Hair shedding and hair loss have become two hot topics online recently, with a proliferation of twentysomething TikTokers taking to social media seeking answers as to why they’ve lost half of their hair density in the last few months. Yet, the sudden hysteria has, conversely, inspired a string of misconceptions and wrongful self-diagnoses.
“We’ve all seen those videos where it’s like, ‘This shampoo will make your hair fall out,’” Abbey Yung, a certified trichologist, told WWD. “In reality, that’s not the way that hair loss works unless you’re having some sort of allergic reaction to an ingredient in that hair care product.”
How hair loss actually works, Yung continued, is that the cause occurs two to three months prior. Though it’s typical for a woman to lose about 50 to 100 hairs per day, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, excessive hair shedding, also known as telogen effluvium, can be aggravated by several factors, including increased stress, weight loss, infections, surgeries and postpartum.
Hair loss and hair shedding are also two separate conditions, though they’re often used interchangeably online. “Shedding is kind of cyclical,” Yung explained. “Right now is a really common time that people experience higher amounts of shedding, but that’s not necessarily true hair loss. There are absolutely forms of hair loss that cause excess or diffuse shedding and that could be categorized as hair loss, but that doesn’t mean that it’s permanent.”
So, how does one remedy hair loss and support the regrowth of hair follicles? First, Yung suggested speaking with a doctor to rule out any underlying illnesses. Then, if it’s not internal, the next best thing is to focus on overall scalp health. Enter the Abbey Yung Hair Method.
Abbey Yung’s new Favorites pack with Ogx Beauty is inspired by her 11-step method.
OGX
Having struggled with her own severe breakage and damage, Yung devised a viral, multistep care strategy made to replenish, nourish and support the regrowth of hair follicles. From pre-shampoo suggestions and between-wash recommendations, each step offers a lineup of suitable products, each tested and approved by Yung.
“The goal of this method is not to make people feel that they need to use each and every one of these products or follow each and every one of these steps,” Yung explained. “It’s just to give you a framework or a guideline for the options that you have, and then you can pick and choose based on that.”
She continued: “I basically wanted to make this as flexible as possible, with as many options as possible, knowing that people have different preferences, different product types and formats they like to use.”
To start, Yung prefers to go in with a pre-shampoo bond repair treatment, such as the Ogx Bond Protein Repair, applying it at least 10 minutes before washing or using any other product. “This is something that you could do before shampooing, or you could skip this stuff altogether,” she explained.
Next, Yung uses a pre-shampoo oil treatment at least 20 minutes before washing to help with dryness and excessive tangling. This product, however, should not be used with a post-wash bond repair treatment.
In the shower, the first shampoo should always be a clarifying shampoo. “I personally think it’s important to clarify at least once a week, and I kind of use the term clarifying more broadly, to mean deep cleaning,” Yung said, listing brands such as K18, Ouai, Pantene and Living Proof as suitable options.
Step four is a non-clarifying shampoo, which can be a medicated one to prevent itching, irritation or flaking. These shampoos, however, do not have to be used for every hair wash. The non-clarifying shampoo should then be followed by an in-shower bond repair treatment, used at least once a week, if it wasn’t applied before shampoo.
Step six is “conditioning,” which includes glosses, conditioners and masks. “I recommend picking one to two of these products every wash day. You can definitely get good results with just one, but some people like to kind of mix and match and have a different experience with using a couple conditioning products,” Yung noted.
Step seven is applying a post-wash bond repair treatment to the hair and waiting at least 10 minutes before going in with the following post-wash products, including leave-in conditioner and heat protectant.
“I’m big on using a leave-in conditioning spray instead of just a cream, a serum, or an oil, because one of the main things that I think is so important in caring for your hair is actually being intentional with the way that you’re distributing and applying product,” Yung said, adding that a spray leaves little room for distribution error.
Yung designed steps nine and 10 for those who use styling tools on their hair after washing it. From dry sprays to style sealers like serums, lotions, creams and oils, these are the final products applied to the hair before and after applying heat.
“If, after using your leave-in conditioning spray, you feel like you just need a little bit of something more, like a little bit more softness, smoothness, shine, that’s when you can finish up with something like a serum, lotion or cream to get that final seal to your style, but totally optional,” Yung noted.
Finally, step 11 is overnight treatments and oils between washes to help manage dryness and excessive tangling.
Available now at Target is Yung’s first brand collaboration with Ogx Beauty, a set of three essentials to bolster the 11-step at-home routine, including the brand’s Bond Protein Repair Heat Protect Spray, Bond Protein Repair One-Minute Treatment Mask and Extra Strength Damage Remedy + Coconut Miracle Oil Penetrating Oil.
