Why and how does garlic work for shedding?

[tada1]

But that change has to affect the scalp and future hair growth somehow.... the shedding cycle can't change and everything else stay the same - unless garlic is doing (c).... can it?

If I ever think I've hit terminal length, I'll start on the garlic.

JustKiya, you always crack me up!

Here's my theory: hair sheds when it dies, and is ready to drop off. For garlic to be able to stop shedding, it must somehow cause the scalp to hold on to dead hairs, and consequently delay the growth of new stronger hair. So combating shedding is counter productive IMHO

The reverse of this principle is what makes mega tek very effective for some people. All MT does is to increase cell turnover so that hairs that are already in the resting phase fall out quicker so that new hairs can come in sooner than they normally would (hence the thickness and shedding). Of course, the by product of this process is increased hair length because all the hair that's still connected to the root/*alive* continues to grow, and the poor hairs that are already dead are booted out quick so that new strands can bloom!

I'm trying to keep this post brief and to the point, but i'll be more than happy to clarify if it still sounds confusing.
here's a link that explains the shedding cycle pretty well:
http://www.hairlosshelp.com/hair_loss_research/causes_hair_shedding.cfm

 

[spritex]

tada1 this makes a lot of sense to me. If shedding is natural and good for our hair why should we be trying to combat it? Unless of course you are losing more than the average 50-100 hairs perday...not that I am counting of course :-D.
I guess also if you are shedding so much your hair thins out then garlic supplements or shampoos are useful.

 

[Nicole1976]

When shedding starts to make your hair appear whispy/thin, which I think most folks are really afraid of...and have perhaps even experienced at some point...it sort of makes you paranoid about shedding.

This I know, because I work really hard to keep my scalp healthy which has helped my shedding out significantly.

I have tried many things..and so far the folloiwng combo is helping

• 2 Capsules of Saw Palmetto per day
• Applies Coconut oil to scalp after wash (Should be Extra Virgin Orgainic)
• wash hair twice a week

 

[JustKiya]

JustKiya, you always crack me up!

Here's my theory: hair sheds when it dies, and is ready to drop off. For garlic to be able to stop shedding, it must somehow cause the scalp to hold on to dead hairs, and consequently delay the growth of new stronger hair. So combating shedding is counter productive IMHO

The reverse of this principle is what makes mega tek very effective for some people. All MT does is to increase cell turnover so that hairs that are already in the resting phase fall out quicker so that new hairs can come in sooner than they normally would (hence the thickness and shedding). Of course, the by product of this process is increased hair length because all the hair that's still connected to the root/*alive* continues to grow, and the poor hairs that are already dead are booted out quick so that new strands can bloom!

I'm trying to keep this post brief and to the point, but i'll be more than happy to clarify if it still sounds confusing.
here's a link that explains the shedding cycle pretty well:
http://www.hairlosshelp.com/hair_loss_research/causes_hair_shedding.cfm

In total agreement with you here - both on the shedding side, and on the reason for MT causing shedding, period!!

And sometimes, if a lot of your hair sheds at once, and it's not a health problem (which would be my first thought if shedding was bad enough to thin out your hair), you just roll through with it, knowing that there is a brand new crop of baby hairs that will follow the shed, at that in time your hairs thickness will be fully restored - and chopping off your hair at that point is - counterproductive.

*shrug* That's what I think, at least.

 

[dalgal]

To say that is "works" is an understatement! I was shedding sooooooo....bad for the past 3 years! One application of (Ms. Aggies garlic pre poo receipe" and it was unbelievable, I went from shedding maybe 30 to 40 hairs a day to now just normal shedding! I could not believe it. This weekend will be my 2nd application, I am so excited about this discovery. God Bless you Ms. Aggie, my hair hero! "GOT SHEDDING, GET GARLIC"!!!!

 

[JustKiya]

To say that is "works" is an understatement! I was shedding sooooooo....bad for the past 3 years! One application of (Ms. Aggies garlic pre poo receipe" and it was unbelievable, I went from shedding maybe 30 to 40 hairs a day to now just normal shedding! I could not believe it. This weekend will be my 2nd application, I am so excited about this discovery. God Bless you Ms. Aggie, my hair hero! "GOT SHEDDING, GET GARLIC"!!!!

30 to 40 hairs a day is below 'normal' shedding rates, I'm just saying.

 

[audacity.]

folx make too much of a fuss about shedding, imo...if you are BALDING as a result of it, THAT'S when you should be concerned and looking for ways to stop it...

if y'all saw how much hair i shed with each weekly comb-out, some of you would straight FREAK out! i lose WAY more than the "average" 100 hairs per day (at least i believe i do. i am not a hair counter )

in fact, i will take a picture of it to show you one of these days.

but the THICKNESS of my hair has never been compromised...

 

[sexyeyes3616]

I like your theory. This makes a lot of sense. It makes me not fear shedding so much now. Because I really want to keep using OCT.

I've wondered this too - hair sheds because it's reached it's max lifespan, and the follicle is clearing the way for a new hair.

So - does the garlic

a) prevent the follicle from releasing the now dead/no longer growing hair, and thus prevent new hairs from growing?

or

b) encourage the follicle to continue growing that hair - which based on the physiology of a shed hair (the root is actually dead at the point that a hair would be ready to shed) doesn't seem possible....

or

c) change the growth cycle of the hair, so that the natural growth span of the hair is extended - but that doesn't seem to jive with the instant results that some people are getting.

Personally, I'm kinda erplexed at the thought of purposefully preventing my scalp from getting rid of dead hair and getting on with growing new ones, so I deal with the shedding - which, true, I think I have a perfectly normal amount of, anyhow, so no worries, for me.

If there was some evidence that garlic was doing (c) instead of (a), I would be all over it, because that would also extend your terminal length, naturally - which, hello,

Otherwise?

I dunnnnoooooo.

 

[sexyeyes3616]

Thanks for the post.

JustKiya, you always crack me up!

Here's my theory: hair sheds when it dies, and is ready to drop off. For garlic to be able to stop shedding, it must somehow cause the scalp to hold on to dead hairs, and consequently delay the growth of new stronger hair. So combating shedding is counter productive IMHO

The reverse of this principle is what makes mega tek very effective for some people. All MT does is to increase cell turnover so that hairs that are already in the resting phase fall out quicker so that new hairs can come in sooner than they normally would (hence the thickness and shedding). Of course, the by product of this process is increased hair length because all the hair that's still connected to the root/*alive* continues to grow, and the poor hairs that are already dead are booted out quick so that new strands can bloom!

I'm trying to keep this post brief and to the point, but i'll be more than happy to clarify if it still sounds confusing.
here's a link that explains the shedding cycle pretty well:
http://www.hairlosshelp.com/hair_loss_research/causes_hair_shedding.cfm

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I'm reading all the garlic threads. I just massaged my scalp with garlic oil and I had a really good shed so I hope that JustKiya's theory is in effect for me. Those were the hairs that were dead already and they are making way for the new healthy stronger hairs. My hair doesn't look thinner, its just that my shedding is more than normal. I'm going to start using the MegTek again, coupled with the garlic treatments and see what I get.

 

[YankeeCandle]

I wondered the exact same thing as mwedzi and now I don't have to make a separate post about it.

I experience a minimum of a tennis ball's worth of hair (sometimes more if hair was very tangled) on the bathroom floor/haircatcher each and every time I manipulate my hair with water--whether a shampoo or conditioner wash.

I have sporadically examined the hairs over the past few months with a magnifying glass and have determined that at LEAST half of them have a bulb or root at the end.

My hair is thin-textured, low density and genetically thinning and I don't care about growing my hair longer than what it is now (I care about thickness).

But I want to KNOW, like mwedzi/JustKiya, what's going on from a chemical and biological standpoint. And how on earth can anything in nature be "instantaneous" in its effect on the hair shedding and growth cycle?

I don't like it when I don't understand 'the process' of things, dammit! Like with castor oil--how does that work? What enzyme or protein in it encourages an increase in hair density in thinning areas?

Anyway, thanks for the thread.

I'm going to try a puree of raw garlic on my head today; hope it doesn't dry out my hair, though.