new thread
I just cut about 10 inches off my hair. It went from midback to just above my shulders, one length all round. Why? Because the bottom 10 inches was seriously damaged -- split, frizzy, uneven lengths, etc. A couple of months ago, someone posted some tips for growing long hair and keeping it healthy -- things like not brushing when wet, using a wide tooth comb, conditioning every time you shampoo, etc. There were about 20 tips and recommendations. I think someone else posted a link to a haircare site with similar advice. Anyway, I am determined to "do it right" this time, and get my hair down to my butt in perfect condition. Unfortunately, I did not download or print the good advice mentioned above. Can anyone help?
As a new reader of this message board I'm also very interested in whatever responses are given to this message. I'm especially interested in hearing about shedding. My hair is about midback and is in good shape (minimal splitting, ect), but I shed a lot! I used to think I was going bald when I started letting it grow. After almost 4 years without major cuts (I started with a flat top) I now I'm not going bald. Plus I always had a very thick head of hair, but every time I brush or shampoo I come out with long strands of hair in my hands!! Is this really prevalent? Should I be worying? Am I doing something wrong? Or is there some preventive measure I can take? I can't wait for it to be longer. After finding all this longhair websites I'm having some serious ponytail envy!
Normally people lose between 50-100 hairs/day and they are replaced. This is not a problem. It is more noticeable when hair is long than when it is short for obvious reasons. There is nothing to do about this normal hair loss.
On the other hand, men who are genetically predisposed to lose hair (inherited primarily from the mother, i.e, males are most likely to have hair like their maternal grandfather and uncles) are much more prone to increased rate of hair loss (more than 100 hairs/day) if they have long hair, they do not keep the natural oil away from the follicles and if they comb/brush it a lot. The reason are that natural oil contains the androgens that are "toxic" to the hair follicles and long hair is more likely to be pulled out (brushing, combing, washing or even sleeping as the hair rubs against a pillow). Making the hair short in this situation is likely to retard loss.
If you do not have the problem above, i.e., your hair is not thinning, then you probably do not have to worry about the hair in your brush, drain, etc. With hair the length of your, normal amounts of hair loss will be very visible.
Hope this is helpful.
Well it sure is nice to hear that. Like I said I suspected as much since I still have a very full head of healthy hair, but it's nice to hear from other people that have gone through the experience. I know few longhairs personally, and although there are a lot of lonhaired guys here in South Carolina, it's kind of awkward to go to another man and ask about his hair!!!
I do look forward to hear any other hair care tips in response to the original message.
Thanks, BabyHuey
Yes, normal shedding is just a sign that the hairs have reached the
end of their natural life which is of the order of 3-5 years for most
people or a total length of 18-30 inches if they are not cut. Women
have the same natural shedding as men, of course.
If we assumed that all hairs on the head had the same lifetime
and grew at 0.5 inches a month, we could relate these things mathematically. Let N be the number of hairs on the head (approx
100,000 for most people) and L be the maximum length of the hair in
incles, then the number, D, of hairs shed per day will be:
D = N / ( 60 * L )
where 60 is the number of days it takes hair to grow one-inch.
If N = 100,000 and L = 18, then D = 92
Of course, you could reverse this formula to get your maximum
length from your shedding rate, i.e.
L = N / ( 60 * D )
If your hair doesn't shed at all, then the conclusion is that your
hair will grow indefinitely, which I guess is almost true for the
people with hair that reaches the ground.
The limitations on these formulas is that hair may not have the
same terminal length from all parts of the head. Hair near my forehead
on the top and sides, and near the sideburns only grows 6-9 inches
long while hair on the crown and back grows over 18 inches long.
Hence the formulas would only apply to localized regions of the
head. Unfortunately, when hair appears in your brush or comb, you
don't easily know from what part of your head that hair originated!
It might be useful to do a survey of the really long-haired guys on this site to see how well shedding rates correlate with maximum hair
length.
Pete_J
One thing I've concluded is that while there may be a certain average terminal age for hair, there is quite a variety in a given individual. Very rarely, the maximum age seems to be indefinite. More commonly, it is very short-lived. On myself, I've been leaving my hair uncut to find the natural terminal length (and hence age). What I've found is that my hair has reached terminal length in some areas (front of head, temples, nape, etc.) but not in others. I suspect that on my own head, terminal age ranges from just under a year to about 10 years. I won't be able to test the 10 years without growing my hair, though. I'm over half way there now .
I forgot to mention that I have been keeping most of the hair that comes out of my brush. You'd be surprised how much it is! Actually, all you have to do is consider the alternative: going to a barber periodically. The amount of floor (on average) after a hair cut is about the same amount of hair you could expect to find in your brush, on the floor, etc., if you don't ever cut your hair.
Victor,
Mmmm... Now I think I know why your sweater has nearly the
same color as your hair...
Well, above is one of a few very recent (about a month or two now) pics of myself. I shed a lot of hair, and I'm still able to maintain that length. Shedding is natural. It's your body's way of getting rid of "dead weight", kind of like when you bathe you're getting rid of a few million upper layers of dead skin cells while you scrub, but your skin's still there. In other words, there really is no need to panic. :)
BTW: Good luck with your's! Here's a few tips of my own:
- Wash often (I'm moving up to 4-5 times/week)
- Keep it neat (not only does neat hair look great, but it helps bolster any self-confidence you already have)
- Try to avoid brushing (I'm quickly discovering the increased comfort that comes with fingering through my hair rather than brushing it out. More on this in the last tip).
- As your hair gets longer, you're going to discover that it LOVES to tangle. Here's a detangling tip I've discovered kills two birds with one stone: wash it rather than brushing through the tangles straight out. When you wash, don't even bother with the tangles while rinsing or shampooing. If you hit a snag in your hair, leave it and come back to it while you condition. If you try detangling while shampooing, you're only going to pull more hair out. Conditioner is designed for one purpose: to smooth the hair, help keep moisture in, thus making it healthier, and make it a great deal easier to manage once it's dried. Because it helps smooth the hair, any tangles you found while shampooing just slide right out of place because the hair's been stripped of its wanting to cling to itself. NOTE: You want to detangle WHILE you're rinsing the conditionor out.
By doing this, not only have you succeeded in detangling your hair, you've also given it a nice, thorough cleaning. Also, detangling after you've conditioned cuts down on the time it takes you to wash your hair. It used to take me close to 45 minutes just to wash my hair until my ignorance made me realize I was washing the hard way. Now I'm able to wash my hair in just under fifteen minutes.
You'll also find you've eliviated the need to brush through your newly washed hair, fingering through it instead. Since I changed my washing method, I haven't put a brush to my hair in over a month, and I've saved myself quite a few shed hairs as a result.
As for drying, that's a personal preference. There's no right or wrong way, but I'd like to throw in a few tips here about towl drying (which I've recently taken up every so often). First and foremost, DON'T RUB THE TOWL AROUND YOUR SCALP! You'll only cause fraying/increased risk of split ends. Take two portions of a large towl in either hand, and dab your hair with it, closing the towl around it like you'r closing a book. You want to do this a few times, a few seconds each time to absorb any excess water. (do all of this while leaning forward so your hair's hanging down in front of you. this way, you can see it better) Next, put the towl over the back of your head, collect as much of your hair in the towl as possible, then fold the loose edges of the towl around your hair. Then, twist the towl once or twice and throwl the whole bunch up over the back of your head, creating a make-shift turben. Leave it on for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how thick a head of hair you have, and how long, then slowly remove the towl by leaning forward again, unfolding the towl and removing it from your head.
This also provides an enormous vantage point for parting your hair to either side if that's something you want to do. Just stand up and throw all of your hair in back , tilting your head to either side, depending on which way you want your part to go. Then, finger through it, using your fingers to create the part line, then apply mousse if desired and you're finished! Whatever you do, though, don't let your hair get too dry before moussing. Otherwise, your fingers will get very sticky and out comes even more hair. If, while moussing, you notice your fingers getting sticky, just spray some water on that part of your hair using a spray bottle (I use an empty and thoroughly-washed-out-before-I-started-using-it 409 bottle). Don't spray too much, though. Remember, mousse is best if applied to MILDLY damp hair.
If you decide to air dry, and still want a part, just follow the steps above sans wrapping your hair in the turben.
That's it for now. 'Any questions, just ask. :)