So...Am I Crazy (counting shed hairs)

[fayeelizibeth]

So, for no particular reason, I started counting my shed hairs when I brush it at night (before I braid it for bed).

So far it’s hovered around 25-35. I figure I may loose a few odd hairs that I don’t count over the course of the day, but if it’s up, that’s obviously minimized (and it’s often up). Is that about normal? I take Biotin, and that may affect the amount shed, right? So my 'real' shed rate may be higher...

So I brush and then pick the hairs out of my brush (a Tangle Teezer! Thanks for the recommendation, LHC!:D) and then I look at them to determine if they are sheds or breakage (to see if I can find the ‘scalp end’ of the hair…what’s that called?), they are usually sheds, like 9 out of 10.

And then, the part that may be crazy (oh yeah, like it wasn’t crazy before this paragraph) I save it…I have no purpose in mind for this saved hair (I don’t currently plan on making a Victorian hair rat, although I may, I suppose) I just save it in this little plastic ball (from a vending machine, I think originally there was a little plastic dinosaur in it :p). I kinda want a hair receiver to keep on my nightstand (now that I am aware of their existence; LHC is such a fountain of knowledge I never knew I needed!:p). My (near non-existent) reasoning is that “I grew it! I want to keep it!” which is, when I think about it, definitely weird.

My husband thinks this is sorta gross, but not so much that he has asked me to stop (yet :rolleyes:).

And last night, I rolled all the hairs together to see how thick they all were together. Well, about 25 of my hairs make about the thickness of embroidery floss, maybe a little less...and then I thought I could embroider with it! LOL :) I'm blaming the tiredness for that one, although I did see someone do something like that somewhere on the internet...

So, I guess the whole point of this was to see if anyone else counts/saves their sheds. What do you do with them, if anything? And, am I crazy (lol):p? (oh, and, I wanted to tell someone about this strange hair behavior, but the 'hair muggles' would definitely think this was odd :D).

[Yozhik]

No, it's not strange! I shed so much that I keep on thinking to myself that I should just collect all of the sheds from one day to see how many there are . . . as it is, they create huge nests in my trashcan, and I get embarrassed whenever we have company over.

As for what you could do with them . . . well, I was watching a video that Heidi W. posted on youtube, and there was a commenter who said that she's buy Heidi's sheds from over the course of the year if she collected them and washed them. Strange, huh? I mean, I guess it's the same principle as selling hair that you cut from your head, but still.

Not that I am seriously recommending going that route - I just wanted to mention I guess it's one thing that people do with sheds.

Other than that . . . a rat, like you already mentioned.

Or for doing strand tests! I also think Piggy was collecting hers to make clip-in extensions (and dye them blue), so if you want clip-in highlights, that's another option. :)

I'm keeping a small bundle of my sheds in a little locket somewhere, in case I ever want to be reminded that I had long hair, and of what color my hair was (for presumably after I go grey). But then again, I also want to cut off my braid and keep it, so clearly I'm not weirded out by keeping hair for mementos. :p

[joflakes]

I count....I have yet to start to keep! So no you're not mad just yet :)

[Tisiloves]

I keep (but don't count) mine for henna tests and maybe later a hair rat.

[Strelitzia]

I've only been counting recently as I've had the BIGGEST, most horrible shed ever - didn't bother to keep count after I passed 200 in a day! Thankfully it seems to have stopped now- was actually worried that I was going to lose it all!

But I think it's an interesting thing to do sometimes, just to see what your average shed is and if you see the hair all massed together, it helps to guess what you lose in the shower etc. And it's kinda fun sometimes - I also admit to thinking of using it to sew with :p

[spookyghost]

I have been keeping some in a baggy to count so I know if my shedding is bad or not. But how on earth do you count them? I dont know if its because my hair is fine but I pull some apart and have such a hard time getting one hair to start the count!

[fayeelizibeth]

I have been keeping some in a baggy to count so I know if my shedding is bad or not. But how on earth do you count them? I dont know if its because my hair is fine but I pull some apart and have such a hard time getting one hair to start the count!

I pluck them out of my brush one by one :p
I have fine hair too and sometimes it's hard to see them, but I squint at the brush and hold it in front of my black pillowcase, which makes them show up a little better :D.

[MeowScat]

The "scalp end" hair...do you mean the root?

I recently started counting and keeping my shed hairs. I'm going to try to make a hair rat one day (when I have enough). My hair is so fine and limp that when I pull it back into a half-up, it looks too flat on top. Maybe a hair rat would give it a little oomph.

It's also good for strand tests for color, porosity and maybe even to try different shampoos, conditioners and oil on. I keep mine in my hairtoy drawer, but I should put them in a paper bag to keep the dust off. I know it's been recommended to not keep them in an air tight container or ziplock bag because of potential moisture / mold. Yucky.

So, if you're weird, then I'm weird too! Time to wave our Freak Flag proudly!

:cheese:

[woolyleprechaun]

I keep them. I turned the latest collection into a small dreadlock for absolutely NO reason. Its sitting on my shelf looking sinister, but I dont have the heart do do anything with it :)

[PolarCathy]

I generally just eyeball it. However, a few weeks ago I had some sudden and pretty horrible shed that really freaked me out, then I counted up to 100 and eyeballed the rest and figured it's at least 300 if not 400 hairs a day. Now I'm back to my normal rate and I don't count anymore. Keeping them I find weird ;)

[Ocelan]

I've collected them for about a month in the purpose of making a hair rat or something similar. I like the idea of bold colored clip-ins too though. I don't count but the amount hasn't seemed like much anyway so far.

[SongofLove]

I definitely try to count every now and then after I've combed to see how many hairs I've lost. Never thought to keep the shed hairs though---I think it's a great idea actually. I want to try henna someday and it would be good to have some sample hair to test it on.

[henné]

To answer the question in the name of your thread ;) : Yes, you are crazy counting your shed hairs - definitely by the real world (non-LHC) standards ;)

I've personally never counted my shed hairs. It would probably depress me or I would start freaking out or whatever ... Instead, I just try to take a good care of my hair and once I see that I'm loosing WAY more hair than normally (you can usually just see it in the amount of hairs by the drain of the shower or after brushing my hair), I start investigating.

No, you're not really crazy, just a mild case of hair-OCD that I think we all have to some degree on this forum. :cheese:

[lolot]

I shed a lot :( and i have counted but normally i try to ignore them because that make me feel really scared, i would never keep them since they remind me im shedding so i try to avoid them

[Strelitzia]

I keep them. I turned the latest collection into a small dreadlock for absolutely NO reason. Its sitting on my shelf looking sinister, but I dont have the heart do do anything with it :)

Hahaha! I love the idea of it looking sinister! :D I know what you mean though - I had a whole ball of hair from a bad shed day sitting on the sink and it looked so ominous, a real hairball of doom! Not so tough once it was in the bin!!:p

[Dragon Faery]

I count, fairly obsessively, but I haven't started keeping any yet. If I did, it would probably be for a rat. Although you could probably get a good pillow out of it eventually...

[Jing]

I saved all my sheds, including shower ones, for a few months to give to a friend with dreadlocks. She collects hair from all her friends (and some relatives) and uses it to make extensions for her dreads. Usually she raids or asks for the contents of people's hair brushes, but I only comb my hair, so I had to gather my sheds intentionally for her. I didn't count them, though. I only counted my shed hairs in the shower once to get an idea of how much I shed.

[curlyhair]

Me too , I Started To Count since May and i Noticed 2 Things:
1. I lose from 45 to 70 hairs a day except wash days i lose over 100 , is this too much or this is normal?
2. when i comb my hair right after i wake up i lose twice i lose if i let it for an hour then comb it.
( I wash my hair twice a week using olive oil shampoo bar diluted with warm water then pour it over and over my hair while my head over the sink)

[meeliah]

On days that I've had my hair up, I'm very careful to eyeball what I pull off my comb and out of my BBB to make sure I'm not having an increase in hair loss. I also keep a close eye on what I pull out of the drain.

I've never actually counted the hairs though, but I try to estimate it. My hubby things its so weird when I hold out a hair ball and ask him if he thinks it looks closer to 30 or closer to 50 hairs, but I have to because he's really good at estimates.

I have wanted to do a hair rat for awhile, but this thread has got me stoked to do clip on extensions died a weird color. Maybe I'll do the drain ones for a hair rat and the comb ones for extensions. :D

You guys are so awesome.

[akilina]

You are totally not crazy.
I don't count my shed hairs because that would just be one more thing for me to stress over.
I do let all the hairs collect in my brush though and every few months I will clean it out and wad it up and play with it then toss it somewhere.

[Tinyponies]

2012 - 2019!
Love this! Had never heard of hair rats before. I don’t see the point in finding keeping hairs creepy actually, there’s far worse things around that we take for granted!
I just started saving my sheds and will def carry on now and then make something cool out of them

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Maybe :laugh: I kept mine for a while and made this out of them: Quite fun to have.

https://i.imgur.com/8svlpF0.jpg

[Katsura]

I don't count and I don't keep my shed hairs, I've never thought I'd keep them. But I don't think it's mad or gross.
I might start keeping them and... I don't know... make another doll that my DS finds creepy. :D

[Tinyponies]

Crikes Sarahlabyrinth that is awesome! !!!

[spidermom]

It would be crazy for me if I started counting hairs, but apparently it's normal for other personality types.

[MusicalSpoons]

It's entirely in keeping with my personality to count shed hairs, but I don't have the energy :laugh:

My Mum saw someone advertising hair brooches on Facebook marketplace - not antique, but handmade entirely bare hair bows stuck on a brooch clip. I think before my time on LHC I'd have been toe-curlingly grossed out, but even now despite my rational brain saying 'it's probably perfectly clean' it just ... it didn't sit well with me! I think keeping one's own hair to use yourself is generally seen as a bit weird but actually kind of makes sense, to me. Keeping it to make hair jewellery for other people feels very different.

(Sarah that's awesome!)

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Crikes Sarahlabyrinth that is awesome! !!!


It's entirely in keeping with my personality to count shed hairs, but I don't have the energy :laugh:

My Mum saw someone advertising hair brooches on Facebook marketplace - not antique, but handmade entirely bare hair bows stuck on a brooch clip. I think before my time on LHC I'd have been toe-curlingly grossed out, but even now despite my rational brain saying 'it's probably perfectly clean' it just ... it didn't sit well with me! I think keeping one's own hair to use yourself is generally seen as a bit weird but actually kind of makes sense, to me. Keeping it to make hair jewellery for other people feels very different.

(Sarah that's awesome!)

I figured that if I ever had a day when I wanted to wear extra hair, I may as well wear my own hair rather than somebody else's. I probably only wear it once a year, but it's fun to have, almost like a cut ponytail as a souvenir of long hair.

[Cate36]

I count when I wash for sure.. about 20-30.. but during the day my hair is down and I shed as a move around.. not massively.. but if I run my hand through my hair 2/3 hairs will come out.. so it's hard to keep track.. it's complete paranoia for me, because I have lost hair thickness... it is thickening nicely on my head now my diet etc has changed, but I wish I could keep everything I have now and just thicken! I WISH there was a way to do that.. :)

[-Fern]

Honestly, my outlook is that the only way to reduce shedding anyhow is to be gentle with my hair, which is desirable for the overall quality anyhow, so I may as well aim to be as gentle as possible without dwelling on it.

I also understand that some people may be trying to make comparisons, see how things change with different products, etc. So I can see how it would be useful for some, just not for me. :o

[lapushka]

I never count. I would go bananas. :lol: I shed a lot; a lot. No wonder, I "just" finger detangle throughout the week, to get some sheds out. I separate strands (halve the hair over my shoulders, then cut every part into three with my fingers and "stroke" the hair to get sheds out). I don't "comb" through with the fingers (way too harsh). This way I sort of... sort of, keep the texture from dropping out too fast and preserve my stylers in my hair for the week.

Then at the end of the week I detangle pre-wash dry with a TT brush and lose a big palm full of hair. Then I wash, lose another palm full, and then I wet (damp, toweldry hair) detangle and lose another big palmful. But then I don't brush or comb throughout the week, so it's only normal.

As long as I don't lose circumference, it's fine!

I don't tend to freak out about it too much.
It is what it is.

[Tinyponies]

Maybe :laugh: I kept mine for a while and made this out of them: Quite fun to have.

https://i.imgur.com/8svlpF0.jpg

Dear Sarahlabyrinth what did you use to secure the hairs at the top?

[Doreen]

Victorians used to embroider and make jewelry with shed hair or deceased people's hair, I believe. I don't count mine but I did save it for a while just to see how much I was losing.

And Sarahlabyrinth that is awesome!!!!

[blackgothicdoll]

I don't count, but I do a rough ratio of how many broken hairs I'm seeing and how many are shed. And then I promptly discard it. I do not like hair once it is no longer on my head! lol

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Dear Sarahlabyrinth what did you use to secure the hairs at the top?

It's just a small loop of cord, the weft of hair is wound around the base of it in a spiral fashion and sewn firmly.


Victorians used to embroider and make jewelry with shed hair or deceased people's hair, I believe. I don't count mine but I did save it for a while just to see how much I was losing.

And Sarahlabyrinth that is awesome!!!!

Thanks :D

[Tinyponies]

Katsura the only doll I ever made (crochet) was proclaimed creepy too! I thought she was lovely. No human hair was involved! Just you wait, my dear family

[Katsura]

Katsura the only doll I ever made (crochet) was proclaimed creepy too! I thought she was lovely. No human hair was involved! Just you wait, my dear family

Yay, another creepy-doll maker. :D :hifive: The idea of using my own hair kind of stuck indeed. :D

[bparnell75]

I haven't started counting yet. but I talk to them. I fuss at them for deserting me. I have a receding hair line and almost bald patches over both ears. I do keep the ones I have gotten from my brush. have done this all my life. the singles are driving me nuts they are every where. all my clothes, food, all my furniture, th car. bottoms of chairs vacuum cleaner -even underwear. Disgusting!!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4505/37053933534_42cae0e33e.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4455/37053931984_f804e32996.jpg

[lapushka]

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4455/37053931984_f804e32996.jpg

So what do you do with these? :)

[Cate36]

Counting is almost driving me insane because I am So worried that my pony is getting thinner, not thicker, despite doing everything I can for my hair and health. I washed my hair last night and had a heap come out..I don't know. 50 strands easily... which seeing as my hair is compromised and so so much thinner than it was, is just devastating. I need to brush my hair to make it look OK for the day, and it's stressing me to do so, because of course, more hair comes out when I brush. And then I look back at photos from the beginning of last year, and can see how much thicker my hair was then compared to now. I'm seeing a trichologist today for an assessment,.. but meanwhile, the fear and panic of it all is overwhelming me and that is obviously not making the situation any better :( . The only thing I have not checked is hormones because my doc is away until the 29th..

[Ylva]

Counting is almost driving me insane because I am So worried that my pony is getting thinner, not thicker, despite doing everything I can for my hair and health. I washed my hair last night and had a heap come out..I don't know. 50 strands easily... which seeing as my hair is compromised and so so much thinner than it was, is just devastating. I need to brush my hair to make it look OK for the day, and it's stressing me to do so, because of course, more hair comes out when I brush. And then I look back at photos from the beginning of last year, and can see how much thicker my hair was then compared to now. I'm seeing a trichologist today for an assessment,.. but meanwhile, the fear and panic of it all is overwhelming me and that is obviously not making the situation any better :( . The only thing I have not checked is hormones because my doc is away until the 29th..

Your hair might just be getting sleeker as you care for it and thus it might seem like your ponytail circumference is getting smaller, while it's actually just your strands laying closer to one another.

Don't worry, your hair is growing out healthy all the time. One day the damage will be gone and you'll have your old hair back. :)

[Cate36]

Your hair might just be getting sleeker as you care for it and thus it might seem like your ponytail circumference is getting smaller, while it's actually just your strands laying closer to one another.

Don't worry, your hair is growing out healthy all the time. One day the damage will be gone and you'll have your old hair back. :)

Thank you Yiva :blossom::blossom:

I went to see the trichologist.. who told me to calm down.. that my hair looked fine. She did a major close up of the strands on the scalp, she said that on the back of my hair they look really strong and thick.. they are a little bit thinner at the front, but she said it could just be my natural hairline.. and the part looks OK. maybe a little wider than it could be.. but nothing that signified a major issue at the moment..and.. they could help with that over a period of 6-8 months if I wanted to go ahead. The treatment is scalp detoxes, and herbs.. once a month.. for 6-8 months... so I'm going to give it a go. I asked about shedding and how often we should wash.. she said washing daily even is not an issue for the scalp.. that shedding would be more because of my stress.. but if I was fixing the vitamin issues that it should be OK.. the only thing left to do now is a hormone check...

[tuanyiji]

I collect and sort my shed every day, I group them into 5cm intervals, and tie them up once a group reaches 10 hairs (I used various colorful digital counters). Every month I will make a list on how many hair I shed on each group and then get the average shedding amount per day. This is actually very therapeutic.
All the shed hair hand tying projects are posted in my blog here: https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/blog.php?u=94872&blogcategoryid=3640

[paulownia]

To each their own:D
People collect and count shed hair and it's not crazy. Just a hobby, perhaps?
I don't. Don't collect, don't count, as soon as they left my head I'm not interested in them:D. They end up in the sewer.

[Jovana]

There is a brazilian guy whose collect shed hair for years. :D The normal shedding is above 100, but it's relative, depends of your hair density. Someone with dense hair, have more sheding (turning 200 easily normal) than someone with low density (40 can be a huge quantity).

[Sneaksuperstar]

I don't find what you're doing weird at all! I save the hairs I shed to see if certain pre-poo treatments I do may be causing excessive shedding. I also try to save the hairs I shed when I wash my hair to check up on its health and see if I need to make adjustments to my routine because of possible increased shedding.

[spidermom]

It would still be a sign that I've gone completely off my rocker if I started counting or saving shed hairs.

I have a crafting table in my laundry room. There's a mirror and sink in my laundry room also, and that's where I comb and style my hair for the day. There are things under the crafting table pushed against the wall, and every so often I pull everything out to clean under there. I'm always completely flabbergasted to see how much shed hair collects under there. Good lord; it's a wonder I'm not bald.