How to Grow back your hair and influence people
“Hair is beauty. Hair is emotion. Hair is our heritage. Hair tells us who we are, where we’ve been and where we are going. Hair is Power. You can’t imagine what it’s like to lose it. But I refused to give up the fight. My hair grew back and so did my confidence.” - Madam C.J. Walker
For those of you who haven’t seen Octavia Spencer play Madam C.J. Walker in Netflix’s Self-Made, boy howdy, hot dang, you should. You’ll see a broken down black woman who is losing her hair go from penniless clothes washer to first female millionaire as she not only restores her own hair, but creates a salve that helps many other women with their hair loss.
It’s a story I wish I had learned in high school. Where would women be if we had our stories lauded as highly as those of even most mediocre of men? For we are constantly accomplishing the impossible.
Hair is one of those things that most of us just take for granted. It grows all over our bodies and most of the time we are trying to get rid of it - plucking, shaving, waxing, cutting.
The hair on our heads is special in that it signifies health, status, and identity. It provides us with confidence as well as protection from the elements. I think it’s easy to take it for granted, but it’s like teeth, so essential to our day to day existence and damn near impossible to replace once it’s gone.
However, the glorious thing about being human is that we perform little miracles all the time, so if you are losing your hair, there’s hope still. I’ve been slowly growing my hair back after I lost much of it to Androgenetic Alopecia in my 20s and I have seen improvements and successes. Seeing increased thickness and coverage all over is so encouraging. It’s given me more mental stability and confidence in all areas of my life. Everyone deserves that. I’m going to share with you some things I’ve learned and routines I’ve experimented with and consistently performed to get those results. I hope they help!
Disclaimer: I am not a hair or health professional. I am not suggesting that you do any of the following. I’m simply laying out products, advice and resources and routines that worked for me and might help you. You need to make decisions about your health for yourself with a doctor. Consult someone before making drastic changes to your routines and supplements.
What is hair and how does it work?
Very simply, hair is a filament of the protein keratin that grows out of follicles, or openings, on the scalp.
Your follicle also contains a sebum gland that produces natural oil to coat your scalp and hair to protect them from the elements. Your hair goes through phases of growth: anagen (growth), catagen (transition when it starts to thin and loosen at the root), telogen (your follicle rests a bit before a new hair bulb and shaft are put into action).
Your scalp has its own microbiome and pH level. It’s slightly acidic to deter excess fungal and bacterial growth.
What causes hair loss?
There are many types of hair loss or alopecia. Most people will experience hair thinning as they age due to normal hormonal changes and wear and tear.
Some types are caused by poor nutrition/diet and unbalanced lifestyles that cause stress. Others are caused by autoimmune diseases. Many of these are reversible with adjustments to diet and life or the proper medication. There are articles linked below that go into more detail about the types of alopecia.
Androgenetic Alopecia
The type that is most common and the one I have is called androgenetic alopecia or standard pattern baldness. Women often don’t lose their hair line but experience overall hair thinning, widening parts and finer hair with a wispier texture. That’s what I started noticing in my 20s.
Androgenetic alopecia is caused by a genetic factor. What I learned is that some people’s follicles are more susceptible to DHT (dihydrotestosterone), a by-product of testosterone. DHT causes shrinkage and ultimately death in follicles.
Other contributing factors are stress, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, unbalanced scalp, and stress. Did I mention stress?
Stress in short bursts is so useful for getting things done, but we experience prolonged stress exposure regularly as a society. We are an anxious, depressed, and sick people.
Stress is just another word for fear. We are worried and scared quite a bit. It’s hard not to be when the world is frozen over, under water, on fire or being actively bombed. Your concerns are valid. However, the out of control fear response will do nothing for you.
Stress releases cortisol. In the short term this help activate your mind and muscles for quick actionable responses. Life saving in a pinch, but prolonged exposure to cortisol deteriorates tissues and impedes digestion. It causes inflammation all over the body and this inflammation will choke out blood supply to follicles too.
When you’re stressed, you don’t sleep well so your entire set of bodily functions, including skin and brain care don’t happen. The food you eat is not being digested well so your cells are not getting the proper nutrition they need to function.
Do this often and long enough and you will disrupt hormones as well.
Stress will increase hair loss and impede recovery. You absolutely have to conquer your fear if you want to grow your hair back.
If you’re like me, this is stressing you out because now you’re worried about your worry. Haha. Life is hilarious that way.
It’s okay, with practice you will become a mental warrior. You’ll be surprised how quickly too.
Possible solutions:
There are many solutions out there these days. We are super lucky to live in a scientifically advanced era where most solutions to problems are just a few clicks away.
The first step is just to learn as much about the type of alopecia you have. Each one has a slightly varied recovery plan.
Be prepared for experimentation. You are unique so what works for others may not work for you. And what works for you may not work for others. However, there are plenty of clinical studies out there on products that tend to work for the majority of people so the odds are in your favor.
Schedule an appointment with a dermatologist experienced in alopecia. Seattle has many. You’ll be able to start a personalized plan with a professional you trust. You’ll have someone helping you. Which brings me to my other point.
Have a community of trust and support if possible.
Going through hair loss is hard. Going through it alone is not only emotionally crippling, it’s counterproductive to your recovery. Having love and support from people that know your story and accept you is everything. It will give you the courage to keep moving on and trying new things. It will also help limit your fear/stress response. It might even encourage others to get healthier too. As you’ll learn, hair recovery is a holistic approach. Everything is linked.
Improve your diet and lifestyle. Eating local healthy fresh diverse foods is so important. Supplement if you need to but eating a diet that reduces inflammation will also help with your mental focus and physical recovery.
What worked best for me:
I started off with a dermatologist who wasn’t super great at follow up. She offered me finasteride and minoxidil. Finasteride is a DHT hormone blocker that many people use but it is mostly studied in men. I was not comfortable taking something that was that strong as I had an adverse side effect to birth control a few years earlier and don’t take hormone suppressors as a matter of principle. It’s just not worth it to me personally since my body is sensitive to those types of chemicals. It works for many but I needed to find a different approach.
Minoxidil or Rogaine caused an allergic reaction that was pretty traumatic so that was out too.
After taking a day or two to be pretty bummed I continued my research and learned that Elon Musk had gotten hair restoration at a clinic in Chicago. I found the clinic and looked into their stem cell therapy and PRP programs. After learning more about PRP, I looked for a clinic in Seattle that offered it. I found Advanced Dermatology where Doctor Greene and his amazing staff helped me get started with a very effective treatment.
PRP is Platelet Rich Plasma treatment. I’ve had the procedure done a few times now. They draw my blood, put it through a centrifuge to separate the plasma from the red blood cells and inject it into my scalp.
It’s a painful experience, but I’m usually hopped up on nitrous.
When you first start, you have to do one round of 20 shots into the scalp every month for three months in a row. Then you can do annual maintenance treatments. After the first round, I was already noticing less shedding and new baby hairs.
Platelet rich plasma has growth hormones/factors that stimulate the follicles and encourage new growth.
Cost: $800 per treatment plus $50 for the nitrous.
I saw results pretty quickly after. I was very encouraged. I did the initial series which was one round every month for three months. Now I just do once a year maintenance treatments. It’s more affordable that way.
After seeing these results I was determined to help those baby hairs stay strong and have the best shot at recovery so I made changes to my lifestyle and diet as well.
Eating more complex carbs, diverse fruits and veggies, more beans and nuts and fish and eggs has helped a lot. As well as incorporating pro-biotics through yogurt and fermented foods. Eat an anti-inflammatory diet and make sure to exercise. This will not only boost your mood, it will help regulate your sleep and hormones. Even if you do it 5-10 minutes a day, it’s better than nothing.
I usually try to go for a walk and do some weighted exercises in the evening or morning. Do yoga or go for a bike ride. Just get moving! Keep your blood flowing.
I also use the iRestore Red Light Laser Therapy Helmet along with the Kerafactor Scalp Stimulator, shampoo and scrub brush. The scalp cleanser balances the scalp. The Scrub brush increases circulation and exfoliates the scalp. I do this every other day in the shower. I do scalp massages every day for increasing blood flow and decreasing inflammation.
The Kerafactor scalp stimulator is to be used with the red light laser as it helps boost the effects of the light. It’s pricey but you can just get one bottle a year or just do the red light laser. You can usually get a deal on the helmet. Mine was around $450. Worth it in the long run.
iRestore Shampoo and Conditioner is also worth trying as it’s shampoo gentle and moisturizing. Your hair washing routine will be unique to you and your scalp and hair type. I find it best to wash every other day so I have time for natural oils to coat my scalp but not long enough for them to clog my follicles. You have to keep things in balance. I found that if I went too long without washing, my hair started to hurt due to the sebum buildup.
Washing too often will dry out the scalp or cause dandruff (caused by excess oil production in response to the dryness). Experiment and find your Goldilocks zone for hair washing.
A good multi vitamin will do you a lot of good. Pre-natal vitamins in particular are super useful. Marine collagen has been very effective for me.
I recently started taking Nutrafol which is a subscription service that provides a multi-vitamin that includes marine collagen, saw-palmetto, curcumin and other anti-inflamatory and hair boosting ingredients all in one place so I don’t have to buy or take a bunch of different vitamins. They also offer pro-biotic with pre-biotics mixed in to help your gut be at its best so it can absorb as many nutrients as possible. They have a great service and are clinically backed and physician formulated. You can personalize your order and you can schedule an appointment with one of their many accredited naturopaths anytime with questions or just to track your progress. Like I mentioned before, it takes a village to help you along your hair recovery. My inflammation has definitely decreased since I started taking them and it’s only been a few weeks. I’m excited to see what happens at 6 months.
I really enjoy this service. It’s about $75 a month for the supplements and consultations. It seems like a lot but knowing that these supplements are specifically engineered for helping women regrow their hair and that someone will listen to your story and help you figure out the right treatment for you is pretty valuable to me.
Check out their website and see for yourself. If you use the link here, you will get 20 dollars off your first purchase. They don’t sponsor me. I just really like their products and services.
Don’t feel overwhelmed, you can start slow, experiment and see what combo of things work for you. It will take time. Come up with a routine that is simple and easy enough to be sustainable over a long period of time. Do things you’ll stick with. 10 minutes a day is better than 3 hours all at once and then 2 weeks off. It’s all about consistency. Think about compound interest. If you want to see results in your health compound, be consistent. Do strength training and light cardio to begin with. Start slow and steady and add routines as you go.
Buy better. Reduce simple sugar intake and get more starchy vegetables and complex carbs. Whole foods and grains. Eat lean proteins and lots of it. Your hair is a protein strand, remember? So make sure to get half your body weight in grams of protein every day. Drink shakes if you have to but try and get the nutrition directly from your food.
Remember, your body is designed to process food, not nutrients alone. I’ve also started fermenting more of my food and cooking at home more than eating out and it’s truly improved my over all health. It also makes me feel better about my carbon footprint. There are so many good books and resources that will help you on your good slow foods journey. I will link them below.
The single best thing I did for myself besides diet improvement was I started meditating regularly and doing breathwork and cold exposure therapy. The Wim Hof Method is one of the best discoveries of my life. Please read my post on the benefits of meditation and practices I employ to help you start your own.
Here are some products and resources. I wish you luck! Whatever happens, you’re going to be okay.
Procedures:
PRP - I go Advanced Dermatology and Laser Institute of Seattle
Products:
iRestore Redlight Therapy Helmet - they have a 365 day trial money back guarantee so you can try it and get your money back if it doesn’t work.
Kerafactor - partner with redlight therapy or alone.
Cheaper options:
Prenatal vitamins or gummies
Marine Collagen with types l and lll
Rosemary oil and witch hazel are excellent scalp stimulators and soothers
Kokum butter, castor and coconut oil are also great for doing scalp massages
Remember to take care of the rest of your skin too - it’s alive! Treat it as such.
Books:
We Are What We Eat & The Art of Simple Foods by Alice Waters
In the Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
YouTube: Wim Hof Method
Do all of these or pick a few and do them consistently.
I know some of these things are pricey but I’ve found them to be worth it in the long run. It will take months to reverse the years of damage. Be patient, be active, be happy. Good things will happen.
Love,
Gia
