Update: Shedding, Breakage & Hair Loss

 "My hair still continues to shed!!!"

The picture above shows the hair shed during my last crochet braid take down which is very compacted.  I was going to add a series of photos to this post to show what I have to deal with every wash day but it's too depressing!

What I have done though is added a picture below of the hair shed on my most recent wash day on 03.09.13 at 6 weeks post relaxer and a couple from the past couple of years for comparison purposes.




The hair in this picture looks like a similar amount to the picture above but it's actually more like half the amount, or less as this hasn't been compacted.  This is ALL the hair which came out during the entire wash day, even the hair that caught in the hair catcher in the shower.  For me, this is the usual amount of shedding I experience.

Shed hair from wash day from 3rd September 2013

Shed hair from wash day in June 2011

Looking at the above, it's a wonder I have any hair left on my head!!!  And it's not surprising that my hair is looks thin.  :(

Now, how's this for a comparision picture!  This was from a wash day from 4th September 2012.

And this is the amount shed on the following wash day on 12th September.

The amount of hair lost this time last year was great and I'd be happy to get back to this!  I've added links to my wash day posts for those dates and my hair looks really healthy and was around the time when I noticed a difference in how my hair felt and responded.  This all changed after I took out the kinky twists I installed shortly afterward, this is why I've not done them since and why I have decided to avoid long-term protective styles for the following year.

I think the culprit of my shedding may be due to my extremely dry scalp. I must say I have never noticed it before, but I realise now that my scalp is incredibly dry! I can oil my scalp one day and they next it is dry like a desert! I have no flakes whatsoever but the dryness can be shocking.  I recently revisited adding the contents of garlic capsules directly to my scalp which works really well for me.

I also think it is time to admit to myself that my hair must have also been breaking. It is so strange because when I check the hairs that I lose, they are predominantly (if not all) shed hairs,  However, my hair line, nape and crown areas definitely have some short pieces so I can only assume that I have experienced some breakage unless some of it is new hair growing in which I highly doubt. I don’t know exactly when the breakage occurred, but I think it could have been during my recent install of crochet braids which were in my hair when I was really ill. My hair regime pretty much went out the window for 2-4 weeks and the possible breakage I see now is most likely a result of that period of time.

I’m not going to worry about it though. I have increased my moisture and protein and decreased manipulation of my hair.

I’m expecting some significant shedding in the next month as a result of my recent illness of the past few months. I am pretty sure that my body will see that episode as significant enough to trigger some hair loss caused by shock!

Is that another setback I can hear.....?   That's lovely news......NOT!!!

Ciao 4 Now

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