- Reaction score
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Hi! I think I started recovering from months of excessive hair loss. It has been just a few days that I started appreciating improvements, but I'd like to stay positive and believe that it is over.
I am going to write as many details as possible, apologies to those who are going to fall asleep, but during my hardest times I found comforting posts from people who shared a lot of information.
Some background story: I am 23 now. Before I was 14, I had a lot of shiny, long, thick, curly hair. I did not know what "double ends" meant, and i didn't even use special products on my beautiful flocks. My friends were jealous and i was proud of it. Then I had an eating disorder, I lost weight and some hair, although I did not realise at the time. After I recovered, my hair was not like it used to be. Some flocks were just brittle, and since then I have lost more hair than the average person. So my first advice for the women and man out there is: DO NOT EVEN TRY TO LOSE WEIGHT ABRUPTLY! IT WILL AFFECT THE HEALTH OF YOUR HAIR TO SOME EXTENT (not to mention, countless more serious consequences). Year by year, haircut by haircut, the situation improved.
On December 2017, I could finally be somewhat satisfied of my hair. On January 2018 I moved to Malaysia (from Scotland) for an international exchange. Always in January, I experienced a combination of urinary tract infection, 5-days antibiotic course, a viral infection that was causing me fever and stomach cramps, and nausea (why not?). That wasn't fun, but I wasn't dying or anything. I think what happened is that from the following month onward, I started shedding hair excessively, but I did not notice because, again, my hair just likes to fall. Then one day at the end of May, I looked closely at the mirror and I freaked out: I could see my scalp through my hair, especially above my forehead. I felt terrible, especially after finding myself satisfied about my hair after so many years. At first I blamed my diet. I am no doctor, but I am a molecular/cell biology student and I do know that health and diet are strictly related. I have been a vegan for almost 3 years and I had heard of some vegans losing their hair, somehow I hoped that was the problem, just because at the least I knew what the culprit was. But then I looked on the internet and what I found that, those (few) vegans who claimed that their diet made their hair shed, actually went vegan just a few months before noticing that. Nevertheless, I started eating egg sometimes and taking food supplements containing B12 vitamin, something that even a well balanced vegan lifestyle can't provide you, and that promotes healthy hair. Then i went to a trichologist and first she looked at my scalp: it was healthy. She reassured me, and since I am a vegan, She kind of assumed that my serum ferritin (aka: iron storage) was low, and this was causing my hair to shed. She then showed me a study revealing that normal serum ferritin levels are needed to maintain healthy hair, and that high serum ferritin is needed to promote hair re-growth. So she advised me to eat some foods, including red meat, to replenish my iron storage. The visit was helpful, but I really wanted to know whether i was anaemic (lacking iron-serum ferritin) or the underlying problem was something else, so I went to a doctor and did some tests. At the end of the tests, it turned out I was not anaemic after all, in fact my heamoglobin was good, and I did not have any thyroid problems whatsoever. The doctor reassured me, I was healthy, and probably my hair loss was due to stress from different factors (I changed country, I was sick back in January, and oh you can't believe the stress I have been though to obtain the damn student visa). He also told me something that it might be useful for you: First go to a general doctor, do all the tests to find out whether an health problem is causing your hair loss, if nothing is found, only then go to see a trichologyst who will check your scalp. This will save you a whole lot of time and money. I was advised to take food supplements containing zinc, and the supplement I was already taking did contain zinc too.
Besides taking supplements, 3-4 weeks I changed my diet a little. A balanced, varied diet apparently promotes healthy hair, and in any case, it can only but benefit your body, so go for it.
I kept eating eggs, on a daily basis I am eating plenty of raw leafy greens vegetables (rich in iron, vitamins and minerals), much more whole grains, nuts and seeds (they have countless important nutrients, among which: iron, essential amino acids, omega 3 and 6), I bought some flaxseed oil (rich in omega 3) which I use as dressing and a lot of fruits. I keep taking those food supplements containing B-complex vitamins and some iron.
I can see some re-growth and it has been about 4 days in which I have lost very few strands of hair, so I cannot tell if I am on the safe side or not, but I am so happy.
This is my experience, so it doesn't necessarely apply to you, please go to see a doctor if you are experiencing hair loss. What I can definetely tell you though is that you should not rely on medicines and food supplements alone, make sure that also your diet is giving you all the nutrients you need.
That's it, hope you didn't fall asleep.
I am going to write as many details as possible, apologies to those who are going to fall asleep, but during my hardest times I found comforting posts from people who shared a lot of information.
Some background story: I am 23 now. Before I was 14, I had a lot of shiny, long, thick, curly hair. I did not know what "double ends" meant, and i didn't even use special products on my beautiful flocks. My friends were jealous and i was proud of it. Then I had an eating disorder, I lost weight and some hair, although I did not realise at the time. After I recovered, my hair was not like it used to be. Some flocks were just brittle, and since then I have lost more hair than the average person. So my first advice for the women and man out there is: DO NOT EVEN TRY TO LOSE WEIGHT ABRUPTLY! IT WILL AFFECT THE HEALTH OF YOUR HAIR TO SOME EXTENT (not to mention, countless more serious consequences). Year by year, haircut by haircut, the situation improved.
On December 2017, I could finally be somewhat satisfied of my hair. On January 2018 I moved to Malaysia (from Scotland) for an international exchange. Always in January, I experienced a combination of urinary tract infection, 5-days antibiotic course, a viral infection that was causing me fever and stomach cramps, and nausea (why not?). That wasn't fun, but I wasn't dying or anything. I think what happened is that from the following month onward, I started shedding hair excessively, but I did not notice because, again, my hair just likes to fall. Then one day at the end of May, I looked closely at the mirror and I freaked out: I could see my scalp through my hair, especially above my forehead. I felt terrible, especially after finding myself satisfied about my hair after so many years. At first I blamed my diet. I am no doctor, but I am a molecular/cell biology student and I do know that health and diet are strictly related. I have been a vegan for almost 3 years and I had heard of some vegans losing their hair, somehow I hoped that was the problem, just because at the least I knew what the culprit was. But then I looked on the internet and what I found that, those (few) vegans who claimed that their diet made their hair shed, actually went vegan just a few months before noticing that. Nevertheless, I started eating egg sometimes and taking food supplements containing B12 vitamin, something that even a well balanced vegan lifestyle can't provide you, and that promotes healthy hair. Then i went to a trichologist and first she looked at my scalp: it was healthy. She reassured me, and since I am a vegan, She kind of assumed that my serum ferritin (aka: iron storage) was low, and this was causing my hair to shed. She then showed me a study revealing that normal serum ferritin levels are needed to maintain healthy hair, and that high serum ferritin is needed to promote hair re-growth. So she advised me to eat some foods, including red meat, to replenish my iron storage. The visit was helpful, but I really wanted to know whether i was anaemic (lacking iron-serum ferritin) or the underlying problem was something else, so I went to a doctor and did some tests. At the end of the tests, it turned out I was not anaemic after all, in fact my heamoglobin was good, and I did not have any thyroid problems whatsoever. The doctor reassured me, I was healthy, and probably my hair loss was due to stress from different factors (I changed country, I was sick back in January, and oh you can't believe the stress I have been though to obtain the damn student visa). He also told me something that it might be useful for you: First go to a general doctor, do all the tests to find out whether an health problem is causing your hair loss, if nothing is found, only then go to see a trichologyst who will check your scalp. This will save you a whole lot of time and money. I was advised to take food supplements containing zinc, and the supplement I was already taking did contain zinc too.
Besides taking supplements, 3-4 weeks I changed my diet a little. A balanced, varied diet apparently promotes healthy hair, and in any case, it can only but benefit your body, so go for it.
I kept eating eggs, on a daily basis I am eating plenty of raw leafy greens vegetables (rich in iron, vitamins and minerals), much more whole grains, nuts and seeds (they have countless important nutrients, among which: iron, essential amino acids, omega 3 and 6), I bought some flaxseed oil (rich in omega 3) which I use as dressing and a lot of fruits. I keep taking those food supplements containing B-complex vitamins and some iron.
I can see some re-growth and it has been about 4 days in which I have lost very few strands of hair, so I cannot tell if I am on the safe side or not, but I am so happy.
This is my experience, so it doesn't necessarely apply to you, please go to see a doctor if you are experiencing hair loss. What I can definetely tell you though is that you should not rely on medicines and food supplements alone, make sure that also your diet is giving you all the nutrients you need.
That's it, hope you didn't fall asleep.