Am I Losing My Hair Or My Mind ? ( Please Read )

[Dreamsdolive]

Hey everyone,

I am new here and I'd like to share my story with you. I am female, 26, and I've been suffering now for a while with ocd about my hair loss. I have some scalp problems ( eczema ) from stress and went to a dermatologist 1 year ago. Since then I got really focused on my hair. She took some hairs and she said she couldn't find anything and that everything would be stress related. Shorty after I've noticed losing more hair then usual on the left side. Few months later it's the opposite. I also have the tendency to count my hair ( which idk is realistic ) to see how much I lose a day. Also I wash after 4 days. I have long hair so when I brush it takes a long time to get trough the knots. Everything what I lose during washing, week and brushing I keep together and divide it by the amount of days. I also have the feeling when brushing on the right at my tempels that my hair feels fragile and that it kinda feels like I easily pull it out? It makes me scared. For example yesterday I was starting to comb the right side and more came off, also shorter hairs compared with the other ones. (Especially in the back). Everything counted together I was at more then 400 and when I divided it by 4 I was at more then 100 a day, usually I am at 75 or so ald now I am so anxious. It drives me insane. I am so paranoid.I was looking at the internet and saw this forum. I have some couple of questions and since this is a hair loss forum I think it's the right place to ask these kind of questions.
1) when people say you can lose until max 100 a day, is it by natural fall or also brushing?
2) are there places you can lose more?
3) what's the best way to know how much you actually lose a day?
4) is it normal to lose more hair after you've brushed it?
5) if you brush your hair long do you also take hairs that is ready to fall within the next few days?
6) when do you know you have an actual hair loss problem?

Thank you for reading,
Sorry for the long message.
Hope to hear from you soon.

Greetings,
Kelly x

 

[zarr9]

Hi Kelly. Sorry for your stress. I'm a hairstylist. Maybe I can help . Your hair will fall 100 give or take daily. Sometimes you will seem to have a lot. may continue for a month or more. Then less. Or much less for awhile. This is a normal cycle . The hair that is going to fall out will fall out if you don't touch it, but brushing or shampooing will grab the loose hairs together and remove. Three phases of hair: growing, resting, and then it falls out and you will grow a new one. Hair all over your hair is staggered in this process. When pregnant your body is in the GROWING phase, so many hairs will sync in the growing process, and then all fall out together sometime after giving birth. Then it will naturally return to staggered growth phase.
if you brush too much, use too many chemicals, wear a tight hat too often (men and baseball caps) wear tight ponytails, or overuse styling products, especially dry shampoo , it will fall out. Most of these things can be reversed when you change behavior, but if you continue too long you may develop permanent follicular damage.
Use Nioxin hair products. They won't clog your pores. Not everyone has a problem with product usage. But this is a problem for me.
You will NOT pull out hair that is not destined to fall out unless it's ready.
You will know that you have a problem when you see patches that are thinner. Or extremely thinner allover. It sounds like you may be a little obsessed with it, and may not have a problem. You said that it falls out more on one side, then the other. Normal!! It's just doing its thing. I've never met anyone that actually tracked it though.

I have suffered hair loss several times myself. Stress is huge. It usually has a delayed effect. Several months after the worst stress for example. It takes time for your hair root to react from the stress. Often when stressed you don't eat. Or you eat poorly. Or may not wash as often . If you can't eat well, drink Ensure Plus. I lived on it during my divorce. Not as good as a healthy diet.. Protein specifically. Can be vegetarian . And fresh fruits, veggies, etc. is best. I have had EXTREME stress and my hair has thinned all over. HUGE amounts fell out with every shampoo consistently. For about 6 months. One day I looked in the mirror and realized how thin it was. I wasn't eating well. As soon as I changed my habits, 3 months or so, it started growing back. You can see the little hairs.
Also during the stress time, I developed seborrheic dermatitis . Thick, greasy crust. I would pick it off and it would be raw. (I'm a little OCD too) Picking is the worst thing to do, it causes hair to fall out. And the raw scalp burns from just water!! You can apply warm coconut oil, massage, leave for an hour if you have time, then gently try to remove crust before washing hair. 'the best shampoo was Nizarol. Buy at drugstore. Expensive, but smells great and works. A prescription would be a shampoo like this but double strength. It took time to go away, but finally did. Now it's back. Hurricane Irma hit, and I had no power or water. It's INTENSELY hot, my scalp was disgusting and I sprayed a lot of dry shampoo because I couldn't shampoo for 5 days. Now it's back. Caused by oil and product buildup.
Also, after shampooing I applied Raw Apple Cider Vinegar with a cotton ball.

Normal hormonal changes cause temporary loss, and thyroid problems are the worst. Most people thin around the hairline. Goes back about one inch. Returns to normal when your hormones level. Again, you will know because it's obvious .
Anesthesia is also not your friend. Anesthesiologists disagree with this, but any stylist knows it's true. We see all the time. many meds cause problems. Gabapentin for example. My hair THINNED. Doctors and pharmacists all told me I'm crazy. But it started and stopped with med use, so I KNOW it was a problem.
If you haven't had bloodwork recently, do it. Health problems can cause hair loss. Again usually temporary .
Purvana hair, skin and nail vitamins. It's great for kicking up the health of your hair.
Keep your scalp healthy! Pores clean. Hope this helps

 

[Dreamsdolive]

Hi Kelly. Sorry for your stress. I'm a hairstylist. Maybe I can help . Your hair will fall 100 give or take daily. Sometimes you will seem to have a lot. may continue for a month or more. Then less. Or much less for awhile. This is a normal cycle . The hair that is going to fall out will fall out if you don't touch it, but brushing or shampooing will grab the loose hairs together and remove. Three phases of hair: growing, resting, and then it falls out and you will grow a new one. Hair all over your hair is staggered in this process. When pregnant your body is in the GROWING phase, so many hairs will sync in the growing process, and then all fall out together sometime after giving birth. Then it will naturally return to staggered growth phase.
if you brush too much, use too many chemicals, wear a tight hat too often (men and baseball caps) wear tight ponytails, or overuse styling products, especially dry shampoo , it will fall out. Most of these things can be reversed when you change behavior, but if you continue too long you may develop permanent follicular damage.
Use Nioxin hair products. They won't clog your pores. Not everyone has a problem with product usage. But this is a problem for me.
You will NOT pull out hair that is not destined to fall out unless it's ready.
You will know that you have a problem when you see patches that are thinner. Or extremely thinner allover. It sounds like you may be a little obsessed with it, and may not have a problem. You said that it falls out more on one side, then the other. Normal!! It's just doing its thing. I've never met anyone that actually tracked it though.

I have suffered hair loss several times myself. Stress is huge. It usually has a delayed effect. Several months after the worst stress for example. It takes time for your hair root to react from the stress. Often when stressed you don't eat. Or you eat poorly. Or may not wash as often . If you can't eat well, drink Ensure Plus. I lived on it during my divorce. Not as good as a healthy diet.. Protein specifically. Can be vegetarian . And fresh fruits, veggies, etc. is best. I have had EXTREME stress and my hair has thinned all over. HUGE amounts fell out with every shampoo consistently. For about 6 months. One day I looked in the mirror and realized how thin it was. I wasn't eating well. As soon as I changed my habits, 3 months or so, it started growing back. You can see the little hairs.
Also during the stress time, I developed seborrheic dermatitis . Thick, greasy crust. I would pick it off and it would be raw. (I'm a little OCD too) Picking is the worst thing to do, it causes hair to fall out. And the raw scalp burns from just water!! You can apply warm coconut oil, massage, leave for an hour if you have time, then gently try to remove crust before washing hair. 'the best shampoo was Nizarol. Buy at drugstore. Expensive, but smells great and works. A prescription would be a shampoo like this but double strength. It took time to go away, but finally did. Now it's back. Hurricane Irma hit, and I had no power or water. It's INTENSELY hot, my scalp was disgusting and I sprayed a lot of dry shampoo because I couldn't shampoo for 5 days. Now it's back. Caused by oil and product buildup.
Also, after shampooing I applied Raw Apple Cider Vinegar with a cotton ball.

Normal hormonal changes cause temporary loss, and thyroid problems are the worst. Most people thin around the hairline. Goes back about one inch. Returns to normal when your hormones level. Again, you will know because it's obvious .
Anesthesia is also not your friend. Anesthesiologists disagree with this, but any stylist knows it's true. We see all the time. many meds cause problems. Gabapentin for example. My hair THINNED. Doctors and pharmacists all told me I'm crazy. But it started and stopped with med use, so I KNOW it was a problem.
If you haven't had bloodwork recently, do it. Health problems can cause hair loss. Again usually temporary .
Purvana hair, skin and nail vitamins. It's great for kicking up the health of your hair.
Keep your scalp healthy! Pores clean. Hope this helps

Hey

Thank you for your explanation, really means a lot. It’s a really really good answer, also very clear.
I have indeed a hair loss obession and it drives me really insane. Burns me out. I’m also working on it with a therapist, but it’s sooo hard. My doctor knows about it and dermatologist did a hair pull test once and she couldn’t find much. I’ve had my blood checked in september 2017. ( one year ago ) But I spoke with my Doctor already about it, but he doesn’t seem to go really deep into that topic.
I’ve washed my hair earlier cause a few days ago I was zapping on the television and saw all of the sudden a program of ‘the doctors’ and it was about alopecia so I’ve freaked out and I wanted to check when I wash if I would also loose lots of strands as the woman on tv and I’ve had the feeling there were more hairs in bath and kinda freaked me out. So took all the hair of washing and brushing together. It was 4 days ago I’ve washed and brushed and I’ve decided the number by 4, and had average of 112 or so... So now I am again anxious and so it never stops... cause in my opinion, going over the number 100 is a bad sign... so I am scared I am developing telogen efflivum or alopecia... sigh.
Oh and I also brush always long too.
Idk good how to deal with.
Thank you