I need tips on how to avoid a shed cycle

[taylokc]

My hair usually grows at a really great rate and even better with growth aids. I am currently using Boundless Tresses and in the summertime I usually grow fast and shed even more. Yes this happens at the same time. I can have all of this new growth but I also have tons of hair on the floor. How can I keep this from happening. Any suggestions are welcome

 

[Afro-Indi]

Prevent shedding, as in, avoiding the telogen phase???
I don't think that's possible.

If summertime shedding has always been the norm for you; I'm not sure you'd be able to avoid that.
I'm TOTALLY no help at all!!
So sorry!!!

Hopefully, some other ladies will be able to chime in and help you out.

 

[JustKiya]

I don't know how much you know about the hair cycle, so lemme share what Wiki has to say.

Hair grows in cycles of various phases:[2] anagen is the growth phase; catagen is the involuting or regressing phase; and telogen, the resting or quiescent phase. Each phase has several morphologically and histologically distinguishable sub-phases. Prior to the start of cycling is a phase of follicular morphogenesis (formation of the follicle). There is also a shedding phase, or exogen, that is independent of anagen and telogen in which one of several hairs that might arise from a single follicle exits. Normally up to 90% of the hair follicles are in anagen phase while, 10–14% are in telogen and 1–2% in catagen. The cycle's length varies on different parts of the body. For eyebrows, the cycle is completed in around 4 months, while it takes the scalp 3–4 years to finish; this is the reason eyebrow hairs have a fixed length, while hairs on the head seem to have no length limit. Growth cycles are controlled by a chemical signal like epidermal growth factor.

Anagen Phase

Anagen is the active growth phase of hair follicles.[3] The cells in the root of the hair are dividing rapidly, adding to the hair shaft. During this phase the hair grows about 1 cm every 28 days. Scalp hair stays in this active phase of growth for 2-6 years. The amount of time the hair follicle stays in the anagen phase is genetically determined. At the end of the anagen phase an unknown signal causes the follicle to go into the catagen phase.

Catagen Phase

The catagen phase is a short transition stage that occurs at the end of the anagen phase.[4] It signals the end of the active growth of a hair. This phase lasts for about 2-3 weeks while a club hair is formed.

Telogen Phase

The telogen phase is the resting phase of the hair follicle.[5] At any given time, 10%-15% of all hairs are in the telogen phase. This phase lasts for about 100 days for hairs on the scalp and much longer for hairs on the eyebrow, eyelash, arm and leg.
During this phase the hair follicle is completely at rest and the club hair is completely formed. Pulling out a hair in this phase will reveal a solid, hard, dry, white material at the root.
About 25-100 telogen hairs are shed normally each day.

Club hairs are hairs that have a bulge at the end that comes out of the hair follicle. They are a normal part of hair growth and cycling. Our hair follicles go through stages of fiber growth (anagen) and rest (telogen). As a hair follicle enters a resting stage it suddenly stops producing new cells for incorporation into the hair fiber. The remaining cortex cells in the hair root have to be removed for the hair follicle to enter a true resting state. These remaining cells are attached to the end of the hair fiber as a keratinized lump or a club shape.
The club does serve a purpose. It is wider size than the rest of the normal hair fiber and so it acts as a wedge to hold the hair in place in the hair follicle canal. Although the fiber is no longer growing and the hair follicle below it resting, the club hair does not immediately fall out of the follicle. It can be pulled out during washing, combing, brushing, styling or any other form of physical hair manipulation, but often the club hair stays in place until the hair follicle below it returns to an active state and starts making a new hair fiber. The new fiber eventually pushes the old club fiber out of the hair follicle.

It sounds like what you would like to do is to skip the last stages of hair growth - and, really, you can't - just continously cycle from anagen to telogen. You might be ABLE to - but it would be a genetic blessing.

If you normally shed more in the summer, then you most likely have a large percentage of hairs that enter the catagen stage, all at the same time. However, if you notice, without the catagen & telogen stage, you'll never have new hair. And - new hair is what keeps our hair vibrant. We all know how wore out our ends get over the years, and if we didn't shed on a regular basis, our WHOLE head would be - well, old and beat-up, basically.

As long as your hair isn't thinning due to the sheds (and if you are seeing increased growth at the same time, it sounds like it isn't) it's - well, it sucks to see hairs all over the place, but it's a good thing, really.

Though. All of that said, a LOT of ladies here seem to have success reducing their shedding by using garlic based products on the scalp - garlic oil, or garlic shampoo. I don't know how it works - but apparently it does.

If someone ever comes up with a way to extend the anagen period though - that would be the ultimate growth aid!

 

[loolalooh]

I agree with the ladies above. I have heard that one can shorten the telogen phase by taking MSM. I don't know if that's a myth or not.

 

[MizzBrown]

Prevent shedding, as in, avoiding the telogen phase???
I don't think that's possible.

If summertime shedding has always been the norm for you; I'm not sure you'd be able to avoid that.
I'm TOTALLY no help at all!!
So sorry!!!

Hopefully, some other ladies will be able to chime in and help you out.

AGREED! And JUSTKIYA had it on point. I learned this late after joining the board. Hair growth is mostly genetics. There is only so much that i can do it.

You can treat it but genetics will overrule when necessary.