I shed during applying a conditioner. Help!

[Henrietta]

I keep my head upside down. I do not even touch my scalp with conditioner as I know it hates it, I apply the condish about 20 cm= 8 inches from the scalp, which is more or less from the ears down probably. When I fingercomb my wet hair before applying the condish everything is fine so I cannot blame water or shampoo for that. And when I start to put conditioner on my hair I start to shed like crazy. I am not pulling the hair or anything... and the conditioners are slippery anyway! What's wrong? I am losing tons of hair! How does my scalp know that I am applying condish on my length and why it "releases" hairs then?!

[Igor]

I’m pretty sure it’s perfectly normal. Seems everyone experience increased shedding when you increase handling
How much is “shed like crazy”? I think the normal shedding rate is 50-150 hairs a day

[Gabriel]

Don't panic!

I agree, sounds pretty normal unless you are shedding handfuls and handfuls of hair. I mean like HUGE amounts of hair.

Have you always lost this much hair or is it something new? Have you changed any products? Have your seasons changed? Seasonal shed is also very normal, so keep that in mind.

Why are you conditioning upside down and is that the only time your hair is upside down? That might cause a bit more shedding since it would require a bit of manipulation to comb through the strands in different position, if the rest of your wash cycle is right side up.

Try a wash cycle without flipping your hair over and see if that helps.

Hope this helps!

[PrincessBob]

Here's my theory. The water and shampoo open your hair's cuticles, so even in the detangling process, the loose shed sticks to the attached hairs (due to the natural Velcro that is hair stands that are open). The conditioner closes the cuticle, causes all the hair to slipperily slicken and the loose hair to release from the attached hair and... instant mega-shed!

I admit it, this crazy mind of mine can make some wacky stuff up. My theory, however, makes sense and sounds scientific-ish.

[Henrietta]

I’m pretty sure it’s perfectly normal. Seems everyone experience increased shedding when you increase handling
How much is “shed like crazy”? I think the normal shedding rate is 50-150 hairs a day

"Shed like crazy" in my case is when about 20 hairs at once fall out with every finger combing move. Only during the conditioning. I have whole strands between my fingers. I also experience the normal shedding, during brushing etc. but this is not included here. I lost about...150 hair only in 3 minutes

Don't panic!

I agree, sounds pretty normal unless you are shedding handfuls and handfuls of hair. I mean like HUGE amounts of hair.

Have you always lost this much hair or is it something new? Have you changed any products? Have your seasons changed? Seasonal shed is also very normal, so keep that in mind.

Why are you conditioning upside down and is that the only time your hair is upside down? That might cause a bit more shedding since it would require a bit of manipulation to comb through the strands in different position, if the rest of your wash cycle is right side up.

Try a wash cycle without flipping your hair over and see if that helps.

Hope this helps!

Maybe it is about the seasons... Summer is almost end now.
But it's been always like that, yesterday I lost the temper and decided to do something with that. And I do everything (when it comes to washing my hair I mean ) upside down. I don't flip the hair just before conditioning.

Here's my theory. The water and shampoo open your hair's cuticles, so even in the detangling process, the loose shed sticks to the attached hairs (due to the natural Velcro that is hair stands that are open). The conditioner closes the cuticle, causes all the hair to slipperily slicken and the loose hair to release from the attached hair and... instant mega-shed!

I admit it, this crazy mind of mine can make some wacky stuff up. My theory, however, makes sense and sounds scientific-ish.

Yes, it makes a sense. I feel relaxed and calm at once. Thanks!

[Igor]

"Shed like crazy" in my case is when about 20 hairs at once fall out with every finger combing move. Only during the conditioning. I have whole strands between my fingers. I also experience the normal shedding, during brushing etc. but this is not included here. I lost about...150 hair only in 3 minutes

Sounds like me! During WO days or days where I dry-handle it I lose maybe 10 hairs tops. But when I get a conditioner out, the shedding goes way up. I never counted it but I would say at least 50 hairs from a normal CO wash

[MonaMayfair]

Henrietta, this happens to me too. Ever since I first developed an underactive thyroid about 4 years ago, I can't use a rinse out conditioner because it makes me shed so much extra hair (I never had this problem before the thyroid trouble)
Now I just use leave in conditioners, but they don't make my hair feel as nice as the wash out ones. Can't use oils to conditioner either, as they make me shed a lot, and also make my hair brittle.

[Henrietta]

An idea has just entered my mind Maybe it would help if I held my hair into a ponytail with one hand? There would be less pulling... maybe?

[Copasetic]

I think this is totally normal. The same thing happens to me. I think the extra slip that the conditioner adds to your hair allows all those already shed hairs to finally come out. As long as your hair is not getting noticeably thinner, you don't need to worry about what seems like a lot of shedding.

[CherrySilver]

You may want to try doing daily scalp massage with topicals along with vitamins. I've done the vitamin thing alone, and although good for growth and minimizing hair fall, it didn't have the same effect as daily (or in my case, a.m. and p.m. topical massages).

My shed rate is down to practically nil (<5 in the shower and maybe 10 max daily). Prior to using topicals I'd loose lots more when conditioning in the shower. A water-based product works well if you don't want to wash every day or don't want a noticable oily buildup on your scalp hair. Oil-based is good for at night or if you really don't care (like me) or when won't be seen by your admiring public.

I tell that to my daughter who's about your age, but she won't listen and there's always this large hair creature in the bottom of the drain when she takes a shower. Sigh....