# Does the tap water here make your hair fall out more?



## beeniesmiles

Hey, soooo..... i know this is totally weird, but i HAVE to ask:

ive found that my hair here falls out alot more after i take a shower than it ever did before. 

im born and raised in new york city and have been showering with tap water (does anyone really shower with evian?!?! dear god!!) but my hair hasnt ever fallen out the way it does here.

does anyone have any insight on this? experience? men and/or women??

and what can i do to make it stopppp!!!!!

beenie


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## Gavtek

It's old age I'm afraid, you can't fight nature but the water is a convenient excuse, as it will be when youre no longer able to hide the wrinkles and sagging.


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## beeniesmiles

Gavtek said:


> It's old age I'm afraid, you can't fight nature but the water is a convenient excuse, as it will be when youre no longer able to hide the wrinkles and sagging.


haha i was afraid thats what it was but my denial tells me its not!


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## dizzyizzy

beeniesmiles said:


> haha i was afraid thats what it was but my denial tells me its not!


yes is very common, water here sucks.

go to Ace Hardware, they sell some filters for the shower. That should help.


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## beeniesmiles

dizzyizzy said:


> yes is very common, water here sucks.
> 
> go to Ace Hardware, they sell some filters for the shower. That should help.


ok so i'm not alone. i'll head over to Ace to check out this shower head filter situation-- thanks!

and yes, the water here is so harsh! it has really done a number on my hair and skin (not to mention my clothes after washing!) i now just dry-clean everything!!!


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## Confiture

My hair seems to grow a lot faster here than it did back in the cold & rainy UK.

Previously a 4-5 week gap between cuts was ok, now it's 3!


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## dizzyizzy

beeniesmiles said:


> ok so i'm not alone. i'll head over to Ace to check out this shower head filter situation-- thanks!
> 
> and yes, the water here is so harsh! it has really done a number on my hair and skin (not to mention my clothes after washing!) i now just dry-clean everything!!!


I think it normalizes after a while, but not sure if it's the same for everyone. After I'd a year / year and a half my hair did stop falling a little bit and also it started looking healthier again. But I did have horrible hair for a year or so even though I spent a little fortune in hair treatments.


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## beeniesmiles

im going on over a year here now, and there is no signs of change-- maybe that extra half a year will give me the normalization im looking for??

as for the hair growth-- my hair definitely does GROW faster here (i think its the heat-- back in the States my hair always grew faster during the summer, although im not sure if its all psychological tied to urban myths) but the falling out--- ahhhhh! petrifying!

izzy, i see your small fortune on hair treatments, and raise you my own!

beenie


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## Rutilius

The reason your hair falls more is due to the amounts of chlorine in the water... Chlorine also tends to early graying of your hair. Chlorine can leave your hair dry and brittle and make your skin flaky and itchy.

Most malls carry shower filters. Make sure that the filter is KDF media based as this is the only effective media for chlorine reduction. You would be able to feel the difference as your eyes will not burn when sprayed with water from filter. As the cartridge gets loaded with chlorine and becomes ineffective you would feel the water burn... recharge it with table salt.


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## pinball_wizard

Its probably a combination of chlorine in the water and the very very hot glowing thing in the sky


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## Maz25

My bathroom floor is always covered in hair! I think that's what finally killed my vacuum cleaner - every time I emptied it, I was left wondering why I still had hair on my head considering the giant hairball that I used to chuck out.

My hair does grow a lot quicker and after 3 years here, it is a lot healthier than it was when I first arrived but I do spend a small fortune on it!


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## beeniesmiles

Maz25 said:


> My bathroom floor is always covered in hair! I think that's what finally killed my vacuum cleaner - every time I emptied it, I was left wondering why I still had hair on my head considering the giant hairball that I used to chuck out.
> 
> My hair does grow a lot quicker and after 3 years here, it is a lot healthier than it was when I first arrived but I do spend a small fortune on it!


YESSSSSSS! MINE TOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! and let me tell u, its SCARY when you have white tiles all over ur house and all you see is clumps of black hair!!!

RIP your vaccuum cleaner and my vaccuum cleaner. i hope they are in vaccuum heaven somewhere there is no hair on the floors


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## talkitter

All my friends and colleagues have shared this common problem in UAE. Water here is hard and high on chlorine which is not good for our hair. Water filter should be able to give you positive results


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## funkyant

A quick look on Google reveals quite few scientific studies which conclude that chlorine does not affect hair loss.

chlorine hair loss - Google Search

I'd say a more reasonable explanation is that humans have hair to retain body heat, and your body is simply adjusting to the change in climate when you move here.


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## OldFarmer

I've got the same piles of hair all over our villa. And I've had my hair fall out in large amounts the other times I have moved countries. Various stressors, emotional and physical, can cause a larger number of follicles than normal to go into a resting phase and eventually fall out.

By stress, I don't mean your life is falling apart. But changes in jobs, living arrangements, sleeping, foods, exercising, and things as simple as the consistently high temps can amount to stress on the body. Chlorine in the water can dry hair out to the point that it breaks off, I suppose, but I don't think it makes it fall out at the follicle.

Maybe there is some correlation between the faster growth and the higher falling-out rates, too.

Hair loss:"Many dermatologists believe chronic stress can gradually exert a negative effect on hair growth and lead to persistent TE."


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## zin

Surely it's just to do with the hair cycle and where it's at? Humans shed as well!


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## Loukoum

I lose a lot more hair here than in the US, and things calmed down (a bit) when I started using Brewer's Yeast upon the recommendation of a friend.
Honestly, I was going to go bald and that's scaaary!


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## sofianavarro

beeniesmiles said:


> Hey, soooo..... i know this is totally weird, but i HAVE to ask:
> 
> ive found that my hair here falls out alot more after i take a shower than it ever did before.
> 
> im born and raised in new york city and have been showering with tap water (does anyone really shower with evian?!?! dear god!!) but my hair hasnt ever fallen out the way it does here.
> 
> does anyone have any insight on this? experience? men and/or women??
> 
> and what can i do to make it stopppp!!!!!
> 
> beenie


Yes, minerals in desalinated water and chlorine clog our follicles and they can fall off in a premature way. 

. Its not age because Im 26 yo.
. Heat promotes hair growth, so thats out of the question.

But dont worry Chelating shampoo will remove this mineral, water softeners help a bit too, and Sebum production regulates itself to remove those minerals so that explain why after 2 years hair has recover, but for me thats too long.

I love long hair so I do wash with spring water, I wash it once at week, I only use 3-4 LT now after some trial and error, albeit my hair is very dry, for oily hair that could be difficult.

My vacuum still works but my plummer was an usual visitor! lol


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## Kawasutra

A recent market study related to shampoo´s showed that the one´s with the option "hairfall decrease" are purchased the most here in the UAE...!


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## AndreaMarshall

actually i work for a doctor who does hair transplantation (and has worked on the likes o fmany bollywood celebrities - its pretty cool!)

anyway i have done LOADS of research

hairloss starts for men betwene 18-35 years of age. the only men who come to our office and think their hair loss was due to the UAE water are in that age frame. The ones older than that (Where the DHT hormone isnt being produced anymore but slowly leaving the body) do not blame hairfall on the water and never thought it would be connected.

Rogaine/Regain/Tugain is a remarkable product. It works miracles for women and is available at most pharmacies here, though Tugain is in India and comes in a foam version which is MUCH better than the liquid one. And it works best on women! 

So if you're experiencing a thinning scalp, get some women's regain from the pharmacy, and google Toppik Hair Powder. Its incredible too. There are a few places here that sell it. We sell it too, but theres no point since that would be advertising and thats against the rules! If you end up buying it from an Andrea at a hair transplant office, then say hello and introduce yourself 

hope this information helped!

shower water filters help as well but chlorine doesn't affect hair loss it just messes with the anagen catagen telogen cycles facilitating the shedding stage to happen a bit faster but you have the replacement hairs loaded and ready to go.

otherwise there would be more sales of swim caps as if you swam without one, you would be bald! obviously not true people


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## OldFarmer

So andrea, do you also think it's possible that the multiple stressors of, oh, say, relocation, could cause telogen effluvium, or maybe a similar but subacute shedding stage?


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## NYdesignandtech

beenies --- I've been here for two months now from NJ and finding hair all over also... it has to be the water 

People who have been here all have told me to get the shower filter....


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## AndreaMarshall

the stress of moving can cause mild hair loss, but the stress that typically causes hair loss is super severe in nature, as the body decides to suspend nonessential things so it can work on what is essential for life. Many women find they lose some hair after having a baby, or while pregnant, for an example.


Just like for some people when they travel they break out due to the mineral changes in the water, the tap water here can exacerbate an existing hair loss condition. Women's and Men's Rogaine/Tugain/Regain will help (it works better in women than in men)

PM me for details, i love to share knowledge and help!

Basically as the DHT hair loss hornone is attacking the hair root, it shrinks its depth decreasing from 4mm deep to 2 then 1 then its nonexistant as the follicle is dead....the water here can increase the speed of an already persistent condition. But that means you would have faced a hair loss issue further down the line regardless.

Rogaine Foam (available in the USA) is the best, as the molecules are smaller, theres no propylene glycol (cancer causing and residue leaving nonsenes) as well as you get no preservatives....the version in the UAE is only a liquid form so you get propylene glycol, preservatives, and some goopy residue. India makes a foam version called Tugain Foam which is just as effective and for some it may be easier to get.

As i said, tablets (except for finasteride for men) do not work, vitamins, herbal supplements, special diets, special shampoos, etc. Minoxidil and Finasteride are the only two things to help, but changing your water filter in the shower will help slow things down substantially.

Other than that, it becomes time to start visiting the mens hair loss forums to learn more about hair transplantation. Or message me, my boss is the best there is, but our prices are stupidly expensive. So why not use my brain for free advice ; )


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