Watch my YouTube video (HERE) on that include videos of before and after my hair transformation!
As a little girl, I had Very thick hair. It was dark, fine strands but I had a lot of it! Both my mother and father have very thick hair. I want to include that information because genetics does play a role in our hair. I had more hair compared to some of my siblings, just to note that we all are still unique. My hair continued to be full and healthy up until the age of 20/21….
I had been experiencing an unusual amount of stress, living an extremely hectic lifestyle, which resulted in numerous negative side effects. The symptom we are talking about today, is hair loss. It was this concern that sent me (back) to the doctor to request more blood work. After discovering my hormones were depleted...I was basically in a state of menopause at the age of 21.
It was recommended that I take hormone replacement therapy. HRT, also known as menopausal hormone therapy which is a form of a hormone protocol that is used to treat conditions associated with female menopause. I chose to do a bioidentical hormone compound cream. This is the most natural treatment of HRT. Using this prescription did slow my hair from falling out but be aware it is not a solution, just a bandaid when treating this problem.
I was also under the care of a functional medicine doctor who agreed with my personal goal of weaning myself off from HRT as my body began to heal. In addition to the hormone therapy, I was taking other natural supplements to support my adrenals, thyroid, and balance my hormone levels. I am thankful for this prescription but as I mentioned, it was just the beginning of moving in the right direction, but not my solution. These products were helpful in keeping my hair from falling out and ceased many other symptoms, but I knew I needed a better foundation for optimum health.
After marriage, I was living a much slower lifestyle. I had moved hundreds of miles away from my family and friends, which was a challenging adjustment on it's own. From being extremely busy (which I always saw as “productive”) to an empty calendar and working from home was a hard transition. I can see now God brought me “away” from my old ways to heal. I felt confident to go off my HRT prescription at the end of 2018 and discovered plant based eating January 2019!
With this approach of a whole foods plant based diet, I was now consuming an abundance of vitamins and minerals (from lots of fruit, starchy and non starchy veggies, leafy greens, and organic grains etc.) The abundance comes naturally as it is important to get in enough calories with whole foods. Not consuming enough calories can run your adrenals down and you will eventually start to experience negative side effects (such as hair loss, etc).
When my journey to hair healing really began is when I had been living in Maryland for about 6 months (away from my family + friends), and could really see the thin frail ends of my hair (pictured/below). It was such a sad sight but I could also see the new growth, the healing hair. In late spring of 2018 decided to cut all the dead ends away and forgive the time where I neglected my health. Now was a time that I was “forced” to focus on no one but myself.
At the time of the major hair cut to a bob length, I was paleo, still eating lots of grass fed organic meat, the best quality eggs I could find, healthy fats, and low starch veggies. I felt okay eating this way but did an “experiment” going plant based to hopefully see a positive change for my diabetes health. I was very worried that going plant based would result in hair loss, maybe even mess with my hormones etc. But the opposite occurred, my hair grew faster, my skin bouncy, my face full. I feel amazing eating this way and the fear of not getting enough “protein” quickly diminished.
Becoming a certified holistic nutritionist gave me the education and confidence to ensure myself and others that we can get enough protein through plants. Along with plenty of carbs, fiber and healthy fats etc. Over a year later I’m still so happy with my healing! Note to say that eating some animal products is bad for your health, but getting enough fruits and vegetables is so important.
P.S. I want to include that I do still have grass fed butter on the rare occasion, enjoy eggs from my hens and on Thanksgiving I even eat some turkey! I share this because I want you to know that there are no rigid rules for me, I eat 98% whole food plant based but I’m intuitive to my body and what it wants.
I share some supplements, food sources and other products I (took &) take
to keep my hair growing healthy, fast, full, shiny, and long in this Youtube video here
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