I’ve noticed some new members to the forum who are currently actively TE shedding, thinning and who are pretty exasperated, depressed, scared, etc…I began a massive and aggressive TE shed in August 2006… I thinned all over but was hardest hit at my hairline and frontal area… completely see through… I shed from that point through late November 2007…. and my shed always went up/down/up/down… it was crazy… The shed finally normalized in January of this year… I still shed but it’s a manageable amount now… and of course my hair is still pretty thin compared to what it was like… my frontal area improves every day but is incredibly see through… and I’ve found ways to deal… if I can so can you… and that’s the purpose of my post… to give a little guidance and advice…
You know what they say… take what you can use and leave the rest…
Things that helped with shedding (didn’t stop it but minimized it):
Shampooing EVERY day… yes I know this is hard to stomach… but I found if I let my hair go a day without it… that my next shampoo shed was ten times worse…
Using an apple cider vinegar hair rinse once per week… good apple cider vinegar… from a health food store….
Blotting the hair with a towel instead of vigorous towel drying.
After shampooing and conditioning, and towel drying… Dipping my fingers in a very light conditioning cream and then finger combing my hair gently…. much gentler than a brush or comb.
Things that helped boost volume and thickness:
First I had my stylist cut my hair to just below the chin and touching the shoulders… then I had chunky layers cut into my hair… then I had highlights and lowlights added with foils (the color only touched my hair not my scalp). All of these things combined created thicker feeling hair and gave the illusion of thicker hair.
I also found that using gentle hair care products that had thickening properties helped. Some favs are Tigi Bedhead Superstar Sulfate Free Thickening line, WEN Lavender Conditioning Cleanser, WEN Sweet Almond Conditioning Cleanser, Aquage Sulfate Free Shampoos and Conditioners, Aquage thickening style gel, Matrix Curl Life Shampoo, Conditioner and Styling Cream.I like to spray a little bit of thickening and texturizing gel all over and then allow my hair to partially air dry before blowdrying with an ionic hair dryer upside down.
I like to put a little texturizer wax on my fingertips and kind of piece my hair a little… gives hair depth… but stay away from the roots with it!
Hairsprays are really important to a thinning gal’s finished style… but some are more harmful to the hair than others… and hairsprays in general have alcohol so they tend to be very drying. I’ve tried ALOT of different kinds… and by far the best performing while keeping your hair flexible and healthy looking are the Aquage hairsprays… and the Matrix Curl Life and Color Smart hairsprays… they hold without being harsh and causing hair to be crunchy… if you need a cheaper alternative then try the Garnier Fructis line…
Loosely piling your hair up on top of your head and then piecing random pieces of hair with texturizer really makes thinning hair look healthy and thick…
Supplements are always a controversial topic in matters of hairloss… my best advice is that while you are actively shedding… you should steer clear of most supps… UNLESS you know for a fact that you are suffering from deficiencies that are causing and/or contributing to the shedding… for instance if you are iron deficient that would definitely cause or aggravate shedding… or if you have a thyroid problem that is untreated…
Whatever you do… DO NOT just take supplements and meds because others are… I know that when we are actively TE shedding we want a fix and we want one fast… but jumping on and off supplement and medicinal bandwagons can hurt and not help your TE… TRUST ME ON THAT ONE!
Also along the lines of supps… if you are going to take them… try to go for whole food ones… our bodies will assimilate food based vits better than synthetic garbage any day of the week…
Well… that’s all I can think of for now… hope this helps!
~ venus71, HHLH Forum Member
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 11:14 pm
thanks melanie! as you said i have been very afraid as i am seeing definite hair loss myself. the havoc it is playing on my mental health is unbearable. i too have see-through hair (particularly at the top), it actually looks quite normal from the back. i’m aways afraid that someone can see the toppiks that i apply, and that the problem will only worse. i will try your tips an the fact that you mentioned that your condition is getting better makes me feel very much assured.
best of luck to you