Last year, my hair started falling our rapidly and for no reason at all. Long story short, I was diagnosed with Telogen Effluvium, which causes a physical shock to your body and makes your hair fall out. So needless to say, it was a vey stressful event for me. But, I’ve learned a lot and I thought I would share all my tips and tricks on how to stop Telogen Effluvium hair loss.
That way, if you or someone you love are experiencing this horrible condition too, hopefully something in here will help you like it helped me. Now, it goes without saying, that if you’re experiencing hair loss too, then you should first see your healthcare provider and get a proper diagnosis.
I’m no doctor, I am just sharing my experience with telogen effluvium and everything I’ve done to help the situation. I figured now was the perfect time to share my story considering I just got the all clear back from my dermatologist. Meaning, my treatment with her is finally complete and my hair is finally on the path to complete healing!
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What Is Telogen Effluvium?
I figured we better start off with actually talking about what Telogen Effluvium is firsthand. According to the NIH, telogen effluvium is defined as “a form of nonscarring alopecia characterized by diffuse, often acute, hair shedding”.
There is also a chronic telogen effluvium as well, but thankfully that is not what I was diagnosed with. Telogen Effluvium happens when there very excessive shedding of telogen hair (or resting hair) after some physical change.
Such as hormonal changes, metabolic stress, or medication changes. Another term for telogen hair is club hair. Anagen hair is actively growing hair, and telogen hair is resting hair.
It’s also important to understand the phase of the hair growth cycle when talking about telogen effluvium. Typical hair follicles go through an anagen phase of about 4 months and then a resting phase of about 4 months as well.
New hair starts growing under the telogen phase (resting phase) of hair and then pushes it out.
What Causes Telogen Effluvium?
Common triggers of telogen effluvium include: severe illness, infection or trauma, as well as major surgery, postpartum changes in hormone levels, iron deficiency, nutritional deficiencies, and/or hypothyroidism.
Rapid weight loss and/or weight gain can also cause hair loss as well. However, in my experience, I had none of the above triggers.
We don’t really know what triggering event caused my telogen effluvium to start. Which was super frustrating and confusing.
I wasn’t even experiencing severe stress, we were about to go on a vacation, and to my knowledge, I hadn’t been super sick with anything and hadn’t had a sudden change to my medical history.
I almost rather would have known for certain what caused it, instead of the unknown. Obviously, I did experience a ton of emotional stress going through this though.
And I am sure the stress made it worse. I remember being sick pretty much all of November and December last year and I think it was due to the fact that I was just so stressed out and sad about my hair.
My dermatologist said that I will most likely never experience this again, and I sure hope she is right! She said in most cases of telogen effluvium, it doesn’t come back. It’s in very rare cases to have telogen effluvium chronically. So fingers crossed that is my case too!
How To Get Diagnosed
Like I stated above, I had to go to my dermatologist to properly get diagnosed with telogen effluvium. And to do that, she did a scalp biopsy.
Basically, they punched a hole in the top of the scalp and send it off for further testing. They did numb it first before doing this, thank goodness!
And I didn’t have to have stitches either to close it. But, I know in some cases they do. And after about a week, my dermatologist called me to confirm it was indeed telogen effluvium.
Before I went to my dermatologist, I went to my doctors office first. I thought I had some medical conditions going on that would be the underlying cause of my hair loss.
However, after many blood tests, they told me nothing was wrong and I was absolutely healthy. Which was again, so frustrating because I knew something was very wrong. You don’t just lose the amount of hair I was losing and be completely healthy.
I knew something was wrong and I am so thankful I got a second opinion with my dermatologist. They did the scalp biopsy to determine exactly what form of hair loss I was experiencing.
Different Types of Hair Loss
In case you didn’t know, there are several different types of hair loss out there and telogen effluvium is just one of the many. It’s important to determine if you’re experiencing the same thing I was, or something else entirely such as alopecia areata, androgenetic alopecia, or female pattern hair loss.
Telogen effluvium is actually a common cause of temporary hair loss. And according to the NIH, many adults experience a period of telogen effluvium at some point in their lifetime.
I just think mine was probably more of the severe cases out there. In fact, my dermatologist told me that my pictures could definitely be used in a textbook or a dermatological convention to showcase telogen effluvium!
So I guess in a way, I should be proud right?! If you’re experiencing any symptoms of telogen effluvium, I recommend seeing a dermatologist as soon as you can!
How To Stop Telogen Effluvium Hair Loss
Once diagnosed, I am sure the major question is exactly how to stop telogen effluvium hair loss from happening?! And unfortunately, there is no “quick fix” option.
As I’m sure you know, hair regrowth obviously just takes time. But, the good news is I am here to share all my tips and tricks with you! So hopefully your hair growth phase is much smoother and quicker than mine was!
Minoxidil
First of all my dermatologist prescribed me with a low dose of Minoxidil. And I have heard varying things about this medication. People told me, “Oh once you start it, you can never come off of it.”
Which when asking my dermatologist, she said that is true, but only in cases like female pattern baldness. In telogen effluvium, it is temporary and hair can even start growing back without any medical intervention or treatment too.
So technically, you don’t have to take Minoxidil, but it did speed up the process for me! I will say, a negative side effect to this medication is the way that it made my peach fuzz on my face grow like crazy!
Unfortunately, I had to start dermaplaning my face at least every single week because it got so fuzzy. Thankfully, I found a good dermaplaning tool (I’ll link it below), but it was still annoying having to add this into my weekly routine.
DIVI Hair Serum
One of the first over the counter items I started taking during this experience was DIVI hair serum. And I will say, I think it definitely sped up the hair regrowth process.
It comes in a bottle with a dropper and you add a dropper full to your scalp daily. Not only does this product improve the appearance of thinning hair, but also nourishes the scalp, and helps reduce product and oil buildup.
“Divi’s award-winning, clinically tested Scalp Serum goes beyond a traditional hair serum to focus on a healthy scalp environment, not just existing hair. In fact, in an independent study over 12 weeks of daily use, 90% of participants noticed an improvement in the look of fullness of their hair and 87% of participants noticed an increase in how dense their hair looked. With amino acids, caffeine, peptides and rosemary oil, our serum designed for thinning hair works to reduce product and oil buildup and promote a clean, healthy environment for your best hair.”
Collagen
I’m sure you all have heard about all of Collagen’s benefits to not only your skin, but your hair too! So of course I started upping my intake of collagen too. Originally, I started some collagen pills as a supplement. And they were great, it just got to be too many pills to swallow for all my hair supplements I was taking, literally!
So then I stared taking Modere’s liquid collagen instead. Which is much easier to swallow since it is just a tablespoon of liquid.
However, it is much more expensive than the pills so you just got to weigh the pros and cons of everything you’re taking and decide how much you want to spend on everything. No matter what form, I think any type of collagen will help with the hair regrowth phase!
Nutrafol
I wish I started taking Nutrafol sooner than when I did. But I kept putting it off because it was so expensive.
However, I am completely blown away by the results. Nutrafol in combination with everything else I was taking, really saved my hair I think. It’s coming in thicker and healthier.
So if you’re concerned about your hair health, you may want to consider adding Nutrafol into the mix. I know it’s expensive, but in my opinion, it is very well worth it! However, I will say though one of the negative side effects I experienced when I first started taking Nutrafol was severe migraines.
I didn’t see many people online who experienced this negative side effect though. It seemed to be that the saw palmetto that is in the product could trigger migraines for some people but it wasn’t a very common issue.
But, after about a month of taking the product, they subsided. So I think my body just needed to get used to the supplement. And I started taking it with food too which also helped. I definitely wanted to persevere through taking it because I wanted my hair back!
This product is also the #1 dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand too! I will say, you also need to give it at least 3 months before you notice any visible changes.
Nutrafol Products
Nutrafol also has several different products so depending on what your root issue is, you can choose from the following:
- Women (For 18-44 years old)
- Women’s Vegan (For plant based lifestyles)
- Women’s Balance (For women 45+ experiencing hormonal changes such as menopause)
- Postpartum (For women in postpartum recovery)
I take the Women one and have it sent to my house monthly so I never miss a dose! It’s technically a hair growth nutraceutical which causes visibly thicker volume of hair and less shedding. As well as hair that grows faster, stronger, and longer too!
“Our physician-formulated hair growth supplement is designed for women 18-44 experiencing hair thinning. We use clinically tested ingredients to target root causes of thinning, such as stress, lifestyle and nutrition. This award-winning formula is proven to support faster-growing, visibly thicker, fuller, stronger hair. And, it’s a seamless addition to your daily wellness routine: just 4 pills, once a day for results in 3-6 months.”
ARMRA Colostrum
One of the newer things I have been taking to stop telogen effluvium hair loss is ARMRA Colostrum. This bioactive whole food contains over 400 bioactive nutrients with over 1,000 benefits too! One of them being hair regrowth!
It also has other benefits such as decreased bloating, helps with metabolism and weight loss, and many, many other things. But, obviously what drew me into this product was the hair benefits. I just add 3-4 scoops of it to my water and enjoy!
They have different flavors, and although I use the unflavored, I will say it has a “milky” taste to it. It’s not bad, but I wouldn’t say it is completely unflavored. However, I like to add it into some already flavored water and then you can’t even taste it!
I just use a little frother to make sure it is mixed in well. But usually, you don’t even have to mix it up much because it is such a fine powder already!
“ARMRA ColostrumTM provides powerful anti-inflammatory benefits for your skin and hair with a host of over 400+ living, bioactive nutrients including antioxidants, whole food prebiotics, growth factors, vitamins, and regenerative peptides. Hair Health: Promote hair follicle growth, nourish the scalp, restore the hair microbiome, reduce inflammation, and protect against chemical-induced damage. ARMRA Colostrum is the first non-drug solution to fully address the modern, root causes that compromise hair health.”
Treatment of Telogen Effluvium
With the proper treatment of telogen effluvium, you will start to see some results within 3-6 months. So don’t stress! It isn’t permanent hair loss!
And I am so glad I am finally on my journey to healthy hair again. I hope this post was great info on how to stop telogen effluvium hair loss for you.
And I hope you’re able to try out some of the products I mentioned above to see how they work for you as well!
Please know you are not alone going through something like this, and I am always here if you have any questions or concerns!
It can be so hard to experience changes like this, especially when the trigger for you personally couldn’t really be discovered. I am glad to read that things have improved and that you no longer need treatment from your dermatologist. Thanks for sharing this, I had not heard about it until now, so it’s great to be informed and know what to look out for.
Thank you. I am so glad it has improved too! It was definitely not fun to experience. But, I hope others experiencing this currently can have hope that it does get better thankfully!!
I too have hair loss exactly like yours. I’ll contact a dermatologist. Thank you for your story and information.
Of course! I hope you find a great dermatologist that can help you out as well!