Six months raw and my hair is STILL falling out!

[Carlsbad]

Okay, so I was being patient with this and assuming it was just detox and would eventually go away, but my hair has been falling out since September, and it is starting to look noticeably thinner. I've always had gorgeous thick shiny hair, but now it is getting all thin and looking dry as well. I drink green smoothies every day, and I try to vary the greens as much as possible.

ANY help would be awesome. I'm not going to look very healthy if I'm BALD! :eek:

[deberaw]

Oh my goodness, that just doesn't sound right...what does your regular day of eating look like....from morning to night...?

[eachpeachpearplum]

Oh my, this must be terribly distressing to you! I actually was loosing for a whole year before I went 100%, then it stopped.

My totally uneducated opinon is that unfortunatly this is your bodies avenue for detox (mine is a semi perminent phlemy chest/nose) and once it's done you will grow back a bigger and better mane of hair.

I would also encourage you to go to a Naturapath to see if there is anything missing from your system.

There are several hair stylests on this board perhaps one might have some advice.

all the best and hang in there!:o

EPPP

[shashibala]

From what I have read, a lack of Iron, B vitamins, especially B12 and Biotin,
and Essential Fatty Acids can all result in loss of hair. Are you eating enough good fats? Do you use flax seeds or hemp seeds? Avocados and olive oil?
I supplement my diet with B 12. I have been vegetarian since the age of 12 and vegan for a while and I just don't know how to get enough through foods. Try doing a web search. I had this problem for some time. For me it seemed to be a hormonal problem due to a rapid weight gain that was brought on by a medication. I am finally free of this drug and my hair seems to be staying in my head. I hope this resolves for you. I know it causes much worry and distress!
Best wishes!!

[MiahTay]

Did this just start when you went raw or was it before? I am 37 and my hair has been thinning for the past few years and I started using a natural progesterone (yam based) and it stopped (to the point when I was in the shower I would have hair all over my hands when I washed my hair). This same thing happened to my mom as she entered menopause. So, I have no idea how old you are but maybe???

Heather

[maui_butterfly]

are you using maca? when my hair was falling out and my normally strong nails got weak and brittle, brian yamamoto suggested i drop the maca from my morning smoothies. i did, and it corrected.

[Care4raw]

Hi, I posted before about this. I too had severe hair loss and I was told it was detox but it went on too long.Months for me too. Finally I found out that i had a yeast/candida type imbalance , (the way i was eating raw was aggravating things). I was eating too many sweet foods and that would 'feed' the imbalance. Prior to raw I was a veggie for many years and I may have already started the process by eating a high carb and low protein.

Now, I am second time around raw with NONE of these problems. Before I had rashes etc, none of that now.I am not using recipes now with maple syrup, taking it easy with dried fruits and slowly have introduced things like bananas.

I found an amazing accupuncturist (N.CALIf) and a couple of healers.Herbs helped.Things like copper and other minerals were prescribed by the accupuncturist as well as his treatments. .

I went to a dermatolgist (I was desperate) who gave me a steroid cream and was into drugs , a waste of time.

Lastly, once I cut my hair super short, it stopped falling out.Could have been an 'energy' thing , it really shifted the hair fall out.It stopped.

Good luck, I feel for 'ya!!

[dalimeindacoconut]

Go to the Doctor and get your blood checked. Get informed about what is out of balance. Have him check your B12 levels, iron, ldl's, hdl's, everything. That's what I did and I found out I cured my anemia going raw. I also found my B12 was in good standing, but a little lower than normal so I had to up some things and I do take a B12 supplement due to the fact that this is the only vitamin missing from a vegetarian diet and I don't want anemia again. Good luck.

[lisajoy]

I too had severe hair loss.
The natropath told me to eat 10 nori sheets a day..very high in Vit A and iron/iodine..and minerals.
Every couple of weeks, i see the new hairs really growing quickly.

[Aleesha Sattva]

are you using shampoo? i've noticed that my comb is almost empty every day now, since i went and joined the no 'poo club!

[Carlsbad]

Yes, I use shampoo. I'm really not ready to join the no 'poo club. Maybe in a year or two. I do eat plenty of fats, but not much flax seed or hemp seed. I'll try adding those to my green smoothies. I do supplement B 12, so I don't think it's that. I don't eat any sea veggies because they kind of gross me out, but I could start adding nori flakes to things and see if that helps. My fingernails are stronger than ever, so I don't think it's some major imbalance, but I don't know. Here's what I'm eating today, which will give you a basic idea of what I eat.

Green juice: carrot, celery, cucumber, spinach
3 clementines
Green Smoothie: spinach, banana, pineapple, strawberries, mango
Broccoli with currants and cashew mush marinade
date nut torte with strawberries (I don't usually make/eat desserts, but have this leftover from a dinner party)
kombucha

Tomorrow's menu will be similar, but with marinara sauce and avocado on onion bread for lunch.

[Rawkinlocs]

Wow, it really sounds like you're doing all the "right" stuff so, my only opinion is that it IS some form of detox from something.

Let me ask some questions that "may" bring something to light...

1. What types of products do you use on your hair...do they contain the more "harsh" ingredients such as alcohol, etc.?

2. Do you now or have you ever used chemicals on your hair such as perms or hair color?

3. Do you now or have you ever taken any medications that the potential side effects included hair loss? (high blood pressure medication as well as some prescriptions given after surgery have been known to cause this)

If yes to any of the above, it could very well be a retracing of some kind going on.

Not everyone goes through this hair loss process when they go raw...I didn't, but some do. Everyone detoxes differently and at different rates. For some, they break out with terrible acne or other skin issues (rashes, eczema, etc.) while some maintain BEAUTIFUL skin YET...their body finds other ways to eliminate such as cold and flu symptoms or excessive mucous...some people have weight that doesn't want to release as quickly as others.

There will probably be no one, true answer/solution to this as everyone has varying thoughts on the whole hair loss issue...again, many experience it but many also do not so there is something to it but I think it's going to take, as was suggested, possibly visiting a dermatologist or nutritionist or naturopath or_____ ...or just trusting your body and continuing on this path as you've been doing. Also, look into rosemary essential oil and adding some drops to a daily (water-based) spritz...my grandmother swears the little concoction I made for her (rosemary EO and olive oil applied to her scalp) stopped her hair from thinning and shedding.


Yes, I use shampoo. I'm really not ready to join the no 'poo club. Maybe in a year or two. I do eat plenty of fats, but not much flax seed or hemp seed. I'll try adding those to my green smoothies. I do supplement B 12, so I don't think it's that. I don't eat any sea veggies because they kind of gross me out, but I could start adding nori flakes to things and see if that helps. My fingernails are stronger than ever, so I don't think it's some major imbalance, but I don't know. Here's what I'm eating today, which will give you a basic idea of what I eat.

Green juice: carrot, celery, cucumber, spinach
3 clementines
Green Smoothie: spinach, banana, pineapple, strawberries, mango
Broccoli with currants and cashew mush marinade
date nut torte with strawberries (I don't usually make/eat desserts, but have this leftover from a dinner party)
kombucha

Tomorrow's menu will be similar, but with marinara sauce and avocado on onion bread for lunch.

[Carlsbad]

Thanks Rawkinlocs, I'll try the rosemary and olive oil concoction and will also just give it more time. I haven't had a lot of detox symptoms, so maybe it's all focused on my hair! The rest of me is healthy and happy, so I'll just stick with raw and maybe try to add in more of the sea veggies and hemp seed and stuff.

I did dye my hair (not professionally, just at home) for a couple of years, and I'm now growing it out. The hair at the roots is looking good--it's shiny and my natural highlights are coming back, so I guess I just need to be patient and try to get as much variety in my food as I can. I promise I'll post if/when it stops falling out!

Thanks again everyone for the advice!

[jocelynAZ]

Rawkinlocs ~ Can you expound a little more on the rosemary EO and olive oil? I've not heard about doing this before and it sounds interesting! Is this a replacement for shampoo? How much of the EO and olive oil do you mix together?


Thanks!
Jocelyn

[Rawkinlocs]

Hi Jocelyn,

Well, Rosemary essential oil is known to be very stimulating (which is why they warn against pregnant women using it as it may bring about pre-mature labor in some women and also people with high blood pressure or those who are prone to seizures) and because of its stimulating properties, when applied to the scalp it allegedly can stimulate hair growth; therefore, many women I know on a natural hair forum I have been a member of for years had started using it mixed with either olive oil (and applied to the scalp - probably not recommended for people with oily hair already) or in a spray bottle of water and spritzed onto the scalp and they swear it stimulated hair growth.

Because I have dreads, my hair is going to grow period so I can't really vouch for it's efficacy personally...but again, my grandmother (who, of course, is African American) was experiencing thinning and excessive shedding of her hair due to some meds the doctor had her on. I gave her a small bottle of olive oil with Rosemary EO drops in it and she applied it daily (I think) and she swears it stopped the excessive shedding out every time she combed it, etc. and that her hair had grown in thicker. This was several years or so ago...she did come here to WA to visit this past summer and her hair looked great to me!

Here is some more interesting reading on rosemary: http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip1093.htm

[spiralgirl]

Carlsbad,

I've been raw 8 months and noticed this happening the last two months and I was freaking out myself as I have gorgeous thick hair. I can only tell you what helped me and may or may not work in your case.

My sister was having the same problem and so she volunteered to go to the doctor (I hate going) and found out her iron was really low and she was almost anemic. They told her to up her iron. So she went to the health food store and bought that liquid iron by Florex I think it is. Anywho I started taking it and when I do (it's hard to be consistent but I'm working on it) I notice my hair comes out about half of what it normally does. If I stop taking it for a week it falls out again in a big clump when I wash it. So I'm sticking with the iron for now.

My mom suggested taking Zinc supplements but I've yet to try those.

[Stina]

I think it was in a Victoria Boutenko book about lack of sufficient stomach acid causing people to not digest their green smoothies, causing nutritional defiencies, which could cause hair loss amongst other things. The solution was to take a HCL supplement; I believe I've read that would stimulate the stomach to create enough juices of it's own in the future. Also, Swedish bitter herbs, as horrible as they are, would do the same thing taken half-hour before a meal.
I personally massage my scalp a lot since women in my family have very thin hair and at 35, I can see that it's something I'll be dealing with.

[Temperance]

Sounds exactly like telogen effluvium to me...

The hair has stages of growth. There is an active growth stage followed by a resting stage (telogen stage). If you have a major life change or stress, normal growth can be interrupted. All the hairs in active growth suddenly convent to resting (hibernation) stage without finishing their proper growth cycle. All these hairs will fall out, normally within 6 months but the hair loss can occur up to 1 year following the major stress. Often it regrows within 4-6 months. The American Hair Loss Association, however, states that you can have different types and durations, depending on how long you are exposed to the precipitating stress...

Causes of telogen effluvium
(resolves when cause is revealed and corrected):

Childbirth (postpartum alopecia)
Drugs (oral contraceptives, beta-blockers, anticoagulants, interferon, retinoids, lithium, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories)
Persistent high fever (as in typhoid, pneumonia)
Severe illness (systemic lupus erythematosus, syphilis)
Sudden starvation (e.g. crash diets <1200 cal/day) and inadequate diet (including iron and zinc deficiency)
Psychologic stress
Acute blood loss
Major surgery

Deficiencies of the modern North American diet -- such as a lack of iron, zinc, amino acid L-lysine, or vitamins B6 and B12 -- have also been suggested to contribute to TE. When dietary deficiencies are suspected, supplements may be taken. However, supplements themselves can cause problems. Our bodies can only process so much iron each day. At high doses, iron is toxic and this can itself cause hair loss. At really high doses, iron supplements will cause death. Vitamin A supplements can also cause a TE reaction in some individuals, as excessive vitamin A can also be toxic.

Test for telogen effluvium:

Pluck test: can assist in determining how much hair is being shed, and assess hair breakage. About 50 hairs are firmly grasped and gentle traction applied. For normal hair loss one or two in 10 hairs should be extracted. In active androgenic alopecia and telogen effluvium, more than five in 10 will be extracted. Hairs should end with a visible depigmented bulb (telogen hairs). If there is no bulb suspect hair breakage.


Another way to tell if it is normal or not:

Comb hair first thing in the morning and collect hair lost daily. Hair lost during washing should also be collected. Seven days should be sufficient. Count hairs for each day and record the number on the bags. It is normal to lose 100hairs a day plus 200-250 when washing (unless washing daily, when 100 would be normal)

Changes in hair care may help reduce rate of hair loss:

Avoid alkaline pH shampoos
Pat rather than rub hair dry with a towel
Use a comb rather than a brush, and never brush hair when wet
Use of a conditioner makes hair easier to comb
Avoid bleaching, permanent waving, straightening, hot combs, overly hot dryers, and excessive sun exposure

Source: MD Consult via McMaster University online library
American Hair Loss Association

[Care4raw]

I just wanted to jump in with another thought.Hair loss can be a symptom of a hypo-thyroid. There's an easy test for that,taking your temp when you awake. If below normal it can indicate hypo thyroid.

I love our shares here, great way to get knowledge! Wish I had this when I was going through my experience.However, I do agree with a poster here too, a blood work up would be useful . Hair loss is a symptom, not a cause.

[brydee]

What kind of shampoo do you use?
Although it sounds like a bigger problem than just your shampoo if you are using a chemical filled shampoo, it will be getting into your system.

[paulieGB]

Hi, I posted before about this. I too had severe hair loss and I was told it was detox but it went on too long.Months for me too. Finally I found out that i had a yeast/candida type imbalance , (the way i was eating raw was aggravating things). I was eating too many sweet foods and that would 'feed' the imbalance. Prior to raw I was a veggie for many years and I may have already started the process by eating a high carb and low protein.

Now, I am second time around raw with NONE of these problems. Before I had rashes etc, none of that now.I am not using recipes now with maple syrup, taking it easy with dried fruits and slowly have introduced things like bananas.

I found an amazing accupuncturist (N.CALIf) and a couple of healers.Herbs helped.Things like copper and other minerals were prescribed by the accupuncturist as well as his treatments. .

I went to a dermatolgist (I was desperate) who gave me a steroid cream and was into drugs , a waste of time.

Lastly, once I cut my hair super short, it stopped falling out.Could have been an 'energy' thing , it really shifted the hair fall out.It stopped.

Good luck, I feel for 'ya!!


Hello, Care4raw.

I actually think i have the same problem that you had, my scalp is very irritable most of the time and its always like this when i eat lots of fruit, which is most of the time. I already know i have candida on my tounge and i think it has spread to my scalp now :(

Could you please tell me how you cured this problem, what foods do you eat now and what foods were you eating that you had to stop eating ?

Right now im 100% raw 80/10/10 eating lots of fruit some green smoothies and small amount of seeds.

Hope to hear from you,
Thank you, PaulieGB

[jaurequi]

I think it was in a Victoria Boutenko book about lack of sufficient stomach acid causing people to not digest their green smoothies, causing nutritional defiencies, which could cause hair loss amongst other things. The solution was to take a HCL supplement;

Hi, Stina,

Can you spell out the HCL, please. I'd like clarification on exactly which hcl you are referring. I'm assuming it's Hydrochloric Acid, but I'd rather not assume, thanks. :)

Best,

[PixieLed]

Just sharing my raw/hair loss experience. I made a number of radical changes all within about 1 month of each other: I went raw, stopped taking birth control pills, and moved from a small town to New York City. My hair fell out the entire time I was in NYC (4 months). I also think I was doing some bad food combining, like eating half a watermelon and then macadamia nuts.

When I came back home, I started drinking regular green smoothies and adding maca and spirulina in them. My hair loss stopped.

Just thought I would throw that in there. :) Good luck!

[Conscious Midwife]

Shave your head and start over.

Best way to no poo is with no hair and then the new hair that grows in easily adapts to your new regimen.

Increase your water intake even in these colder months and enjoy an avocado and/or cashews daily.

I've always had very thick hair and when my raw is at it's best I can't even find my scalp:rolleyes:

[VeggieMel]

You might have more than one thing going on. I'd suggest you cover all your bases. If you're having any dandruff or scalp irritation, you might have candida. It's not raw or natural, but the shampoo Nizoral will take care of it. B12 deficiency will also cause hair loss, so you can get a good subligual supplement. MSM also helps the hair and nails. I know all of these things will help because I had the same issue with hair loss. It went on and on, and I'm still nursing my hair back to health with these things. They are working, thank god! (Oh, and Neem oil for the scalp also seems to help!)
I hope you're not overwhelmed with all these answers!

[Stina]

Shave your head and start over.

Best way to no poo is with no hair and then the new hair that grows in easily adapts to your new regimen.

Increase your water intake even in these colder months and enjoy an avocado and/or cashews daily.

I've always had very thick hair and when my raw is at it's best I can't even find my scalp:rolleyes:

Shave your head! LifeAGift's always there to jump in with handy tip! You're a nutcase and I love you!:D :p

[Stina]

Hi, Stina,

Can you spell out the HCL, please. I'd like clarification on exactly which hcl you are referring. I'm assuming it's Hydrochloric Acid, but I'd rather not assume, thanks. :)

Best,

Yes, but after being a supplement junky when I was working at a hfs, I now always use something natural as possible, which is why I mentioned the Swedish bitters, but, boy oh boy, will they make you gag!
Also, Victoria Boutenko talked about this dental appliance which is basically a ball you chew on to strengthen the oral bone structure. Chewing before a meal will activate stomach acids. It's one of those projects I want to undertake that I haven't got around to. Chew ball, suck on GS.

[paulieGB]

Thanks guys/girls.

Ive just started taking a B12 supplement well a multi actually, and also my mum gave me some biotin today and i have been reading about it and it sounds like it does the same job as MsM so thats cool :) hopefully that will help or stop my hair from falling out, or maybe encourage some regrowth.

I was using nizoral a while back and it did stop the iritation to begin with but it did leave my hair feeling and looking very weak and dry, and the iritation came back after a couple of weeks.

I havent washed my hair ( i do water washes ) since before christmas and i do think this has helped a little with the iritation and my hair does look better now.
I also read that brushing the hair and scalp every day for at least a few minuites increases the circulation of the scalp and encourages regrowth and i have read lots of sucess stories from men and women, so i have been brushing my hair/scalp since the new year but i havent in the last week because i do lose ALOT of hair when i brush and my hair looks thinner now since the brushing so im having a break from that.
when my scalp is iritable ( which is most of the time ) thats when i am losing hair, and whan i have brushed my hair when my scalp has been itchy thats when i have lost the most hair.
So i really want my scalp to calm down now before i start brushing again.

Im convinced my scalp is in poor condition because i have candida, so if i can cure this and my scalp calms down i think i will be fine and my hair will start regrowing.
Im just not sure whether i should be eating low fat 10% or less and loads of fruit and green smoothies, or, to stop all the fruit and try to live on greens vegtables and fats, im really not sure if i could cope with this i did try a day of seeds and greens salads and light vegtables last week and in the evening of that day i got very hot almost sweaty and didnt feel at all good so i ate some fruit that night and ate loads of fruit the next day.

Thanks for the info and answers everyone :)

Take care, Paulie

[Care4raw]

Hi Paulie,

It great to hear you made progress with this!
What i did may not be the same path for you, although it is likely we have something similiar.

What got me better was a few things. My smart acupuncturist diagnosed the fungus very specifically, (he was known for being very good diagnostically and thats why i went to him).It was similar to candida and I often just lump it together as that myself. He gave me many supplements such as copper , zinc, and so many ..then they rotated and I remember thinking i should write this down but I never kept track. I was overwhelmed by all of it i guess. He gave me acupuncture treatments and a list of foods to keep away from..again I did not keep the list but it was a similar protocol for Candida, I suppose they were mold or fungus producing.

I cut my hair really short. It was weird , perhaps it was the weight of my hair lessening, but the fall out pretty much stopped then, and the hair shafts got stronger.

I did try the shampoo recc, like you it helped with the scalp then got worse. I t did eventually clear ( I also cleared up a ear crust , sorry gross, thing that I think was an extension of all of this). Now i sometimes get red around the scalp and I rotate some of the dermitistis shampoos..there could still be a tendency towards fungus on the scalp, but its rare now.

I was raw vegan and eating lots of fruits and went over board I am sure.

I stopped eating fruit all together to try to eradicate all of this. Even my accupt did not think that was necc. I was adviced to start eating meat and i did. I think on reflection if my practitioner came from this raw 'school of thought' he could have upped my protein in a diff way..I was trying but finally I caved.

I have returned to a raw vegan diet and have been really vigilante (at first ) about over doing bananas and super sweet fruits. I have really increased them but i am still discovering what feels right. i think i personally get a little itchy arounfd my ankles when i over do bananas ..in the past that would have turned into something else.

I am still on my journey..keeping my hair!I really love my hair, as i am sure you do too. I think there's some great advice here too. Smart of you to reach out!

I do think the aiding the digestive juices is it HSM(?) would be good and I try to eat cucumbers alot.. a Allissa thing that i heard she does daily to keep her hair gorgeous, as well as her nails!

Please keep us posted. You can always priv email me or post here. We are all cheering for you!

[paulieGB]

Thank you care4raw, great post :)

I never new cucumbers were good for your hair and nails, ill have to start eating those, infact ive been thinking about eating a large veggie salad in the evening as my last meal so ill make sure i add plenty of cucumber to it.

Thanks again,
Paulie.

[Conscious Midwife]

Shave your head! LifeAGift's always there to jump in with handy tip! You're a nutcase and I love you!:D :p


Hey I love you too and that's why I'm always keepign it real;) !!!

[Carlsbad]

Just wanted to post an update. It's definitely detox, because I slipped last week and ate cooked, and boom, no hair came out in the shower the next morning. And trust me, there weren't any nutrients in what I ate when I slipped, so it's not a deficiency! I'm back to 100% and my hair is falling out again, but I'm okay with it now that I know it's detox. I'm committed to staying 100% through Easter (I've never made it a full month before), and I'm confident I'll move beyond the detox phase with my hair eventually.

I'll keep you posted!