How can you tell if hair is growing back properly after telogen effluvium (TE)?

I often write about women’s hair loss and tell my readers that the recovery of telogen effluvium (TE, also known as shedding) 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 be as impacted as if you couldn’t grow hair back or only hairs could grow back. thin and sickly.

In response, people often ask me things like “how can I tell if my hair is growing back after ET?” or “How can I tell if I’m growing healthy hair back after shedding?” I will answer these questions in the next article.

See the short, stubby new growth that will greatly improve the appearance of your hair: My hairdresser used to assure me that a few months after my hair fell out, I would start to see little hairs starting to grow out of my part. I imagined this would look like a men’s military cut mixed with my normal hair. (This was not the case). I started looking for these little guys every night. I couldn’t see any at first and started to get really discouraged. You should know that the growth is very short after TE and since the hair grows back about 1/2 inch per month, it will be 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 style your hair, just tilt your hair/head in the opposite direction and then hold it there. Now look at the dividing line and take note of any small 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 work or going out), spray a generous amount of dry shampoo on the parting line. It will be 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 will be cleaner) so you don’t have to worry about brushing it. This method also saves you from having to manipulate your hair so much that it falls out more.

How can I tell if my new growth is healthy? What if it is thin and does not look like normal hair?: I often ask my readers to not only look for new growth, but also to 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, regrown hair. I know, you hate doing this. But it is necessary.

The hair being plucked 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 with that of a change of longer hair. (In my case, there was a lot of this worn hair lying around.) 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 the texture of cotton candy. 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 androgens, DHT, or clogged follicles. If this is the case, the way to regrow healthy hair is to remove this blockage and these androgens.