My Hair Loss & Regrowth Journey
In October of last year, I took on my largest project to date at work. It involved switching out an electronic unit for 8,000+ patients. Needless to say, it was going to be a huge undertaking, but I was excited to jump in. Fast forward to April of this year and we finally “launched” and started replacing units.
For anyone who has ever launched a product or a process, you know it can be stressful. Right before we launched, I was stressed and not a pleasant person to be around. And because I wasn’t nice and had very little patience left, I took out my frustration on my family. This led to fights and eventually, on a particularly dark evening, me wanting to end it all. I had gotten into a huge fight with my husband and decided to go on a drive. As I approached a busy intersection near our house, all I could think was “if I floor it into the intersection, I could end it all”.
Luckily, I pulled myself together. I didn’t really want to end things, I just wanted the stress and bullshit in my life to end. Btw, I’m good now. I’m not writing this for sympathy, I’m illustrating how stressful things got. If you are struggling or know someone who is, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255.
Anyways, six weeks afterwards, I noticed that I was shedding WAY more hair than usual in the shower. And at first, I thought it was just a fluke. My body was doing something weird and it would stop after a few days. But it didn’t stop.
My hair just kept falling out. I had no idea if I was going to lose all of it. I was freaking out.
Like any normal human being, when I realized I was losing my hair, I started Googling like crazy. I found and tried a lot of things and after about a month, I went back to shedding a normal amount of hair. In total, I probably lost about 30 – 40% of my hair. Now, luckily, I have thick hair to begin with. So, if you saw me, you would have no idea. But when I put my hair up in a pony tail or when I braid my hair, I feel a drastic difference in the size of the pony tail.
Here’s what I found and what I ended up doing. I’m not a medical doctor. I’m not saying this will cure your hair loss, I just wanted to share what I did. I should also note that I consulted my doctor and she ran a bunch of blood tests and everything was normal. She prescribed Rogaine but said it would take a few months to see results. I didn’t end up using Rogaine and did these things instead. If you are experiencing abnormal hair loss, please consult your doctor.
Reduce Stress
Stress is a huge contributor to hair loss. It can take 4 – 6 weeks after a largely stressful event before you start losing hair. For any moms who have lost hair after childbirth, you know what I’m talking about. For me, the most stressful part of my life, that project I mentioned, was slowing down. But I took a harder look at my schedule and started cutting things that weren’t a real priority. Basically, if it wasn’t going to benefit my family, I wasn’t going to do it.
Fermented Rice Water
Earlier this year, I remembered my mom talking about how these women in the small village of Huang Luo, China use fermented rice water to help their hair grow. The women in this village have super long hair and no matter what age they are, it’s always jet black. They attribute their long, healthy, black hair to their washing routine with rice water. Here’s an interesting Vogue article on the women of Huang Luo.
At the time she mentioned it, it seemed like one of those weird things your mom tells you and you ignore until it becomes useful. (Sorry, mom). But now that I was losing my hair, I would pretty much rub any concoction on my head to get my hair to come back. So, like any helpful mother, she sent me down a rabbit hole of rice water treatments.
The gist of it is you soak rice in water for about 30 minutes and swish around the rice until the water is milky. Then you can either use that water or let it sit for up to 24 hours to ferment before using it. There are also versions where you boil that water with Fo-Ti Root Powder and pomelo peels.
Whatever the full concoction, I’ve seen two ways you can use the water. You can either use it as post-rinse after shampooing your hair or you can rub it in your hair and let it sit for 30 – 60 minutes before washing your hair.
I did this a few times after applying the rosemary oil, I’ll talk about next and it was cumbersome. Given my love of efficiency or general laziness depending on how you look at it, I knew this wasn’t going to be a good option for me. But if you’re still curious, here’s good video that talks about the process, the different nutrients in the rice water, and a recipe:
You can also purchase pre-made fermented rice water. I have not tried this, I’m just giving you some options:
Rosemary Oil
One of the things I saw most often in hair growth articles and blogs was rubbing rosemary oil directly on your scalp. In a study comparing the key active ingredient in Rogaine to rosemary oil to promote hair growth, both showed the same results. The only difference was there was less irritation and itching with the rosemary oil. So, for me it was a no-brainer to try rosemary oil.
I found this Magic Elixir from Kiehl’s with rosemary oil. I have a Kiehl’s near my office, so it was easy to swing by and pick up a bottle. I know it’s plastic but when your hair is falling out, you get desperate. Plus, I figured the squeeze bottle would have a use somewhere in my house when I was finished with the elixir.
I would rub it into my scalp 30 – 60 minutes before washing my hair. I generally wash my hair 2 – 3 times a week, but since it’s summer, I washed it a little more often after swimming in the pool.
My mom also gave me some rosemary essential oils:
Whenever I run out of the Kiehl’s elixir, I plan to try my mom’s recipe that she was using:
- 8 drops of Rosemary oil
- 1 teaspoon of castor oil
- 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon of jojoba oil
Being my mom, she also sent me home with castor and jojoba oil. Thanks, Mom! 🙂
Coconut Oil
I also read that coconut oil is a really good conditioner for your hair and helps protect your scalp. So, I would rub in some coconut oil on my scalp and run it through my hair about 20 minutes before washing my hair. I get this organic unrefined virgin coconut oil from Whole Foods. It comes in a glass jar and metal lid and has a plastic seal around the lid.
Vitamins
In general, with the exception of prenatal vitamins, I’ve never really taken vitamins. I figured my well-rounded, plant-based diet should get me everything I need. Then I read an article (which of course, I can’t find now), that talked about how the majority of the nutrients you consume go to your important organs. And if there’s anything leftover it would go to your hair, nails, and skin. This made complete sense. So, I started taking a hair, nails, and skin vitamin every day with breakfast. The vitamins come in an amber glass jar with a plastic seal and lid.
Collagen
Finally, my mom suggested I take some collagen to strengthen my hair. So, she gave me a tub of collagen peptides. Now, I know it’s a huge plastic tub, but my kids like to make “potions” on the front porch with water and different plants they find and this would be the perfect size for their concoctions. So, I figured I would try it out.
I mix it in with my green tea in the mornings. It has a slight taste to it that sort of ruins my coffee. Since I drink my coffee black, any additions are really noticeable. That’s why I put it in my morning tea.
Putting it All Together
So, here’s the complete routine:
- Green tea with collagen in the mornings (daily)
- Hair, Nails, Skin vitamins with breakfast (daily)
- Massaging Kiehl’s Magic Elixir in my hair 30 – 60 minutes before washing my hair (2 – 3 times a week)
- Conditioning my hair with coconut oil 30 minutes before washing my hair (2 – 3 times a week)
- Spraying my hair with fermented rice water 15 minutes before washing my hair (2 – 3 times a week)
Like I mentioned above, I quickly stopped the fermented rice water because it was just too much. After I noticed my hair shedding had gone back to a normal amount, I stopped using the Kiehl’s Magic Elixir. And now, I’m only taking the vitamins, collagen and conditioning my hair once a week with coconut oil.
After I finish the tub of collagen, I’ll stop that too. So, in the end, the only thing I’ll stick with are the vitamins and the coconut oil conditioning.
Takeaways
Overall, if you’re losing your hair, the first thing I will say (and probably should have started with) is, you’re not alone. It’s a common problem. If you can, reduce the stress in your life and ask for help. Then start feeding your hair from the inside and outside. I was basically a human guinea pig for a month and tried whatever I could. But maybe just the vitamins and rosemary oil will work fine for you.
What do you think? If you’re reading this because you’re losing your hair, feel free to DM me on Instagram, if you need someone to talk to. Losing your hair can be scary, but it will be ok. You will be ok.
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