A year and and half of significantly thinner, less and differently-textured hair ?

Skin, nail and hair health
1

Hi everyone smile.

So August 2016 I was away on two holidays with my ex partner - one in Spain and one in Cyprus. I mention the places for a reason.

Prior to my trip, I dyed my hair using a Live colour (purpley/red). I hadn't dyed my hair consistently in a while. Whilst dying it, as it was extremely thick and near my waist, I used two hair dyes to cover all. And as is my customary stupid habit from my younger days (I am now 28) I smeared any excess wherever I could. Suffice it to say I also left the dye on probably avout half an hour longer than recommended. Another terrible practice / habit.

Also prior to my trip I did a skydive with a colleague. Said colleague is in her 40s and had experienced progressive hair loss on her scalp that year. It was in patches. We shared a room/bed before the skydive. This may of course not be pertinent at all but could there, perhaps, be any bacterial infections that could be passed on? I don't know.

During my trip, for most of Spain at least, my hair was fine. However I saw experiencing some emotional aggravation in relation to my then ex partner and this was causing me anxiety (more so than my usual anxiety/depression sweet package). Of course in Spain, it was very hot and I went into the sea a lot (sun exposure to scalp? I used no sun protection on that area. Salt content in sea water?) My hair began falling our in big heaps in Spain.

Moved onto Cyprus to sea family. Hair loss continued. My mum had also temporarily adopted a litter of kittens which had ringworm. I later found I had caught it and used creams appropriately back in the UK. It went without a problem.

I don't eat much meat but I do eat very well. I have had some issues with my digestion though but am working very hard to correct these. This may imply poor absorption of vitamins. However, a very recent GP blood test has ruled out deficiencies of any sort.

Anyway, in a nutshell, there has been: harmful hair dye, intense UV exposure, salt water immersion, emotional stress (leading to a break up that kept me in a state of stress and heartache for some months), digestion problems.

My GP had been unable to help or advise. For them my hair is fine - it's passable. But I'm sure only you all can appreciate the frustration and sadness of knowing how glorious your hair once was and comparing it to what it has become / is becoming. I'm talking loads and loads of thick beautiful curly hair now reduced to flimsy, thin (and way less of it) little hair.

For my own practice I have now committed to never dyeing my hair for the remainder of my life. I'm fine with that. I'm using mostly natural-based shampoos and conditioners. I use coconut oil to moisturise my hair. I cut it regularly. I give myself scalp massages. I exercise regularly (the sweat cleanses out pores) and practice yoga. I drink a lot of water and eat a lot of fresh fruit, veg, fish and grains. Sometimes meat (but it isn't part of my daily diet). When in Bulgaria (which is home ) friends and nd hairdressers advised I do nettle root rinses. This has actually felt like the only thing that somehow feels like it makes my follicles strong. It also acts as a conditioner so I do not condition when I do a rinse.

Now, this has been a Tolstoy novel and I appreciate the patience of anyone who's actually read it all. Can anyone please share any advice? I really do miss my hair. I do not know which factor contributed most strongly to its demise but I'm just trying to deal with the consequences. I fear it will never return to what it was. I will try anything. I do prefer, strongly, the herbal and natural over the medicinal but if anyone has anything further they can advise me, I will be very grateful.

2

Your friend had alopecia areata which is not contagious nor is it caused by a bacteria or virus or anything at all like that. It is an autoimmune disorder where the body starts attacking the hair follicles making the hair fall out in patches. There are other types of alopatia also. But it only has to do with where you're losing your hair. I am assuming you're only losing hair on your head. Do you have bald spots or is it an all over thinning? It is possible that you burned your hair with the dye and caused some hair loss by making the hair strands fragile and then they break off. That would be an all over thinning rather than the bald spots. I think you just need to give it some time and see if it has stopped falling out and started growing again. Typically hairs that come in are often times white and then turn to the the natural color of your hair. That doesn't happen with everyone but quite a few.

3

Hi amkoffee, thank you very much for reading my extensive post.

That information was very helpful thank you. I know alopecia isn't contagious but I wasn't sure if there could indeed be some sort of bacterial/fungal infection that could produce the same effects.

It inds wntirely plausible that the hair dye and my disrespect for its guidelines are the cause of this. I attributed the hair loss to multiple fsctors merely because the falling out started happening 2/3 weeks after I dyed it and I assumed damage caused by hair dye would be a lot more immediate.

No bald spots but an overall thinning, yes. And a change in the texture from extremely curly to kind of wispy and frail.

So fascinated by what you wrote regarding initially white and then natural colour hair because this had indeed been happening and I've not been able to make sense of it. Was that in relation to you explaining how generally damaged hair sometimes regrows or hair damaged specifically by chemicals?

Thanks so much.

4

Do not apply dye on hairs as it is dangerous for hairs and does not have any benefit.