Hair fall and how to cure it

[Belgrade Beauty]

For as long as I remember I had thick hair,it is simply in my genes. But suddenly in high school with weight loss and a family tragedy my hair came to a 1/3 of what it was. Ever since I tried God knows what not to make it as it was. I went to a hair specialised dermatologist and she gave me a shampoo (Anaphase) and ampules from same collection. At the time it wasn't available in my country so my mom found a way to buy it from France and Slovenia. No results. If anything it fall even more. Two years ago I tried castor oil and as far as I can tell my hair quality improved just a little bit cause I can see new hair growing out wheres before there was none. So I decided to try as many oils as I can and eat what is good for hair such as salmon avocado and take some vitamins. But we all know and I'm really not being rasist or anything ,that Asian region women,specifically Indian women, have gorgeous hair. Really thick and long. So I naturally investigated into it and besides the genes, Indian culture has a tradition of growing and nurturing hair. Plants and oils that can be found only there. Now living where I live (Serbia) a lot of those oils and herbs are out of reach to me. Amazon is not an option sadly because a bottle of oil worth 8$ costs me 80 $ due to shipping and customs. I joined this forum partly in a hope I will meet friends from all around the world and that you can help me get my hands on some of those cures for my hair. I would love to try argan and jojoba as well as amla,neem and so on. Also I encourage you if you tried or are from India to help me understand how you nurture and regrow your hair and teach me what I can do to restore it. Doctors can't or won't help me because its just hair. My blood and hormone results are fine so they attribute it to stress which is what they say whenever they have no clue what is going on. You guys here are my last hope. Literally.

[The-Young-Maid]

Well first off you don't need any specific oil, anything will work. Just use whatever is locally available and affordable to you. What do you see in your local shops and grocer? That's what every other culture does - use whats available.

How is your weight now? Sudden and prolonged weight loss can cause hair loss. Your body probably isn't getting enough calories to meet its daily needs. Just taking vitamins won't solve a caloric deficit. Your body doesn't prioritize hair. So when you don't eat enough your body focuses on powering organs not growing hair.

Stress can have a big impact as well. And the stress from worrying about hair loss can make everything worse. So I suggest looking at your diet and weight. You sound like you're already eating healthy foods, but are you eating enough??

Scalp oiling can be helpful, but it can also cause hair loss. It seems to have helped you so continue if you want, but be mindful of how much hair you lose during/after a scalp oiling.

These are tips I learned the hard way.

[Laurab]

Completely agree with The-Young-Maid.
I've done a lot of research on different oils, and honestly almost every oil will have some hair benefit to it, many of them are even similar in chemical composition. I'm not sure what's available in your country, but looking at a map I would guess you could find olive oil, and that's great for the hair. So is canola oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, etc. Not all oils work for all hair types, but it's worth trying a couple to see what works well for you. There's also commercial deep conditioners, leave in shampoos, etc.
That all being said, I don't super trust topical things to cause hair growth. The way I heard it explained was if there was anything proven to cause hair growth doctors would be handing it out like candy. So, most of the work has to be done internally.

Again, I agree with the above post, make sure you're eating enough.
And maybe try exercising? If you don't already. That can keep you healthy in a number of ways, reducing stress is one of them.


Finally I'll say my mom's hair has always been on the thin side, and it's gotten thinner as she's gotten older, and I still think she has beautiful hair. We've all got different lots in life, and it would be boring if we all looked the same. Thinner hair doesn't get as hot or tangled, it takes less time to style, it dries faster. You can add more volume with currls or crimping if you like, or you can play around with different colors. No hair type is all good or all bad, and we get nowhere by hating our present state.

best of luck

[Ilyem]

The exact same thing happened to me, literally. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find anything that can help yet but I don't think focusing of Asian hair care or oils will do too much, especially since most Asians have very thick hair simply due to genetics, not because there is a magical shampoo or mask that they are using.

Currently I am trying out minoxidil as my dad lost his hair very young and I am thinking that that could be a reason for me (however I don't have any bald patches which is typical of female pattern baldness.) I don't see any affect yet after using it for almost 2 months but I'd say it is too early to judge yet.

[Belgrade Beauty]

I am desperate honestly and it is the only thing I haven't tried. As I said a lot of the above is not available but, coconut,olive, almond, castor are. I do eat enough calories if not too much, I'm 30 kg over my normal weight and eating everything,that did help for a bit but my hair never became again what it was before. Thank you guys so much for the advice. If any of you know how I can get some of those oils from India,just to try it out, pls contact me :)

[Entangled]

If you’re dead set on Indian oils and herbs, check out the henna and natural hair board here. There’s a lot about it there.

[Belgrade Beauty]

If you’re dead set on Indian oils and herbs, check out the henna and natural hair board here. There’s a lot about it there.

Will do. Thank you. Have you tried any? What do you do for your hair?

[Entangled]

Will do. Thank you. Have you tried any? What do you do for your hair?

No, they’re not readily available where I am. For me, scalp health means keeping my scalp from getting irritated, so I do my best to keep it clean. I had a bigger hair fall two years ago when I was in a stressful situation, but I don’t know if it’s come back or not. I still have a decent amount of hair, and I know what triggered it. I just try not to fixate on things that are out of my control.

[Belgrade Beauty]

The exact same thing happened to me, literally. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find anything that can help yet but I don't think focusing of Asian hair care or oils will do too much, especially since most Asians have very thick hair simply due to genetics, not because there is a magical shampoo or mask that they are using.

Currently I am trying out minoxidil as my dad lost his hair very young and I am thinking that that could be a reason for me (however I don't have any bald patches which is typical of female pattern baldness.) I don't see any affect yet after using it for almost 2 months but I'd say it is too early to judge yet.

Is that Rogain?

[lapushka]

Also, be careful with oils on the scalp. Some people get more shedding because they put oils on their scalps. It's not for everyone.

It's not that, is it? :)

[Belgrade Beauty]

Also, be careful with oils on the scalp. Some people get more shedding because they put oils on their scalps. It's not for everyone.

It's not that, is it? :)

No,I don't think its oil that causes my hairfall...It started way before I started using the oils...And I have no idea to this day what causes it.

[Kalamazoo]

Maybe some of the older threads would help?

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/content.php?r=42-A-semi0comprehensive-list-of-herbs-and-plants-for-haircare-by-Justme

Bear in mind that you don't need to use every herb on the list, so whatever isn't locally available to you? Just skip it. See if the next suggestion is local.

[akurah]

Is that Rogain?

Minoxidil is Rogaine. My advice on rogaine is basically this:
use it only as a last resort

If you ever stop using it, not only can the hair fall come back, it can come back worse.

I learned this when I was trying to cure my alopecia areata.

[SleepyTangles]

I am desperate honestly and it is the only thing I haven't tried. As I said a lot of the above is not available but, coconut,olive, almond, castor are. I do eat enough calories if not too much, I'm 30 kg over my normal weight and eating everything,that did help for a bit but my hair never became again what it was before. Thank you guys so much for the advice. If any of you know how I can get some of those oils from India,just to try it out, pls contact me :)

In Italy, Austria and central Europe there Is a pretty nifty website, with a good selection of oils inspired by indian and ayurvedic tradition, Ecco Verde.
I think that shopping from Serbia Is 15€, but maybe you can give a look to the brands and look for them locally.

[goneJackal]

Maybe try a different approach to discover the reason before drastic measures.

Have you checked for hormonal imbalances? They can have the most diverse effects on the body.

[Positivitea]

How long ago did the hair shed happen? The same happened to me last March, but I figured it might take a few years for it to grow back. I think it can take two years just to grow your hair from bald (which is basically what your "new" hairs are starting at) to shoulder-length.

[lapushka]

How long ago did the hair shed happen? The same happened to me last March, but I figured it might take a few years for it to grow back. I think it can take two years just to grow your hair from bald (which is basically what your "new" hairs are starting at) to shoulder-length.

Just one year can "thicken" up your hair considerably (that's 6 inches, so that's about the head, with no trims, already).

[ChloeDharma]

You said that the hair fall started after dramatic hair loss and a family tragedy. There is a condition called telogen effluvium which can happen a few months after an illness, shock, malnutrition etc and can last quite a long time before hair starts to visibly regrow (presuming the underlying cause has been addressed). I'm not saying this is what you have but it does often happen to people.

There is no quick fix to hair loss from whatever cause, it usually takes a while for treatments to do their thing and this has the disadvantage of not knowing if you are taking the right approach for a while.

I would advise first off making sure your diet is nutritious and sufficient for your needs. I also would look into stress relief and address that issue as a bare bones basic starting point as if these are not taken care of then no oil, from India or any other country is going to help.

Once that is being managed you could look into some topical treatments that may help.
Now anybody who has seen my posts over the years knows I adore many of the traditional Indian hair care ingredients and have had great results from them but there are other ones you could try too. I live in London so find many of these things easily available in local shops but Europe has some great traditional remedies too. Burdock root oil has been very popular in Eastern Europe as have things like nettle root oil and nettle leaf rinses. Rosemary is another great herb that should be easily available to you.
Simple scalp massage can have a great effect too and has the added bonus of helping to lower stress.

Developing a kind of ritual around daily hair care can be a very relaxing and almost meditative process. Daily massaging or scalp brushing in peace and quiet is an old tradition from many places that can have a multiple of benefits and this is something I'm trying to get back into now.

Basically just look after your body, look after your mind and emotions, and I would add try to take a step back and not fall into the trap of getting too intense about this. Trust me, I know that's easier said than done as I've had enough issues with hair loss over the years but it really is important to try to relax.

Then just focus on caring fo your scalp, keep it clean and support it with topicals that help with scalp health, that is key.

Good luck and do keep us updated on your progress.