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There are precious few stories of people's experiences with the end of telogen effluvium, so I thought I'd share mine. The headline: I was lucky enough to shed for only 10-11 weeks!
Between the start of July and the middle of September, I dropped from 165lbs to 150lbs due to changes in my diet and exercise. 15lbs in two months isn't exactly extreme weight loss, but I was only paying attention calories, so I think I wasn't getting enough vitamins or protein. Based on the timing, this must have been my trigger.
By the first week of November, I was noticing WAY more hair than usual in the shower drain. I've used the same brand of hair elastics for years, but by mid-November, I could wrap it around my ponytail four times instead of my usual three. Sweeping the floor was like cleaning up a massacre.
After some googling, I diagnosed myself with telogen effluvium and started reading all I could. I also started taking a daily multivitamin, but because I hadn't been counting calories for months, I wasn't too worried that my trigger would continue.
I started noticing regrowth by early or mid-December, while my hair was still coming out like crazy. I found it easiest to see when with wet hair: part your hair, turn in the light, and look right around the part for short little hairs growing through. Remember, your hair falls out because new ones are almost ready to come in! Seeing regrowth always makes me feel better because I know my hair will be back to normal soon.
I haven't seen abnormal amounts of shedding for about two weeks now, so I'm pretty sure my shedding is over. I can tell by looking in the drain when I shower, looking at my hairbrush after I brush, and looking at my hair elastic when I pull down my hair: just a handful of strands come out instead of dozens and dozens.
I think my experience with Telogen Effluvium was short and (relatively!) painless because my trigger ended well before my hair started falling out. It was just a matter of waiting for all the hair that entered telogen phase by September to fall out. I have to be careful to smooth out my hair when I put it up, or else bits of scalp peek through. However, I never got to the point where you could see any scalp with my hair down. I am confident that the vast majority of people I interact with never knew anything was wrong. If you're at the start of Telogen Effluvium, then just know that it might not be that bad!
The best advice I read anywhere is this: the hair coming out of your head now started coming out months ago, so there's nothing you can do today that will change that. The best thing you can do is work on identifying and addressing your trigger, then try to keep calm while you wait it out.
Hope this helps and good luck everyone!
Between the start of July and the middle of September, I dropped from 165lbs to 150lbs due to changes in my diet and exercise. 15lbs in two months isn't exactly extreme weight loss, but I was only paying attention calories, so I think I wasn't getting enough vitamins or protein. Based on the timing, this must have been my trigger.
By the first week of November, I was noticing WAY more hair than usual in the shower drain. I've used the same brand of hair elastics for years, but by mid-November, I could wrap it around my ponytail four times instead of my usual three. Sweeping the floor was like cleaning up a massacre.
After some googling, I diagnosed myself with telogen effluvium and started reading all I could. I also started taking a daily multivitamin, but because I hadn't been counting calories for months, I wasn't too worried that my trigger would continue.
I started noticing regrowth by early or mid-December, while my hair was still coming out like crazy. I found it easiest to see when with wet hair: part your hair, turn in the light, and look right around the part for short little hairs growing through. Remember, your hair falls out because new ones are almost ready to come in! Seeing regrowth always makes me feel better because I know my hair will be back to normal soon.
I haven't seen abnormal amounts of shedding for about two weeks now, so I'm pretty sure my shedding is over. I can tell by looking in the drain when I shower, looking at my hairbrush after I brush, and looking at my hair elastic when I pull down my hair: just a handful of strands come out instead of dozens and dozens.
I think my experience with Telogen Effluvium was short and (relatively!) painless because my trigger ended well before my hair started falling out. It was just a matter of waiting for all the hair that entered telogen phase by September to fall out. I have to be careful to smooth out my hair when I put it up, or else bits of scalp peek through. However, I never got to the point where you could see any scalp with my hair down. I am confident that the vast majority of people I interact with never knew anything was wrong. If you're at the start of Telogen Effluvium, then just know that it might not be that bad!
The best advice I read anywhere is this: the hair coming out of your head now started coming out months ago, so there's nothing you can do today that will change that. The best thing you can do is work on identifying and addressing your trigger, then try to keep calm while you wait it out.
Hope this helps and good luck everyone!