MAYDAY MAYDAY!!!! NEVER ENDING SHEDDING!!!!!!!!!

[trendsetta25]

Hey Ladies,
My friend needs your help! Below you will find what she emailed me. Hopefully you guys can help her out.

I am 100% natural and always been. I used to get my hair flat ironed every 2 wks. My stylist would complain of my hair shedding. I thought it was because my hair is usually extremely dry. I don’t drink enough water, I don’t have a great diet (eat lots of sweets) and a couple of winters ago I had eczema and my skin on my body is often dry. At times I’d go over my hair also with a flat iron in bt appts causing it to break/shed so I decided to wear a lace and take care of my hair. In January 09 I started my new regi from tips on LHCF.

I started using MegaTek/Ovatian Cell, garlic conditioning or tea rinsed wkly to combat shedding, took biotin pills, co-washed and DCd weekly, and re-did my cornrows every 2wks. There was a good amount of shedding but it was not alarming based on all the feedback on MT. At one point I even added Boundless Tresses to my MT/OCT but later found it was protein overload so I stopped this regi b/c I was tired of the shedding.

I switched to solely BT in Aug. and joined the Ayurvedic washes bandwagon to help thicken my hair. Mine includes: 1/2 tsp shikakai, 1tsp amla, 1 tbsp ea. of bringraj, hibiscus petal, brahmi/maka + fenugreek seed tea (compliments of Aggie). I wash wkly, detangle, DC with: NTM, Oyin Honey Hemp, Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle, EVOO, Honey, wheat germ, hempseed oil. I moisture and seal daily w/glycerin, rose water, shikaki oil. I also use a thickening oil to scalp daily from Cherie’s site. I clarify only when needed. And steam my hair or use Aphogee 2min reconstructor bi-wkly. I also take Hairfinity pills.

The shedding still continues!!!!! I can’t say for sure if its more or less. It may be a little less but it is still too much for my nerves!! I want it to stop already!!!! And I just don’t know what it is anymore. I am now starting to think it is my birth control – Ortho Trycylen Low. I am tempted to stop taking them today although I am not sure which to switch to without having to deal w/ worse side effects. Then I wondered if my regi contains too much moisture – although doing the moisture test in the shower didn’t indicate to me that could be the problem. I also wonder if it is b/c of my diet, or if I should start taking iron pills. I am sooo frustrated. My hair density I feel should be much thicker at this point and it feels too thin to me especially on my left side. What do I do??? Please Help!!

 

[NicWhite]

She has a number of things going on. I will let others chime in on the products she should use. Tell her she will definitely have to start cleaning up her diet and drinking more water. Birth control pills can definitely cause some people to lose more hair than normal due to the hormone component. She should go to her doctor and talk to him/her about other birth control options if needed.

While she is at the doctor she should ask him to check for iron def anemia and possibly hypothyroidism. Specificall ask for TSH (thyroid function test), CBC (complete blood count), iron level, TIBC (total iron binding capacity), ferritin. Never take iron supplements unless you know that it is low. Too much iron can damage the liver, which is very serious.

HTH

 

[Enyo]

Maybe she generally deficient in vitamins. If that's the case, just taking a hair vitamin and using a million things on her head is not going to solve the issue. It might be that she needs to take a deeper look at her overall diet. I would consult a nutritionist if she has the money. The pills are probably not helping. As someone who takes 3 medications that are known to mess up hair, I can safely say internal care (vitamins, healthy diet, water) is the best way to counteract that.

 

[trendsetta25]

She has a number of things going on. I will let others chime in on the products she should use. Tell her she will definitely have to start cleaning up her diet and drinking more water. Birth control pills can definitely cause some people to lose more hair than normal due to the hormone component. She should go to her doctor and talk to him/her about other birth control options if needed.


While she is at the doctor she should ask him to check for iron def anemia and possibly hypothyroidism. Specificall ask for TSH (thyroid function test), CBC (complete blood count), iron level, TIBC (total iron binding capacity), ferritin. Never take iron supplements unless you know that it is low. Too much iron can damage the liver, which is very serious.

HTH

What type of doctor should she see? a dermatologist? TIA

 

[NicWhite]

What type of doctor should she see? a dermatologist? TIA

She should go to her regular doctor first. See where all her levels are. If everything is normal then maybe he/she can refer her to a dermatologist.

Is she having any other problems, like weight gain, feeling cold all the time, constipation, etc?

 

[Muse]

While she is at the doctor she should ask him to check for iron def anemia and possibly hypothyroidism. Specificall ask for TSH (thyroid function test), CBC (complete blood count), iron level, TIBC (total iron binding capacity), ferritin. Never take iron supplements unless you know that it is low. Too much iron can damage the liver, which is very serious.

HTH

It could be as simple as iron. I was shedding BAD for the last couple of years non stop. It's a good thing that I started out with super thick hair. I clogged many drains and my hair was EVERYWHERE! I was afraid to comb it after a while. Anyway I tried all kinds of things to try to stop it: MSM, biotin, hair and regular vits, chlorella, garlic, Ayurvedic powders. I blamed it on stopping the BC pill too. Nothing worked. Got a blood test from the doc back in July and found out I was very anemic. I was put on ferrous sulfate and the shedding stopped in about a month and a half of taking it daily faithfully.
I cannot believe I spent so much money on other things when this cheap little pill did the trick. I could've saved so much hair. I flat ironed my hair this weekend and was VERY pleased with the amount of hair that I lost throughout the entire process (and this was after not combing or brushing my hair for a week!). So please tell your friend to get her iron checked it could be an easy fix.

 

[Nonie]

OK, when people freak out about shedding, exactly what are they talking about? Shedding is a normal occurrence like peeing or pooping. I never understand when people are working so hard to stop it altogether. It's abnormal for hair not to shed. I think only bald people don't shed.

The other day, I suggest to a friend who freaks about shedding to take a few hours one day and go through her hair with a fine tooth comb...gently and carefully and remove shed hair as meticulously as possible, working on small sections at a time, and then go from there. She reported back that her shedding is less alarming now that she's careful to remove all shed hair regularly.

I think most times we do not remove shed hair on a regular basis, even if we're combing or hair daily, because we use wide-tooth combs that just stroke chunks of hair that are pressed together holding tightly onto shed hair. We see five strands and pat ourselves on the back that out 100,000 hairs, only 5 came out. Really? Not! Instead we have oodles of shed hair caught in the chunks that go through the comb or in our braid-out/twist-outs...that will come out every time we touch our hair. Why? Because they never got a chance to come out before.

So unless your friend's hair is thinning or she's getting bald spots or her scalp is itching which could suggest a follicular malady...I think she needs to stop freaking out, or she'll end up losing hair from stress. If y'all saw how small my twists are and then saw the seven strands or so that come out of each twist when I decide to retwist after my meticulous finger combing, you'd probably be horrified and have nightmares. Yet, I am always excited to see it because I just know that everything is A-OK in my hair-growing journey.

If your friend has the time, after she's combed through her hair in very small sections using a fine tooth comb to remove all the shed hair she can, then the next day when she combs her hair, she should count the hairs. I bet you they won't be 100. And 100 or so is normal shedding. On the day she uses a fine tooth comb and combs through her hair gently, she may see a lot of hair but tell her not to panic; that's just what's been hiding since it was shed over several days. Unless she's got something pathological going on, she will start to see that the shedding is not as bad as she thought.

 

[trendsetta25]

HI ALL thank you for all of the replies and advice!! (Trendsetta's friend)

Actually my hair has had a shedding problem for quite some time now - maybe 2-3 yrs. I know it is natural to shed but compared to other's shedding it seemed that mine would shed too much. I just recently started feeling the density of my hair and felt it was too thin! Ive been trying alot of things to make my hair thicker, the way it used to be when I was a teen - long and THICK. But especially on my bad side-the left side it feels thin to me. That is why i am even more so paying more attention to how much hair is coming out, and becoming very concerned as to why my shedding wont decrease significantly based on the care i am giving my hair, as well as anti-shedding supplements taking.

This made me really seriously think perhaps my diet is alot more crucial to my hair growth than i thought. Then i also was trying to figure if it was my BC or WHAT could it be?? I just made an appt w/my general doctor as you ladies suggested and will also see a dermatologist to see what -if anything- is going on internally. My last check up was about a yr ago. But i know without seeking medical help that i do not drink enough water!

But i also noticed in investigating my saved hair that i dont see white bulbs on all which means BREAKAGE. Now i didnt carefully examine all yet. But it is very possible that a good portion of it is actually breakage, or maybe ends that split all the way to the top? It is all long hairs which is why i assumed it was shedding. I do not have a lot of split ends right now i take pretty good care of my hair. But that is freaking me out. I am so discouraged and dont know what to do. I am definitely going to get a closer look to be sure.