What is normal hair shedding?

Hi,

Because I have chronic telogen effluvium, I have lost track as to what normal hairloss is like. I know that you are meant to have a shed around about spring and around about autumn.

I was just wondering though, how long should they last and how many hairs should fall out per day? I know that it probably varies quite some degree from person to person, but are there any average figures?

Thank you

Hi Ally
I've always believed that about a 100 a day is normal, but I did read that it can go up to 200 at certain times, presumably during those sheds you mention.
I know exactly what you mean about not remembering what it was like to have normal hair shedding - my whole house is covered in my hair, my chair at work I have 'de-hair' every day and every meal I make seems to end up with hair in it! And of course, when my hair was normal, I never had any reason to count how many came out, so it's difficult to remember what it was like.
Nevertheless, I've stopped counting them because it just increases the whole cycle of anxiety. I used to have a whole routine every day of combing and counting, and I'm glad I've stopped that because it really is better to try to live as normally as possible. I think I almost had a phobia of seeing shed hairs, even when they were't mine!
How long have you had telogen effluvium and does your hair actually look thinner? Mine has been going on for 3 months and my hair is definitely thinner, though I've always had baby fine hair even when it was normal, so it probably shows more.
Annahelen

Hi annahelen,

Yup I have to de-hair everything all the time! Especially on the carpet around where I blow-dry my hair, and on my bed. It just gets everywhere. It used to bother me big time, but I just get rid of it now before I have time to think about it!

My chronic telogen effluvium has been wierd. I had it constantly for about four years, although because my hair was so rediculously thick I didn't notice any significant decrease in density for the first two years. I think the shedding got worse after this because by the third year about 50% was gone. The shedding must have slowed down after this because I guess 60% was gone by the fourth year. Amazingly though you wouldn't think I had a hairloss problem if you looked at me, I still have hair all over my head. Although if you had known me all my life, then you would easily be able to tell that my hair was totally different. My friends and family finally believed me when I told them I had a problem with my hair when I was about two years into my CTE.

Anyway, here comes the weird bit. My hairloss completely stopped for one year exactly. I had a lot of regrowth too. My life just went completey back to normal, I had been pretty depressed the year before. I was very happy. Sadly though, three months ago, it all started up again. I think I'm clutching at straws a bit thinking that this might be a normal autumnal shed seeing as it started in July!! And it just feels exactly the same as it did before, just slipping out all the time.

I'm so confused by all this, but I'm loads more positive this time though. I've started on the iron supplements again- I took them for about two years but stopped because I felt that they weren't the cause of the problem. I didn't take them during the time the hairloss stopped, so now I'm thinking iron might have something to do with it after all.

Have you been to the doctor abou your TE? Has he/ she given you any ideas as to why it might be falling out? Are you taking any supplements?

Woah sorry for the major long post!!

Ally

Hi Ally
Yes I went to the doctor last week after the most enormous ball of hair came out on Friday. I'm having some blood tests this week, but I'm not holding my breath, as it's only for thyroid and iron, and I had a thyroid test not long ago which was normal, plus I'm a blood donor and I've never been anaemic, which they test test for.
I do take a lot of supplements, but then I always did, having been a vegan for 15 years and very interested in health generally: multivitamin and mineral, flax oil, evening primrose oil, extra zinc since I came off the pill for the spots I used to have before I was on it, ginkgo biloba, Calms tablets (since the hair loss!), agnus castus.
Oddly enough, for the last three days I haven't excessive hair loss. This coincides with starting using Nizoral shampoo, but that probably is just a coincidence. Maybe this was a TE caused by stopping the pill and now it's over- but I'm not holding my breath, because during this period I have had the odd day which was encouraging, only to be followed by tonnes the next few days!
You're lucky to have had such thick hair in the first place. Most of the people I've read about having chronic TE seem to have had thick hair. It's probably an extremely stupid question, but do you think it could be caused by overheating, with it being nature's way of thinning it out? Do you have it long?
In the period when your hair was normal, were you able to forget about hair loss, or did you always wonder at the back of your mind whether it would come back? Depressing though it is that it has started again, at least this time you know recovery is going to happen, because it's happened before, whereas last time, you couldn't be sure.
It's all very confusing looking for connections with what we do and eat and what happens to our hair. I started wondering whether all the spinach I ate last week had improved it, but logically I know it would take a lot longer!
Best wishes
Annahelen

My fingers are crossed for you! You never know it could all be over!

I have often thought that my hairloss problem was just nature deciding that I had just too much hair. Maybe my head was so freaked out about having to carry so much hair for so long that one day it just decided enough was enough? I don't particularly mind having thin hair, things could certainly be a lot worse but I do find myself longing for my old hair. Having said that, I do remember longing for thinner hair when I had thick hair..

I think the only thing that really bothers me is the feeling of hair coming out all the time. It just doesn't feel natural. But you are right, it's stopped falling out before so I'm sure it'll happen again..

When my hairloss stopped it was always at the back of my mind that it might come back but I seriously thought that I had just had a rather nasty bought of TE and now it was completely gone.

Oh well. I wish you all the best with your hairloss and hope you make a full recovery

Ally

Thanks Ally
It's still not coming out too much ( a whole week now!), but it suddenly seems so thin! I'll just have to wait and see I suppose, whether it thickens up again.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you too
Annaheleni

Hello Ladies

I just found this forum so I'm new here. It seems I am having the same symptoms with my hair as well. The strange thing is I have NEVER had this problem before. I have very thick hair, but now all of a sudden it seems to be getting thinner, and quickly. I think my excess hair loss started around the beginning of September. I normally would lose maybe 20 strands of hair every time I brushed or combed it, but now its 100+ strands, so I only brush my hair once a day now. People tell me that I'm going to lose it anyway so I should brush it the way I normally did before - yeah easy for them to say. This is scaring the you know what out of me. There are many times I just touch my hair and I will lose 5 - 6 strands at once in that area. I did go on a low-carb diet around May 2005 and lost almost 50 lbs. I thought maybe that is what has caused this, but I don't know. I made an appointment to see my doctor this coming Monday, so I may know more. I know the thyroid test will have to be done, but I had that done a few months ago and that came back normal. I really wish the hair fall out would stop - I want my life to get back to normal again.

annahelen - how is your hair today? Still not falling out as much?

Ally - how is yours as well?

Thanks for reading

Hi BMW girl
Your hair loss definitely sounds like telogen effluvium and if blood tests are normal then your weight loss is the most likely cause - I read that it's very common after a diet. It's like the body thinks it's starving, and decides to shut down the processes that are least important, i.e hair. It will hopefully last only for a few months and then go back to normal, and if your hair was thick to begin with, it will probably not have much impact overall on its thickness. But it's probably best to make sure you're getting all the vitamins and protein you need.
My hair was very fine to begin with and is much thinner now. My hair loss is still excessive but is now about 200 instead of the 400 hairs a day that it was. It's been going on for 3 months or so now. I think mine is a mixture of telogen effluvium and androgenetic hair loss since stopping the pill, as the thinning is greater on top.
Annahelen

Hi Annahelen

Thank you so much for the reply. I have never experienced this much hair loss before. It really freaked me out after I started to count the strands of hair - it does sound crazy to do, but I was worried and concerned about it. I think I lose around 150 - 200 strands a day. I normally would only lose about 20 strands after brushing each time, but not anymore. I hear of the normal fall out each day to be 50 - 80, then 100 - 200, so I haven't got a clue what the normal is.

I went to my doctor last Monday and he did the blood work for the thyroid and iron - i'm not holding my breath as well because I had that done last month and it came back normal. He checked my scalp and looked for bald spots - didn't find any. He asked me if I checked for bald spots - I said "are you kidding! I'm too afraid to look!" - LOL. I see him again in 2 weeks, but I actually feel better knowing that this is more than likely nothing permanent. I kept telling my doctor that I was afraid of going bald - he reassured me that I won't go bald. I do see new growth, but the new growth looks like it is a few months old. I am hoping that this is not going to last much longer. My husband and daughter doesn't notice that my hair looks thinner, but I sure do. Oh well, maybe its just me, but when I wash it it still takes hours to dry.

I hope yours will stop soon - I'm not sure how long something like this lasts.

BMW Girl

Going through this too...

I hope you don't mind me joining. I'm also going through hair loss. I have no idea what's going on but I'm really worried. My hair has always been thick and I've always been a big shedder; however, it's much worse now. I'm finding very small globs of hair on the floor, only consisting of a few hairs but still globbed together so they must've fallen out together. I'm finding hairs in strange places like the refrigerator and stuck to the walls. I swear my forehead is larger and the top of my hair appears a bit thinner. I haven't seen any bald spots. I had my hair cut recently and the hairdresser said my hair was very thick and that I *might* possibly have a very minor receding hairline. Lovely.

My daughter lost all of her hair this past summer due to alopecia and is now losing her eyebrows.

I've inspected my hairs as they've come out. Some have what I think is a normal-looking bulb and others have a smaller bulb while others have no bulb at all. My hair appears very healthy otherwise. What the heck is going on here?