I’ve been meaning on writing this one for a while. I think both subconsciously and consciously I kept avoiding it. Hair is such a part of our identity not only as women, but men too. And when our body has different plans for us, it gives us a mega fuck you and revolts and well, sheds its skin. Nice right? Didn’t sign up for that one.
Ok, so my story around hair loss has to do with my eating disorder. Yours might be different. Hormonal, stress, maybe even treatment for cancer.
Some may assume that it was only when I wasn’t eating enough that this happened, but truly even worse, was when I began eating again, as is often the case with those going through re-feeding. Basically the non nutrient dense and deficient hair that was growing, is then pushed out my new stronger hair. A good thing, but often can be an enormous amount dependant on the situation and again…untimely.
I remember the nurses in the hospital giving me biohazard bags to collect my falling hair into. Yup, it’s gross, here’s an image of it from just one brush through. Just keeping it real. At certain points it was clumps that would literally just fall into my hand. I already felt exposed, large, raw and vulnerable and now I could not even hide behind my hair….literally the only curtain outside of clothes I could wear. Yes, proper nutrition was the key and is…but patience was the name of the game. Only time, strength and commitment to see this one through.
My hair fell out for about a year, year and a half, that one time. I hid some of it well, but it sucked. Big time. At least half a head of hair was gone, some in bald spots, some just thinned out, and I felt absolutely and completely tested. I was trying to rebuild myself and my body wanted to backfire. Classic.
I tried anything and everything to reclaim my pony…yes, that was even a nickname growing up, and with multiple fails, there were a few successes that dramatically improved whatever I was doing right. Which is why I wanted to share this all with you.
There is no quick fix, outside of extensions and wigs, but there are some things that you can add into your diet to ensure that progress is coming indeed ….slowly, but it’s coming. Main point, proper nutrition is key in all of this. What does that mean? Plenty of fats, proteins, and nutrients to build you up. And no, you need not eat meat to do this. but more on this later.
When people compliment my hair now, or my skin for that matter, I take great pride. I worked for those strands. I built those strands. And so wanted to share with your some of my specific steps to rebuild this part of what makes me, me.
SO how can you take care of your silky tresses now and deal with hair loss and regrowth? We focus on:
Healthy Fats: No surprise here, healthy glowing skin, nails and hair rely on healthy fats. This is everything from fish oils, nuts and seeds, avo and oils. Making sure fat is part of your diet will be a key component to ensuring healthy hair growth. Dieters beware, you;re skin, joints and hair are going to suffer if you deplete yourself of fats.
Eat Zinc Rich Food: maybe even supplement it as well. Most women are deficient in zinc, and it is so so important to hormonal health. To boot, zinc has been proven to assist in slowing down any hair loss. Pumpkin seeds, oysters, oats and more, are heavy hitters for natural sources.
Walnuts: As mentioned, nuts and seeds play an integral part in this equation, and walnuts can be an even bigger superstar in this. chalk full of zinc, iron and b vitamins..this is a MVP as it covers the bases.
Oats: Always a health fad, and much like the walnuts above come with great amounts of iron and zinc that will help things along. Combine the two for a nourishing hair healthy breakfast.
Blackstrap Molasses: Is loaded with iron. Ever looking for alternatives to supplements for your iron? Including blackstrap molasses in your recipes might just do the trick and iron is also so important in keeping and mainainting hair growth.
Be consistent: It’s always so frustrating to sit and watch hair grow, but be consistent. Changing up your routine consistently is not going to yield rewards. You are going to need to stick with a program and see it through.
B Vitamins : These are an important part in hair loss and regeneration. Eating a healthy diet including the above will help with this, but in addition you may want to add a b complex. My nails grow so fast when I am on this and it gives you an indication to how well it may be working for you.
Brush your hair to stimulate hair follicles...better yet, get scalp massages or ask someone you love to do this for you.
and my Favourite one:
withinUs TruMarine Collagen: this is NOT a sponsored post. As a fully plant based human, accepting and considering supplementing with a product that was ocean based was a hard pill to swallow. Also understanding the emotional stress I was feeling, I weighed the two options and gave withinUs TruMarine a try. I had previously used other collagen, biotin supplements with no success, so when I saw any result from this, I easily decided that for my own well being that it was worth it. I still continue to use it to this day and attribute a lot of my healing of joint, skin and hair health to this product. If you are struggling with hair loss, I absolutely recommend you consider trying this option for at least 2 months and see what it does for you. It was a game changer product.
I get the struggle is real, it shouldn’t be, but it is. Sometimes it feels silly to worry about things we know of as “superficial”. But emotional health as we now know, plays such a significant role in physical health, that honestly, you have to consider all aspects of what is important to you. I still worry about my hair, sometimes I want more. Regardless I always start with what I have and what I can do. Peace, love, and long hair.
K
