Hair falling out..

My hair seems to be falling out a lot in the shower & when i brush it... Doesn't seem too thin but it just started happening maybe a couple weeks ago..

What is this and why ? What can i do to stop it?
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Replies

  • GMAC2016
    GMAC2016 Posts: 249 Member
    How much are you eating? Too little can cause hair loss. Need more details?
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    edited May 2016
    I'm not sure but I would go see a doctor for that if its never happened before. If you never used to brush it in the shower, and just started to brush it in the shower, its completely normal for that to happen though. :) I brush my hair in the shower all the time. And by a lot, like more than a few strands?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    How's your protein intake?
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,187 Member
    Brushing wet hair is not recommended; ask your hair professional. But I agree that you may need to check that with your doctor and also have your thyroid checked since it may a sigh of hypothyroidism.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,170 Member
    If you aren't eating enough and getting the nutrients you need that can happen. It can also be a sign of thyroid problems. You need to see a doctor about it.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    See a doctor.
  • cuteandcurvy1
    cuteandcurvy1 Posts: 11 Member
    I've had this happen, twice now, and both times cutting out aspartame fixed it.

    The first time it happened was about 13 years ago. The hair loss started to get extreme, so naturally I turned to Dr. Google and eventually found that some people can be more sensitive to aspartame than others and that one of the potential side effects of aspartame toxicity is excessive hair loss. I cut out asparatame and things normalized. Wasn't totally convinced that was the cause, but my hair stopped falling out, so *shrug*.

    Fast forward to last summer when the same thing started happening. I couldn't figure out the cause, and then one day remembered the great aspartame incident of 2013. It started happening after McDonald's introduced their $1 summer drink days: any size drink for $1 (naturally I'd get the jumbo bath sized cup of Coke Zero) and I was having one of those almost everyday.

    Again, I cut out aspartame and within a couple of weeks, things were back to normal.

    Not saying this is the issue, and yes I'm aware this sounds kinda loopy and like I need to get myself a tin foil hat, but, thought I'd mention it with the hopes that it may help.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    edited May 2016
    This can be caused by many things. Thyroid, medications, even birth control, hormone levels. Ask your doctor as has been suggested.

    Oh, and it's not Aspartame.
  • ljashley1952
    ljashley1952 Posts: 275 Member
    My best friend went on the 'Eat to Live' diet. It's extremely low carb and low fat with high protein. It's also mostly vegetarian. After a year or so on the diet she experienced hair loss. Her doc said it was due to her diet and she needed to add meat back into her diet. After she did, the hair loss stopped.
  • laur357
    laur357 Posts: 896 Member
    See a dermatologist. It's often much harder to regrow hair than it is to stop the loss at its present stage. Do you happen to have thyroid issues or PCOS? That can cause hair loss. As well as nutrient deficiencies and genetics.
    Also, some people experience more hair shedding normally at various times throughout the year.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    GMAC2016 wrote: »
    How much are you eating? Too little can cause hair loss. Need more details?

    This.

    Mine was over the winter but it was my BC. Wasn't my eating that's for sure.
  • FlexMomAngie
    FlexMomAngie Posts: 1 Member
    I had the same thing happen.....it was because of my Thyroid. Another sign was I was extremely fatigued. I'm not one to take meds, but unfortunately I have to take meds for my thyroid and a side effect is hair loss. :( Good luck...hair loss stinks!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    When my anemia is untreated I get a lot of hair loss. Add iron levels to the list of tests to request from your doctor. (Don't just start supplementing without testing.)
  • Jonna13
    Jonna13 Posts: 288 Member
    Just throwing this out there-but did you have a baby recently? I lost a ton of hair starting at about 3months post partum with every pregnancy. It starting growing back around 9 mos post partum.

    Also, make sure your taking in enough iron? Low iron can cause excess hair shedding too.
  • lislys9
    lislys9 Posts: 3 Member
    This has happened to me too. City water high in fluoride and chlorine will make you hypothyroid, which makes your hair fall out. Get a good shower filter or move somewhere with well water if you can. Don't drink or cook with city water, use spring water from the store. Take iodine supplements to bromide detox, and to feed your thyroid. This helped me a lot. And it will help you lose weight, because when your thyroid is working right, your metabolism will improve. Good luck.
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 799 Member
    That happened to me when I went vegan/vegetarian for awhile and I suspect it was due to such a drop in protein. Went back on animal proteins and stopped losing hair
  • sarahfadell87
    sarahfadell87 Posts: 182 Member
    Hmm... I try to keep my dirt as balanced as possible, and i almost always eat close to my calorie allowance. I did start drinking a lot of diet pop at the beginning of all this (still do)..

    I have shortened my intake of red meat and pork but i do eat a lot of chicken, turkey & fish.. But red meat maybe 1-2 times a month..

    Thank you all for the feed back.

    Also to answer other questions, nope no babies lol, im not sure about the thyroid or pcos havent been checked in a while..

    We'll seeeee.

    It's not severe so far just seems to be losing more strands than usual

  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    My best friend went on the 'Eat to Live' diet. It's extremely low carb and low fat with high protein. It's also mostly vegetarian. After a year or so on the diet she experienced hair loss. Her doc said it was due to her diet and she needed to add meat back into her diet. After she did, the hair loss stopped.

    I just looked up the 'Eat to Live' diet. It's NOT extremely low carb. In fact it calls for unlimited veggies, legumes and fruits. That's pretty much high carb by default. It allows some limited starches, nuts and seeds. It also limits oils, processed foods, dairy and animal products so it can't possibly be high protein either. The part you got right was low fat. Your friend probably got into trouble for either not eating enough food in general or not eating a well balanced diet.
  • ElkeKNJ
    ElkeKNJ Posts: 207 Member
    Be careful, I rapidly lost weight on an almost only proteïne diet 4 years ago. If I would enter the foods into MFP now, I was surviving on about 600 kcals a day for two months. The result: massive hair loss and three days in hospital after I had a stroke-like attack.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    Two things that could cause hair loss that might be culprit:
    1. Malnutrition (Often caused by not eating enough)
    2. Hormonal changes brought on by drastic diet change.

    Given that you eat close to your calorie allowance, it'd be unlikely those are affecting you. So another health problem (would need to see a doctor), stress, or simple coincidence might be the cause.

    But hey, bald is beautiful... <3<3
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Hmm... I try to keep my dirt as balanced as possible, and i almost always eat close to my calorie allowance. I did start drinking a lot of diet pop at the beginning of all this (still do)..

    I have shortened my intake of red meat and pork but i do eat a lot of chicken, turkey & fish.. But red meat maybe 1-2 times a month..

    Thank you all for the feed back.

    Also to answer other questions, nope no babies lol, im not sure about the thyroid or pcos havent been checked in a while..

    We'll seeeee.

    It's not severe so far just seems to be losing more strands than usual

    Did you have a stressful event 2-6 months ago?

    What's your plan? Are you going to the doctor's to get various levels checked?

  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Hmm... I try to keep my dirt as balanced as possible, and i almost always eat close to my calorie allowance. I did start drinking a lot of diet pop at the beginning of all this (still do)..

    I have shortened my intake of red meat and pork but i do eat a lot of chicken, turkey & fish.. But red meat maybe 1-2 times a month..

    Thank you all for the feed back.

    Also to answer other questions, nope no babies lol, im not sure about the thyroid or pcos havent been checked in a while..

    We'll seeeee.

    It's not severe so far just seems to be losing more strands than usual

    But what's the calorie allowance and how much are you exercising? assuming you're worried about the few extra strands, that is
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
    Are you wearing your hair pulled back in a ponytail tail more often? We lose about 100 strands a day, if it's pulled back, those strands aren't falling out and when you shower you may be seeing those.

    Anyway that's what I experience when I wear my hair pulled back regularly.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    I lost most of my hair from anaemia.
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
    See a doctor, doctor Google doesn't know what it's talking about
  • moonchildisme
    moonchildisme Posts: 83 Member
    I lost a bit of weight and the doc told me that it is part of it
  • earth_echo
    earth_echo Posts: 133 Member
    Iron deficiency can cause hair loss.
  • ashleyjongepier
    ashleyjongepier Posts: 130 Member
    I have iron deficiency and it makes me lose some hair. Also its common to lose 100 or so hairs a day (idk who counted to figure it out.) anyway if you wear your hair up a lot or don't brush it all day, when you shower and you notice it, and it seems like a lot, its likely the hairs that would normally have shed but got caught in your bun.
  • Meggybird
    Meggybird Posts: 5 Member
    I know this struggle! The same thing happened to me multiple times, usually during periods of high stress and poor nutrient intake. The solution? Eat more veggies, drink more water, and use coconut oil as a hair mask every time before you wash your hair. Don't worry... it looks greasy when you put it in but it will wash out while leaving your hair super duper soft, shiny and flexible so it breaks less.
  • KDar1988
    KDar1988 Posts: 648 Member
    kgirlhart wrote: »
    If you aren't eating enough and getting the nutrients you need that can happen. It can also be a sign of thyroid problems. You need to see a doctor about it.

    This ^^ hair loss was one of the first signs of my thyroid tanking on me. Worth having it checked.