Shedding - how long?

[Katze]

Hi everyone, good to see so many "old" (and new!) people here!

Overall I am very happy with my hair and scalp. Both are doing better than they ever have, and I really am feeling like a long hair these days! At 25.5 inches, I'm still 1.5 inches away from mid-back (Bra strap length) but my hair has never been this long, and is getting thicker at the ends, too.

Oh, and I'm washing with CWC, alternating WO washes, occasional vinegar rinses and occasional SMT. I wash every 3-4 days.

That's the good news.

What worries me is that I started shedding a lot in the Fall and it hasn't stopped! Last Spring I hardly shed at all, but come the cooler weather, every time I touch my hair, I lose 3-4 hairs. Fingercombing to detangle seems to make me shed more.

I'm curious as to how long shedding periods usually last. My hair isn't thick to begin with, and I am afraid to measure its thickness after so many months of shedding!

How long have you had sheds, on average (not after having a baby, just normal ones)? Is this then (I hope!) followed with a period of no shedding?

thanks!

Katze

[cindy58]

I started shedding last summer and into the fall. It's finally stopped -- hooray! I thought it may have been from the major stress of a divorce last year. I tried not to worry too much about the shedding and just stayed with my usual routine.

Since I've been single, I have seldom measured, but I did check my ponytail thickness at one point -- it seemed to be the same as when I first measured for LHC, 3.75"

Recently I had my hair pulled back for one style (can't remember which) and I noticed a little curl of hair that was about 1 1/2" long. I thought, "how did that get there?" It wasn't near the hairline, and was quite a few strands together. Then I realized that it was most likely hair growing back after the shed.

[Chamomile betty]

I had started to shed the end of December and it's just starting to slow down. Once March hits it should be over for me. I did this last year so it must be my 'shed time'.

As long as your not losing more and more hair daily I think you'll be ok. Also, have you been under any undo stress or illness? That could add on to your shedding.

Hoping it ends for you soon

[Carolyn]

Somewhere I read that some people go through big/huge sheds every 7 years. I think I'm coming out of one now. I started shedding last fall and it's just stopping now. I think it was my longest/oldest hairs that were coming out. I'm trying to look at it as something normal that will improve with time. I'm doing scalp massages in the evenings when I remember to do it and I'm taking MSM and biotin. Those supplements seem to help with shedding and a little with growth.

[girlcat36]

Katze--I used to shed horribly over the last 10 years. I noticed a drastic reduction after going water only, using a BBB on my scalp, and scalp massage. Don't know if any of those things are an option for you.

[talullah]

I started shedding last summer and it's still going strong. I'm definitely interpreting this as one of those major lifetime sheds-- once every ten years, once every seven years, or whatever it is. The last time this happened I was about 18 or 20 years old. (I can't remember if it lists our ages in profiles here--I'm 29.) I certainly hope this is followed by a period of non-shedding! :grim:

[ycelong]

I am currently shedding quite a bit and I think mine may be thyroid related. Mid-30's the thyroid in women can begin to act up. Check your fingernails - does the line where you nail tip begins appear uneven? Especially the pink and ring finger.
Just something to consider. I thought I had mine fixed but it seems to have started up again. I am getting it checked next week.

[Miss Murphy]

I shed a lot and always have. I can only brush my hair next to the rubbish bin, because so many hairs come out.

In the last 2 years I have noticed an increase, but I put this up to my longer hair. Ie, I'm not shedding more, but longer hairs - which makes it look like more shedding.

[levelek]

Hi Katze! How nice to hear the good news about your hair and scalp! You'll have to post an update with pictures as soon as LHC is back up.

I went through a huge shed last autumn, the worst of it lasted for maybe a month and a half. I attacked it on multiple fronts, using Biotin supplements and scalp massages with a modified version of Meg's EO mix. It was hard not to panic sometimes but the shedding did stop!

[jessie58]

I'm having major shedding for the last 6 months. My last one like this was 3 years ago and before that never. I wish it would end.

On the plus side, I am growing in new hairs like crazy. They're everywhere and every length. However it takes years for them to grow down to where I want them to be. :(

[Unnamed]

I've had four 'sheds' over the past 3.5 years or so; two have been 2-3 months, two about 4-5 months (and of the longer ones, the worst was probably 2-3 months). In between, I really don't shed much, I don't think.

Two were smaller, 2-3 months sheds (late 2004, spring 2006), that stalled growth at least 1-2 of those 3 months. I usually had good growth 'next' to those stalls, though; and thickness wasn't really impacted, either in the ends, or at the nape. Both of these were in high-stress times.

I had a very large shed in early spring 2005 that I think was health related. I had the usual 2-3 months of shedding and growth stall; but when my hair started growing again, I was still shedding. I lost about half my hair, and it really dropped thickness all the way down to the ends. I think this was health related (I've been hypothyroid for a long time). I went from measuring 2.75-2.875" with occasional 3.0" to just barely 2.0". Suffice it to say I didn't dare consider vacuuming for a long while, and I stopped measuring along the length, as it was just too depressing. I just did my best not to think or focus on it, although it was hard at times. :ooh:

I started shedding last July, and I *think* it stopped or at least slowed down, finally, in December; but the worst again was about 3 months. Basically a slighly longer version of the smaller 2-3 month sheds, which lasted as long as the big shed. The shedding didn't impact nape thickness--but it's taking another toll on the length (as in the 2" circ cutoff went from 4" down from nape to 3"). I think this shed is/was also health related (again, hypothyroid), and I've had really awful itching with this one.

I'm also currently waiting for another 'big' shed either from the thyroid issue, or another issue that's really made itself known the last half year.

[harpgal]

I think I shed at least four months a year. However, I have never noticed any difference in thickness. It is the way of nature and I don't think one should worry overmuch....unless one is losing literally hand fulls of hair over a long period of time. Isn't the norm 100 strands a day?

[meliora]

I shed a lot since the summer of 2007 and throughout the fall semester. It ended in January, so it lasted about 6 months. I have a lot of really curly baby hairs now. This was also my first major shed, and of course I was worried, but I read somewhere that many people in their early 20s experience a big shed.

I hope yours stops soon! :flower:

[Katze]

hm, so it seems like the answer is that no one really knows! :)

According to doctors my thyroid is fine, but I had an acupuncturist who'd had low thyroid herself very severely, it's what got her into chinese medicine, and she said I could be borderline, that many women are. I don't know what to do except to do what I am doing - eat well, exercise every day, take my Omega 3s, drink lots of water. Supplements are hard to find where I live (Germany) - people don't believe in them.

Yes, I am under a lot of stress and it does correspond with the shed, but am working on trying to organize this new job in a better way.

WO doesn't seem to decrease shedding, but I do use it between washes. BBB makes my hair greasy, destroys my wave, and also seems to increase shedding, so I only use it to smooth the surface of my hair, and a comb to detangle.

Anyway I am hoping with the semester break and the coming of Spring early that it will stop on its own!

[Milena]

I don't think there can be a general answer to this question -- it totally depends on the reasons for the shed.

I went through a huge shed early in 2006; it then tapered off, but never really got back to normal until last fall. My hair really thinned out at the ends (but thankfully not visibly near the scalp). All in all, it took my hair two years to recover -- it's only now that I'd say it looks good again (although I've now got more gray than I used to).

In my case, I *think* the shed was induced by a very brief and failed attempt to try Zoloft for a depression I went through. As I know now, Zoloft can affect your thyroid, and I suspect it might just have whacked off my thyroid hormones, which then took time, rest, and supplements to balance out again. But that's just my threory... It's hard to tell in retrospect. In any event, I'm not going to touch an anti-depressant again!