Going Au Natural, Part II: Hair Products To the Rescue

Avail at Costco. Take daily.

Avail online

Found this trio (conditioner not shown) at TJ Maxx for $20/each. Online, about $40/ea.

Avail at Whole Foods for $10. Worth it.

I finally opened up with you a couple of weeks ago about my journey with hair loss and going natural after (and still) some serious battling with figuring out what was (is) wrong. Medically, nothing. Physically, probably the immense stress of various events in my life. I’m still not in the clear 100%, but on a healthy — I think — road to recovery. And a head full of thick, curly, natural hair.

After the blood results came back negative, twice, I had to start looking into reconstruction. My aunt convinced to let go of all the fabulous Dominican hair products I’ve been swearing by most of my life. I won’t lie, they’ve worked magic in the past, but my Tia encouraged me to consider the damage paraffins, perfumes, alcohol, colors, etc… cause and could hinder the restrengthening process. Those smell good products all have a solid dose of those ingredients. Hair killer? No se.

VITAMINS & NATURAL SHAMPOO/CONDITIONER

So I went digging and first started taking Biotin; about 1000 mg a day. That wasn’t doing much of anything, so I bumped it up to 5000mg. Stand alone, I’m not sure if they were really effective. I didn’t see anything to rave about so I expanded my therapy. I’m convinced biotin is very far from being a magic pill.

My aunt also suggested DermOrganic products which are organic and free of all those agents. My plan was to try it out for just 3 months… It’s now been 6 and while I’ve seen a noticeable difference, especially in the curls (huuuray for curls!), it’s not doing the job alone. At least not at the rate I’d like to see it. But that’s just me. I do love this, though. DermOrganic also has a Leave-In Spray Therapy which I bought, but have not tried. Shampoo and condition twice a week and throw in the masque just once a week.

COCONUT OIL

I’m sure most of you embracing natural hair, know all too well the success with coconut oil. A few of my friends swear by it so I thought I’d give it a shot. Though, the idea of an oily scalp and treases is not my idea of sexy. At all. But, if it’s going to help this situation, then bring it on. I apply the cooking oil variety (because I saw no difference at all in the option displayed in the hair care section of WholeFoods) three times a week. I massage my scalp with it and then pull my hair up in a super loose ponytail. I definitely see and feel a difference. It’s fuller, thicker, and not as dull.

NIOXIN SCALP TREATMENT 

This was my sister’s idea, who’s also going through the same thing. She’s done her bit of research and found this Level One Scalp Treatment system to have great reviews. I’ve been using on and off with the DermOrganic, so again, stand alone, I can’t say if it’s effective as a single product I’d like to think that for the money, it’s working. She uses it twice a week and has noticed some thickness. The only thing with the threesome here is that it does have a nominal amount of alcohol and paraffin. And it seems to only address thinning, not loss or breakage.

Other factors…. Diet.

What you eat can play a significant role in hair thinning. A high consumption of animal fats, rapid weight loss and liquid protein diets can result in a lack of amino acids, biotin, iron, protein and zinc — all of which are essential for healthy-looking hair. –Nioxin website

I’ve not really checked my diet for proper levels of iron, biotin, and protein. I eat as I’ve been for the past 3-4 years with a slight increase in simple carb (rice, desserts). I’ve invited eggs back in my regular diet but not concentrated enough to know if it’s helping out at all.

Ultimately, hair loss has so much to do with diet/nutrition, stress/trauma, genetics, and health issues, all of which I’ve addressed. All of my personal roads point to stress.  My next goal is to eliminate every single bit of stressors. I’ve nixed most of them, but a few pestering ones remain.

They say patience is a virtue, but when it comes to my hair, I’ve been attacking it like it’s the end of the world. And so the journey continues. We’ll see where I am 6 months from now! Stay tuned.

Eat well, love unapologetically, pray with true intention, and take care of yourself.

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