please help!!!!

[gecko52]

hey. I'm new here, and maybe not even in the right forum, but you guys seem to know a lot about hair!!! I am very worried because lately lots of small thin hairs fall out when I shower. and after i brush my hair some long hairs fall out on my hand if I run my fingers through my hair. I don't have hair on my pillow when I wake up, or only a couple at most, and I don't seem to lose excessive amounts of hair at other times. i am just worried because I have read that short hairs could be related to stress hair loss. I have been stressed for month's!! I am so scared that it will continue and I'll go bald. I have been using head and shoulders for months and have heard this can cause hair loss too. will other people be able to notice? will it ever stop? I am so worried!!!

[Bene]

I think stress hair loss would affect strands of all lengths, not just the short ones.


If it's not excessive, it's possible that it's just normal shedding. The short hairs could be hair that had broken off at some point, and it just happens to be their turn to shed. Do you have any other stress related symptoms?

[lapushka]

If you're female, then it's important to get bloodwork done if the shedding is excessive. Not just a couple hairs here and there, like you described, but chunks, and/or constant shedding. Iron levels might be low, it's very common. If you're male, I don't have any advice to offer. Might be the start of balding, IDK. Could be anything. And what you're describing might even be perfectly normal shedding, AFAIK.

[heidi w.]

Losing up to 100 hairs per day is in the range of normal. I'd guess you are probably not shedding as much as you might think, also. I would work on addressing the core problem, the stress, and see if you can't lower the amount of stress you have. This may require really examining things such as ideas about perfectionism, which in my mind is really a form of failure so much of the time. I would also just practice good hair washing techniques such as detangling your hair each time before a hair wash so most of the shed hair comes out before you hit the shower. And then in time, you can cease freaking out over this. It will stop if you apply yourself to the stress issue; I can attest it takes a real effort, and it can be hard to overcome, but it's do-able by anyone who persists.

Your hair will recuperate.
heidi w.

[heidi w.]

If you're female, then it's important to get bloodwork done if the shedding is excessive. Not just a couple hairs here and there, like you described, but chunks, and/or constant shedding. Iron levels might be low, it's very common. If you're male, I don't have any advice to offer. Might be the start of balding, IDK. Could be anything. And what you're describing might even be perfectly normal shedding, AFAIK.

If one is a guy with high volumes of hair shedding, such as in clumps, a guy should have their thyroid checked as well, and also look for insufficient iron (both blood tests). And also look into male pattern baldness.

Men get breast cancer, too. Just FYI. A lot of people don't know this. Perfectly male men can get breast cancer, and it occurs more often than many realize.

heidi w.

[gratitudinous]

Just wanted to chime in with a cyber hug, and tell you not to worry! :) When I've had stress related shedding, it was gobs and gobs! Just handfuls of hair! I would try and count how many hairs you lose a day, because Heidi W. is right, up to 100 a day is perfectly normal.

Wishing you less stress :grouphug:

[jeanniet]

How short are the small hairs? If they're just little pieces, like an inch or so, that's due to breakage, and your hair could benefit from some extra care. Having just a few long hairs come out is really pretty low shedding--I shed quite a lot, so a few hairs isn't much to me.

I don't know about the Head & Shoulders, but it's not the gentlest shampoo. I've had an itchy/flaky scalp for years, and found that changing the way I wash and treat my hair has been of more benefit than dandruff shampoos.

If you've been stressed, then it's not a bad idea to have your doctor run a blood panel to make sure you're not deficient in anything--vitamins, thyroid, etc. Although I have to say that being low thyroid doesn't necessary equal hair loss. My son was diagnosed hypothyroid just before he turned 13 and he never had any hair loss.

[gecko52]

thanks so much for all your replies. I am becoming slightly obsessed with the fear of losing hair to the point others can tell. For those of you that did have stress related hair loss., did it get so bad that it was obvious to others? And how long did your hair take to return to normal? I have fine hair anyway, so I don't have lots to lose! I've always shed a lot, I've just never paid much attention or noticed the fine short hairs before. they look like baby hairs!