Need help with shedding

[MsCarmenP]

Hi everybody! I've been lurking here since around April but just decided to post. At the end of April I got a relaxer and trim. The stylist used Affirm. About a week later my hair started shedding a lot (long strings with the bulb attached). I asked her about it and she said something about it being because of the switch in relaxer types. I had been using ORS in the box but hadn't had a relaxer for about 6 months before this Affirm fiasco. She told me to do a hot oil treatment. Didn't help. So I did the 2 minute Aphogee and it helped somewhat. Then a couple of weeks ago I used Alter Ego Garlic Treatment and that helped a bit but now the shedding is back.

Weirdly, it doesn't seem that my hair is getting shorter or thinner. I can't really tell though. It seems to have grown a little (or at least I have a bunch of new growth). I'm in serious need of a touch up and am thinking about switching back to ORS in the box. But don't know if that will make the problem worse or not. Any advice on what I should or shouldn't do next? How can I stop this shedding? I'm afraid I'll lose all of my hair.

 

[MileHighDiva]

OP, Welcome to the board!

Is the ORS a No-Lye relaxer? If so, I don't think your suppose to go back and forth between calcium and sodium hydroxide relaxers. I let someone borrow my Shamboosie book and it never came back. He speaks extensively about No-Lye vs Lye relaxers.

I have been reading up on different Ayurvedic herbs that are suppose to prevent hair fall/shedding. However, my only experience is with the herbs that were included in my Nupur Henna and I've only hennaed my hair once, but my setting/styling hair ball was considerably smaller. I shed something fierce.

So far, to my knowledge the herbs that help with hair fall/shedding are amla, brahmi, bhringraj, methi, saw palmetto, and sage. There's probably more that I'm unable to recall off the top of my head. In addition, coffee, garlic and tea. Here's a recent thread about fenugreek aka methi.

I hope someone comes to help you, regarding this. Good luck!

 

[NaiyaAi]

If you've had the shedding since April, it could be that the relaxer is not the cause of your problem. Have you had any diet changes? What supplements are you taking? Do you use topical growth aids? Have you started/stopped exercising? Have you had any health changes? I don't think relaxer-related shedding would last four months, so perhaps it's time to start looking at other possible causes. I could be wrong, though.

 

[mshoneyfly]

Coconut milk. It worked instantly! I just googled "coconut milk for hair" and came up with two good articles. I posted them somewhere but cant remember

 

[MsCarmenP]

Thanks so much for weighing in! I feel like I'm losing my mind over this. MileHighDiva, I will definitely look into the herbs. I'm willing to try anything right about now. I believe ORS has a lye and no-lye brand. I'm thinking I should go back to no-lye because after the stylist relaxed my hair with the Affirm, it felt like straw. Never experienced that with ORS in the box. Do you think it would be better for me to try ORS lye and see how that goes? I'm just worried that maybe I'm experiencing this because my hair doesn't like lye. I'm so confused.

mshoneyfly, I'm gonna buy some coconut milk tonight. I just did a search and it looks like it'll be beneficial even when the shedding stops. Thanks!

NaiyaAi, hmmm, I never thought about that. I figured it was the relaxer since it happened so soon after. But that same day I also started taking a multivitamin. I stopped two or three weeks later because I read some supplements can cause shedding. But since it's still occurring, I guess it wasn't the supplement. I don't take anything else. No growth aids. However, I've definitely had changes in diet and exercise. I haven't been eating as healthy as usual and I've gone from working out 5-7 times a week to maybe 1-2. Plus I've been under a lot of stress. So maybe it's a combination of all of that. I'm going to try to get this stress under control and get my eating and workout habits back in check to see if I notice a difference.

With all that said (sorry so long winded), does anyone have an opinion on whether I should do my retouch now or wait? It's been 15 weeks since the last relaxer. If I don't do the retouch, would it be okay for me to get braids because I'm having lots of trouble with my new growth.