Help! Losing my hair!

I have been losing so much hair and it is so upsetting. I have tried taking Biotin and it did nothing at all for me. Any suggestions? Also, my hair is very dry. Any inexpensive home remedy solutions?

Rinse with apple cider vinegar in water. I use 1/4 cup in a glass of water. Leave it in and the smell goes away when it dries. You can also put it on before shampooing and rub into the scalp. It will remove buildup and help with the dryness.

Thank you so much for the tip. I am going to try this in the morning. Do you still use a conditioner and rinse with the apple cider vinegar after?

Do not use conditioner. It is building up and causing the dryness. Try to just shampoo and rinse with the vinegar and water. Conditioners can block the hair follicles and stop the hair from growing. I owned and operated a beauty shop for more than 20 years.

I am so glad I asked! I had no idea about using the conditioner and it adding to my hair loss and dryness. Thank you for your insights. Just this morning I tried a Pantene 3-minute miracle conditioner and it was better than my usual routine but not at all enough to help. THANK YOU for sharing your expertise!

It's likely an effect of the anesthesia (google telogen effluvium)

When it kicks in and how long it lasts seem to vary - mine started about month 4 post op, was the worst about months 8-10 and has been back to normal for a while.

Multiple hair dressers have told me it's just the cycle that happens to a lot after anesthesia and biotin, special hair growing shampoos or supplements really don't do much if anything.

It's traumatic seeing all the hair come out, I am pretty sure I could have made a sweater out of mine!

I would never have thought about the side effects of anesthesia. And yes, it has been so very traumatic for me as well and left me in tears often. I am almost afraid to wash my hair now because the hair loss is even more apparent. Thank you for taking the time to share your personal experience and it is encouraging to hear that there is hope that things can get back to normal!

Yeah, my hairdresser was very helpful in explaining how long it can take (which is variable). She gave me some reference points - using round numbers because everyone is different - most people lose 100-125 hairs a day; with TE, they might lose 300 -- but you have more than 100k hairs...and they are not all in the same growth cycle at the time of the anesthesia. She also said the hairs come out whether you wash or not --- washing just "rinses" what's already loosened out. The duration is also impacted on how fast your hair grows back. I'd say the whole cycle was 10-12 months for me.

I am back to normal, actually having them shave underneath to make it more manageable--but she will never hear me complain about how much hair I have again, lol.

Hang in there, this will pass and the whole process is worth it!

Thank you, thank you for this information. 100-125 hairs a day and up to 300? Wow. I had no idea...Thanks for your support!

The hair loss from anesthesia starts about three months after the surgery. Back when I was a hair stylist, in the 1970's, we saw it all the time after someone had a baby. Back then they "put you to sleep" to deliver the baby and that anesthesia caused the hair to thin out after three months.

They would cut down on shampooing because it was traumatic to see the hair in the drain. That would increase a buildup on the hair and scalp. Not really visible to the naked eye, but I would put a piece of hair under a microscope and show them the buildup. It looked like the coating on wax paper.

We had products that would clarify the hair and scalp and I would convince them to stop using the over the counter conditioners. Beauty suppliers like Sally's still carry an inexpensive cream called cholesterol that can do wonders for dry damaged hair. We were using this before doctors started warning us about cholesterol in the blood.

Since you had surgery in April, 2019, the loss has pretty much run its course. What you need now is a healthy scalp to let the new hair come in and the natural oils to nourish the hair.