Have you had temporary hair loss?

[holoo]

I am shedding like crazy. A lot coming out when I wash, when I brush, when I dry or even when I just run my fingers through my hair.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had a temporary phase of this and had it stop on its own.

Bloods all checked and fine.

Post giving birth.
Also was iron deficient AND anaemic.

Sorted that out and it got better.

I'm also here to say could be anaemia / iron deficiency. Might be worth asking the GP for a blood test, i think that can be helpful to confirm and also tell you the level of deficiency i.e. how hardcore tablets do you need. I think there are other things that can cause hair loss, but that's the one I have experience of.

The OP says her bloods are all fine...

But yes, I've had this before. Once was stress-related. Other times it's because I've been on a diet.

Oops sorry for posting without reading the op!

Yes, Keto diet and as soon as I stopped my hair started to shed. Really common apparently. I use Nioxin shampoo and felt that helped. The shedding stopped eventually too.

Hiya! When you say your bloods were 'fine', what was your ferritin level? Because the NHS guidelines for 'fine' are LOW and we need a high level (think 80!) for healthy hair. Mine has been as low as 8!

Also - think back. Was there any sort of traumatic event roughly three months ago? Either a highly stressful period or a acute illness (such as norovirus/flu)?

Our hair operates on a three month cycle on average, and if three months ago your body was under 'attack' for any reason, it focuses on healing that and ignores the hair folicles for a bit - resulting in hair shedding three months later! It's called telogen effluvium.

If there was, you can reasonably predict that it will regrow in three months - almost to the day.

I hope that helps. All the best!

I got two quire signicant bald patches. Started out dize of 10p, but around 3cm in diameter now. Bloods ok. Mine definitely linked to trauma. As a woman I find it distressing. Might research the shampoo mentioned

I started to get seasonal hair loss early 40s, but could be stress related as well. My hair is overall thinner now than it was before but it varies during the year.

As long as you don't have any bald batches, it could be just seasonal, and you should see tiny hairs coming along. I do take vitamin supplement for hair and try not to wash my hair too often.

Yes from stress had two very close bereavements 12 weeks apart and the only bad patch in my marriage and my SIL was vile to me and her own Mum all around the same time. I had MIL crying down the phone often, it was a bloody awful year and the worst of my life, nothing else comes close.

Agree with pp, bloods being “fine” tend to absolutely not be.

Have you had Covid recently? I had awful hair loss a few months after Covid

Are you particularly stressed at all right now? When I was super stressed last year my hair started to to shed a LOT. Back to normal now (now that that stressful period has ended )

I have this yearly.

normally for me it’s autumn: I can set my watch by an October-Nocember shed. I often lose 1/3 of my ponytail. My hairdresser thinks my hair growth peaks in summer when I need more scalp cover and then once the sun goes, it sheds the excess.

Bloods always fine, keep up my iron and other supplements. By the time I start to really panic, it stops all of a sudden. If you look at my hair now when pulled back I’ve got loads of new baby hair growth.

Yes after my hysterectomy ( age 38).. went on HRT and came back gorgeous.
But hair on my legs disappeared same time and never came back ( lucky me haven't shaved my legs for 28 years).

I started shedding excessive amounts of hair years ago when I was recovering from an illness. I'd been really ill for 4 months and the hair loss started just as I started to recover. I'd hardly eaten for the previous 4 months as I'd had constant sickness and as a result had developed severe anaemia. As my appetite returned and I started eating again,the hair loss stopped and it started growing again. Was completely back to normal after about a year.

Bald patch the size of 50p after traumatic ectopic.

Yes, I've lost shed loads of hair about 3mths after starting diets! It lasted about a month then stopped. Not in patches, but overall, so not noticeable to anyone other than me. Have you given birth recently, started a diet, been ill etc?

I assume when they checked your bloods OP- they checked for anaemia, thyroid, sugars etc?

Yes all along the front of my hairline when I had cancer. It was from the stress. I didn't have chemo. Grew back vertically which was very annoying for a few months!!

Six months after having covid in 2020 (pre vax and treatment) I lost a lot of hair and again after getting it twice in the summer (first time time given antivirals second time without) I’ve been losing clumps of hair and have bald patches (but there is regrowth). I havent had hair loss when I’ve had covid treated with antivirals.

it could also be hormonal if you’re over 40

Yes a few times, post trauma, post covid, post stress. Every time 2-3 months after, my hair will fall out in clumps for a few months. post birth too but everyone loses hair for that.

Yes, I was iron deficient and anaemic. Op, they don't test ferritin as standard, please get that checked.

The reason is was so low in the above is because I had coeliac disease.

My hair was coming out in clumps.

Bodily trauma can also cause hair loss. I had a big shedding period after I had surgery and it took about 4-5 months for everything to stabilise..

Temporary hair thinning can be due to telogen effluvium which can be triggered by stress or an infection (I had it after Covid) it usually resolves on its own but biotin supplements and minoxidil (Regaine) can help speed up the process.
I had it for about 3 months and it took 3-6 months to resolve and it's back to normal now.

Oh yeah and the regrowing baby hairs are a right pest!