As many of you may know around 3 years ago I began losing
weight after years of feeling unhappy and insecure in my skin. I can honestly
say that with my new lifestyle changes (hate the word ‘diet’) I feel healthier
and better than ever, however one negative effect of my rapid weight loss has
been hair loss and thinning. I have always had a head full of thick locks, even
in spite of years of bleaching and highlights, however my sudden weight change
has obviously given my body a major shock, or so the doctor tells me.
Now when I wash my hair I become quite alarmed at the amount
of hair clogging up my plug. Just ask any girl their hair is their comfort
blanket, having a bad hair day can genuinely affect your mood. So I must admit,
without sounding too superficial that the thinning of my hair has really been
getting me down. I have become really insecure about it, and shove it up in
donut in an effort to hide my limp locks almost all the time.
I can honestly say I have tried almost everything from diet
to supplements, although I must admit I am not the most patient and probably
should have given most of the vitamins longer periods to kick in. However after
a new lease of determination I have finally decided to give myself a challenge
to restore my thick mane. I am in no way delusional, I know my hair will not
suddenly grow back overnight but I’m giving myself a longer time period to see
if the challenge can maybe even prevent the amount of hair that falls.
So let’s begin with the supplements, in the past I have
tried Florisenne, a food supplement developed to maximise hair growth. I never
noticed any difference in the growth or loss, and although I probably gave up
too early on the product, I lost faith in its claims. However after some serious
internet research (thanks Google), I have taken note of the names that
constantly popped up.
Phillip Kingsley
PK4Hair Soya Protein Capsules (£18.40 feelunique.com)
These are quite pricey but I am honestly at the point where
money is no object, plus the positive reviews have given me that extra nudge to
go ahead and make the purchase. These supplements claim that combined with a
healthy hair diet they will ‘provide
your hair with the essential building blocks for beautiful, healthy locks’.
These are a holistic vegetarian protein capsules with gelatine-based proteins
derived from cattle. With a dosage of 2 capsules to be taken twice daily, I
must admit the large capsule size is quite a put off and although I’m good at
remembering first thing in the morning, at night I often am so tired I forget.
However it does state that to see the most of the improvement, it is essential
to take for 4 months.
Silica Complex High
Strength 120 capsules (Holland and Barrett, £12.35, on sale for half price at
£6.17)
These
supplements are produced to help ‘maintain healthy hair, skin and nails’, they
contain calcium, magnesium, zinc, betaine hydrochloride, boron and horsetail
(don’t worry it’s a weed, not real horse hair). A plus is the added Calcium and magnesium that these give my
diet, something which I might be lacking, these are essential for the
maintenance of bone health. These should be taken once a day.
Biotin 100 capsules
(Holland and Barratt, £4.69)
These little
tablets claim to ‘support the maintenance of normal skin, hair and mucus
membranes’. Natural food sources of biotin are found in pulses, nuts and fish,
where the Biotin contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism. I am
slightly wary of these ones though, while many reviews have claimed that they
have made a noticeable effort in hair growth many have claimed spots outbreaks
and an increased appetite. However despite this I’m still eager to give them a
go.
Like I said
before I can be quite blasé with my vitamin consumption, where I can take them
daily for months at a time, good as gold then fall off the wagon and end up
consuming them every other day or week! But I’m determined to keep up with my
challenge, I only pray
that they don’t have some adverse reaction on me and make me break out in huge
boils all over my face. I already take a daily dose of fish oils and with these
new additions you’ll probably hear me rattling before you see me. My diet is
pretty well balanced and healthy (except from those hung-over Sundays) anyway
but I’m also going to slightly up my protein and healthy fats (avocados, oily
fish and nuts) and see if this brings me any gains.
With
my plans set out to nourish from within, I set out to look for products that
would help directly strength my locks. I’m quite fussy when it comes to hair
products, as many cheap high street brands turn my fine hair to fluff. I decided
on a product that I have had my eye on for quite some time, the Lee Stafford
hair growth collection, however I’m quite unsure as I often think these chemist
salon ‘purse friendly’ products don’t live up to their slightly higher
end prices. However after seeing it appearing on many different blogs, I
finally took the plunge when it was on offer in boots at 3 for £12, which is
quite a saving considering the hair growth treatment is priced at £7.99 alone.
As well as the treatment I picked up the shampoo and conditioner both priced at
£6.99. Despite these products, I’ve also been advised to keep my hair washing
to a minimum instead of constantly stripping away my natural oils, while
avoiding heated styling at all costs.
So
here we go, it’s not a huge ‘challenge’, but hopefully these additions help a
little, or a lot and I can finally bin the beloved/hated donut. I will follow
up with a review of all products a later date to let you know how I got on.
Do you have
any hair growth tips? Which supplements do you take? Do you notice a difference
in yourself when you do?
