Shedding!!!

Ok, there's no way to deny it any longer. I have a SERIOUS shedding problem. The picture below shows the clump of hair I lost the last time I washed my hair (plus the once I lost before while massaging my scalp with my anti-dandruff lotion). I was really shocked so I decided to keep and count them.

I stopped counting after about 50 because there were way too many to count them all. So the next picture shows these 50 hair. I looks like a lot in the picture because of the light but it was actually a quite pathetic pile.

It gets worse!! Can you see the four evil knots in the next picture??

How in the world did that happen?! I had combed my hair before I oiled it with coconut oil, did wear it in a bun the entire day and combed it again before washing (with a sulfate-free shampoo, btw.).

I put all the hair in a bag and labeled it with the date and I will keep doing this for a couple of weeks to see if this problem gets better or worse. Let's hope for the latter! :-(

I really can't see what could possibly cause this problem since...

... I haven't changed my diet recently

... I don't take any medication

... I do drink plenty of water

... my diet is well balanced with fruit and nuts and all these goodies

... I do take a hair supplement twice a week

... my stress level is normal

... my blood had been checked recently and everything was fine.

Please, if you have any experience with excessive shedding let me know how you dealed with it!!

Future Plans

My next future plan is to go sulfate-free again which I already was for a couple of weeks before my scalp problem got so worse that it had to be treated. The anti-dandruff shampoo which I'm currently using contains SLES and I use it every 8 days. In between I use my sulfate-free L'Oreal EverPure Moisture shampoo which I absolutely love, love, love!

I'm planning to use an organic ayurvedic anti-dandruff shampoo with neem along with a scalp soothing oil from the same brand. I will order these products here.


Khadi Neem Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

ANTI-DANDRUFF

•    Balances sebum
•    Reduces flaking & itching
•    Prevents fungal build up 

Aroma Tea Tree, Eucalyptus & Rosemary

Neem & Nirgundi balances sebum, reduces flaking & itching. Tea Tree, Rosemary & Eucalyptus essential oils prevents fungal build up   
Almond & Wheat protein, Shikakai & Amla softens & conditions hair.

Neem, Nirgundi & Fenugreek have traditionally been used in Ayurveda to prevent fungal growth & keep scalp free of sticky & flaky dandruff.
Amla, Shikakai & Reetha are natural hair cleansers & conditioners. Indigo gives shine to hair & Henna gives body and bounce to hair.
This balanced Ayurvedic formulation for clean scalp will keep sebum production under control, cool scalp & prevent dryness & dandruff.
Zinc PCA is a must to prevent fungal growth.
Fortified with conditioners hair will be manageable & soft preventing breakage & split ends. Use alternate days. Balanced pH for normal human skin.
Rosemary & Tea Tree essential oils will balance out sebum production keep scalp clean, prevent dandruff & encourage hair growth.

INCI: Aqua • Coco Glucoside • Lauryl Glucoside • Sodium PCA • Glycerin • Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate • Azadirachta Indica (Neem) • Acacia Concinna (Shikakai) • Sapindus Mukurossi (Reetha)  • Vitex Negundo (indischer Mönchspfeffer) • Lawsonia Inermis • Emblica Officinalis (Amla) • Indigofera Tinctoria • Aloe Barbadensis Gel (Aloe Vera) • Coco Glucoside & Glyceryl Oleate • Rosmarinus Officinalis Essential Oil (Rosmarin) • Citric Acid • Xanthan Gum • Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein (Weizenprotein) • Hydrolyzed Sweet Almond Protein (Mandelprotein) • Zinc PCA • Sodium benzoate & Potassium Sorbate • Oryza Sativa Oil • Melaleuca Alternifolia Essential Oil (Teebaumöl) • Eucalyptus Citriodora Essential Oil (Eukalyptusöl) • Azadirachta Indica Oil (Neem) • Linalool*, Limonene*

Khadi Balsam Hair Oil

Sesame is a deep penetrating oil and prevents dryness of the scalp. Tea tree prevents scalp infections while Neem is an antiseptic.

Camphor cools down the skin while Lemon keeps the scalp clean.

Mustard is a hair tonic which helps stimulate the scalp and promotes hair growth while Fenugreek is anti-bacterial and prevents the dandruff on the scalp.

Directions: Part your hair and apply oil all over the scalp. Massage the scalp gently with fingers in a circular motion so that the oil gradually gets absorbed into the scalp.

Leave for an hour or more before washing. Keeping it overnight is also very beneficial.

Essential Oil: Tea Tree

Ingredients : Brassica juncea (Mustard oil) • Citrus medica limonum oil (Lemon) • Sesamum indicum (Sesame oil) • Cinnamomum camphora (Camphor) • Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tee Tree oil) • Azadirachta indica (Neem)

Current Problem: Shedding!!!

So with my scalp problems under control the biggest issue I have right now is that I do shed a lot of hair when combing and washing it. I don't know if the amount of shedded hair is enough that I should be worried about it but it's definitely more than I used to shed. My diet hasen't changed, I do exercise on a regular basis and I'm not stressed. Also my blood has been checked recently and everything was fine. So I really don't have an explanation for this. A couple of days ago I read on this blog that scalp massage increases shedding so this could be an answer since I have been massaging my scalp about 3 times a week headfirst for 2 minutes with my anti-dandruff lotion. I won't use this for a while to see if this problem improves.

Update: Scalp eczema

I've got good news! My husband just checked my scalp a couple of days ago and the brown/yellow covering which I had was completely gone. Just in case you don't remember, it looked like this:

Pretty gross, isn't it? lol

I still have a little bit of the regular dandruff (the little white flakes) but not as many as I used to have. My scalp sometimes does itch a little during the day but it's defintely at a level where I can say that I can live with it. All I did to get this problem under control was using a good anti-dandruff shampoo on a regular basis and to control the itching I used an anti-dandruff hair lotion about 3 times a week.

I hadn't oiled my hair with coconut oil before washing it for a couple of weeks after reading here that this might worsen the problem. Well, since this was the only site where I have read this while every other site seems to encourage the use of coconut oil when having scalp problems I have gone back to oil my hair. Today I have even oiled my scalp. Oh, how I have missed my coconut oil. We'll see how how my scalp reacts to it.