Hello doctor, I am 21 years old, and I have been struggling all my life with how to manage my hair and maintain a healthy hair texture. My hair used to be curly when I was younger but then became wavy over time and for the most part, it is wavy (I feel like it would be slightly more curled if it was healthy). I used to have a lot of insecurities with my hair growing up. To the point where I cry about it sometimes even now. It is always very dry and tangly and I used to straighten my hair a lot to be able to manage it. But I stopped straightening my hair over two years ago due to damage. I feel like hair products I use (like leave-in conditioners and sprays) only help my hair for a few weeks to a month, it almost seems like my hair gets used to it and adapts to fight me back. I have used hair masks like olive oil and coconut oil but not consistently. Lately, I only wash my hair once a week (it takes a lot for my hair to get oily, and I only wash it more than that if I am outside where there is a lot of dust or dirt). My diet is a lot of protein and carbohydrates (I workout 5 to 6 days a week) but very little greens (I am trying to work on eating that more). When I wash my hair once a week, I also lose a lot of hair, like 2 to 3 clumps, I do not have bald spots or anything, but I do get worried about my hair. I feel overall my hair is very fine, dry, and flat. It sits flat on top of my head with no body and it bothers me very much. I hate when other girls complain about their hair saying it is dead and they need a haircut, when their hair is way better than mine. I am going to have my hair for the rest of my life, I just want to know how to take good care of it and keep it healthy and put the right products so that I can feel happy, healthy, and confident.
Hi. I think your problem is very common and you should not feel so let down. Please get your blood tests for thyroid and iron profile. I hope your cycles are normal. If not then please get yourself checked from a gynecologist and follow a healthy diet like drinking lots of water. Eat lots of vegetables like broccoli and fruits like avocado. Please apply fresh aloe vera gel on the damaged root tips once or twice a week. Make a paste consisting of yogurt, almond oil, and vitamin E capsule and apply once or twice a week. Do not use any sulfate-based shampoo and use good serum oils on your root tips. Keep doing this and you will get results soon. Apart from that, wash your hair twice a week a least.