Many of you may or may not know that i'm a hairfanatic! Not in the usual sense, but a serious, can tell you the chemical breakdown and properties of hair and all type hairfanatic! I had the surgery on Thursday, December 20, 2012, and because I am such the hair fanatic I am, this was the one downfall that almost turned me away from this awesomeness I'm experiencing. With that said, I did tons of research on different supplements and their properties and have figured out how to keep our hair after WLS. I'm almost 5 months post op, have followed the below regimen to a tee, and have about 2 new inches of hair growth. No thinning and no shedding at all.
Before I begin, please visit my hair blog thehairyfairy.blogspot.com for more in depth info, but here's the skinny on how hair works!
Understanding You Hair
:
Hair grows about 1/2 in per month. In order to keep and maintain hair, one must do things: Increase growth rate and prevent shedding. The hair strands in your head are in 1 of 3 phases at all times: the Anagen phase is the growth phase. Most hairs are in this stage. Short hair usually results from short Anagen phases. The Catogen phase follows this stage and its sort of the transitioning phase that prepares the hair follicle to shrink and allows the hair strand to enter resting phase. Finally you have the telogen phase which is the resting stage where no hair grows at all and the old strand is pushed out and the new strand re-enters the anaogen phase. This is important because the tendency for hair to be in each of these stages influences how long the hair will actually be able to grow before it sheds and starts a new cycle. With pregnancy, many women experience hair growth because all hairs kick into the anagen phase and hair is growing continually for the duration of pregnancy. Protein is what keeps this cycle going. For WLS patients, many experience hair loss because the reduction in protein slows this cycle and much of the hair is kicked into the Telogen (shedding) phase. Fortunately for us, the solution awaits...
MSM
First and foremost everyone should add some form of MSM (METHYLSULFONYLMETHANE) into their diets after weight loss surgery. You can google it and find a wealth of health benefits, but in short it's a sulfur compound that our body needs but can only take in from food sources. Unfortunately because of the way food is processed much of the sulfur contained in it is broken down so we don't get the proper amount we need. MSM has been used to treat joint and arthritis pain, alergies, digestive disorders, etc. But it is also the miracle beauty drug as it helps to synthesize Proteins in the hair skin and nails. In hair particularly, it increases the anagen phase of hair allowing hair to grow longer and for a longer period of time. A truly great hair supplement will have some amount of msm in it for this reason. MSM helps us WLS patients to keep our hair strands in that growth phase and out of that dreaded shedding phase.
Collagen
Collagen is also another key item we should all have in our diets. Collagen increases skin elasticity, smoothes away scars, and regenerates hair and nails. Collagen makes up 25% of the body's protein and is used particularly for hair loss because it supports the body's hair building protein. It is also one of those beauty drugs that targets many of the problems associated with WLS including hair loss, saggin skin, and protein loss. If your looking for something to help hair growth and keep your skin in snap-back mode, this product will not let you down!
Garlic Oil
I cannot stress enough, garlic oil is the key to our problem! Garlic oil is great for a healthy heart, but unknown to many, is the number one natural product people with alopecia use to combat hair loss. Garlic oil prevents shedding. GARLIC OIL PREVENTS SHEDDING. Every product I own contains garlic - shampoo, conditioner, and hot oil treatments. The garlic extracts increases the blood flow in the scalp, thus allowing more oxygen to circulate the proper amount of nutrients to the hair follicle. Msm and garlic working together allows for hair to grow longer and stronger without shedding. Use garlic oil as a supplement and topically. There are great odorless garlic supplements and I take about 4000mcg daily and you would never know it! I also give myself garlic hot oil treatments monthly, and wash my hair bi weekly with garlic shampoo and conditioner.
Biotin
For obvious reasons, Biotin should be included. Everyone has a wealth of information on Biotin, but why many people fail using Biotin is because they use it as a standalone. Biotin works well with other supplements as far as growing the hair, but alone, they do little to keep hair from coming out. Hair will grow, but the strands due to shed will shed. Every hair supplement you buy if its worth anything will contain Biotin and MSM. But they are best used as stand alone products together because the dosage of each is so much higher.
I'm not the expert.. don't get me wrong. This is my approach to combatting hair loss during this incredible journey, and thus far, it has worked! If anyone is interested in specific brands for the items above or regimens, PM me. I'd be happy to help. I love hair and would do anything to help my fellow WLS friends keep theirs too!
