I'm a woman and i'm going bald! Help!

[mizmoo]

I was doing a detox this january/february when suddenly my hair started to fall out. It's a localised patch on the crown of my head and its now about the size of a coffee cup.

I am probably about 70 percent raw, athletic, have the occasional glass of wine. So when i say detox I was eating all raw and cutting out any alcohol. I also started training in earnest for a half marathon.

At first the doctor thought it was fungal infection, and I have to admit I was so vain about loosing my hair I took the anti myotics he gave me. However they haven't helped. Now I'm having thyroid tests.

If its positive for thyroid problems I don't want to go on drugs for the rest of my life. If it's negative the doctor said it could be stress, even though I'm not stressed right now (although over Christmas I was looking after a friend who had cancer but is now on the mend). This all started about 3 weeks ago.

Has anyone any experience of this? Has being completely raw helped? It's coming out in clumps now, there are no folicles on the end. I have some stubble but I don't think it's regrowth, more like where the hair snapped.

[kaybee]

cant help with this but if you come back positive for hypothyroid, check out ryan drums site (and ignore anything on it thats non-vegan). bladderwrack seaweed may be an alternative. seems they are finding thyroid hormone precursors that naturally occur in certain types of seaweed.

[drolemil]

Here's a little genetic snip-it about hair loss:

One classic example of a sex influenced trait is pattern baldness in humans (sometimes called “male pattern baldness,” though the condition isn’t restricted to males). This gene has two alleles, “bald” and “non-bald.” The behaviors of the products of these genes are highly influenced by the hormones in the individual, particularly by the hormone testosterone. In the presence of high levels of testosterone, the baldness allele has a very powerful influence. In the presence of low levels of testosterone, this allele is quite ineffectual. All humans have testosterone, but males have much higher levels of this hormone than females do. The result is that in males, the baldness allele behaves like a dominant allele, while in females it behaves like a recessive allele. As in all cases, dominance only matters in the heterozygote, so this means that heterozygous males will experience hair loss and heterozygous females will not. Even homozygous females may experience no more than a thinning of their hair, but many develop bald spots or have receding hairlines.

So, your hair loss may be naturally genetically occurring by a very rare chance of obtaining exclusively two "bald" genetic traits (homozygous recessive alleles), instead of getting two "not-bald" traits or one of each (homozygous dominant & heterozygous). I'm not sure if raw can do anything about this or not, but it's all I know on the subject. Good luck!

[Thick]

I've read that the sodium laurel sulphate in regular shampoo contributes greatly to baldness. I'm so sorry this is happening to you=( It may be true that people judge you first from your appearance, but the gentleness of your demeanor and smile on your face is noticed much, much more than your hair--by any one who is cool enough to talk to, anyway=)

I also remember reading awhile back that green smoothies caused some people to regrow hair they had lost in the past 5 years, as well as return any grey hair in that time period back to colored.

Why not try 100% raw this month and see if it makes a difference? Join us over on the challenge thread!=)

[Evie]

I am losing hair as well. But, I am not high raw at the moment. I too would love advise in this area. As a women, I am not thrilled about my rapidly thinning hair.

[mizmoo]

Well I came back negative for thyroid, negative for hormone imbalances. I tried a topical steroid cream, that didn't work. The only other option western medicine can offer me is steroid tablets (NO WAY) or cortisoid injections.

Of course they have no idea what is causing this. So no Doctor. We are not going to just 'see what happens' when you pump me full of dodgy chemicals.

The hair loss is obviously symptomatic of something else going on in my body.

I've been to see a chinese acupuncturist who has told me that because the hairloss is directly on the crown of my head it is related to liver and kidney function. This stands to reason. My father died of liver disease and my blood work from the doctor recently showed that, although in normal parametres, my liver function was weak.

Also, after reading Brendan Braziers book, it would appear that some of my diet is way too acidic. I suspect my PH balance is out. I read that if your body is too acidic, it's very taxing on your kidneys too and causes stress.

So i'm starting the month challenge on April 4th (I have a lot of travelling to do in between then so it will be hard to start on the 1st). I'm rubbing ginger NOT steroids on my head (to stimulate the nerves and encourage growth) going to regular massage and acupunture sessions and learning how to cope better with life's stresses.

And I'll be setting up a blog to chart my progress... watch this space!

[Marin Mom]

I was losing quite a bit of hair at an alarming rate having been very stressed for the last few months. Luckily my hair was very thick to begin with. It also seemed that it was growing very slowly since going raw. What has helped immensly the last month or so is fresh nettle. I have it as a tea (I dry it myself) or in my smoothies (don't worry no sting) daily and I noticed a definate growth spurt in my hair once again. Don't know if it will help in your case but wanted to pass it on.

Best of luck, must be so distressing to go through this.

[mizmoo]

Wow thanks I will certainly try it! The patch is now the size of a small orange and growing, and to top it all i broke my wrist so i can't even hide it. If it keeps growing I'm going to shave it all off. I'd rather take control than sit moping about hair going down the plug hole!

[rawmiss]

This tells how crash dieting (which you might have done while detoxing) will cause your hair to fall out temporarily.

http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip943.htm

[CathyA.]

Cabbage juice is said to help with baldness. Good for the tummy and tastes good too.

[Azaria]

Have you looked into alopecia? I know virtually nothing about it, only that I have a friend who has it and her hair began to come out in clumps, like yours, which I *think* is a common finding with alopecia?

[Rawcstacy]

Well I came back negative for thyroid, negative for hormone imbalances.

The hair loss is obviously symptomatic of something else going on in my body.

Almost EVERYBODY is deficient in Iodine and this will not clearly show up in hormone/thyroid tests for multiple reasons. It will show up however on an Iodine loading test. I would get on Lugol's solution ASAP, even before you're tested. Iodine DOES affect hair growth.
Garlic cut open is something else you can rub in you scalp at a different time then you rub in the ginger. Keep up the green smoothies. Hope this info helps.

[RawPaw]

I've been reversing hairloss by doing scalp exercises and minimizing stress by lowering my blood pressure and hypertension by way of water fasting.

Scalp exercises facilitates blood flow. You do this by flexing your scalp back and forth from the back of your head near your ears to the front of your forehead until you feel a burning sensation like you do when you lift weights. You can achieve this faster if you bend your head down. Do that about 10 minutes several times a day. Or just do it when you feel like it.

Vitamin A is also helpful, but usually takes a month to kick in.

Hair loss can also be a sign of detox whereby healthier hair is pushing out sickly hair.