My friend responded after few days and shared the suggestion from dermatologist. He said the main cause for this condition is stress and it is reversible. Taking steroid injections may give temporary good response but those hair roots will be very weak, it will fall off soon after and it will also stop natural regrowth of hair. He suggested to play wait game for few months, reduce stress and look for natural regrowth.
I was furious as my local primary care doctor didn’t warn me about any of this. She never had a conversation to explain the choices and pros/cons of each choice. All she said in a very confident tone was just get the injections and I will be fine. What if I didn’t reach out for a second opinion? What if I had not discussed this with my brother and he has not warned me about steroids? What if I blindly trusted her? Which I did and already booked my consultation appointment with local dermatologist. I would have ended up taking those painful scalp injections for rest of my life giving up on the opportunity for a natural longterm remedy.
There were other recommendations by the Indian dermatologist like topical cream to ease any itching. Rogaine was another reco by my old primary care doctor but I have heard this also doesn’t help with permanent regrowth, you have to use it for rest of your life, otherwise those thin hair will fall off soon. She at lease explained it to me. I have switched back my primary care to the doctor in my old neighborhood after this incident.
I went back to my self search in Internet and found about rice water. It is a natural remedy with no side effects so no harm in trying. I followed this remedy religiously for next few months. There are different ways to follow this. I tried rice cooked kanji but ended up with high fever for next few days as my body couldn’t take that coldness. Some also soak rice water with warm wrapped towel for hours and then wash but I didn’t have that much luxury of time. So, all I did was soak washed rice for 48-72 hours, then use it when I wash hair next time. Shampoo my hair, wash it, then wash again with rice water, let it soak for 5-10 mins while staying in shower and then gently rinse it off, don’t use any conditioner. I kept reminder in my phone to soak rice as this was a new routine.
I don’t know if it was a natural reversal or this remedy worked but I saw baby hairs after 2 months. Adi is the one who took pictures time to time. I had few close friends who constantly supported me through this process and I was happy to share progress with them. Meanwhile, few more new small spots showed up but in next six months hair grew back in all spots.
Very recently, I also started using homemade onion infused coconut oil to massage my hair the night before I wash my hair. Hair fall was terrible for past decade and my forehead already has sparse hair but the complete bald spot threw me off. It took a while and lot of patience to accept it. I hope this regrowth is to stay but who knows? I may end up in same condition again.
However, What I know for sure is I am not going for those steroid scalp injections. Let it either reverse naturally or not. I don’t really care anymore. I have come to accept it and move on! There is much more to focus in life. This could possibly be one of the main reason why I was very focused on react vs respond, stay positive, get less irritated, learn to accept, let it go et all.. It’s all in our own mind!
This journey and experience has taught me much more than just hair re-growth. I have never been a person to judge someone by their hair and skin as I have personally been through a fair share of judgement by skin color all through my life. This journey has only deepened my belief, to look at the beauty of a character and not their appearance.
#pandemic-tales
Between my littles and me 