I often write about women’s hair loss and tell my readers that telogen effluvium (TE, aka shedding) recovery is all about regrowth. Because, even if you are losing lots of hair, if you can grow back healthy hair, then the volume and appearance of your hair won’t take as big an impact as if you couldn’t regrow your hair or could only regrow hairs. thin and sickly.
In response, people often ask me things like “how do I know if my hair grows back after TE?” or “how do I know if healthy hair is growing back after shedding?” I will answer these questions in the next article.
See short, stubby new growth that will greatly improve the appearance of your hair: My hairdresser used to assure me that a few months into my hair loss, I would start to see little hairs starting to grow in my part. I envisioned this would look like a men’s crew cut mixed with my normal hair. (This was not the case). I started looking for these little ones every night. I couldn’t see any at first and I started to get really discouraged. You should know that growth is very short after TE and since hair regrows about 1/2 inch per month, it will take a while before you can easily see it.
But, here are some tricks to help. The first is that you can comb your hair against the grain (carefully, of course, if you’re still losing hair). Or if you don’t want to comb your hair, just tilt your hair/head in the opposite direction and then keep it there. Now, look at the parting line and take note of any little hairs that stick out.
My favorite way to pan for new growth is to use dry shampoo. Most dry shampoos are basically baby power in spray form. So, before bed (you don’t want to do this before going to work or going out), spray a generous amount of dry shampoo on your part line. It will go white, but the contrast between the white hairs in the parting will make the new growth much easier to see. And, by the time you wake up, the white stuff will be gone from your hair (and it’ll be cleaner) so you don’t have to worry about brushing it out. This method also saves you from having to handle your hair so much that it falls out more.
How can I tell if my new growth is healthy? What if it’s thin and doesn’t look like normal hair?: I often ask my readers to not only look for new growth, but to also assess the health of that hair. Many will respond with, “Huh? How do I do that?” I’ll tell you. To really assess the hair, you’ll need to tweeze new, short, regrowth hair. I know, you hate doing this. But it’s necessary.
The hair you pull out should be of regular diameter and the root should be dark in color (not the white root that accompanies TE). The dark root indicates that the hair was embedded in your scalp and was being properly nourished. Compare the diameter of your short hair to that of a shed with longer hair. (In my case, there were a lot of these worn-out hairs out there.) Although sometimes the new growth will start out a bit thinner, it should be comparable to longer hair.
Sometimes people will describe their new growth as thin, sickly, cobweb-like, or cotton candy-like in texture. Keep an eye on your hair if this is so. Because, if this continues, you may be dealing with miniaturization, which is often the result of androgen, DHT, or clogged follicles. If this is the case, the way to regrow healthy hair is to remove this blockage and these androgens.