Tips for Hair Loss
Stories and resources for Covid-19 survivors struggling with hair loss
After interviewing Covid-19 survivors for several months, we began to hear a common experience with hair loss. The most extreme case we have seen so far is Fran, see her post below on the left. She told us, “Every time I got out of the shower, more clumps kept falling out of my hair. I thought I was going bald.” You can read more about Fran’s story here. But, she is not alone. We’ve talked to many Covid-19 survivors struggling with the same issue — even people who are way too young to be loosing their hair. The good news is when we followed up months later, many people are experiencing hair regrowth.
Here’s what we’ve heard from some Covid-19 survivors about their hair:
“Every time I got out of the shower, more clumps kept falling out of my hair. I thought I was going bald.”
"My hair started to fall out in massive chunks, so I had to shave it. I was never able to see my scalp before, but now my scalp is visible. In the morning sometimes and I'll think, ‘Is that dog hair, or is that my hair on my pillow?’”
“My hair was also falling off as if I had gone through chemotherapy.”
“My hair was down to my waist. It started falling out and became completely grey so my daughter dyed it the craziest color she could find in the store and my niece cut it halfway.”
The good news is many of the survivors we’ve talked to have started to experience hair regrowth after a few months. Here are some of the things they recommend.
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Bioton
According to Healthline, “Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin that’s a part of the vitamin B family. It’s also known as vitamin H. Your body needs biotin to help convert certain nutrients into energy. It also plays an important role in the health of your hair, skin, and nails… in one 2015 study, women with thinning hair were given an oral marine protein supplement (MPS) containing biotin and other ingredients, or a placebo pill (no active treatment) twice per day for 90 days. At the beginning and end of the study, digital images were taken of the affected areas on the scalp. Each participant’s hair was also washed, and any shed hairs were counted. The researcher found that women who took an MPS experienced a significant amount of hair growth in the areas affected by hair loss. They also had less shedding.”
Here’s some recommendations for Biotin supplements:
Prenatal vitamins
Prenatal vitamins are multivitamins that are specially formulated to meet the increased demand for micronutrients during pregnancy. They are packed with a slew of essential nutrients like folic acid, iron, calcium, vitamin D, and others — more than the average non-pregnant woman might need which is helpful if you’re depleted of this essential nutrients. But, be careful. It is possible to overdo it and it’s not necessarily a good idea to take high levels of vitamins you don’t need. However, if you’d like to check your vitamin levels — like B Vitamins, Folic Acid, and Vitamin D — you can do an easy at home test through everlywell.
Here’s some recommendations for prenatal vitamins:
Collagen
Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body and helps make up tendons, ligaments, and your skin. It is rich in amino acids that your body needs to build keratin, the protein that makes up hair. Collagen may act as an antioxidant that can fight free radicals that can cause damage to hair follicles, but research is limited. Since collagen protects the layer of skin that contains hair roots, it may help prevent age-related hair loss and thinning — but research on these effects is currently unavailable. You can add collagen to your diet through foods or supplements. Since it makes up the connective tissue of mammals, it’s found in the skins, bones, and muscles of chicken, beef, pork, and fish. For more information on how collagen may help improve your hair, checkout this article on Healthline.
Here’s some recommendations for collagen supplements:
Special Shampoos and Conditioners
“It's important to think about most shampoos like a car wash,” William Yates, MD, FACS, a surgeon and hair restoration expert in Chicago, tells WebMD Connect to Care. “You're only treating the exterior—the scalp. The root cause of the hair loss happens under the hood, under the scalp. So if you're suffering from genetic hair loss, shampoos are not the magic bullet.” At the same time, hair loss is often associated with scalp health so ensuring a healthy scalp will only help and will not hurt. For more information, checkout this article on WebMD.
Here’s some recommendations for shampoo and conditioners:
Thermadome EVO Laser Hair Growth Device
Definitely a more expensive option. Theradome’s inventor is a former NASA scientist, with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. Theradome is a cordless helmet that uses cool laser phototherapy to regrow hair with no LEDs for best results. Lasers have high energy density to stimulate hair follicles deep within the scalp that LEDs lack. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit skeptical of this one and the reviews are mixed.
PRP treatment
According to Healthline, “PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy for hair loss is a three-step medical treatment in which a person’s blood is drawn, processed, and then injected into the scalp. Some in the medical community think that PRP injections trigger natural hair growth and maintain it by increasing blood supply to the hair follicle and increasing the thickness of the hair shaft. Sometimes this approach is combined with other hair loss procedures or medications. There hasn’t been enough research to prove if PRP is an effective hair loss treatment. However, PRP therapy has been in use since the 1980s. It’s been used for problems such as healing injured tendons, ligaments, and muscles.”
This is an even more expensive option. Reports say treatment can cost from $500 - $2,500.
More information on PRP treatment:
Time
For many it has just taken time and patience for hair to grow back — and we do mean several months. But, there is hope! Checkout this video from Maya — a Covid-19 survivor who spent TK days on a ventilator and TK days in the hospital — as her hairdresser shows her the hair that’s growing back.
MORE RESEARCH ON THE LINK BETWEEN COVID-19 AND HAIR LOSS:
You’re Not Imagining It: The Pandemic Is Making Your Hair Fall Out
6-month consequences of COVID-19 in patients discharged from hospital: a cohort study
If you have anything else you’d like to recommend, feel free to email us at survivors@namuhmedia.com.