Can you explain what ccca is? Thanks for sharing. We are in this together!Hi, I'm so glad that we have this forum. I joined a couple of years ago but I pretty much gave up on my hair. I have worn wigs for the past 2 years but now that's causing more damage. I stopped looking at this forum and I didn't take care of whatever hair I had but I really need to do something. But to answer the question. I suffered my first patch of hair loss on my left temple with a relaxer burn when I was a teenager. I have had central centrifugal alopecia now for 20 years. I have had the symptoms for 20 years and had 2 biopsies. However, my dermatologists told me I had a chronic folliculitis. Then I started seeing a new dermatologist who reviewed my previous biopsy results and my clinical picture and told me I had CCCA. It all made sense, I never understood why I had a chronic folliculitis with hair loss.
Can you explain what ccca is? Thanks for sharing. We are in this together!
@pelohello, I see you have anemia but take Calcium supplements. You may already know this, but...:
"Calcium makes it harder for your body to absorb either supplemental iron or iron from food, according to the National Institutes of Health. Calcium competes for absorption with iron in your intestines and reduces its uptake. This means that a multi-mineral supplement is likely not the best way of getting iron due to the negating effects of the calcium and some other minerals. Instead, eat iron-rich foods -- preferably without calcium-rich dairy products -- or take iron supplements separately from other minerals. Another rich source of calcium that can negatively impact iron absorption is antacid tablets, commonly taken for heartburn but also as an inexpensive calcium supplement to help prevent osteoporosis."
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/supplements-can-interfere-iron-absorption-9091.html
When I became anemic during pregnancy, my doc recommended taking the iron with a bit of orange juice, avoiding coffee or milk for an hour before or 2 hours after.
I've been experiencing shedding so I decided to wash every two weeks. That seemed to help but I'd still lose hair. Well, to my amazement, yesterday after I twisted my hair, the loss was minimal. It could be a combination of things or just one thing, not sure but since August, I began adding honey to my deep conditioners, use Aloe vera juice as a detangler and have been using a leave-in every night before re-twisting. Also, and I might need to mention this, after leaving henna on my hair for a couple of hours, my urine would turn black. During my last henna treatment on September 2nd, my urine did not turn black. This just proves what havoc relaxers have on not only your hair but also your scalp. Now that my scalp is completely healed, that might also be the reason for less shedding. Nevertheless, next week will be wash week, and if during my detangling I continue to loss less hair, then I know I'm on track to collar bone length by 2019.
Awwww thank you. Big hugs. I'm battling health and trying to finish school. I miss you all. I am back trying to grow out this head of hair. I really could use all the tips on health and hair loss I can find. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts @ilong.@JJamiah - glad to see you posting. I think about you from time to time and wonder how you're doing.
My excess shedding, as some of you may know, is from Graves disease and anemia. I haven't figured out how to stop the shedding but I have figured out how to manage the shedding so that it doesn't cause any tangles. I've been doing MHM two times a week and if I don't have time to do MHM, I will finger detangle at least 2x's a week. I used to be able to go once a week, sometimes every 2 weeks but not anymore.
Also, I noticed that my growth rate has slowed down tremendously. I've been using WGHO to help stimulate growth. I haven't noticed any bald spots, just alittle thinning in the crown, but I am keeping a look out for them.
I have to get better at taking my vitamins. I take calcium and chorella.
I have been having difficulty with staying motivated to continue with this growth journey, but I tell myself that this will past. I just get so discouraged when I see balls of hair just coming out. I'm going to be optimistic
Have you ever tried bamboo supplements? https://www.amazon.com/Bamboo-Extract-300-120-capsules/dp/B014FNY5MG/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1475868023&sr=8-4&keywords=bamboo+extract&th=1
My hair began to thin after using some crappy hair products (I won't mention the vendor because some people tend to lose their minds when anyone disparages their favorite products/vendor). At any rate, I was shedding something fierce, so I took some bamboo supplements on a whim for a few weeks - one capsule every day with dinner. After the first week, I noticed that my shedding had reduced dramatically. Since this was the only change in my routine or diet, I attributed the outcome to the bamboo supplement. After a month, my shedding was under control. Now, I'm focusing on regaining the thinned out areas and, to that end, I've been using castor oil and JBCO. I will give this a solid six months before reassessing it's efficacy.
I will def give this a try!!
Have you ever tried bamboo supplements? https://www.amazon.com/Bamboo-Extract-300-120-capsules/dp/B014FNY5MG/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1475868023&sr=8-4&keywords=bamboo+extract&th=1
My hair began to thin after using some crappy hair products (I won't mention the vendor because some people tend to lose their minds when anyone disparages their favorite products/vendor). At any rate, I was shedding something fierce, so I took some bamboo supplements on a whim for a few weeks - one capsule every day with dinner. After the first week, I noticed that my shedding had reduced dramatically. Since this was the only change in my routine or diet, I attributed the outcome to the bamboo supplement. After a month, my shedding was under control. Now, I'm focusing on regaining the thinned out areas and, to that end, I've been using castor oil and JBCO. I will give this a solid six months before reassessing it's efficacy.
Yup, surprised how long it took me to find this out because I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about vitamins + minerals. That spacing and taking my iron with OJ turned things around.
My hair thinning happened gradually over the period of 4 years and I couldn’t figure out what was causing my hair loss for the life of me. I got tested for everything under the sun and nothing came up in my blood tests to indicate why I was losing hair. I went to several doctors and dermatologists but to no avail. It wasn’t until years later that it dawned on me; my hair started thinning the same year that I started going to Dominican hair salons!!! I’ve lost 50% of my hair. I went from super thick hair that used to be hard to deal with to thin hair. Warning for you all- STAY AWAY from those salons! I think the super hot blow dryers that they use affected my hair follicles because I always remember wincing when the hot air from the blow dryer would graze my scalp during my blow out. Fast forward years later, even though I stopped going to those salons, my hair still hasn’t filled in 100%. There are areas on my scalp where there isn’t any hair growing. The only thing that’s helping is Rogaine. I was shocked but its actually working. I hope this helps someone.