What Is Telogen Effluvium? (And How to Support Your Hair Through It)

A couple years ago, I got really sick.

A few months later, my hair started falling out.

Not just a little extra shedding.

I’m talking:

• clumps in the shower
• hair all over my brush
• that constant feeling of “is this going to stop?”

I lost about a quarter of my hair in a short period of time. I even told my husband I was going bald. I clogged the shower drain and 1.5 weeks time, I was so scared.

And what surprised me most?

No one really talks about this stage of hair loss.

Telogen effluvium is a temporary hair shedding phase that happens after your body goes through some kind of stress.

That stress could be:

• illness (like flu or covid) which is what happened to me
• postpartum changes
• hormonal shifts
• emotional stress
• even rapid weight loss or nutrient depletion

What happens is your body pushes more hairs than normal into the “shedding phase” of the hair cycle.

And then, a couple months later, they start to fall out.

This is the part that can feel confusing.

The trigger happens first.

Then about 2–3 months later, the shedding begins.

So by the time your hair starts falling out, the event that caused it has already passed.

Which can make it feel random, even though it’s not.

For most people, telogen effluvium looks like:

• Shedding starts: ~2–3 months after the trigger
• Active shedding: about 2–4 months
• Regrowth begins after that

It can feel like a long time when you’re in it.

But in most cases, it’s temporary.

Your body is resetting.

When my hair started falling out, I had the urge to fix it as fast as possible.

But here’s what I didn’t do:

• I didn’t overload my scalp with a bunch of new products
• I didn’t try to aggressively force hair growth
• I didn’t treat my scalp like it was the problem

Because it wasn’t.

My body had gone through stress.

My scalp just needed support while things came back into balance.

I kept things simple and consistent.

Not perfect, just steady.

Here’s what I did:

• Rosemary hair tea rinse — 2x a week
• Grass-fed collagen in my coffee daily
• Mermaid Spray — at least once a week on my roots + strands
• Scalp massager — a few times a week in the shower to support circulation
• Herbal teas — nettle + chamomile daily
• More water than I was used to

Nothing extreme.

Just supportive care for my scalp and my body.

This is the biggest shift I had to make:

Instead of trying to force my hair to grow back…

I focused on supporting the environment it grows from.

Your scalp is living skin.

And when it feels supported (not stripped, not stressed), your hair has a better chance to come back in a healthy way.

During that time, I wasn’t looking for a miracle product.

I needed something that would:

• support my scalp
• feel lightweight (not greasy or heavy)
• help my hair still have some texture and life while it was thinner

That’s exactly how I used Mermaid Spray.

Not as a fix.

But as part of a routine that supported my scalp while everything reset.

I know how it feels.

The uncertainty.
The fear that it won’t stop.
The constant checking.

But in most cases, this kind of shedding is temporary.

Your body isn’t broken.

It’s responding.

And with time, consistency, and support, your hair can and will come back.

If your hair has been shedding more than usual, start here:

• Support your scalp instead of stripping it
• Focus on consistency over intensity
• Nourish your body alongside your hair

You don’t need to do everything at once.

Just start with one or two things, and stay consistent.

I’ve been there. And your hair can come back.