MAJOR Freak about increased shedding!

[oddelabop]

Hi there everyone!!

I am in a bit of a pickle. For the past say 9 months I have been undergoing and intense amount of emotional stress. I have never before noticed the amount of hair shed but in the last say week I have noticed an increase in the amount of hair shed. During and after a shower I lose approximately 100 + hairs and on a normal day approximately 20 depending on how much I brush my hair.

I am so worried I have Telogen Effluvium. If so being the case, how long do you think it will last? I have never had anything like this before but when I comb my hair (after the shower) hair just hangs down from the main clump of hair and just comes out). It is not breakage because it has a white bulb on it.

I am so worried.. what do you think? Would the pull test show how accurately if this is TE. Is there anything to stop it?

Thanks in advance!

[PolarCathy]

Hi there everyone!!

I am in a bit of a pickle. For the past say 9 months I have been undergoing and intense amount of emotional stress. I have never before noticed the amount of hair shed but in the last say week I have noticed an increase in the amount of hair shed. During and after a shower I lose approximately 100 + hairs and on a normal day approximately 20 depending on how much I brush my hair.

I am so worried I have Telogen Effluvium. If so being the case, how long do you think it will last? I have never had anything like this before but when I comb my hair (after the shower) hair just hangs down from the main clump of hair and just comes out). It is not breakage because it has a white bulb on it.

I am so worried.. what do you think? Would the pull test show how accurately if this is TE. Is there anything to stop it?

Thanks in advance!

I went through this right these weeks. Except for that it went up to 300-400 hairs at its worst. Hair just came out without any resistance. I really freaked out as well, especially because I had lost about half of my hair in 2008 like this, in just a few weeks and I still struggle with that (I never recovered completely). I'm not sure what caused it in my case; it may have been a failed caffeine experiment though. Long story.

Anyhow straight apple cider vinegar on my roots, left on for 20 minutes or so stopped it in a few days. I saw improvement the very first day I tried it. It was organic (unfiltered, unpasteurized), 5% ACV. I applied a thick condish on my length from ears down at the same time, because I find the ACV drying if it gets on my length. Now I'm back to my normal rate (50 is a bad, bad day and my normal rate is 5...25 or so). I did this every day for a few days. I still do it btw, just not every day. Because I want to make sure it's gone...

But wait for more responses, I'm no expert on this. Also I don't know how ACV affects hair in the long run, when applied undiluted.

:grouphug:

[Theobroma]

Losing anything up to 100 hairs per day (or 150, depending on whom you ask) is normal. If you're losing only 20 on a non-wash day that's WAY below the level where you even need to think about worrying!

[oddelabop]

Oh I may try the cider vinegar, but did it not just dry our hair out massively?

I understand that 20 is not a lot at all but this is when I hadnt washed my hair. I know that what is coming out just isnt normal. It is over 100 hairs when i wash it every 3 days and its just making the stres even worse.

Do you know how long you think it will last?

[piffyanne]

My shedding's up now, too, and I'm seeing bulbs on Every Single Strand. I'm glad I'm not dealing with breakage, but it's really unnerving, isn't it? Hope your stress goes away, so your hair can be here to stay. >hug<

[PolarCathy]

Oh I may try the cider vinegar, but did it not just dry our hair out massively?

I understand that 20 is not a lot at all but this is when I hadnt washed my hair. I know that what is coming out just isnt normal. It is over 100 hairs when i wash it every 3 days and its just making the stres even worse.

Do you know how long you think it will last?

OK I misunderstood your post then. I thought that you used to have a rate of 20 a day and now it's up to 100+ (which is still normal, for most people, even though it's scary for me, who never sheds that much)

So ignore what I wrote about the ACV... I used to have up to 25 a day and it went up to 300-400 at its worst. Not comparable. You know, when 25 goes up to 400, I'm thinking, well there is nothing to lose here.. what can be worse... going bald? I go bald anyway if I keep shedding 400 a day, it's just a matter of months then... so if someone had told me to put straight kerosene on my head because that would stop shedding, I would probably have done that, I was so desperate.

Don't worry about your shed please. :flowers: 20 is a very, very low number, really. Even if you do zero manipulation and 20 hairs just fall out, it's a very low number.

And no, it didn't dry out my hair but honestly I didn't care either, I just wanted to stop the shedding at that point, at any cost. Because I can't go through once more what I had to go through in 2008.

[oddelabop]

I will try not to stress- Ironically its probably the stress that is causing it.

I understand the amount is not alot according to 'normal' standards, but for me pulling out clumps of hair every time ishower definitely is not normal! I just hope it stops soon, as I have only recently started de-stressing!!

[Kiwiwi]

Oh, sweetheart. I understand it's very stressful to see such a change in your shedding when you are used to something else.
I'm gonna try and calm your heart a bit.

Say 100 hairs a day is still very average and nothing to be worried about. Then 700 hairs a week would be average. You say you lose 20 a day and 100 on a wash day. You wash your hair every 3 days. So there are 2 wash days for you in a week.
That adds up to 5 x 20 = 100. And 2 x 100 = 200. 200 + 100 = 300 hairs lost per week. I think you see you don't have to really worry :)

I understand that this is not normal for you but you do say you've been under stress lately. So let's just trust that when your stress subsides, so will your shedding.

I hope I've calmed you a bit.

[oddelabop]

Thankyou for calming me! It has worked for now- untilthe next shower!! (Dreading it!) I may have to just never wash my hair and go about life wearing a hat on my head :P

I have only in the past week started de-stressing so I know it is partially to do with that, I can only hope that it stops soon.

Thankyou for your comforting words :) I will update you on what happens.

[emma907]

I've had this last year after my diet changed to no protein (i was in africa living on rice basically) it lasted about 3 months, I tried everything to stop this (at the same time i had alopecia areata totally unrelated to this) I used to wash my hair and handfuls would come out, every time i ran my hands through my hair loads came out. it was very scary!

But then as suddenly as it started it stopped.

From what I read about it it happens when a load of hair in the growth phase suddenly get shocked to the resting phase, so about 2-3 months after that said hairs all shed at the same time.

Telogen affluvium is temporary generally. Im sure it will stop soon! :)