Hello From China, recovering from severe hair loss

[tuanyiji]

Hi everyone, I've been lurking for months before I decided to register.

I'm Tuan from China. Growing up, I'd always been a single ponytail girl as I was quite sporty. I hadn't cut my virgin hair since before the pandemic and even then, I only let my mother cut a few inches every year and maintained a mid-back length. I don't use any heat tools or chemicals on my hair, so my hair had always been thick and healthy. I have thick (coarse) dark (almost black) straight hair, currently, it's 1a/b F/M ii/iii.

However, last year my dad was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer, and as his sole caretaker, we spent over 180 days hospitalized (5 hospitalizations until this April). Getting cooped in the ward during COVID time and surrounded by terminal patients, I was under severe stress, with terrible food, sleep deprivation, and financial concerns to boot, I've developed some little lumps in my chest and uterus as well, I think my chaotic hormone was part of the reason I lost over 20,000 hairs in four months (by July, 2022 it’s about 30,000), yes, I developed a weird habit of collecting my shed hairs and counting them, I have hand-tied / weaved them into wefts as accent braids. (I may make posts about this later if you're interested.)

Anyway, this feels like TMI, besides collecting and counting fallen hairs, my other hobby in the hospital was exploring the possibility of braiding and plaiting my locks, and of course, I wanted my hair to grow back quickly and get more volume to play with, and that was when I started seeking ways to boost hair growth, and that includes professional clinical advice and online surfing, and I ended up here.

Since my hair loss was so severe (my pony used to be a palmful, now it's a handful), and to save my thinning hairlines, I applied 1ml of 5% topical minoxidil as per the doctor's request and I use a wide-toothed comb to massage my scalp 100 times every day with a bit of oil on the hair ends, I also put on an LLLT helmet every other day and weekly microneedling. I take multivitamins and drink at least 2L of water every day, my diet is getting better thanks to my mom who makes sure I have enough protein and carbs. I exercise more and sleep earlier.

My favorite hair care routine is a nice 5-minute scalp massage, which definitely helps with the hair growth, fingers are actually better than any tool as you can figure out the pressure points more precisely, using a wide-toothed comb is mainly to discipline the strands as they get tangle, even if you have butt length hair that are as straight as pins, the closer to the ends, the more vulnerable and fragile they are, that’s why I never comb my wet hair, I prefto er air dry and never use heat/dye or curl my virgin hair, neither do I use a dense lice-picker comb or brush, if the hairs get too much friction down there, they are easier to break off in the middle. The oil acts as a lubricant and protects the shafts.

My dad is now recovering at home and my hair is growing back, thankfully, there are now many new wispy ones popping on top of my head, and at about 2-3cm per month, and the longest ones just reached my tailbone. I'm reducing the use of minoxidil and planning to get rid of it eventually.

I kept my hair in one or two low ponytails last winter and spring, and tried different braiding styles from the pony down, like 2- 3-, 4-, and 5-strand braids, it was quite fun. After reading so many posts here, I figured out benign ignorance is the best way, and reducing friction is the key to avoiding damage, so I get rid of all the elastics and put my hair up into various buns during my waking hours, and I am just amazed at the new role sticks and forks play in my hair care routine now. But to curb my braiding addiction and to prevent myself from touching my hair too much, I got a few hair dummies to practice my braiding skills lol.

When I go outdoors (I own a rooftop garden so I am quite active out there), I always wear a hat or cap. I sleep in a silk bonnet on a silk pillowcase, which is one of the best investments I've had, I seldom see any fallen hair on my pillow or bedsheet when I wake up now.

Anyway, my current length is tailbone (just the longest few), I do the inversion method on the first week of every month. I do S&D every few weeks and only see a few split ends, so I don't really plan to trim my hair at all, I have a natural fairy tail and my short-term goal is go classic and then who knows, maybe trying to see if it can reach my knees.

I normally use a hot oil treatment - shampoo - conditioner / rice water rinse, I wash my hair once a week, by day 7 my hair is not even greasy, and it just smells like human, I guess I could stretch my washing to two weeks but I love my weekly deep conditioning. I will be exploring CO or WCC soon as I'm trying to use shampoo less, I do think clarifying your scalp is the beginning of healthy hair so I won't completely get rid of it.

Anyway, that's all, I think. It feels good to spill out my hair thoughts in a place where people can see instead of shouting into the void.

I'm sharing this because I feel like if there's another person out there who's worrying about hair loss and sees this, there's hope and ways to get help, so think positively instead of dwell on the dark side.



Here’s a long video of my 2021 annual summary focusing on my hair and health.


Here's a picture of my hair taken on Monday in my garden ( I have a gardening channel lol). I'd oiled my hair before taking the pictures. Can you tell the accent braid is from my shed hair lol?


All the best, cheers.
PS, Tuanyiji means the journal of Tuan. You can find me on Instagram with the same handle.

[Lady Stardust]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I’m sorry to hear you and your family have been through such tough times. Thank goodness you are all seeing some improvement now.

Your hair looks gorgeous and your accent braid looks both natural and skilfully woven!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Hi, welcome to the forum, I'm sorry to hear of your hair loss, it's pretty common in times of severe stress or illness, but the good news is that it does grow back. And your accent braid looks like it is growing straight out of your scalp! Here's to happy growing for you!

[baanoo]

Tuan, welcome and thank you for sharing your journey with us - I am so glad to hear that your father is recovering and your whole family is healing from this incredibly difficult time!

xx baanoo

[Ylva]

Welcome here! Good to have you with us!

[lapushka]

Welcome to you! My God! What a story. I really felt the hurt and care for your dad through your words. I hope he continues to do well now.

Your hair will grow back, don't you worry.

[tuanyiji]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I’m sorry to hear you and your family have been through such tough times. Thank goodness you are all seeing some improvement now.

Your hair looks gorgeous and your accent braid looks both natural and skilfully woven!

Thank you, I think the hardest part has passed and I enjoy my time with family more now. Practice makes perfect ��, I learned various braids from youtube channels and books, but plaiting with my own hands makes the most sense.

[tuanyiji]

Hi, welcome to the forum, I'm sorry to hear of your hair loss, it's pretty common in times of severe stress or illness, but the good news is that it does grow back. And your accent braid looks like it is growing straight out of your scalp! Here's to happy growing for you!

Thank you dear, I enjoy getting up with all the frizzy little hairs now asI know those are my new growth so I will not try to tame them. The accent braid did grow from my scalp, they just left it for a while and then got picked up and now they are back, lol �� The texture and color and shine is just the same as the rest, so it’s a perfect match. I oiled my shed hair as well so they are in good condition.

[tuanyiji]

Tuan, welcome and thank you for sharing your journey with us - I am so glad to hear that your father is recovering and your whole family is healing from this incredibly difficult time!

xx baanoo

Thank you, I was inspired by so many stories here so I think it’s fair that I share my own and hopefully offer something positive for the community as well.

[tuanyiji]

Welcome here! Good to have you with us!

Thank you so much, I enjoyed reading Norse and Viking tales in my youth and had a Elfish/Viking braids phase not that long ago lol. Well tbh I still do, just don’t do it on my own hair, just my hair dummies now.