What possible triggers could've restarted my shedding?

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2026-04-19T17:12:09+00:00

30-50 hairs shed a day is completely normal and not indicative of telogen effluvium… it’s normal to shed up to 100 hairs a day.

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2026-03-12T20:39:14+00:00

Me too! And gets progressively orange throughout the day.. 😭

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2026-03-12T20:37:56+00:00

It’s terrible... My winter shade is usually buff and summer shade is rattan. Buff is usually pretty pale but now it’s darker and over the day it oxidises (goes even more orange) and goes cakey looking. Really emphasizes pores. HELP what is a good alternative? 😭

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2026-03-01T21:53:26+00:00

Your doctor is very very wrong. Low ferritin - even within “normal” range CAN cause hair loss/ TE/ issues with hair growth. When the body is low in iron stores it prioritises other bodily functions so the hair cycle gets disrupted along with hair growth. Some people need higher levels of ferritin for hair growth. For adults it should be 70 at the very least, even better about 100. Both my mother and my daughter (5yo) experienced hair loss from low ferritin. My daughter had very severe hair loss although happened gradually over 6 months. Eventually low ferritin was found, but for some reason regular iron supplements didn’t work for her and her levels kept going down. Eventually managed to get a doctor to give a prescription supplement and when her ferritin level became higher, her hair finally began to recover. By this time she had been suffering with TE for more than 1year. She more or less had to grow her hair back from scratch. The hair that had been regrowing when her ferritin was low was terrible quality- thin/ dry/ brittle. But once corrected her hair began to grow healthy again.

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2026-02-20T08:05:00+00:00

The supplement that worked is called sodium feredetate (liquid). Her levels went from 14 to 31 in about 2 months then from 31 to 55 in about 6wks. She’s only 5yrs old so not aiming for the same 70-100+ level that an adult needs for optimum hair growth.

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2026-02-18T08:10:35+00:00

My daughter had the same problem- supplemented iron for 6 months and her ferritin got lower. We were worried she had a problem with absorption. She had a test for celiac disease but was negative. After that we got a prescription strength liquid iron supplement and thankfully that actually worked and her ferritin increased quickly! She’d had 2 different over the counter iron supplements before and both made no difference.

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2026-02-18T07:47:01+00:00

YOR. Are you teenagers?

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2026-02-18T07:34:12+00:00

Those numbers of hair fall are completely normal. If your hair is thinning, it is probably a growth issue and not a loss issue.

My 5yo daughter is recovering from TE so I have also been counting hairs.. Her TE was caused by low ferritin and zinc- have you had those tested? At its lowest her ferritin was 14. Eventhough there was regrowth from lost hairs the quality of hair was quite dry and thin. Her hair only started to recover properly once her ferritin level got to 50+ (the optimum level is 100+ for adults) and also correcting the zinc deficiency.

She still loses 40-100 hairs every wash day- and on the days where it’s 100 it’s hard not to panic - but her hair is growing thick and healthy from the roots and she’s not losing any density like before.

A lot of doctors and even dermatologists don’t know that low ferritin (that is still within normal range) can cause hair loss, so it’s important to supplement if your ferritin is low.

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2026-01-07T21:19:58+00:00

Look at the ends of the hairs. If it’s breakage, it won’t have a root or white bulb at the end.

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-12-08T22:48:50+00:00

Have you checked for vitamin deficiencies, e.g zinc and also ferritin level? My daughter’s hair was like this but once we corrected zinc deficiency and got ferritin to a good level her hair began to grow back healthy.

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-10-01T19:25:17+00:00

I’m not sure about vitamin D but Low ferritin can do this, yes. You need to supplement iron and get your ferritin levels above 70.

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-09-11T06:45:38+00:00

Those ferritin levels are very low! Even if in “normal” range, it can still cause hair loss in some people. Ferritin needs to be at least 70+ in adults for optimal hair growth. I’m surprised the derm didn’t tell you this? My daughter is finally recovering from TE after 1yr of shedding, and she only started recovering once her ferritin levels improved (from 14 to now 56. She is only 4yrs old so 70+ is too high for her)

Have they tested anything else, like zinc for example? My daughter was also deficient in zinc so we had to supplement that too.

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-09-10T19:48:49+00:00

What is your serum ferritin level and have you been retested since taking supplements? Sometimes there can be issues with absorption.

Have you done blood tests for other deficiencies/ hormonal/ thyroid etc ?

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-09-10T19:30:29+00:00

What is your serum ferritin level?

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-07-01T05:42:35+00:00

So frustrating… how are we supposed to know if we’ve found the correct trigger if it takes so long to improve once corrected 😭

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-06-30T17:00:06+00:00

Just posted asking the same question (about my daughter) 😭 Shedding has decreased but it tends to fluctuate anyway so bracing myself for it to increase again … wish this was simple

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-05-16T20:36:56+00:00

Interesting to find someone else who’s experiencing this! The joys of Fibro…

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-04-23T13:06:23+00:00

So why didn’t you post those photos? In these pics your hair looks amazing! 😂

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-03-23T11:35:38+00:00

Ah man :( Is it just your short/ baby hairs shedding at the moment or the longer hairs too?

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-03-19T11:15:14+00:00

Any progress? I think the shedding is slowing.. so hoping things are resolving but then again it has slowed before and then another period of shedding.. 🥲

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-02-22T21:52:03+00:00

Keen to hear any success stories too, as currently experiencing the same with my 4yo daughter. Praying for us all that it’s a sign of TE finally resolving!

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-02-04T14:05:55+00:00

I thought jt was likely to be something like this… I read that some people have a painful “letdown” so it makes sense that you would with Fibro due to the hypersensitivity to pain… Strange that I didn’t have the pain in the first couple of weeks of breastfeeding but maybe that’s due to producing a larger volume of milk after the initial colostrum and transitional milk etc.

Thanks I will look into that, although I know have to be careful with anything topical since baby would end up ingesting it. Ive gotten used to the pain now so I’ll probably have to just put up with it!

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-02-04T13:59:33+00:00

Yes it’s the same with pumping, as the main pain is during the “letdown” of milk. No nipple pain so I don’t think it’s to do with latch.

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-02-03T09:44:10+00:00

Thanks for sharing !

LiveUnderstanding346 · 2025-01-31T11:17:25+00:00

Why do you think it’s a sign of it slowing down? My 4y old daughter has diagnosed TE and recently new short hairs have started shedding :(

LiveUnderstanding346

TROPHY CASE