No bangs & No layers when growing hair

I know some of you came across this article before, but I thought I would reintroduce it--


www.longhairlovers.com/gm_interview.html


To summarize, basically Dr. George Michael discourages women from getting bangs and layers while trying to grow hair to its longest length. He reasons that when you have bangs and layered cuts, your body will instinctively attempt to even out the hair by causing the longest layers to shed.

"Dr. Michael explained that the most important step for growing the longest, healthiest hair possible is to have hair that's all one length."

He further reassures that once the shorter lengths catch up, the shedding should subside and growth will really take off.

I thought this would be encouraging for some of us who have been experiencing shedding and don't have any medical challenges, but do have bangs and layers. Perhaps nature is just trying to even things out.



(Disclaimer: I realize this article makes MAJOR generalizations. There are ladies on this board who maintained layered hair while growing it out long and did not experience shedding. There are also ladies on this board who get more than 6 inches of growth per year. So I am just taking all this information in stride with everything else I am learning.)


--perfect peace
 

nekee

New Member
5 strands of hair shed from the same area today from the side of my hair. It is not the longest layer, so i guess my hair is just shedding . I take bc pills but if i go without them my periods are going to be very painful , i dont know what to do .. All of my hair just seems to be coming out each time i pull at it. chunks and chunks of it .. im just a failure , i dont think im ever going to grow back my hair. i should have never cut it in the first place
 
[I tend to be long winded . . . sorry ladies.]

Hi Nekee,

You are not a failure. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.


Hair shedding is quite common with birth control. Ladies on this board have experienced it. This is a description of what might be happening to you.

[ QUOTE ]
The estrogen in the pills probably stimulated and prolonged the growth phase of many hair follicles. This causes more than the usual 10% of hairs to reach the resting phase and then the sloughing phase about 3-4 months later. The net result of this growth stimulation is a more than normal sloughing of hairs (normally 50-100 each day) several months down the line. In this case the hair loss should not be patchy like your basic disease but rather generalized. It usually only lasts for a month or two and the hairs resume a random growth pattern. When you stop the pills, the same process may take place because the growth phase shortens throwing more hairs into a resting phase several months later. Thus the pills can be causing some hair loss now, but the loss is not part of [any] disease process and will go away soon.

[/ QUOTE ]

It seems that for those who are shedding, only as a result of BCP use, it means that more hairs are going into the resting/shedding phase. Those same follicles will return to the growing phase in a matter of months. I am in the same situation you are, Nekee. I am not on BCPs but I have a very stressful job. Dermatologists put us in the same category. It's called TELOGEN EFFLUVIUM. It's not scary.
High fever, drug therapy, major surgery are other things that can trigger more follicles to go into the resting/shedding stage. (It's a very broad category...even the bang/layers theory can find a place here.) Two key words describe it, "predictable" and my favorite "temporary."

I am currently exploring an otc product called "Florisene." It's a vitmin. I ordered it from Westons.com. (In the UK it's called Nutrihair.) It is supposed to address the biological needs of those with TE. I have not received it yet so I don't no . . .

There are a lot of articles on the internet re TE. All the ones I read gave me HOPE.

(Nekee, if TE does not sound like what you are going through, please see a dermatologist. Many of them do have the answer.) :nod:

--perfect peace
 
Nekee,

On second thought, maybe you should just go and see a dermatologist anyway. Just for peace of mind. I did Friday as a matter of fact. Not for hair shedding, for a skin rash. I just slipped in a question about my shedding, she asked a few questions, took one look at my scalp and basically stated, "It'll grow back, honey. Quite common." She did not brush me off, she is just very knowledgable and has seen this stuff come and go a million times. But, I felt calmer as I walked out the door. I'm glad I talked to her about it.

--perfect peace
 

Tebby1017

New Member
I remember reading about this a while ago and I thought the same thing.

My hair is currently at the top of my bra strap but I have sections that are only at my ear. I certainly hope that my hair doesn't shed so that the earlength hair and the brastrap hair will be the same length.

Tebby
 

Islandgirl

New Member
yes i read this bang theory sometime ago. i wanted to go back to my old favorite style (bangs) but, i am afraid its going to ruin my growth. I never had a problem when i had bangs in the past, but again, my hair was long then. Since i am trying to grow out my hair, i think i will stay away from bangs for awhile.
 

aqualung

New Member
The article mentions:
"To prove this point, Dr. Michael says hair that's cut in a 4-inch style may lose up to 87 hairs a day; hair that's 12-inches long loses up to 26 hairs a day; waist-length hair loses 16 hairs a day, and floor-length hair loses just two hairs a day. "

Does correlation imply causation? Anyone with floor length hair wouldn't have reached such a length unless their shedding was sparse/rare. Maybe George has it backward and, in actuality, little shedding results in length retained.
 

ThursdayGirl

Well-Known Member
I think this theory is BUNK... pure and simple. My hair actually grows faster and sheds less when it has been cut!

I have never had more shedding because of having layers... In fact my hair seems to shed more now that I have a blunt cut...but that may be because I'm spacing my relaxers out.

Don't believe EVERY thing you hear ladies. Look at your own experiences
 

AnjelLuvs

Well-Known Member
^^^^^
That is the same thing I was thinkin, because I always have layers and I dont think there is reallya way for ur body to know the length of ur hair
 

nekee

New Member
thanx perfectpeace, i don't think that is what i have, but thanx for making me feel a lil better. im done with the whole hair thing but thanx
 

Isis

New Member
I've had bangs for a long time and my hair has grown very long different times in the past. It didn't break off because I had bangs. My hair still would be exceptionally long if I knew how to care for it back then. All the breakage I experienced had to do with my mistakes and lack of knowledge.

I agree with him if he believes cells have intelligence and memory. To me that means I can program my hair cells to grow my hair as long as I want.
 

Tracy

New Member
perfectpeace,

I LOVE your username. Just reading it makes me feel instantaneously peaceful.


Not sure how I feel about Mr. Micheal's theory - espe. since I just cut bangs so I could like how my hair looks "up"...


But thank you for sharing it anyway.
It might apply to someone (even if not me) and help them. It sure made a difference for Jennifer Bahney! (remember her y'all?????).
 
Tracy, I am so glad to hear that. I love encouraging people. Another name that puts a smile on my face is "Jesus." Just to hear that Name . . .

I'm not sure about this "no bangs/layers" theory either, ladies. I am sure this very trusted doctor has had some success with this method on clients. But with 6 billion people in the world, its bound to not work for everyone. I put it out there just to get some ideas about what people thought and what their experiences have been. I am currently growing out my bangs because I want a one-length bob (my favorite hair cut), not for any other reason. But once I get the length I want, if I find a cute layered style, I won't hesitate to pull out the scissors and do a little snip snip. I figure "Why not, life is just too short."


--perfect peace
 
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