Question about shedding

[classycrimson]

Hello ladies. I haven't been on the board in a while but I lurk here on and off. I really appreciate all the collective wisdom you all have and your results are amazing. I have an issue I've been wondering about. I have always been a crazy shedder....at one point I was anemic and i thought maybe that was the reason...but i also shed when my iron levels have been normal for a while but who knows. I am permed and my hair now is somewhere between APL and BSL...closer to BSL. My hair is 4 aish ****...I usually wear in a bun for school..and i dont manipulate much - I actually hate combing my hair...it's quite thick even though it's permed. Sometimes right before a perm I run my fingers through my hair and i get handfuls of hair. The ends of the hairs have the root attached (white bulb) but still I can get a good golf ball sized ball near perm time. I used to stretch relaxers to about 12-16 weeks (mostly due to lack of time) but I'm considering cutting that time down b/c of the shedding and because my hair gets crazy tangled. Also the first week after I have washed my hair it doesnt shed as much....if I am in a time crunch , it starts the shedding again at the end of week 2 of no washing.

Does anyone else shed alot when it's time to wash? I know it;s common to shed around perm time, but washing? It'd be nice to cut down my shedding, but I am lucky that it doesnt seem to affect the overall appearance of my hair. Also has anyone had good results from perming slightly more often? Just sounds like an oxymoron

Thanks for your help and i was just wondering if it is just me

 

[Nonie]

Sounds to me like your hair is behaving normally. You said you don't manipulate it much. When you wash, you probably remove a lot of the shed hair during the wash manipulation so when you're done, you have hardly any hair coming out. Then you put it in a bun and don't manipulate it much. Every hair you shed just stays caught up in all the strands because you're not bothering your hair. Then after a week or so, you run your fingers through your hair and disturb the shed hair that was hiding among the strands. Sounds like that's what's happening to me.

 

[frida1980]

I know when I was relaxed, it was getting major shedding this time of year. It was really frustrating. I know now, that as I get closer to wash time I start shedding. But I've found ways of reducing it. Here are the things that work for most people:

Coffee rinses
tea rinses
Garlic (meaning tablets, garlic oil mixed with conditioners, and actual garlic in conditioners)
Steaming

Here's what worked for me:

I steam every week. Before I steamed, I DCed with heat. But Steaming really gets into the hair shaft and last.
A natural concoction that uses avocado, EVOO, organic yogurt, and garlic oil
Protein treatments every 3 weeks.

I can't say what will definitely help, because everyone's head is different. But what I can tell you, is you need to try different things. Shedding doesn't have to be a reality.

 

[classycrimson]

Thanks for the info ladies!