Ten months after getting my hair back, I'm still baffled by occasional hair fall.
I tell myself, don’t panic. I’m reminded, four strands in the sink is nowhere near as bad as losing handfuls like I was before.
If I see more than four strands in the sink, that’s my sign to address possible nutritional deficiencies or excesses.
When IS the last time I ate a vegetable other than the onions and tomatoes in my salsa? I guess this wedge of lime on the side of the margarita glass doesn’t count as fruit.
I used to think once hair grew back, it was back permanently, not so.
Even once you get your hair back, scalp health still has to be maintained. It’s like getting your Jeep back from the auto body shop. It may be fixed, but you still need to get the oil changed every 3,000 miles. (Not the best example, but that’s all I got.)
I thought it was absurd for people to have to take Minoxidil in perpetuity once they started Minoxidil. It appears the same goes for any hair loss treatment.
It seems once the hair growth cycle gets disrupted, the cycle is susceptible to future disruption, like from an illness, poor diet, stress or God forbid, Covid again.
My friend who’s battled with Alopecia areata (patchy baldness) takes prescription rheumatoid arthritis (RA) medicine. Even though her hair grew back GORGEOUS, she still experiences patchy bald spots and occasional shedding.
Goes to show you can experience wonderful results, but you still have to maintain your scalp health - be it by adaptogenic mushrooms or prescription RA medication.
There is no end date.
So I’m still learning along with you. But that’s the point, we are all learning together. I don’t care if you use RA medication or ROOT WISE REPAIR® to get your hair back.
(I DO care if you’re using Minoxidil. Don’t. That’s stuff is toxic.)
The point is, we’re here for each other. We support each other. We learn from each other.
There may be a point where your hair will get back to what it once was. Then you won’t have to use hair treatment daily - perhaps once a week for maintenance (like me).
For some non-responders, they never get there hair back to what it was. For non-responders, the goal is to keep the hair they have. It stinks, but that’s the situation they’re in.
It’s key to redefine your wins. Redefine your terms for success. Is it to find four strands in the sink instead of thirty? It is to feel a thicker pony tail or to grow your hair long enough to have a pony tail at all? You have to determine your own goal, and make your goal reasonable.
By setting a reasonable goal, you will be less prone to self-defeat and self-loathing.
Be kind to yourself. You’re doing better than you think.