I need to disclose up front that I am not a doctor. I am a woman who has had telogen effluvium (TE) or chronic telogen effluvium (CTE) off and on for various periods of my life. I have spent thousands of hours researching hair loss, spent a lot of time and money on many products, and consulted with many doctors. I consider myself a bit of an expert on women’s hair loss simply because of my own experiences that required a lot of research and a lot of questions.
These listed FAQs are the questions I was trying to find answers to when my shedding started. The questions and answers are my opinions, based on my experiences. Of course, my advice does not replace that of your doctor. I’m just sharing my own experiences. These are what I think are the top five questions. I didn’t want to make this article too long, so I’ll go over more questions in the second part of this article.
1. What is Telogen Effluvium or TE? Technically, it is any time you lose more than 100 hairs per day on a consistent basis, but I cannot stress enough that you should not count hairs. (Though I know a lot of people on TE do this.) Once you’ve counted and seen more than 100 hairs in your drain, brush, or trash can, then you know what it looks like and you don’t need to repeat the process. There is absolutely no reason to go crazy and angrier counting hairs. Basically, if you’re losing hair, you’ll know it. Hair will be everywhere and it will rain on you most of the day. It’s pretty hard to miss.
2. What causes it? Although most of the literature will say it is caused by childbirth, taking and coming off birth control pills, surgery, illness, or stress, through my research I have found that there really are many reasons. Many women are very vulnerable to changes hormonally, so anything that changes your body even slightly (weather changes that cause thyroid changes, stress that makes your adrenal glands work harder, medication or seemingly innocent supplements that alter your body’s chemistry or hormones, etc.) . ) you can also bring a shed.
3. How long will it last?: This is the million dollar question. I have had TE that only lasted a few weeks and I have had CTE that lasted from several months to a year. Sometimes the molt just has to run its course. But sometimes, I think it’s possible to prolong ET by experimenting with different treatments or medications that continue to mess with your body. Occasionally, shortening or stopping the shedding is as simple as determining that you are low in iron or have hypothyroidism, but more often than not, the cause cannot be found. The good news is that if your hair loss is TE, it will eventually stop. The best advice I can give for shedding that won’t stop is to rule out medical conditions through blood work (iron, thyroid, adrenal glands, sex hormones like DHEA and cortisol), but if the blood work doesn’t show any medical problems , try not to obsess over when the molting will end. (I know how hard this is). Even CTE usually always ends, but stressing yourself out too much could prolong your hair loss, so it’s very important not to.
4. Does a white bulb at the end of my hair shaft mean it’s definitely TE? Sometimes, but not necessarily. Basically all the white bulb means is that the hair came out because the follicle reached the end of its life cycle and was expelled (instead of being plucked out). If you pluck one of your hairs, you will notice a dark root with a shield. A white bulb just means that the hair has not been pulled out. People who are losing hair due to medical reasons or even AGA (genetic pattern hair loss) also have the white bulb.
5. Why do I have tingling in my head or pain in my scalp during TE or CTE? This mild tingling or pain is very common, but no one seems to know what it is. There have even been medical tests done trying to determine the cause, but the tests showed no difference between TE scalps and normal scalps. Callous doctors will sometimes tell you that you feel pain or tingling because you are thinking a lot about your hair or because you are very upset about your hair loss. I don’t buy this. Too many people experience this tingling or pain for it to be coincidental or simply psychological. My theory is that the TE process causes inflammation in the follicles (especially since many are disrupted during shedding). This is why you will sometimes notice that your scalp is pink or looks inflamed during this process. There are actually some decent shampoos and topicals available that can slow this process down a bit. For immediate relief, try dabbing a bit of emu oil on the area that hurts.
I hope this has helped some. Soon I will review more frequently asked questions in the second part.
