How my hair used to look like in its glory days…
Once upon a time, just before I hit my sweet 16, I used to have super thick, shiny and healthy-looking hair.
My hair was always just below shoulder length, or above shoulders, but the length is not the issue here.
I used to have super healthy hair without split ends, dry scalp, or any signs of thinning.
BONUS: Download your FREE copy of my 1 Week Hair Growth Planner here.
My hair used to be so thick that, when i first came across a straightener about 10 years ago (I’m only 25), it would take me at least 1 and a half hour to finish straightening my hair.
I used to hate the fact that it was so thick, and used to get those haircuts where they kind of shred off the inner back part of the hair to make it appear thinner on the bottom. It was sort of a Japanese inspired haircut that I used to fancy back then.
The current state of my hair just about 1 week ago this August 2016.
Looks so long and lovely doesn’t it?
NO.
It’s dead. It’s thinning at a rapid speed, with hundreds of split ends working their way all the way up. Anything and everything that comes to contact with my hair, will have at least a few strands of hairs on it. In the shower, sleeping, sitting on the sofa, and no matter what i’m doing, I’m losing a whole bunch of hair EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Have a closer look at my bottom half…
And now have a look at my scalp and my edges…
And now look at a small sample of the hair that just fell when i tried combing my hair today.
Where do you think it’s heading if I continue to lose my hair at this rate, every single day?
A huge bald spot and with the bits and bobs of hairs that are running for their survival!
Oh gosh, i don’t even want to imagine that. Just don’t.
Which is why I’m now running around like a headless chicken researching about ways to recover my hair back to its once upon a time state. I don’t want long hair with thinning edges, bald spots, and split ends.
I want healthy, thick and shiny long hair.
Now before I get started on my hair recovery and growth journey though, I want to give you all the list of things that caused my hair loss, thinning spots and split ends.
These are the 10 things that caused my hair loss, thinning spots and split ends.
NO 1: Heat abuse, since the age of 15!
I discovered straighteners, curlers and hairdryers when i was 15 years old. I was too caught up in the high school fashionista mode back then and spent hours straightening and curling my hair every single day, for several years.
I started calming down by the age of 20, but most damage had already been done by that time.
NO 2: Hair dyes, highlights and Permanent straightening process.
At around 16, was when I first started dying my hair using store bought Loreal hair dyes. I also got highlights and permanent straightening process done when i was 18. That was when my hair REALLY started coming thin and fragile.
The lady who did my highlights left the bleach or whatever in my hair for too long that, at some point, it started giving me a serious burning sensation. She then apologised and moved onto the next step immediately, but I instantly knew the damage had been done.
NO 3: I rarely ever comb my hair, till this day.
There are ladies who comb their hair every day, at least once, and then there’s me. I would probably comb it once or twice a month when I need to detangle my hair. But that’s because my hair never really looks like it needs to be combed, it doesn’t coil into locks or anything like that either. It stays exactly how a normal brushed hair would look like. So i never really felt the need to comb my hair.
This often lead me to struggle far too much when trying to detangle my hair, causing my hair to fall off at a faster rate. Also, i have been SERIOUSLY missing out on the scalp blood circulation boost provided by regular combing.
NO 4: Squeezing out the shampoo directly all over my scalp, sometimes 2 or more times.
I have learned that applying the shampoo directly onto your scalp is not a good for your hair in the long run. Many store bought shampoos have so many unwanted harsh chemicals that completely strip out the natural oils in your scalp, making it prone to dandruff and hair loss.
NO 5: YEARS & YEARS of stress accumulation.
Life and its lemons have played a huge role in my health and well being, for the past 10 years.
Research shows that stress and hair loss are definitely related. There are 2 main types of hair loss caused by stress, one is Alopecia areata and the other is Telogen effluvium.
NO 6: Lack of adequate sleep.
According to research, during sleep is when your body repairs and regenerates the bodily functions, hormones etc. I now work night shifts mostly, for the past 5+ months, which has also been playing a huge role in my hair loss.
Unfortunately, my circumstances wouldn’t allow me to quit my night shift job at the moment, but I’m hoping to sort that out soon.
NO 7: Rarely drinking water.
For years, i used to pass DAYS on just coffee, juices and maybe a cup of water if i can squeeze it in. Water was a priority in my head, but it just wasn’t happening at all.
Years of accumulated dehydration, has also played a big role in making my hair dry and brittle.
NO 8: Coffee addiction, for years.
I used to be a strong coffee addict in my early teen days. I used to literally drink at least 5-6 cups of coffee on average, every single day, for years! I gave it up about 2 years ago, but i know it did a lot of damage to my hair and my overall health.
Too much coffee can mess up the way vitamins and minerals are used up in your body, eventually affecting the things that promote hair growth.
NO 9: Never cutting my hair, for almost 4 years.
The last time i had a proper haircut was in 2012. I had a very short bob cut and after that, i just wanted to grow it long. It did grow long, as you can see on the first image on this post, but it also didn’t grow healthy.
Years of split ends and thin hair started working their way up, and caused me to lose hair at a rapid speed.
I’m about to chop off half of it and start a fresh hair growth journey soon.
NO 10: Lack of vitamins.
I wasn’t really eating a proper healthy diet packed with vitamins and nutrients, so i should have at least had some vitamin c supplements to support my hair growth.
Healthy diet combined with maybe 1 or 2 essential vitamin supplements, can really help recover from hair loss and promote healthy hair growth.
I’m about to chop off half of my long damaged hair and make a fresh new start on it. Lots of photo updates also coming up!
anxiously awaiting your follow up