LiveInHope
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Hey everyone. I guess I should start by sharing my story.
I'm 21 (coming 22 in a few weeks) and I was first introduced into the horrific world of hair loss in Sept of 2010. I noticed that I was shedding hairs a lot, over my pillow and in the shower. This gave me the first panic when you actually realise that you might be losing your hair. All the hairs were club hairs, meaning they all had a visible white bulb at the end of them. I was told this was one of the characteristics of Telogen Effluvium as opposed to male pattern baldness, since the white bulb is normal for shed hairs. Thankfully I stopped shedding around December of that year so I’m convinced that it was just Telogen Effluvium, perhaps seasonal or more.
Cut forward to Sept last year and I began to shed hairs again. Only, as of now, I haven’t stopped. All the hairs again have a white “club†at the end of them. I wake up with probably 3 or 4 new shed hairs on the pillow (I guess anyway). I can pull around 2-4 out every time I put my palm down on my scalp and tug with the hair between my fingers. Sometimes I get 0, sometimes I get 4. I know this isn’t as much as most, but the fact that it’s been ongoing for nearly 10 months now is enough to freak me out. The hair on my eyebrows, my eyelashes, arms, legs and chest/stomach also pull out very easily.
After some pretty obsessive checking of my hairline and crown, I'm about 95% certain that there hasn't been any recession or thinning. But what's freaking me out is that I have no idea what's causing the shedding and how to stop it.
As far as male pattern baldness goes, I have a mixed bag. My dad lost his hair but his brother kept nearly all of it. On my mother’s side, 2 of my uncles still have a full head of hair and the other has lost it.
Is it possible that this is just my natural rate of "shedding" and I had just not noticed it previously? I know pretty much everywhere states that losing up to 100 hairs a day is normal and I would calculate that I'm only shedding around 15-20 (probably slightly more since there are bound to be some that I don't notice).
I didn’t really anticipate dealing with this problem so young. It’s caused me serious anxiety and every time I convince myself that I’m over reacting all it takes is one hair to fall onto the desk at work or to spot another on the pillow and it sends me in a tail spin.
I just want to say as well, I think its really great what happens on these forums. Its great to see everyone so keen to help each other out.
I'm 21 (coming 22 in a few weeks) and I was first introduced into the horrific world of hair loss in Sept of 2010. I noticed that I was shedding hairs a lot, over my pillow and in the shower. This gave me the first panic when you actually realise that you might be losing your hair. All the hairs were club hairs, meaning they all had a visible white bulb at the end of them. I was told this was one of the characteristics of Telogen Effluvium as opposed to male pattern baldness, since the white bulb is normal for shed hairs. Thankfully I stopped shedding around December of that year so I’m convinced that it was just Telogen Effluvium, perhaps seasonal or more.
Cut forward to Sept last year and I began to shed hairs again. Only, as of now, I haven’t stopped. All the hairs again have a white “club†at the end of them. I wake up with probably 3 or 4 new shed hairs on the pillow (I guess anyway). I can pull around 2-4 out every time I put my palm down on my scalp and tug with the hair between my fingers. Sometimes I get 0, sometimes I get 4. I know this isn’t as much as most, but the fact that it’s been ongoing for nearly 10 months now is enough to freak me out. The hair on my eyebrows, my eyelashes, arms, legs and chest/stomach also pull out very easily.
After some pretty obsessive checking of my hairline and crown, I'm about 95% certain that there hasn't been any recession or thinning. But what's freaking me out is that I have no idea what's causing the shedding and how to stop it.
As far as male pattern baldness goes, I have a mixed bag. My dad lost his hair but his brother kept nearly all of it. On my mother’s side, 2 of my uncles still have a full head of hair and the other has lost it.
Is it possible that this is just my natural rate of "shedding" and I had just not noticed it previously? I know pretty much everywhere states that losing up to 100 hairs a day is normal and I would calculate that I'm only shedding around 15-20 (probably slightly more since there are bound to be some that I don't notice).
I didn’t really anticipate dealing with this problem so young. It’s caused me serious anxiety and every time I convince myself that I’m over reacting all it takes is one hair to fall onto the desk at work or to spot another on the pillow and it sends me in a tail spin.
I just want to say as well, I think its really great what happens on these forums. Its great to see everyone so keen to help each other out.
Thanks and good luck!