The intent of this blog is to:
1. Provide an overview of my hair loss and growth journey
2. Track my progression (or regression) in my hair loss battle
3. Establish a side effect free, natural (preferably), easy to implement regimen that can be used by others to regrow their hair, or at the least maintain what they have
Hello there!
If you're reading this then you're probably struggling with hair loss just I have been for the past 12 years or so. It all started when I around 17. My hair just started falling out of my head like crazy and by the time I was 21 it was thin and brittle, I had the beginning of a bald spot on my crown and my hairline was receding. That's when I got Rogaine, Propecia and all sorts of other drug based topical treatments. THIS was the biggest mistake of my life.
After Propecia nearly ruined my life I dropped it, but kept on with the Rogaine and other topicals aimed at suppressing the dreaded DHT and Testosterone (I now try to do the opposite). They may have helped slow the progression a little bit, but I kept on losing. My scalp was in terrible condition and my hair would fall out in clumps all of the time. After still experiencing terrible side effects I eventually dropped it all and decided I would try my luck with all the "natural treatments" that supposedly don't work (according to many of the online forums and especially doctors everywhere).
I had lost a lot of hair at this point and continued to lose it once I dropped the drugs, but I have learned how to stop the process dead in its tracks and when I'm really motivated I can actually get my hair to start regrowing!
So what's the secret? It's simple... DIET.
There are tons of things that influence hair growth, but the number 1 treatment for me will always be diet I utilize some other natural treatments in maintaining my hair, but if my diet is poor everything is rendered ineffective almost immediately.
Below is a brief overview of some of the things that have become integral parts of my hair maintenance regimen.
1. Provide an overview of my hair loss and growth journey
2. Track my progression (or regression) in my hair loss battle
3. Establish a side effect free, natural (preferably), easy to implement regimen that can be used by others to regrow their hair, or at the least maintain what they have
Hello there!
If you're reading this then you're probably struggling with hair loss just I have been for the past 12 years or so. It all started when I around 17. My hair just started falling out of my head like crazy and by the time I was 21 it was thin and brittle, I had the beginning of a bald spot on my crown and my hairline was receding. That's when I got Rogaine, Propecia and all sorts of other drug based topical treatments. THIS was the biggest mistake of my life.
After Propecia nearly ruined my life I dropped it, but kept on with the Rogaine and other topicals aimed at suppressing the dreaded DHT and Testosterone (I now try to do the opposite). They may have helped slow the progression a little bit, but I kept on losing. My scalp was in terrible condition and my hair would fall out in clumps all of the time. After still experiencing terrible side effects I eventually dropped it all and decided I would try my luck with all the "natural treatments" that supposedly don't work (according to many of the online forums and especially doctors everywhere).
I had lost a lot of hair at this point and continued to lose it once I dropped the drugs, but I have learned how to stop the process dead in its tracks and when I'm really motivated I can actually get my hair to start regrowing!
So what's the secret? It's simple... DIET.
Not the "I want to lose some weight" type diet (although if you're overweight you'll probably slim down and put on some highly desirable muscle). A truly healthy diet can be used to treat the majority of ailments and it can be immensely effective for hair loss.
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" - Hippocrates
There are tons of things that influence hair growth, but the number 1 treatment for me will always be diet I utilize some other natural treatments in maintaining my hair, but if my diet is poor everything is rendered ineffective almost immediately.
Below is a brief overview of some of the things that have become integral parts of my hair maintenance regimen.
#1) First and foremost the aforementioned healthy diet. To me that means:
- The correct fats (Saturated from coconut oil and grass fed meats, high omega 3/low toxin fish like Alaskan Salmon, some monounsaturated fat from sources like Olive Oil, low polyunsaturated fats - especially omega 6)
- High quality animal proteins (Again, grass fed meats, low toxin fish)
- Carbohydrates at no more than 150 to 200 grams TOPS, and from mostly cooked veggies or fresh vegetable juices. No high starch foods, quality meats and good fats only (uncooked if possible, coconut oil)
- The correct fats (Saturated from coconut oil and grass fed meats, high omega 3/low toxin fish like Alaskan Salmon, some monounsaturated fat from sources like Olive Oil, low polyunsaturated fats - especially omega 6)
- High quality animal proteins (Again, grass fed meats, low toxin fish)
- Carbohydrates at no more than 150 to 200 grams TOPS, and from mostly cooked veggies or fresh vegetable juices. No high starch foods, quality meats and good fats only (uncooked if possible, coconut oil)
#2) Olive oil topically at night a few nights a week
#3) Infrared Sauna or some other means of intense sweating followed by an immediate shower (This is amazing! You can get a cheap, but very effective and collapsible/portable infrared sauna like the one I use here)
#4) Scalp Massage
#5) Low Level Laser Therapy (Laser Helmet) - This I am very inconsistent with and I never noticed any substantial results from it. It helps more as a a slight anti-inflammatory when I stray from my diet and my scalp is suffering.
I'll be checking in to break this down some more as there is literally SO MUCH you can do to better your scalp condition. However, I want to let everyone know that I'm going to b e experimenting with a 3 minute scalp massage EVERY DAY for the sake of science! I believe massage is very powerful in many areas of health and there is evidence that it can help with a balding scalp as well. I can vouch for its effectiveness in improving the condition and comfort of my scalp so I'm going to give it a go. Hopefully this can become the number one treatment in my regimen and even trump diet... I mean I'd like to be able to indulge every once in a while without losing all my hair over it : )
Thanks for reading! Check back for updates!
-Rob
#3) Infrared Sauna or some other means of intense sweating followed by an immediate shower (This is amazing! You can get a cheap, but very effective and collapsible/portable infrared sauna like the one I use here)
#4) Scalp Massage
#5) Low Level Laser Therapy (Laser Helmet) - This I am very inconsistent with and I never noticed any substantial results from it. It helps more as a a slight anti-inflammatory when I stray from my diet and my scalp is suffering.
I'll be checking in to break this down some more as there is literally SO MUCH you can do to better your scalp condition. However, I want to let everyone know that I'm going to b e experimenting with a 3 minute scalp massage EVERY DAY for the sake of science! I believe massage is very powerful in many areas of health and there is evidence that it can help with a balding scalp as well. I can vouch for its effectiveness in improving the condition and comfort of my scalp so I'm going to give it a go. Hopefully this can become the number one treatment in my regimen and even trump diet... I mean I'd like to be able to indulge every once in a while without losing all my hair over it : )
Thanks for reading! Check back for updates!
-Rob
