Illness and Hair

[Sunny Elf]

Hey all,

Feeling discouraged about my hair at the moment. I am chronically ill and it seems to be taking an increasing toll on my hair. I used to have very thick hair, but it is growing thinner and thinner and I am noticing a lot more breakage. Additionally, it used to grow almost an inch a month and now I am lucky if I get an inch in three months. I'm sure that lots of babying would help, but between college and work I never seem to have time or energy to pamper my hair.

So my question for you lovely longhairs is what are some things that I can easily add into my day to improve the quality of my hair? Are there any no-fuss, all natural deep conditioning treatments? I am not usually home enough to let a messy treatment sit on my head for very long. And I have heard that biotin can be helpful to remedy thinning hair/slow hair growth. Is it worth trying?

Thank you for any help you can give. I very much desire and look forward to getting back on track with my hair journey!

--Sunny

[mindwiped]

Since you mentioned chronic illness, have you been tested for thyroid issues? If anything you're dealing with is autoimmune, you probably have, but your thyroid being outside the norm can easily cause hair issues. I'm hypo myself, so I'm speaking from personal experience. A general set of labs, checking for thyroid, general health, and vitamin or mineral deficiencies is a good help your hair starting point. I've started biotin recently myself, so I really can't say much, as it's only been a month. Getting my vitamin D back into the normal levels did, it helped my nails and mod too. I've got chronic pain as well as hypothyroidism, along with a few more fun chronic health related issues, so sadly, I know where you're at.

Easy things I've used on my hair- oil-I like coconut and olive but I've used anything I've got, yogurt, and egg-lightly beaten. I'll slap one of them on my hair, and then tie my hair up, covered in a kitchen towel. I'll run about the house, usually vacuuming, then shower. I've also tied it up and then studied/written a paper. Then shower with shampoo, conditioner, and leave in as I usually do.

Feel free to ask away, but I may not have much more experience, I'm currently dealing with hair loss from some part of the health stuff

[pailin]

Mindwiped has mentioned a couple of things already - thyroid issues are a big one, vitamin deficiencies, and another big one is iron. Even if your illness doesn't directly cause it, chronic illness could affect your nutritional status, and also, if you're not well, your body will prioritize the rest of your metabolic needs over your hair.
Certain medications can also cause thinning- ie prednisone. If your hair is thinning during chronic illness, do talk to your doctor about it. They can do blood tests to check if there is something correctable (ie anemia).
There are other members dealing with these things on the forum, and hopefully their experience can help you a little. I know there's a support thread for thinning hair around here somewhere.
Biotin might help if you have an actual deficiency but don't overdo it. How are your skin and nails? If they're also having problems (ie splitting nails) that would be a hint that you might have some vitamin deficiency; health of your hair, skin, and nails tends to go together.
In reference to slowing growth, I know my mother's experience was that when she got chronic fatigue, her growth slowed down a LOT.
Again, I'd strongly encourage you to raise this with your doctor.

[pailin]

Oh, the easiest treatment I use on my hair is oil- just a few drops, then bun/braid and go. Takes hardly any time at all.

[mindwiped]

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=134545

Here's the thinning hair thread. I'm active on it too.

[lapushka]

What kind of chronic illness do you have?

If it is thyroid related, you really need to deal with this internally first. No amount of pampering is going to "mend" something that is off in your body.

I am chronically ill myself and need to take medication, but so far (knock on wood) it hasn't messed much with my hair. I can't complain on that level.