Sunday, April 5, 2020

My Alopecia Hair Loss Journey Update Part 1

Now, that I am on this journey to get my hair growing again having the right attitude and staying positive is key.  Honestly, even though I think my attitude is positive, I still struggle a little with accepting it. I am not as tearful like I was in the beginning. My brain keeps wandering off on very doubting thoughts.  Will my hair really grow back to its normal state, how will it be when my hair is completely bald, how people will react to me, will I get stared at when I go out in public, will people wonder about what my illness is, will they think I have cancer? this goes on and on in my head. This is a new battle that I am struggling with and I hope it's a normal reaction and eventually, I will stop these lines of thinking. I am on week three of me shaving my head. I had planned on keeping it a private journey but, I decided to share it with the world. I thought it would be very liberating and freeing. I don't think I have accomplished the liberating experience I was looking for. I guess it's because of the alopecia diagnosis. If I had no issues with my hair maybe  I would have had the type of liberating feelings I was looking for. Anyway, the response from my friends and family and even strangers was so encouraging and very positive.  I uploaded a video on my youtube channel talking about my hair and I received lots of encouraging words. (check out the video HERE ) I have a very small youtube channel and I think it's the most engagements I have had on any topic on my channel. And of course, my family and my friends have been so encouraging. all of the positive outpourings of love and encouragement are very uplifting and I needed it and I thank everyone for it.

It seems that whenever you shave your head completely bald your hair grows faster. I am experiencing a lot of new hair growth but the hair is growing around all the balding spots on my head.
3 weeks of hair growth

















My hair itches a lot and I experienced a lot of burning on my scalp. The burning sensation is a part of the alopecia diagnosis. Burning sensation on your scalp is very common in scarring alopecia. I am unable to make a regular doctor appointment, especially with a dermatologist due to what's going on in the world right now. ( I am still in disbelief that the world is in a pandemic due to the coronavirus)  Most doctors are working from home and most appointments with your doctor are being done over the phone. Dermatologists' treatment is a hands-on approach  So, this leaves me with figuring out how I am going to treat my hair to subside the burning.



 I have been using Selsun blue and tea tree shampoo and it helps for a couple of hours after I wash my hair. I am trying this shampoo because it supposes to treat psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis. I don't know if this is doing my scalp harm ( I hope not) I  just wanted to try something that is supposed to treat some types of scalp condition. when I use this shampoo it feels medicated and tingling and the burning does subside for a couple of hours after washing. 




The itching and burning are worse whenever I put a hat or a scarf on my head and also when I lay down to sleep at night. I am not sure if this is from the new growth. whatever it is. it's unbearable.




I found a video on youtube talking about using Listerine to help with the burning of the scalp. I tried this and it actually works. I rinse my scalp with Listerine then wash my hair with tea tree shampoo and conditioner and I notice the burning of the scalp subside for at least two days. so this is my new routine to assist with the burning of the scalp.






I am happy about having the burning of the scalp under control for now. the next step is to find a method to stimulate some hair growth in the balding spot. I will share update on my next post.













3 comments:

  1. Hey girl, I'm glad you're sharing the updates with us! Nice that you're trying out some new things. And I'm sure it'll work and that you'll get there. No doubt! :)

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  2. Good blog. It learned a lot. Thank you for share.

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