Another hair loss thread - how much hair do you lose?

[Hairlosswoes]

Hi,

I already have this running in s&b, but thought I'd put it here too.

So I know this is a really common problem, but I'm not sure if I'm over worrying.

IknowI've lost quite a bit of thickness over the past 10 years. Probably lost a third to half of it actually, but that was likely due to undiagnosed, so untreated anaemia and then untreated low ferritin.

I take iron tablets every 2 or 3 days, what GPs now advise with absorption, I also take Floradix, Florisense tablets, vit d and have upped my vit c and iron in my diet.

I can't really see any regrowth. Maybe a few baby hairs, although could just be breakage, but I'm still losing loads. Well, I think it's loads anyway. When I run my fingers through my hair, I get anything between 5 and 20 hair come out, but when I wash it, it just doesn't seem to stop. From brushing, to washing, to styling. It's a constant stream or hairs.

I know up to 100 hairs a day can be a normal amount to lose, but if I'm not getting those hairs replenished, then it's only going to continue in one direction isn't it?

I have been taking iron for years and the other tablets and change in diets for several months.

Ferritin still under 30, which is probably the issue, but don't know what else I can do!

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

MTIA

Following this - I don't actually have any advice but am suffering from the exact same thing. I can't believe how much hair I'm losing lately. When I wash my hair it's actually ridiculous how much comes out. My son has been ill and recently started a new school so I wondered if it was a stress-related thing but now wondering if it's hormonal/age-related.

@MrsJThornton, it's really distressing isn't it? It sounds like stress could well be a cause for you, so hopefully it's just a phase.

How much hair are you actually losing?

I can have days where I only lose a bit, but then usually the next couple of days, I shed like a hound I actually had a few days where I thought it might be slowing, but then yesterday I ran my fingers through my hair and it just wouldn't stop. I'd say maybe 30 hairs

Just giving this a bump

Be aware it's autumn now so you will be shedding more hair than usual! As with my skin I found the less attention i paid to my hair the better it became (although I'm sure part of that was psychological as well as physiological).

This was me a couple of years ago. It’s really very common and it’s totally minimised until it’s too bloody late. (Problem with hair is that it takes so long to grow that you don’t know what does and doesn’t actually make a difference, and if it doesn’t, you have to start again!!!) Have you got a history of rosacea, scalp rash, increasingly oily - (probably increasing to the point of being even slightly waxy) or irritated scalp (and/or eyebrows) - namely little, painful, itchy pimple-like bumps that often bleed when you scratch at them - probably after decades of what was previously dry hair? I’m guessing you have a hormonal imbalance that has led to seborrhaeic dermatitis. You need to request a referral to a dermatologist who specializes in scalp conditions and they will do couple of small punch biopsies (to see what part of the hair cycle your hair is falling from) and get you to gather up all the fallen hairs from your clothes and brush every day in separate, labeled ziplock bags for two weeks (so they can count the hairs and look at the follicles.) You will probably be prescribed oral spironolactone to help balance out the hormones (great for rosacea too) and maybe even minoxidil.

Mine !doesnt sound so extreme but am worried for the future. For the meantime this works ok

Loads atm. But then a recent blood test showed that I needed an increase in the thyroxine dosage, and my ferritin is 12.

It literally comes out in handfuls at times.

Just giving this a bump.

I updated on s&b, but basically my hair loss has really accelerated over the past few days. Huge handfuls every time I run my hands through my hair. Why would it be getting worse with everything that I'm doing?

I really am so upset

This was also me a few years ago. Low ferritin and borderline low thyroid. Took iron in various forms, not much improvement. So depressing.

What worked for me was a radical detox. After that I feel sure my gut was working much better and absorbing the iron etc which wasn't happening before. Stopped losing hair and it regrew, even though I stopped taking supplements.

By radical detox, I mean fasting and weeks of mostly fruit and veg, then probiotics through fermented foods and supplements. Sorted the thyroid too.

@SiulaGrande care to share more info on that?

This was me and the combined pill solved it almost immediately so it must have been hormonal.

Not sure if this helps but how much alcohol do you drink? I was a regular wine drinker and it was making my hair thin terribly. So much better now I have stopped drinking completely, I have a lot of regrowth all of a sudden.

@LakeShoreD, I think the pill may help me too, as my low ferritin is down to heavy periods, but I've never liked the idea of taking a daily hormone. If it helped though, I'd seriously think about it now.

@yoshiblue, only at the weekends, but too much. I've never heard of alcohol causing hair loss, but then did read something about tannins, which is in a lot of wine, inhibiting iron absorption

PP who asked could I say more, I went here www.suradetox.co.uk

I have also found the Joe Cross reboot similarly effective www.rebootwithjoe.com

And I'm a big fan of approaches in this book www.waterstones.com/book/better-health-through-natural-healing/ross-trattler/shea-trattler/978158394667
The section on hair loss in the book has the following to say about hair loss:
"Considerations (possible causes): single or multiple nutritional deficiencies (vitamin B complex; biotin; inositol; PABA; vitamin B6; folic acid; contraceptive pill (B6 loss); stress; overwork; refined diet; anemia; alcohol; nicotine.
Many nutritional deficiencies have been found associated with hair loss. Most of these are part of the vitamin B complex. Our entire modern society seems to threaten consumption of adequate B complex supply. The refining of whole grain removes a valuable source of many B vitamins, as does overcooking vegetables in boiling water. In addition, the ordinary diet usually lacks raw green vegetables, a major source of many B vitamins. Even if intake of B complex is adequate, these vitamins are often utilised excessively to digest concentrated carbohydrates such as sugar, white bread. Stress also depletes B complex as it supports adrenal function, and it acts directly to reduce blood circulation to the scalp. The hormonal system is particularly susceptible to emotions and may affect hair growth. Sluggish thyroid function is a common finding in many cases of hair loss."

You don’t say how old you are and whether you’re perimenopausal? If it’s female pattern baldness caused by hormonal changes then I think there’s only one actual treatment (minoxidil) but it’s no miracle cure.

It depletes a lot of your B vitamins from memory. My hairdresser couldn’t believe the difference in my hair after a few months. May not be the only factor but it won’t be helping

@SiulaGrande, thanks, that's really interesting.

@yoshiblue, I'm glad you're seeing improvements.

My sisters hair went very thin and stopped growing past a certain length on one side. She had blood tests and the doctor said everything was normal but her vit d was only just within the normal band. The doctor wouldn't do anything. So she joined the Vit d protocol group on Facebook and really upped her level of vit d and the other tablets that go are part of the protocol. Within a few months she's seen quite a bit of hair growth and her scalp is a lot healthier as well.

My godmother has some thinness and she uses this capsule treatment on her hair every few months. Don't know exactly what it is and it's in a different country, but you can search for something similar

@Porridgealert, glad your sister had such good results.

@grey12, which capsules?

Fenugreek was recommended on your other thread - don't bother. I bought some and soaked it and sprayed hair and left for a couple of hours - handfulls fell out in the shower as usual. And it smells totally vile! I'm like you, if I run my hand down my hair at least a dozen hairs come out each side (including roots), after gently washing it probably 50, and after it's dried I can feel them loose on my back. I've clogged the hoover so much that the inside looked like a dead guinea pig! It's all very sad.

I had this 12 years ago and it was very distressing.

I upped my protein, took a vitamin B complex, ate peanuts for my go to snack.
Kept my hair in a short bob.

It was so stressful.

My whole life I had super hair, it was awful.

I definitely think it was hormonal, peri menopausal connected as well.

A good hair supplement can help and of course iron.

My hair came back slowly but has really improved throughout lockdown and I wonder is it connected with the 20lbs I've gained an am busy trying to shift.