After I was diagnosed with lupus four years ago, my hair started to fall out as soon as I thought I was on the road to recovery. I think that was the hardest part about being diagnosed. It sounds so vain to hear myself say that. But for better or for worse, I didn’t have to acknowledge how sick I really was to the outside world because I looked generally the same. If you didn’t know me, I could slap on some lipstick and glasses, and none would be the wiser. I hung on tight to the idea that I could conceal my illness whenever I chose.
My hair loss was the most visual display of my chronic illness and I felt exposed in a way that made me uncomfortable and very insecure.
While hair loss was just an inescapable part of my lupus journey, I didn’t have the right care initially that could’ve spared me from the level of loss I experienced.
My first step to try to stop the hair loss was to visit a dermatologist. He took one look at my scalp and prescribed me with a steroid that only made my remaining strands weaker in the following weeks. I didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t until my close friend and linesister Monica encouraged me to talk to her mother, the amazing Mama Coleman, about a product that helped her manage her hair loss throughout her own lupus journey.
With Mama Coleman’s advice and a few tried and true rituals I found on my own, my hair started to make a dramatic recovery. And now I keep up the same routine that has made my hair stronger than ever.
What I found is that my hair health routine isn’t just for those who may experience hair loss due to illness. It may work for any reason you are trying to grow hair faster and stronger.
A few months ago, I went to a stylist for a trim, and ended up with a deep chop that I didn’t ask for and didn’t like. But relying on my old routine, my hair is growing back and the bad cut is almost erased from my hair (if not my mind yet, still pissed! Lol).
I share this routine with anyone who has asked about my dramatic hair transformation or desires to grow and strengthen their hair back to health for any reason.
It’s easy to say “oh, it’s just hair,” but for me and many others, hair health was a necessary part of my overall healing and well-being.
Please pass along to anyone who may find these hair health tips and products useful.
1. Use Wild Growth Light Hair Oil everyday
I credit this as the #1 contributor to my hair regrowth. This is what Mama Coleman recommended to me and I still use it today. I could see a visible difference with each month of use until I only needed to use it every now and then. I’d massage it into my scalp nightly. It is an oil, so during this regrowth phase, I mainly wore my hair in a natural style or in a bun.
2. Keep direct heat from hair
I refrained from all direct heat on my hair. When your hair is already weak, heat only makes it worse. Again I tried any hair style that kept heat off of my hair – which was mainly buns, clip-ins and lots of hats to hide bald areas. Only once per month I would sit under an at-home dryer to dry my hair and straighten it to check on the regrowth process.
3. Maintain bi-weekly in-salon Olaplex treatments and weekly at-home Olaplex conditioning
This is a miracle hair conditioning treatment for me. One portion of it can only be applied by a professional stylist and the maintenance treatment can be purchased and used at home. So every week I either got the in-salon treatment or did the at-home treatment myself. I would let my hair air dry after each treatment to continue to avoid heat.
4. Mix a few drops of 100% Pure Peppermint oil in shampoo
Peppermint oil is great for stimulating blood flow to your scalp, which helps with hair growth. You can feel your pores opening and it leaves a deep clean feeling when you massage it into your scalp.
5. Do at-home (or in-salon) hair steam treatments
I talked about how much I love steam treatments a few weeks ago. Steaming helps to further stimulate your scalp and open your pores to remove product build-up that can slow down the regrowth process. It’s also a natural hair hydrator, adding moisture to help strengthen your hair.
Leave a Reply