Combing causing excessive shedding?

[SoulOfTheSea]

Hello there,

So, when I first joined the LHC, I had already been an avid user of the boar bristle brush, and would pre-detangle my hair before showers by finger-combing and then using my BBB. If I felt my hair had a few loose hairs or needed to be smoothed when it was just regular and dry, I would use my BBB. But this Christmas, I bought the Body Shop wooden detangling comb and have been using that non-stop for detangling my hair the day after I wash, and at the end of every day.

At first, it felt great to comb and massage my scalp and get my hair nice and detangled, but now I'm starting to notice that my hair has thinned significantly, and that when I comb my hair I lose SO much hair, like maybe 30 or more. What's scary is that I have become addicted to having tangle-free hair constantly, it just feels so good.

I don't want to keep losing so much hair, but I also hate tangles. One thing that I have considered is maybe combing while in the shower while my conditioner is in my hair? This would definitely help my wave pattern, which just loves to disappear after I comb it...But does combing in the shower make you lose more hair? I've heard that it does and I'm not quite sure what to believe.

Help? :confused:

[Hollyfire3]

I don't think combs make you loose more hair. I think it just looks like this because combs have no where to store the shed hair, it just floats and you see it. On a brush, you never can see exactly how much hair you loose. I comb all the time, I hardly brush, ever, my hair has not thinned out at all (knocks on wood) I'm sure its fine to comb, if done right, its gentler than a brush.:)

[akilina]

I am in the same boat! Every time I brush or comb I feel like I shed a lot. And I cant stand the feeling of my hair being tangled around my neck. I also cant stand wearing my hair up so that isn't an option of keeping it untangled. I just use a regular brush and brush carefully from ends to root. This seems to help the shedding :) goodluck!

[Silverbrumby]

Hello there,

So, when I first joined the LHC, I had already been an avid user of the boar bristle brush, and would pre-detangle my hair before showers by finger-combing and then using my BBB. If I felt my hair had a few loose hairs or needed to be smoothed when it was just regular and dry, I would use my BBB. But this Christmas, I bought the Body Shop wooden detangling comb and have been using that non-stop for detangling my hair the day after I wash, and at the end of every day.

At first, it felt great to comb and massage my scalp and get my hair nice and detangled, but now I'm starting to notice that my hair has thinned significantly, and that when I comb my hair I lose SO much hair, like maybe 30 or more. What's scary is that I have become addicted to having tangle-free hair constantly, it just feels so good.

I don't want to keep losing so much hair, but I also hate tangles. One thing that I have considered is maybe combing while in the shower while my conditioner is in my hair? This would definitely help my wave pattern, which just loves to disappear after I comb it...But does combing in the shower make you lose more hair? I've heard that it does and I'm not quite sure what to believe.

Help? :confused:

When my shedding gets to me I use my tangle teaser and/or BBB. It hides the amount of shed hair and I don't notice the shed.

Combing shows everything. Every. Single. Strand. Go back to bbb for a week and see the difference.

[Littlewing13]

I hold the hair higher up to prevent unnecessary strain on the roots when I comb. Brushing is worse for me though. Roughs up the cuticle. I also only comb on wet hair directly after a shower or brush with a TT on dry hair.

losing 80 - 150 hairs per day is normal shed & is nothing to worry about. As silverbrumby says, you probably just didn't notice before.

If you're really freaked out try a cassia treatment, works wonders for me :)

[HintOfMint]

Hello there,

So, when I first joined the LHC, I had already been an avid user of the boar bristle brush, and would pre-detangle my hair before showers by finger-combing and then using my BBB. If I felt my hair had a few loose hairs or needed to be smoothed when it was just regular and dry, I would use my BBB. But this Christmas, I bought the Body Shop wooden detangling comb and have been using that non-stop for detangling my hair the day after I wash, and at the end of every day.

At first, it felt great to comb and massage my scalp and get my hair nice and detangled, but now I'm starting to notice that my hair has thinned significantly, and that when I comb my hair I lose SO much hair, like maybe 30 or more. What's scary is that I have become addicted to having tangle-free hair constantly, it just feels so good.

I don't want to keep losing so much hair, but I also hate tangles. One thing that I have considered is maybe combing while in the shower while my conditioner is in my hair? This would definitely help my wave pattern, which just loves to disappear after I comb it...But does combing in the shower make you lose more hair? I've heard that it does and I'm not quite sure what to believe.

Help? :confused:

How do you mean your hair has thinned significantly? Is it flatter/less voluminous? Or is your ponytail circumference actually smaller? Or are you just noticing more shed hairs in your comb?

If you're ripping the comb through your hair, it is possible that you're yanking/breaking hair, leading to some thinning. If that's the case, I would suggest working from the bottom up, using the comb to identify the more difficult tangles that would be better to remove with fingers.

It may be affecting your wave pattern since you're using it throughout the day which may be removing volume--something to be confused with actual thinning.

Just some thoughts.

[SoulOfTheSea]

When my shedding gets to me I use my tangle teaser and/or BBB. It hides the amount of shed hair and I don't notice the shed.

Combing shows everything. Every. Single. Strand. Go back to bbb for a week and see the difference.

That sounds like a good plan, I shall try that.


How do you mean your hair has thinned significantly? Is it flatter/less voluminous? Or is your ponytail circumference actually smaller? Or are you just noticing more shed hairs in your comb?

If you're ripping the comb through your hair, it is possible that you're yanking/breaking hair, leading to some thinning. If that's the case, I would suggest working from the bottom up, using the comb to identify the more difficult tangles that would be better to remove with fingers.

It may be affecting your wave pattern since you're using it throughout the day which may be removing volume--something to be confused with actual thinning.

Just some thoughts.

I mean thinned significantly because my mom and my sisters always point out how much thinner my hair has gotten, and it just seems like more hair is coming out, even when I'm not using a comb. My braids are much thinner now, and my mom loves to point it out.