my hair doesn't have a very long cycle. My terminal lenght is tailbone and only a few hairs can reach that lenght.

pinkb21
April 17th, 2012, 11:06 AM
Is there anything you can do to lessen the amount of shedding you do?!?

ladylowtide
April 17th, 2012, 11:16 AM
I have a lot of medium fine brown hair. I shed between 40 and 60 hairs a day. I have always shed a ton. I need a lint brush for myself... I can't wait until my hair get long enough to go into pretty updos so I can keep it from going everywhere.

jacqueline101
April 17th, 2012, 12:07 PM
My hair sheds and I'm on monstat. I think every once in awhile we shed out our old hairs for new hairs. It depends on when its their time to go.

dwell_in_safety
April 17th, 2012, 12:31 PM
I have thick hair, and shed about 5-10 hairs when I detangle my hair and when I shower, which is roughly 15-50 a day depending on how much I manipulate my hair.

ilovelonghair
April 17th, 2012, 12:31 PM
I shed like crazy, it's amazing I still got hair on my head. But I always shed. Some people have it more seasonal. My boyfriend just started shedding and heaps came out just 2 days ago, whole strands (he says once a year that happens). It's autumn here, maybe that's shedding season? LOL

swearnsue
April 17th, 2012, 06:58 PM
Taking MSM is supposed to help increase the growth phase and decrease shedding. I take 1000mg a day and shed very little. Thank goodness because it is very thin. But I think the MSM is good.

Silverbrumby
April 18th, 2012, 12:22 AM
Taking MSM is supposed to help increase the growth phase and decrease shedding. I take 1000mg a day and shed very little. Thank goodness because it is very thin. But I think the MSM is good.

You seem to have a good, thick amount of hair at the front. I have a friend with amazing hair but her front is thin. Go figure.

Silverbrumby
April 18th, 2012, 12:26 AM
Monistat has decreased my shedding for over 4 weeks now. I'll keep updating here each month but so far this is the only thing thats worked.

BTW, I have no issues continuing Monistat for the rest of my life if this works and gives me a fuller, longer head of hair. I think of it in the same way I do my thyroid meds. If it doesn't work then out it goes.

MinderMutsig
April 18th, 2012, 11:26 AM
I shed like crazy, it's amazing I still got hair on my head. But I always shed. Some people have it more seasonal. My boyfriend just started shedding and heaps came out just 2 days ago, whole strands (he says once a year that happens). It's autumn here, maybe that's shedding season? LOL
I have a yearly shed every spring. Then in the summer my longest hairs stall and the shorter ones catch up and most of my growth is in the winter.

hototogisu
April 18th, 2012, 11:55 AM
Have you had a workup with your GP to rule out any medical causes of your hair loss? Unfortunately, many doctors don't take womens' hair loss seriously, but there are a number of medical causes of all this shedding. Be prepared to be your own advocate. You'll probably be given an order for some bloodwork, but don't stop there. Ask for a referral to a dermatologist.

I've found using the three step Nioxin system enormously effective, as well as coming off the hormonal birth control I was using (though not all HBC causes hair loss, and I used Implanon for 10 years straight without a break), quitting dye, and taking saw palmetto + a prenatal. Other women have had great success using Minoxidil, aka Rogaine.

Good luck!

Amethyste
April 18th, 2012, 01:08 PM
I did once see a woman at the grocery store with thin hair in a ponytail that tapered to nothing right about calf length, and I thought that she must shed very few hairs compared to the small animal that comes off my head every week.

OMG! That made me laugh!! :D

ilovelonghair
April 22nd, 2012, 09:33 AM
What's MSM? Monistat? I used that and it didn't work.