So this Lupus thing, not only did my lupus attack my joints, muscles and organs, it has to attack my hair too? Okay, so for some it may not seem like a big deal but to someone who has been experiencing changes with hair may think differently.

Lupus can cause the texture of hair to change and sometimes even fall out. My first experience with hair loss was before I was actually diagnosed with SLE. I started to see certain spots on my head that were balding. It was weird. Round spots of different parts of my head. A friend and I were getting ready to leave for a night out when she noticed it too. I didn't know what to think. At the time, I was trying not to think about it and never looked into the reason why it happened because not too long after that night, my hair seemed to grow back to normal. My hair has always been thin and soft but when layered, looks like I have more hair. I've had many compliments on it and was even asked to be in a hair show back in my 20's. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures if my hair at its absolute worst (when I was planning my wedding) but I did, however, take a picture of my hair last year (2012) when my hair started to thin again. It was during a very stressful time at work.


Forward to 2007. I was 32 years old when I was diagnosed. I tested out a few medications to control my lupus. The first couple of medications didn't work so well and I realized Prednisone seemed to be the only medication to take my pain away. Some of the side effects were pretty tricky but manageable. But from advice from my doctor, I started trying Methotrexate. I only knew one other person that had been on that medication before and it worked well for her with no side effects. Of course for me, it made my hair very dry and even thinner...to the point where I started seeing bunches of hair in the sink when I would brush it. I was in the middle of planning my wedding. For my wedding day, my dear hairdresser friend helped me out and suggested putting extensions in my hair.Well, it worked and I was able to hide the thinness of my original hair. Luckily soon after I stopped taking Methotrexate (2 years later), my hair started to grow back. But in the meantime, I needed to find out how I could help make my thin hair look thicker.

I happened to try out a new hairdresser in my area. When I told her of my situation, she suggested a bottle of hair fibers that you could sprinkle on your hair. Not sure how many brands of this stuff is out there but the one I used is called XFusion Keratin Hair Fibers. Wow did that make a difference in how my hair looked!!!! And they didn't "sprinkle" off when your hair moved.

By networking, I also found out about vitamin to help hair and nails grow thicker and stronger. It's called Biotin. I've been taking it for years now and and its helped tremendously! Please keep in mind, I have heard that different brands can give different results but I personally haven't had a problem. Plus, I also talked to my rheumatologist before I started taking this.

One last thing that helped was\is keeping my hair moisturized. I always felt my hair was oily but usually starting the day after I washed it. My current hairdresser recently informed me that it was because my hair was dry and the drier the hair, the more oily it is. To battle that, I needed more oil in my hair. Weird huh? She had recommended a product called Mythic Oil. I've tried it a couple of times but it seems to be working so far.

I never thought this information would be helpful to anyone until a friend told me about her mother who was battling cancer and other health issues. Though she never had to undergo chemo, she still lost a significant amount of hair and decided to try what I had tried. These seemed to have worked for her to this day. Be mindful though that something that works for one person may not work for others.

Hair loss can be such a traumatic thing for people. There are a lot of people who do not realize that there are products out there that could help with dealing with it. I really hope these suggestions could help others who are dealing with hair loss.
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