What ingredients should my hair loss products have if I have Telogen Effluvium Shedding?

What ingredients should my hair loss products have if I have Telogen Effluvium Shedding?

I have a lot of questions about shampoo selection for people with telogen effluvium. The strange thing is that most people with telogen effluvium know that there really shouldn't be anything wrong with their scalp or follicles. With true telogen effluvium, hair falls out due to stress or illness that caused the hair to move from the growth phase to the hair loss phase. Theoretically, the cycle should switch back after some time. Then your hair should stop shedding and then grow again. This is the case regardless of the shampoo used.

Many of us know this intellectually. But we want to feel like we're doing something to help our hair recover. And this is where finding the perfect shampoo comes into play. Many people will look for “natural” ingredients or a shampoo that does not contain sodium laurel sulfate, thinking that this ingredient may have caused the hair loss to begin.

Other people will focus on shampoos that promise to clear the follicles of dirt or reduce dihydrotestosterone (also known as DHT). Still others want the shampoo to be as gentle as possible – so they opt for something incredibly gentle – like baby shampoo. I understand the thinking behind it and have tried these things too. But the shampoos that ended up helping me weren't what I expected, although I now understand why.

Of course, I'm sure everyone is different, but I've had the best results with dandruff shampoos. And here's my theory as to why. Dandruff shampoos relieve inflammation on your scalp. When you have telogen effluvium, you have many follicles shedding hair at once. This can lead to inflammation - which is why your scalp may turn red or pink and you may experience a tight, tingling or painful feeling when you shed a lot of hair.

Dandruff shampoos help combat this. No, I can't tell you that any shampoo stopped my dandruff. Because until your follicles return to the growth phase, shedding will likely continue. However, in my case, I often paid close attention to how my scalp felt and how much dandruff I had when using different shampoos. And without question, I got the best results with the dandruff shampoos. And I don't have dandruff, but I believe it helped reduce the inflammation - which, if left unchecked, made the hair loss worse.

Again, everyone is different. I can't promise this will work for you. However, if your scalp is painful or pink or red, it may indicate that you have mild inflammation, so any ingredient that can combat this might be worth trying. Some also use tea tree oil for this.

But an anti-inflammatory of any kind makes sense to me. Because if you have telogen effluvium, you won't lose hair due to DHT or any other scalp condition. You lose it because of what happens internally. But shedding can cause an inflammatory reaction in the scalp and follicles that, if left unchecked, can create a cycle, at least in my experience, that can prolong or worsen the shedding.

Inspired by Ava Alderman