
Last winter season, a huge change began in my life that I never expected, and honestly had no idea how to deal with. I’ve never had the thickest of hair, instead its always been very fine strands, but I have a lot of them. I highlight it fairly regularly, but that’s about all i’ve ever done. It’s honestly not something I paid much attention to, that was, until it started falling out.
You never realize how much of an affect your hair can have on your self confidence until you begin to see it falling out, or thinning, disappearing right before your eyes. For me, it honestly felt like I was losing part of my woman-hood. I don’t even have super long luscious hair, but the fact that I was basically shedding it every single day, and the idea that it could continue for who knows how long, was terrifying, demoralizing and disheartening in every way.
I remember breaking down and crying more times than I can count. My stress levels over the situation were out of control. Every time I ran my hands through my hair, I pulled some out. Every time I brushed my hair, bunches would end up on the brush. Every time I showered and washed my hair, so much of it just ended up going down the drain. And the scariest part was that I had no idea why – and honestly still don’t. All I knew was that something was causing my hair to fall out, and I had to find a way to either slow it down or stop it completely.
I went to a dermatologist. She took two seconds to look at my hair and scalp (from about a foot away, mind you), and automatically diagnosed me with build up (from who knows what) and prescribed me a shampoo that would surely treat the issue. She never asked me about my history with an eating disorder, or about my hormones, or about my diet, exercise routine, or medications even. No questions were asked at all. I was in and out in 5 minutes, felt like I hadn’t been heard, but was going to give the shampoo a try because, honestly, it’s all I had.
Well, surprise suprirse, the prescribed shampoo had almost no effect. My hair continued to thin as the months went on. I had been losing it for about 3 mights at this point, and was growing hopeless that it would ever stop. I had honestly started thinking about the idea of wigs just in case we got to that point.
I had spoken to my parents and my mother in law about it as well. We were all searching for things that could potentially help. And then we found a few natural products that I thought I would give a try. It has taken a couple of months of use, but after about 2 months, I am confident in saying that the products I am going to describe below have had a PROFOUND impact on my hair health, and as a result, my confidence. I’m no longer constantly pulling out strands of hair throughout the day, it doesn’t fall out in the shower, and my stress around the issue has subsided (which has potentially had an impact on the amount of hair loss as well).
I want to share these products with you because I truly believe they have helped me in my hair loss journey (not long, but still scary). I would recommend doing your own research, and evaluating whether these are the right products for you and your situation. But I can say that they were great for me, and I would highly recommend checking them out!
-
Nutrafol – a daily vitamin filled with 21 ingredients that improve hair growth and strength. Nutrafol is a bit pricey but the results I have seen have been well worth the price. You and use this link and code GROW25 for a discount on your subscription!
-
Revitalash Shampoo & Conditioner – I incorporated this shampoo and conditioner into my routine around the same time as Nutrafol. I had even tried prescription shampoo from my dermatologist, but nothing seemed to strengthen and voluminize my hair as well as Revitalash.
-
Evening Primrose Oil – this is an Fatty Acid supplement filled with Omega 3’s. I have actually been taking this for about 7 months now, originally started to help with my HA journey. Increasing your fat intake, both through diet and supplements, can really help to increase hair growth for women as it helps to improve hormone balance (imbalanced hormones can be a cause of hair loss for women).
-
Collagen – I use collagen almost every single day. Collagen is well known to improve your hair, skin and nails and is SO easy to incorporate into your daily routine by taking it in pill form, or using the powders in your coffee or tea (i use and ABSOLUTELY love Ancient Nutrition – code “starvingtostrong” saves you 20%)
Please speak to your healthcare professional before trying or incorporating any of the above into your routine. I am not a healthcare professional and am only speaking from personal experience.
Thank you for posting this. Your honesty is refreshing for such an intimate subject many females would not dare broach. I began losing my hair as well when I was in my early 20s probably due to my eating disorder and ensuing thyroid problems. My hair only continued to thin as my eating disorder raged on. Now, it is a battle to survive; hair, body shape, and outward appearances have fallen by the wayside when it comes to what matters. Keeping my heart beating and performing the most basic of daily tasks is all I can focus on. I wish I would have conquered my demons as you have at a much younger age. Keep fighting. You are a beautiful soul with hair or even if you shave it all off.
Thank you so much for your sweet words! Hair loss is a difficult journey for ANYONE, so I hope that by sharing my story I can let others know that they are not alone, that it can be scary, but that hopefully there is hope as well! I am always willing to share my truth in the hopes of connecting with and resonating with others! Sending you all the love!