Just been to the hairdressers and LOADS of my hair came out 😫 Is this normal?

[CoffeeandPastries]

Hi,

Already have this running in Style and Beauty, but thought I'd post here for traffic.

So firstly, I'm used to losing quite a bit when I brush or wash my hair and occasionally it definitely tips over the edge of normal - I.e, more than 100 strands a day, but I thought that recently it had slowed down. Today, however....

I was at the hairdresser, having an all over dark base colour, with a few highlights scattered through and after the first wash before my toner was put on, I ran my fingers through it, mainly just to see what it was looking like andit came out in clumps! Proper clumps. Two lots - enough to fill my hand.

I told the hairdresser and she insisted it wasn't anything to do with the bleach because it was dark hair, which I was thinking anyway, but wtf? She said it was probably just extra shedding, but I've never had anything like that.

I'm just not convinced it wasn't something to do with my base colour, although I know there's no evidence that it causes hair loss. There was a bit of tingling though, but my hairdresser said it was almost like a menthol effect, so nothing to worry about, as I've had the patch test.

My hair was alwayssuperthick and is probably about half the thickness now, but still looks thickish. I could get away with losing some, but if this turns into a regular thing, I'll be bald by next year!

I'm on iron tablets, plus a multi vitamin specifically designed for hair, so I should be all topped up in that department.

Anyway, it freaked me out a bit today, so just wanted a bit of advice or maybe reassurance

TIA

Can you see any breakage anywhere on your hair at all?

If you run your hands through your hair now it's dry is it still coming out?

@relievedlady, no breakage. It actually feels in good condition. Just ran my fingers through it and no, nothing else is coming out. Normally I'd get several strands when running my fingers through.

Maybe I got a few days worth of shedding in one, because I had such a thorough wash...

Excess shedding can be a symptom of an underactive thyroid. Worth having it checked?

Hair falling out in clumps has been reported as an after effect of Covid 19 so if you've already had it then that may be the cause.

I had this happen years ago after a sudden huge shock. Have you had anything traumatic happen? Been very stressed at all?

@newtb, yes, I'm going to get myself booked in.

@Nittersing, bloody hell. Coronavirus symptom?! Might have known.

@TwentyViginti, tbh I'm naturally quite a stressy person and I'm constantly battling with myself to keep the stress levels down. I've been ok recently though I thought. Although I did read somewhere before that there can be a delay between the stressful period and hair falling out.

My hair is shedding like crazy just now. I read it’s an after effect of Covid but I don’t think I’ve had it unless very mildly or asymptomatic. So for me I think it’s either the stress and anxiety of lockdown taking its toll or the fact that I lost three and a half stone very quickly in the first few months of the year.

I’ve read about it and hair grows in three month cycles so if the shedding goes on past three months, there is an ongoing problem but it could be in response right now to anything in the past three months - stress, nutritional deficiencies and viral illness all can cause excessive hair loss. I am morbidly fascinated by how much comes out right now when I run my hand through it but am hoping it won’t last.

OP, you haven’t had a baby in the past year have you?

@CaptainBrickbeard, can I ask how much hair you're losing?

@Bobbinsmama, no, although we were thinking about TTC. Forgot about post partum shedding though 😬

Do you have your hair tied back a lot? I definitely notice a lot more shedding in the shower after I’ve been wearing a ponytail for a day or two (I do take it out and brush it well at night!), much more than when I have it loose. I think it’s just several days of normal shedding all happening at once. Might have been a similar situation, especially with a really thorough hairdresser wash - all that scalp massaging!

My hair has been coming out in clumps in the past few months. I do have a 9mo old though so put it down to that. And told DH I will be needing a wig by Christmas

If I run my fingers through, a lot of hairs come out - not in clumps, but a lot of single hairs. I can make a pile of them if I do it a few times. When I wash it, there are medium sized clumps in the shower. But it’s not visible - I don’t have any noticeably thin patches or a wider parting. I do have thick hair and a lot of it! Today I’ve noticed hairs fluttering down my arms every now and again so they are falling from my head sometimes - I’ll look down and see a few long blonde hairs on my dress. And when I hoover the house, they wrap around the brush head and I have to strip it every time so there must be hair everywhere! But it’s very pale blonde so they don’t show up much.

Were you wearing your hair up before your appointment? I find that when I've had my hair up (in a standard ponytail, not in a 'do' or anything!), if I run my fingers through my hair or wash it straight afterwards I get loads of strands - which I presume is as a result of it not shedding naturally as my hair isn't down.

@Spudlet, I'm hanging onto that being the case 🤞 I don't really brush my hair unless I'm going in the shower. I kind of quickly run my fingers through it in the morning, as the texture can be quite frizzy otherwise, so I would have expected more than usual to come out, given I hadn't even done that, but it was a ridiculous amount. It was very knotty though.

@KatnissK, well if it's your Christmas present, it could be a really good one Sounds like you have an explanation at least, so should be temporary.

@LBOCS2, no, but as I said, it hadn't been brushed for a while, so I guess that's the same kind of thing.

You mentioned ttc- have you recently changed from any form of hormonal birth control? I get shedding when I go and off the pill and not just a few hairs but loads and ongoing for a good few weeks.

Could be a reaction

Could be genetic hair loss

Could be temporary hair loss due to stress or deficiencies or other health issues

@spottygymbag, nope. Not on any hormonal medication.

There doesn't appear to be any more coming out today, which is unusual. I always get at least 10 or so hairs in my hand, so maybe that vigorous double wash removed hairs that maybe gradually would have shed over a couple of weeks.

Regardless though, as I mentioned before, my hair is half the thickness it was 10 years ago, so unless it calms down, I'm going to end up with nothing. I think I'm going past the stage of "but you've got so much so you can get away with losing some"

Some forms of hair loss are self limiting eg stress induced (telogen effluvium) so you wouldn’t lose all your hair. Speak to your GP to figure out what’s going on