Hair Loss and Hair Thinning
Hair loss. Ugh. Been there? If not, consider yourself lucky, but also, I hate to say it, but it might happen at some point or another in your life. Yikes. I never thought I’d have a hair loss issue given how much hair I have, but here we are.
Backstory: Early last year I was at the hair salon and my stylist noticed a little bald spot on the back of my head. You couldn’t see it by just looking, and of course, I was never able to see it on my own. So, naturally, I freaked out and went to the dermatologist. Turns out, it was Alopecia Areata (also known as patchy hair loss). A very common cause of AA (sorry, I don’t have a better abbreviation here!) is stress, and well, I had my fair share of stress when this came about, so I wasn’t all that surprised. They said they could give me a shot in my head (yikes) or I could use a steroid cream or it might just grow back on its own (or get worse…or stay the same). I opted for the cream, barely used it, but luckily the hair grew back and all was fine.
Fast forward to a couple of months ago and I noticed my hair was shedding like crazy. Look, I’m not new to hair shedding. I have a lot of fcking hair and it constantly sheds. But this seemed WAY more than normal. My hairstylist said it seemed normal. My doc said it was normal. But it didn’t seem normal to me. All of a sudden, not even two weeks ago, I noticed another bald spot – in a different spot and smaller than the previous one. I went to the doc again, and lo and behold, it’s AA (again, not surprised, because it’s been a stressful first half of the year for me! and for many people..and something I learned is that the shedding / hair loss can come 6+ months after the peak of the stress, so again, this makes perfect sense ). The bald spot showed up between my last visit with her and this one. So now we have this new spot, which I again declined the injection for, and instead opted for the steroid cream. This time around I have been using the cream, and I’m hoping it just grows back soon. However, along with that, the shedding truly seems to be out of control still. So I took to Instagram, as I often do when I have questions because my Instagram friends and followers always seem to know everything!! #thankful
And the recommendations for hair thinning / hair loss came in droves. And several of you said you’d love to hear the recommendations because you are experiencing or have experienced something similar. So I’ve compiled all (or most! I hope I got all) of your recommendations. Several were recommended by several of you. The list is below, along with links to purchase, where applicable.
I hope this is helpful! Chime in below in the comments or on IG with your hair loss / shedding experience. You know I love chit-chatting in the DMs.
Hair Loss / Hair Shedding Recommendations
*To note: Of course I am not a doctor, dietitian, or licensed professional of any kind; just a girl with some hair shedding issues! Always ask your doctor first before starting anything new.
- Biotin – this was recommended A LOT A LOT A LOT. I purchased the Nature’s Bounty Biotin 5,000mcg soft gels and I’ve been taking one a day.
- Prenatal Vitamins – I can’t speak to these, as I’ve never taken them nor been pregnant, but I have heard great things about prenatal vitamins even when not pregnant.
- Castor oil on the specific bald spot – I received this recommendation twice – one from a girl who said her friend’s nanny swears by castor oil for this and that it’s according to Jamaican folklore.
- Pura D’Or Original Gold Label Shampoo (and conditioner) – A lot of you recommended this, as well. I purchased the shampoo and I’ve used it once (I only wash my hair 2-3 times per week typically). I hear this works wonders. I also hear your hair can become dependent on it and it can dry out your hair. So I’m continuing to use my normal conditioner, and we’ll see what happens! I don’t mind the smell at all (I know some of you said it’s not great) – it’s minty smelling for the most part and because I’m using my normal conditioner and products, my hair smells how it always does.
- B12 – I can’t speak to this one from personal experience, but got several recommendations for taking B12.
- Don’t wear hair as tight in a pony as often – ugh yeah! Especially during the rona, I feel like my hair has been up more than normal. I’m trying to make an effort to keep it down while at home and not just rushing to put it in a pony.
- Steroid drops – I can’t speak to this one from personal experience, but I imagine it could work since the steroid cream seems to.
- Nioxin shampoo and conditioner – Another shampoo brand that came highly recommended.
- Sugar Bear hair gummies – Haha this makes me think of every Bachelor / Bachelorette contestant because I feel like they’re always promoting this brand, but hey they apparently work!
- Lush shampoo bar – I might get this to try! Sounds interesting.
- Lush hair mask – I also might try this! I couldn’t find the specific one, but here are all their hair products.
- Gentle microfiber towels – I bought a set of these, and going forward I will no longer put my wet hair up in my regular towel. Only microfiber.
- Heat style as little as possible – I really don’t heat style my hair too often at all, and especially not much during the rona, but I’m being extra aware of it these days and staying away from the heat styling tools.
- Viviscal – I can’t speak to this from personal use, but it came highly recommended!
- Nutrafol vitamins – I also can’t speak to these vitamins from personal experience, but came recommended from a few different people.
- rX strength Rogain – I haven’t tried this, but I would imagine it works.
- Red light helmet therapy – This sounds aggressive, but if yours is severe maybe something worth looking into.
- PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) Injection – this scares me even thinking about it, but apparently can work.
- Monistat – This one surprised me, and the girl who recommended it said “I know this sounds crazy, but I followed this influencer who sprayed Monistat for hair growth and I know you’re probably like what the actual fck, but I need to try and remember who it was and send to you.” So, maybe it works?
- Mane ‘n Tale – A good friend of mine swears by this!! She doesn’t use it everyday, but she said it’s helped tremendously.
- R+Co. Shampoo with biotin – I love R+Co. I definitely might try this at some point.
- Silk pillowcase – Thinking of buying one of these bad boys. I’ve always heard positive things.
- Collagen – I’ve never taken collagen, but have heard great things.
- Vital proteins – When it comes to collagen, this is the brand I mostly hear about.
- Scalp massager – This just sounds divine so I need to get one.
- Wet brush – I used to have one of these, but I don’t know where it is, so I’ll be purchasing another.
- Acupuncture – I’ve never done acupuncture, but I have friends who SWEAR by it, and I could see it helping with this, especially if your cause is stress.
- Mane Magic – I’ve never tried this, but a few people spoke highly of it.
- Vitamin C and D – I have been deficient in vitamin D before, so maybe that’s part of my problem. I have my yearly physical coming up so I’ll be checking all my vitamin levels, thyroid, etc.
- Meditation – We could all use some meditation, huh? Honestly, I kinda suck at it. I’ve dabbled, and there was a period of time I used Calm and then Headspace, but I didn’t stick with it. Might be worth trying again.
The photo is a screenshot from a YouTube favorites video I did years ago back when I dabbled in YouTube.
