I need some input from all my homies. About a month ago I started noticing that Lily was pulling her hair a lot. I was finding hair everywhere, big clumps of it. I'd get her out of her car seat and she'd have a big clump in her hand of about 20 hairs. I've been telling her not to do it, that she won't have much hair left, so she's kind of stopped. She's always combed through her hair when she's tired of bored, since she was a tiny baby, and now I think that when it's tangled, or there is sticky crap in there, she just pulls it out. I noticed that her hair was getting thinner, especially on the front and left side. One day as I was putting her to bed, I combed my fingers along her scalp and realized she has stubble under there! It was all over the front part of her head, it felt like it had been shaved under there! So here's what I need input on:
-Is it stubble just because she's growing up and growing new hairs and her hair is just filling ou
t?
t?-Is it stubble because she's been pulling so much?
-Is her hair naturally just falling out and she's not necessarily pulling, just combing?
I should mention, that according to my mom, when I was three my hair fell out till almost bald, and it was because my follicles were growing bigger, so the baby hairs fell out and my trademark big, thick, frizzy hairs grew in after. When I look closely, her tiny hairs are still blonde.
So this also leads me to my next set of questions, what should I do?
-I've been trying to keep her hair up so she won't comb it, but this is not very successful, should I persevere with this strategy?
-Should I cut it shorter, maybe into a bob so she won't pull it? I know this is drastic, but I don't want this to become such a habit that she develops Trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling) and ends up bald with no eyebrows either.
I've started using conditioner, too, which has helped it not be tangley. I've also received some advice that if I cut it short it would grow in thicker. This is a myth, isn't it? How would cutting it short cause the follicles to grow thicker.
I know this seems ridiculous, but I'm a little freaked out. Let me know people.
5 comments:
Talk to her doctor. I had a child in my class last year doing the same thing, she was 3, and her doctor said it was a nervous thing.
OK Here's my theory: All children develop little self-soothing habits--thumb-sucking, blanket-hugging, etc. She has always stroked her hair for comfort. Now, as her hair follicles grow, like yours did, the hairs are coming out with the stroking.
She's not a nervous child. You mentioned that she was more fearful ans anxious lately. Well, three is the age when they start to figure out that there is stuff genuinely to be afraid of, and so they react.
The more attention you give to the issue, the more she will attend to it. If you freak out she will freak out. Ignore it.
My kids didn't have that as far as I can remember. Meredith would just cut her hair and Beth's down to to roots..always in front! I agree with Mel. Just keep putting conditioner in it so it won't tangle and then come out when she strokes it. If she keeps it up for several months you can always take her to her pedi when ya'll get home.
It sounds like she's pulling it out without thinking about it. Kind of like biting your nails. Second nature. It seems unlikely that she's pulling it out because there is something in it. The stubble is more indicative of pulling clumps out. Anna's hair did fall out and come in thicker at about 4, but not in chunks. Baffling. Maybe her hair misses AZ.
I think her hair may be longer than what she is used to and it is bugging her. I would trim it up and pull it back more often with soft rubber bands.
I was in nursery the other day and a little girl with extremely fine blond hair pulled out her entire pony tail. Her mom put some foofy hair clip on her head that held one half of her top hair. This kid was not messing around. She ripped the whole thing off. Her mom said she looked like a lukemia patient. I thought it was pretty funny.
H
Post a Comment