Increased hair shedding/loss - what's going on with hair products today??

[JR59]

Hi, about a year ago I was using Pureology Hydrate shampoo and conditioner and I started experiencing increased hair loss - lots more hair loss in the shower and on my hair brush than usual. I was healthy & experiencing no more increased stress in life. I stopped using the products because that was the only thing that I had changed in my routine and with time my hair was back to normal (full and thick). Since then I have tried Aveda products and have not had any increased hair loss but felt that they were too drying so I started using Moroccanoil Color Shampoo and Conditioner. Three weeks later I was back to losing a lot of hair - so switched back to Aveda and its getting better again. I was about to try Olaplex shampoo & conditioner but I read about a post on this website about a woman experiencing hair loss using Olaplex products. I don't know if it's a sensitivity some of us have to certain products in these shampoos but when you look at the reviews (the negative ratings) on all of these products this seems to be an ongoing issue for quite a few people. The list of ingredients in shampoos and conditioners are extensive - it's hard to narrow down what could be the irritant causing hair loss especially when you research how many irritants are in shampoos and conditioners! 

I would love to get some feedback from other people experiencing this same problem - have you been able to narrow the ingredients down and have you discovered any shampoos & conditioners that don't trigger such extensive hair shedding. 

[GoodByNature]

Thank you for your review because I thought I was the only one experiencing EXCESSIVE hair loss after using this shampoo and conditioner. I had HUGE clumps of hair fall out in the shower and also on my hairbrush. I thought maybe because I'm getting older but I'm going to stop using this shampoo & conditioner. I just ordered the following two sets of shampoos & conditioners from L'Oreal (read below) to see which one I like the best. Plus they are a lot more inexpensive and you can buy them at the drug store! I have long coarse hair and color it blonde but it has thinned out a lot because of the shampoo and conditioner that I was using but I'm going to STOP using this nano pureology shampoo and conditioner, I should have made the connection sooner but again thank you for your review because now that I think about it, when I'm at a hair salon and they're using their own shampoos and conditioners on my hair, my hair does NOT fall out at all. The following is what I just ordered, hopefully one of these works out for me.

L'Oreal Paris Moisture Sulfate Free Shampoo and Conditioner Set, Hair Care for Color-Treated Hair with Rosemary Botanicals

And

L'Oreal Paris Sulfate Free Shampoo and Conditioner for Dry Hair, Triple Action Hydration for Dry, Brittle or Color Treated Hair, Apricot Oil Infused Hair Care, EverPure

[CattyT3]

Regarding your personal situation with your hair loss as a reaction to products - definitely good you stopped using them once you realized it is the products causing it. HIGHLY recommend a dermatologist visit to check you haven't developed a sever allergy to any common ingredients in hair products or something that might be an indicator of your internal health that needs addressing with prescriptive care.

Regarding Olaplex fears:
I saw a couple of Dermatologist videos on Youtube about this Olaplex lawsuit (a long story and no longer a concern since the ingredient of concern has since been removed as a precaution), and just Olaplex take home products as a whole. The main thing is, even hair stylists on YouTube will say, is that people tend to misuse Olaplex a LOT. I.E. thinking they can get away with using it more frequently than stated, leaving products in longer that stated, or not realizing the treatment products are NOT the same as styling products. They are powerful, next to salon salon strength professional products - using something too much or too often will inevitably having negative consequences. It just hits some people harder than others - it's tough, but that's life. Some people are sensitive to certain ingredients or formulations and you only find out when you try it, and you absolutely can randomly wake up one day and become sensitive and irritated by ingredients or formulations you were fine with for many years. I can attest to this with my development of a severe allergy to lavender in anything if it touches my face or I can smell it.

The only time you deviate from instructions on packaging is with professional guidance for such powerful product lines.
That's why before using any product I read extensively into professional and experienced users' guidance videos and blogs to understand if a product is safe for my hair and scalp type, and how to use it step by step. If I had just jumped on the Olaplex train when I was shopping around for all new products, I definitely would have destroyed all my hair because it took a long time for me to find out what my hair and scalp needs and how to strike that balance, even after asking 2 experienced hair salon workers for help.

A big thing nowadays is it's possible certain ingredients or percentages may be reformulated so impeccably sneakily that you may not even realize the same product you've used for years is now actually a new formula - and this is a big thing across cosmetics as a whole - so very well might be best case scenario that you are perfectly healthy, the product just changed a bit and now you can't use it as it upsets your hair ecosystem.

There are extenuating circumstances that definitely warrant lawsuits or at the very least intensive investigation (not sure if you've heard about the Devacurl lawsuit) that is due to no fault of the customer and the fault of those involved in the making of a product. But just read into things carefully, make sure there's sufficient evidence to back up comments you read online - there is a lot of fearmongering these days, so don't fall into that trap either.

[JR59]

Thank you for all your suggestions and feedback - I will definitely look into blogs and research more before starting a new product. Good thoughts on seeing a dermatologist too - as I’m getting older I feel like I’m reacting to more allergens especially environmental!

[milaguima]

Hair loss is so much more an internal than external thing. I’ve had hair loss my whole life due to low iron levels and the only thing that helped me is Nutrafol supplement. It’s expensive but so worth it.  And also if you can get your hormones and iron levels tested to identify the root cause is my recommendation 

[CattyT3]

To add to this, it is natural for us to literally outgrow products because as we age, the levels of certain hormones or the balance between our other internal body processes might not be contributing to, for example, retaining as much moisture in the hair as it used to - but someone with actual experience working with lot of people's hair (stylist, hair product formulator, dermatologists) can help you figure out your hair's condition and if you actually do need to switch products, or just add something to help out what you already use.
So definitely check over your overall health, I would say read into how hair growth and health impacts as we get older (even between 20s to 30s will be a big shift). Eating well to nourish your body and in turn help your hair out is always a top tip for sure - so maybe see if your food choices can be switched up a little before you try diving into any supplements that are non prescription and not just your standard A-Z multivitamins - and don't take any supplements without reading very carefully into how they work and being careful about checking how you react to them as everyone is different : )