Tragically, a result of getting Covid a few weeks ago was the excessive loss of my hair. As in it started coming out in clumps and unfortunately has not stopped yet. I've heard from friends that it often lasts 3-6 months and in addition to losing hair it also changes the texture of your hair.
Excellent.
I think I've come to terms with it now but the first few weeks it was so stressful to take a shower and wonder if I had any hair left on my head. Something that has helped me overcome the initial shock of losing so much hair was doing everything in my power to nourish my scalp, stimulate hair growth, and create a plan for hopefully supporting my hair while it was going through such a dramatic change.
I've been making and working with a few different natural hair growth serums over the past couple weeks along with some sulfate-free shampoo designed to stimulate the scalp and support natural hair growth.
Hopefully you're not dealing with Covid hair loss, but if you are, hopefully some of these tips can help you as well.
Rice Water Hair Rinse
Remember when this was trending on TikTok last year? Well I tried it back then with great results (per the photo above) so I thought I would pull it out again and give it a try.
I wrote an entire blog post about the process of making a rice water hair rinse in this blog post but I'll also put the recipe down below. Rice water is good for adding proteins to your hair to make it grow stronger - always a good thing when you're losing a lot of hair.
It's an easy process but does take a bit of forethought.
How to Make Rice Water Hair Rinse:
- Get about 3/4 cup of rice
- Rinse off your rice in a strainer or colander
- Take 2 cups of filtered water and add it and your washed rice to a glass jar
- optional step: add a drop or two of essential oil to the rice + water for a nicer smelling rinse
- Screw the lid on the jar and leave it on your counter for 24 hours
- Transfer the liquid (rice water) into a squeeze bottle and throw the soaked rice away
- Keep the squeeze bottle of rice water in your refrigerator until you're ready to use it
Rosemary Hair Oil
Rosemary has long been known as a natural way to grow your hair and to effectively balance your scalp ph. It's safe for consistent use and an easy natural remedy to whip up if you feel your hair needs a little love.
I would recommend using fresh rosemary for this instead of a rosemary essential oil. Essentials oils are great, but they're a very concentrated version of the real thing. You don't want to dry your scalp out more by adding in too much essential oil.
How to Make Rosemary Oil:
- grab a couple stalks of rosemary *if you're buying them from the grocery store make sure they're organic. The last thing you want is to use chemical sprayed rosemary on your scalp.
- choose your favorite carrier oil. Coconut oil is often preferred because it's not as thick as others, but this time around I use a high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- Add your oil and washed rosemary to a saucepan and bring it to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Transfer it to a glass container and let it cool before adding it to your scalp.
Note: because you're using an oil on your hair, you're going to want to let it sit on your scalp for a good long while before washing it out. If I can spare the time I like to put in in the mid-afternoon before washing my hair in the evening.
You'll also likely need to double shampoo your hair to make the oil is fully removed from your hair.
If you don't want to deal with the oil, you can also do the same formula but using filtered water instead and spritz it onto your hair.
Aloe Vera, Lavender, Apple Cider Rinse
I've been rotating through my rosemary oil and this rinse on different days. Because this one is a water base it's not quite as intense as the rosemary oil, but I do feel like it's making a difference in how dry and itchy my scalp has been. I'll be curious to see how my hair does with both of these after the hair loss stops, but for now both feel very nourishing.
How to Make Aloe, Lavender, Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse
- take a spritz bottle and fill it about a quarter full of filtered water
- add in a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar
- add in a drop of lavender essential oil or add in a bit of dried lavender
- add in a tablespoon or two of fresh aloe vera
Shake everything up and spritz it on your entire scalp. I like to use this rinse about an hour before I wash my hair to make sure it has a chance to really soak into your scalp.
My Favorite Clean Haircare Line for Hair Loss/Growth
I've been using Vegamour products for about a year on and off and I really truly love the brand. Most of their products rank 1-2 in the EWG Skin Deep database - which is the best rankings you can get – and means the brand isn't greenwashing their customers with fancy marketing into thinking they're a clean brand.
I've used most of their products and when my hair wasn't falling out it definitely lived up to their marketing claims - in that within 90 days you'd be able to tell your hair was growing back and strong/healthy.
I'm about to put in another order for their shampoo and conditioner, and I'm going to try their hair oil as well for a more concentrate formulation on certain areas of my scalp.
You can always visit this blog post to learn more specific about the brand!
Consistent Dyson Use
The final note I'll leave you with is the use of heat on your hair and styling it. I've always wondered if the Dyson products lived up to the hype/marketing claims of being less damaging and I'm here to say that they do.
I've had and used my Dyson Supersonic blow dryer for a little over a year now and it gives me the best hair when I take the time to use it properly. The heat adjustment settings are a huge benefit when you're concerned about hair loss or hair growth and the technology really makes a huge difference.