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Hello everyone. I'm feeling really bad about what is happening to my hair, and this is the only place I can turn to for support. I had braids (cornrows) done on Thursday 05/14, and took them out yesterday, 05/23. They were done very tight, and now that I took them out I have lost what I feel to be A LOT of hair. I realize I've grown emotionally attached to my hair ever since I've started growing it out March of 2007. Although it may seem like I still have a healthy head of hair, it keeps falling out, and I used to have a lot more. I need help!
Nothing to do now really... I guess you know not to mess with your hair anymore...
Just treat it like gold now. Condition it and try not to damage it.
Keep us updated on how you're doin'.
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Hey, having corn rows for 10 days means that none of the hairs you were shedding actually fell out (they were stuck in the braids). So the large amount of hair you noticed is not just one day's worth, it's 10 times that.
When I stopped using shampoo, I started losing a lot less hair. I do what's called the CO method, for "conditioner only". Basically, there are mild cleansers in conditioner that you use to wash your hair instead of shampoo. You can find lots of info about it on the LHC -- forums.longhaircommunity.com.
Hope this helps!
Peter
This definitely makes me feel a lot better, and am hoping this was the case. I'm gonna go put some conditioner on right now! Thanks for all the help, I greatly appreciate it!
i agree with peter & matt. hair sheds about 100 hairs a day. cornrows keep the naturally shed hair trapped in. when you took them down you had about 10 days worth of shed hair removed at once (~1,000 hairs). i wear yarn braids all the time. i usually keep them in 2 months at a time. you don't even want to see the amount of shed hairs i comb out of my nappy, bushy fro, lol, -- and my hair is still thick afterwards. just treat your hair with care -- which you're obviously already doing -- and you'll be fine.
fotki hair album
I had the same experience recently. In just one combing session, I had pulled out that much hair. Chances were I was not combing my hair as much. I had been shedding my hair that much since I started growing it out, and it does not seem I have less hair. It was within a couple of weeks after I fell over and broke two of my front teeth.
Since you had your hair tied up for ten days straight, the hair that died did not get a chance to fall out till you pulled out your braid, and then all the dead hair came out. You should not worry. The longer your hair, the more hair it would seem to be coming out, but it is the longer length of the strands that add to the volume.
Matthew
This seems very logical, and I don't know why it didn't cross my mind before. This definitely makes me feel a lot better. Let's just hope this is the case. Thanks!
Traction Alopecia. This is a form of hair loss caused by too much pulling on the hair follicles, When you put cornrows in too tight, this pulls on the hair strands. Do this to your hair often enough, and you can permanently damage hair follicles. If you get cornrows done in the future, go to someone who doesn't braid them tightly to the scalp. Since you only had them in for a short time, it's unlikely the damage is permanent. The follicles will recover and start the hair growth cycle all over again. Just take good care of your hair from now on, and nurture the new growth.
I was reading up on this yesterday, and the pictures google provided me of it were enough to scare me into never messing with my hair again! Let's just hope this damage isn't permanent!
I don't think it's permanent, you didn't have the cornrows in that long. Plus, Traction Alopecia developes permanent loss after repeated abuse. So, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you choose cornrows in the future, request that the braids not be pulled too tight against the scalp. I know this goes against the logic they use for doing them tight, the cornrows last longer before they grow out; but is it really worth the risk of permanently damaging your hair follicles? You might want to ask others with cornrows to recommend someone who will do them a bit looser.
I would have to agree with the others advice and just let it recover and use good hair products. Hair is an amazing thing and does recover. I'd keep away from cornbows for the time being.
Cheers,
John.B
Will do! Thanks John!
Hi Chris,
Well not much more I can add as what the others posted makes perfect sense.Lately I've been having a lot of shedding but I felt it was due to a shampoo and conditioner changeup as my hair got very dry.I went back to my old product and it seems to have greatly improved the problem.Your hair looks fabulous Chris so don't get to discouraged about that shedding.You are in longhair glory right now and it can only get better:)Cheers
Mark
Thank you for the compliments. I definitely feel much better now, and not to mention motivated to keep growing!
Hello there!
Don't feel bad about your hair: what happened is normal. You loose about 100 strands a day at an average rate, it's very normal to shed that amount. If you had cornrows in your hair for 2 weeks you will loose 1400 strands or more. So the amount of hair that came off is normal. I made african braids on a cousin of mine who has waist lenght hair (at that time she had butt lenght hair) and she had them for 2 weeks as well. The hair that came off afterwards was enough to fill a shoebox. She got scared obviously but her hair was still has thick as always.
Tight braids and cornrows are bad for long hair so I suggest you keep away from it. But don't stress aboud your hair loss from that hairstyle: it's completely normal =)
Wow I never realized how much hair people actually lose. This definitely makes me feel a lot more comfortable. And yea, as for braids and all that..im not even gonna think about it! Haha. Thanks for the assurance, your help is greatly appreciated.
Actually, "normal" (non-tight) braids are fine and some believe are beneficial for your hair. It's the tight braids and 'rows that can be problematic.
I've already replied, but I wanted to add that your hair looks great!
Peter
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Greetings, Christopher. Your hair looks to be in good condition to me. To avoid having any more of it falling out, it would probably be best to avoid cornrows in the future. For thickest healthiest hair, be gentle with it.
Scott
Definitely no need to worry Chris!
I shed a lot more than that in 9 days.
If you have say 100,000 hair follicles on your scalp growing at a half inch per month, that would equate to about 0.016 inches of growth per day...
At the above rate, daily new growth from 100K follicles stacked end to end would create a new strand of hair 133 feet long every day :)
- Oren