anxious about washing hair

[jenn99]

Hi. I was just wondering if anyone else has anxiety about washing their hair? I dread it everyday and literally get sick to my stomach when I wash my hair because so much hair comes out. I'm probably going to have to go on some sort of anxiety medication to deal with my hair loss. I know it's not the end of the world but it feels like it is.

[VictoriaG]

Oh yes, definitely! It's extremely stressful. I rarely use conditioner any more to avoid extra rubbing. I do try to remember to comb my hair before a shampoo, sometimes it helps a little (with the amount I see in the tub afterwards). I also always rinse with water as cold as I can stand it - hoping it will contract the follicles and hold on to more hair. Honestly, I don't know if this is even possible, but it's a mind game I play!!

[kellyjean]

Definately. I shower every other day because of it. Not much comes out during the shower, but combing it afterwards is horrible.

Haha, I wash in cold water as well. I know it closes the pores on your face (easier to keep makeup on longer) so I hope the same can be said for the hair follicles.

I just bought an amazing smelling body-wash; hopefully it will make the shower experience a bit more pleasant.

[Sammy7]

I think washing my hair rates right up there with visiting the dentist and getting a pelvic exam! LOL?

I find rinsing with cold water does help. It supposedly closes the hair shalf. I use a huge detangling comb and I tie a shirt instead of a towel on my head. It seems to put less stress on the hair. I am currently making satin pillowcases instead of cotton so there is no extra pressure or pull on my hair. Is everyone else as paranoid as this? :D

[KathyLI]

I know exactly where you guys are at- and it is quite comforting! I shower in the dark so I don't see the drain, I skip conditioning and dry my hair in a long sleeve gray shirt so I don't feel or see the hair coming out. I think I win, huh?

[happygirl]

Sammy I think I'm more paranoid than you are :) I dread every day the moment that I wash my hair. I started washing my hair with purified water about a year ago, somehow it feels better than the shower water, don't know why, feels like my scalp gets less irritated.

Jenny what I try to do is not to count the hairs, just put them in the toilet and don't watch!, it makes me feel a little better :)

[VictoriaG]

I read that in a magazine recently - using a t-shirt instead of a towel! It's also supposed to help eliminate frizzies, which is a big problem with those little hairs - you know, the ones that you can't tell whether they're from regowth or breakage??? It's definitely not paranoia, it's trying anything and everything to ease the stress.

[Sammy7]

Well today is the big day! I visit my doctor to start me on the path to recovery. I hope she takes me seriously!:confused:

Part of me does not want to start a treatment because of the shedding. What if the shedding increases and what I have just disappears? Has any one used Folligen for Women?

[lazy]

Rinsing with water as cold as you can stand definitely helps close the cuticle (if you think of the outside of a strand like a fir cone). Just make sure you allow enough time for the cuticles to close - like a couple of minutes. It makes the hair easier to comb afterwards and your hair shines more when the cuticles are closed as they reflect the light.

Happygirl, I've been wondering lately about washing, or at least final rinsing my hair in purified water. At the moment we are travelling the USA so I am exposed to using various waters and seeing some dramatic differences where we go. The last house we lived in for 12 months had well water and that left my hair feeling slightly dirty feeling, a sort of slight tackiness and as I have fine,thin hair it never looked good at all. We have stayed at cabins in mountains, houses with City water, water that is highly chlorinated and so it goes and every place has a differnt effect on my poor locks. Can anyone else tell me if their hair thrives with using well water or was that just me?

[lazy]

Sammy7 good luck with your treatment.

[Sammy7]

Ok I read this while browsing on the internet for hair thining help. I came upon a journalist who has had her hair thining for 10 years. There were 2 tips that I had never heard of or tried. Has anyone tried these with any luck??

1. Comb your hair after you shampoo/condition it and it has DRIED! Apparently this does not put as much stress on the hair and hair is weaker when wet. Thus less hair shed!! Has anyone tried this? I know it might make it difficult to style it but I am more concerned about keeping hair on my head than looking like a hair model! :D

2. Use hair products that are alcohol free

[Serge]

I too am very scared to wash my hair - the amount I see going down the drain is aboslutely heartbreaking.

I have been suffering from androgenetic alopecia for three years and have lost nearly two thirds of my hair - my scalp is becoming quite visible and the problem is starting to rule my life.

I have just started using 5% spironlactone lotion and 5% minoxidil and am very tempted to start taking finasteride (which I have been prescribed by my GP) - does anyone else use this combination and are you seeing any results. The amount of hair in the brush is unbearable.

[kellyjean]

Ok I read this while browsing on the internet for hair thining help. I came upon a journalist who has had her hair thining for 10 years. There were 2 tips that I had never heard of or tried. Has anyone tried these with any luck??

1. Comb your hair after you shampoo/condition it and it has DRIED! Apparently this does not put as much stress on the hair and hair is weaker when wet. Thus less hair shed!! Has anyone tried this? I know it might make it difficult to style it but I am more concerned about keeping hair on my head than looking like a hair model! :D

2. Use hair products that are alcohol free

I comb after it has dried and notice a little less shed. I separate gently with my fingers so it dries faster.

[Sammy7]

Thanks KellyJean :) I am trying that now... How do you put in styling products-like hair mousse. Do you wait until your hair is almost dried and then gently pat it on?

[kellyjean]

I actually don't use any product on my hair anymore; I'm trying to be soooo gentle with it so as not to cause any more to fall out than is necessary.

I've also noticed that showering (atleast shampooing, anyways) in water as cold as I can stand it helps me to retain some hair as well.

:D

[kawawa]

Ok for those of you who can't bring yourself to wash your hair every day. I have an old grandma trick. Take some Secret Solid and rub it on all 10 fingers tips and massage your scalp, then repeat. You can get two days for the price of one wash, no smelly scalp.

This won't work with greasy hair sorry.

Then just use a low heat hot iron to style.

[kawawa]

I too am very scared to wash my hair - the amount I see going down the drain is aboslutely heartbreaking.

I have been suffering from androgenetic alopecia for three years and have lost nearly two thirds of my hair - my scalp is becoming quite visible and the problem is starting to rule my life.

I have just started using 5% spironlactone lotion and 5% minoxidil and am very tempted to start taking finasteride (which I have been prescribed by my GP) - does anyone else use this combination and are you seeing any results. The amount of hair in the brush is unbearable.

I know several women who have taken this combination and I don't really think there was a lot of success because side effect usually required them to quit. I do know of several women who used Viviscal with success. You might try the poppy seed hair mask from bb and beyond and Jason organic shampoo. I do know three women who had very good success with this. I have not tried it because I found out about the successes after I already had my topper.

[Hair Worrier]

I know exactly how you feel- luckily I only need to wash my hair twce a week- so it isn't too bad. I always lose more on my sunday night wash than on my wednesday night wash though :-(.

I will definately try out the cold water technique- up until a few weeks ago I used to wash with quite hot water at a high volume so I could get that really clean feeling, but my new hairdresser has made me see the light. It comes out less with tepid water flowing gently. PLus my shampoo (I use kerastase) makes my hair still feel really clean anyway!

I didn't know about the shirt trick, but I would be disinclined to put anything on my wet hair anyway, as hair is so much weaker when wet. I just pat the ends dry and put a towel over my shoulders to soak up the drippage while I let it naturally drip dry.

I don't use straightening irons much anymore either, as I get major loss then as the straighteners "tug" the hair straight and sometimes just "tug it out", even with the expensive ones!

I've been counting lost hair strands for the past few months, I suspect its a habit I won't be able to easily shake off...Worse, when i wash my hair i count th strands and put them to one side so they wont block the drain...but then when I finish I can see exactly how much I lost and feel utterly sick :-(

[Sammy7]

Kelly Jean...

Do you mean wash your hair with very cold water from start to finish or as the final rinse? I do find the very cold water is a nice scalp massage.

Is anyone getting fizzy hair? I have been on a healthy hair regime for a month now and have been using a SLS free shampoo. I now have really frizzy hair and greasier than before. Any of my hair that has breakage or is shorter than the others stands out :(

[kellyjean]

I know exactly how you feel- luckily I only need to wash my hair twce a week- so it isn't too bad. I always lose more on my sunday night wash than on my wednesday night wash though :-(.

I will definately try out the cold water technique- up until a few weeks ago I used to wash with quite hot water at a high volume so I could get that really clean feeling, but my new hairdresser has made me see the light. It comes out less with tepid water flowing gently. PLus my shampoo (I use kerastase) makes my hair still feel really clean anyway!

I didn't know about the shirt trick, but I would be disinclined to put anything on my wet hair anyway, as hair is so much weaker when wet. I just pat the ends dry and put a towel over my shoulders to soak up the drippage while I let it naturally drip dry.

I don't use straightening irons much anymore either, as I get major loss then as the straighteners "tug" the hair straight and sometimes just "tug it out", even with the expensive ones!

I've been counting lost hair strands for the past few months, I suspect its a habit I won't be able to easily shake off...Worse, when i wash my hair i count th strands and put them to one side so they wont block the drain...but then when I finish I can see exactly how much I lost and feel utterly sick :-(


:[
I used to do that as well, counting hairs. I just close my eyes when I pick the hair out of the drain, throw it in the toilet, flush, then open my eyes again. I still count the ones that come out after combing, though.

[kellyjean]

Kelly Jean...

Do you mean wash your hair with very cold water from start to finish or as the final rinse? I do find the very cold water is a nice scalp massage.

Is anyone getting fizzy hair? I have been on a healthy hair regime for a month now and have been using a SLS free shampoo. I now have really frizzy hair and greasier than before. Any of my hair that has breakage or is shorter than the others stands out :(

From start to finish.

Yeah, I'm getting frizzy hair. I can't even use hairspray anymore because it makes it so dry. I don't know what that's about....

[Kirthi]

I've been losing hair for years now. These are the ways I try to prevent the mass suicide of hair follicles when I wash my hair.
I've always had fine hair and an oily scalp. I need to wash my hair everyday in the summer. I live in India, so make that summer all year round. This is what I do.
At home, I use a bucket of tepid water and pour the water using a mug to wash my hair and I keep my head out of the shower spray. Like everyone else has suggested, the lack of force really prevented hair loss. I've been in the US for a month now and I've noticed that I lose more hair after a shower.
For frizzy hair or anyone with hair loss, try using cheese cloth to bind your hair. You really don't need terry cloth towels. The cheese cloth can be bound loosely at the nape and doesn't exert any pressure on the hair. Do not rub your hair dry.
Also, keeping my wet hair bound for a longer period of time makes my hair less frizzy and creates very pretty corkscrew curls in my wavy hair. Which adds body, which is win-win in my case. But not recommended in winter- stay inside until your hair dries.
Don't use any hair product that needs a lot of washing out - like hair conditioner. Try heating an aromatic oil or something like sesame or almond oil and patting it onto your hair when almost dry. It adds shine, de-tangles and de-frizzes. But use just a teaspoon on shoulder length hair.
Try not to comb your hair as much as possible. Use your fingers to detangle snarly knots. And go for tousled, bed head look if you can get away with it.
I'm not sure if this will work for every one but the best shampoos for me are those meant for coloured/dyed hair. They don't strip my hair of moisture and are more gentle on it than most other types.
I hope any one or all these make a difference to some one with hair loss.
On a lighter note, remember that we're at the forefront of a human evolutionary leap ladies!

[Merry]

I think what I do might be worse than counting the hairs I lose in the shower. What I do is lightly wash and then condition. I try not to touch my hair while the conditioner is setting in because anything will make it fall out. When I rinse the conditioner out is when I panic. I will gently run my fingers through my hair and at the bottom of the hair I can feel it stringing onto my fingers effortlessly. I gently pull it out since it's obviously in no way attached to my head and sit it on the side of the shower til I'm done. There will also be hair in the stopper that I have to collect and put with the other hair. When I get out I put all the hair next to my sink and let it dry to see how much it ends up being dry. Then I put the hair in a ziploc baggie with all the other hair I've lost. Over the past month I've been collecting my shower hair in this baggie (to take to the doctor or show anyone who may care...or to just put myself further in shock.) The amount of hair in my Ziploc in just one month is enough to make a child's wig out of. It's about half the size of my once-thick/long pony-tail. I think saving my hair is worse than counting them because I can't bear to throw it away....like it's going to go back on my head one day! Also when people say "you don't look like you're losing your hair," then I can pull out my baggie and say "see for yourself!"

[VictoriaG]

I've been doing that too, Merry. Peel them off of my arms and back and legs - and the floor, straighten thm out on the counter till they dry. I only showed to one person (besides a doctor). The person looked at it for a few moments and then said "is that a lot"? Um, yeah, especially if you have to ask!

[lazy]

I read yesterday (I think it was on Skin Biology site about hair loss/Folligen products)...that you should collect loose hair on a daily basis and put it in an envelope and date it, then do that each day in a new envelope so you or the Dr can actually see exactly what you are losing or whether the hair loss is increasing or decreasing. I thought it was a good idea and your posting reminded me of it and that I should share it. So thank you for posting as our combined efforts can help some of us.

[lazy]

Sorry, meant to add that you count the hairs before you put them in the envelope. Write the amount down and the date on each envelope.