Give me a resounding “Hooah!” if you were one of many Army Mamas to do the “chop” due to hair loss from the old hair standards. Now another if you were excited for the long awaited ALARACT 04/2021.
For some of us, we were battling hair loss for a long time due to the strict female Army hair standards. Pair that with postpartum hairloss, hormonal imbalances, and every day stresses that tend to wreak havoc on our tresses–you have a recipe for disaster.
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I’ve done the infamous hair chop… multiple times. Did I like having short hair? No. Did I like actually having hair more? Yes.
To me, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make because I did NOT want to lose any of my follicles in the long-run.
Unfortunately, I have seen a lot of female Soldiers who have thin hair and balding edges from the strain of their buns. The pressure to look “professional” in uniform influenced a lot of women to sacrifice comfort for appearance.
If you’re suffering from hair loss, there may be some hope yet.
First things, first, let’s talk about the stages of hair growth.
Anagen Phase
-the growing phase.
-approximately 90% of hairs on your head are in this phase
Catagen Phase
-the transition phase
-follicles shrink and hair grows slow
Telogen Phase
-the resting phase
-hair doesn’t grow
Exogen Phase
-the shedding phase
-losing 50-100 hairs per day is normal
-new hairs are growing in follicles as old ones fall out
One thing to note about the shedding phase–losing 50-100 hairs per day is normal. I know, I know. That’s a lot of hair to shed in one day!
If you’re concerned that you’re losing more hair than normal, consult your primary care provider. There may be underlying reasons.
Traction Alopecia
This happens when you wear tight hairstyles that continuously pull on the hair follicle causing hair to fall out.
This was one of the main sources of my hair shedding. I’d do the hair chop and then once my hairline would fill in, I’d grow it out long enough to put in a bun. Once it was in the bun for a couple weeks, my hair would begin shedding more again. It was a vicious cycle. 🙁
Alopecia Areata
When I was younger, I got a couple random bald spots on my head. One in the front and one in the back. It was devastating!
The doctor prescribed a topical steroid that did the trick and helped my hair grow back. The point is, I consulted my doctor to find out why I had lost patches of hair.
Postpartum hair loss
This is probably one of the most common forms of hair loss for women. And unfortunately, there really isn’t too much you can do about this while it’s happening except let it run its course.
Another downside is that it can happen up to a year after the birth of your child. For instance, if you breastfeed up to a year then your hormones take that opportunity to regulate again. I know it seems unfair, but there are things you can do to speed up the process of regrowing your hair after pregnancy.
Hormonal hair loss
When consulting with your PCM, they should run some tests to determine why you’re losing hair at an exponentially fast rate.
For hormonal hair loss, they’ll run a blood panel to test your thyroid, androgen excess, and other levels. My recommendation is to consult a naturopath. Unfortunately, western medicine tends to discredit a woman’s intuition when it comes to us recognizing inconsistencies within our own bodies.
A great place to start would be checking out Dr. Jolene Brighten and Callie Exas. They offer great medical advice and supplements in the realm of women’s health. A lot of their content is also extremely validating when it comes to women’s health.
Vitamin deficiency related hair loss
Along with running a blood panel for hormonal imbalances, your PCM should test your vitamin levels. Common deficiencies are in B-vitamins, iron, magnesium, and D-vitamins.
Having a deficiency in one area might seem unrelated, but when your body is low in one thing, it draws its resources from others. This could mean that your hair growth might suffer as a result, because your body prioritizes using iron to produce blood cells than growing your hair. In its process, having blood trumps having hair.
That being said, let me remind you that I do NOT have any experience in the medical field. This article is based off of my own research and those citations can be found at the end of this article. I try my best to explain everything in laments terms, because I know that a lot of us can get boggled by scientific terminology.
Types of testing for hair loss
We already talked about blood tests, but there are other tests your doctor might perform to determine the cause of your hair loss. It’s important to know so that you can better advocate for yourself if you’re not getting any answers from bloodwork.
The first test that your doctor might conduct is the pull/tug test. This is simply where your doctor will gently tug on your hair to see just how much hair fall you’re experiencing.
They might also perform a punch biopsy where they take a sample from your scalp to run tests on your follicles.
Another test they might utilize is a fungal culture to determine if there is a fungus inhibited your hair’s growth.
Can you regrow hair after it has been gone for a while?
Is all hair loss salvageable? Short answer: no.
Unfortunately, the longer you have bald spots, the less likely you’ll be able to regrow those patches.
If your hair follicles are in the initial stage of damage, it is possible to regrow your hair. However, if your follicles have been laying dormant for a long period of time, then the chances are slim to none.
Treatments for hair loss
Okay, now that we’ve got all that out of the way, let’s talk about what you can do to address hair loss. We’ll start with some low hanging fruit first/inexpensive ways to combat hair loss and progress on to the more pricey solutions.
Hair styling
We all want to look professional in uniform; no doubt about that. But are the things we are doing to style our hair contributing to hair loss? Probably.
Let me preface this by saying that everyone’s biological makeup is unique, so what works for one person may not work for another.
For example, I can’t wear ANY product in my hair or else I get back dandruff and a very itchy scalp. However, I know plenty of women that can dump a whole container of gel on their head each morning and be just fine (…or so they say).
Gels, hairsprays, dry shampoos, cremes, etc that you’re using to style your hair may be clogging up your hair follicles and drying out your hair causing breakage. If you’re thinking that these items are non-negotiable for maintaining a professional look, then consider looking at the ingredients in the products that you’re using.
Are there any more natural brands that you could be using in place of those? Do some research and you’ll be surprised with what you come up with!
Hot styling tools, hair relaxer, and tight hairstyles can cause damage to the scalp and breakage to the hair as well.
So if you do the hair chop, but you’re still using heat to style your hair, then you’re already setting yourself up for failure.
Experiment with protective hair styles. This goes for ALL hair types.
My hair is fine and straight, therefore I know I can’t wear my hair in tight hairstyles all the livelong day or else I will experience hair thinning. Protective hairstyles for my hair are pony tails and braids
Similarly, if you are a POC then you might already be familiar with protective styles for textured hair. Unfortunately,
female hairstyles in AR 670-1 have long been based on euro-centric ideals of professional hair. Although the new ALARACT 04/2021 has made an attempt to mend these ideas by being more inclusive, there are many Soldiers that are afraid to sport natural and/or protective hair styles.
And even worse, uneducated leadership calling out hairstyles that are well within regs.
A great community to gain insight on what’s within regulation and confidence in your natural hair is “Loc It Up (Military Women of all Branches)” on Facebook.
Scalp massager
These things look gimmicky, but there is actually research that supports this!
The science behind it suggests that at least 5-6 minutes of daily scalp massaging encourages blood flow to your hair follicles and widens them.
So this type of treatment might be best for someone who is in the beginning stages of hair loss, someone who is just trying to prevent hair loss, or anyone looking to grow thicker locks.
If you’ve never used a scalp massager in the shower, then you’re missing out! It seriously feels sooo luxurious. Usually with any other type of self massage doesn’t feel as good as someone else giving you a massage, but this scalp massaging device feels surprisingly good!
Use it while you apply your shampoo, conditioner, or simply rinsing your hair.
Minoxidil
Minoxidil, otherwise known as Rogaine. This hair treatment has a very potent effect. So if you’re looking for a quick solution, then this might be the ticket.
Cons to using this is that it works a little too well. Meaning, that if any of this serum drips down onto your face then you can expect some hair growth there too.
Another con is that you have to keep using it. People that stopped using it reported a return to their regular hair loss within 12 weeks.
Supplements for hair growth
Supplements for hair growth come in all forms. You can get topical serums, pill form, and chewable gummies.
One of the most popular supplements for hair loss is biotin. This biotin supplement on Amazon has AMAZING reviews. Now, most dermatologists will agree that a person should be deficient in biotin for it to actually reap benefits of hair growth. However, there are sooo many anecdotal stories of increased hair growth after supplementing with biotin.
Another great option for biotin supplementation is Purador’s shampoo and conditioner. This is what I used when I was experiencing hair thinning due to the Army bun. I also bought this for my mom as a gift after seeing my results. I liked taking my biotin supplement this way, because I often forget to take my vitamins in the pill form.
But it’s hard to forget to wash your hair each time you shower; such an easy way to add this supplement into your regimen!
One thing to remember when using a biotin supplement is that they can alter the results of labwork. So it is important to discontinue use prior to getting any blood drawn.
Castor oil deserves an honorable mention due to anecdotal stories of its ability to stimulate hair growth. Unfortunately, most dermatologists agree that it only gives the allusion of hair growth because the oil coats your hair and makes it appear thicker. However, this treatment is a no harm, no foul type of treatment. The only con is that it might leave your hair a little greasier than usual.
At home derma rolling for hair growth
A little further down, we’ll talk about microneedling with prp; however, at home derma rolling for hair loss offers a cheaper alternative with great results!
You can find tons of tutorials on how to derma roll, what products are most effective, and just how big the dermaroll community really is. I’ll actually be test driving the at home dermaroll for stretch mark reduction, so stay tuned for that article if you’re looking for solutions on tightening up your mommy pooch or smoothing out your tiger stripes.
Using an at home dermaroller doesn’t come without its risks. If you are not properly sterilizing your needles before and after, then you run the risk of causing infection. Similarly, if you are applying too much pressure and the needle is penetrating too deep then it can leave track marks.
Please be aware of the risk of hyperpigmentation. Although, all skin types run this risk (it’s generally advised to stay out of the sun during the skin healing periods), our melanin rich community runs a slightly higher risk. However, the overall consensus is that this procedure is safe for all skin types.
Watch this tutorial on dermarolling for hair growth by That Girl with the Curls. She talks about sterilization of needles, progression of the length of needles, serums to use, how to safely dermaroll, and she even has progression videos on dermarolling her acne scars!
You can get your own beginner dermarolling kit from Amazon. It’s important to start out with a shorter needle first and then progress to longer ones over time for improved results.
Red light therapy
Red light therapy has many benefits! One of them being increased hair growth in both men and women. This study for hair loss shows two figures of the before and after treatment and the results are astounding.
Now understand, that not all red light therapy is created equal. You can find cheap masks, hats, etc that claim to give off red light to the capacity that reduces inflammation, promotes hair growth, encourages collagen production, and all the bells and whistles.
However, you really need to do some digging in order to research the best option for you. There are really expensive panels that you can buy and smaller ones that similar brands offer as well if you’re looking to save a little cash.
This hair loss treatment is on the more expensive side because the jury is still out on how effective the cheaper lamps are. However, there are many reviews on Amazon and other sites to help you make that determination.
Dr. Andrea Suarez (AKA Dr. Dray) a licensed dermatologist, actually does a review on a red light therapy cap on her YouTube channel. She talks about the progress she has seen in her own hair growth and red light therapy regimen she used to see the best results.
You can also get this treatment from your local med spa, dermatologist, and even some gyms offer red light therapy. The planet fitness in my city actually has a red light therapy bed and their membership is under $30! So look around and you might be surprised at where you can find this treatment for a good price.
Microneedling with prp for hairloss
Microneedling with platelet rich plasma is where your technician or dermatologist pricks tiny incisions with sterilized needles on your skin/scalp and rubs your own plasma into those incisions to stimulate growth factors.
Studies have shown that this method has the potential to revive dormant hair follicles. It also suggests that the results are even better when combined with minoxidil (otherwise known as Rogaine).
Unfortunately, microneedling with prp averages $400-$500. And it’s not a one and done treatment. For best results, a person must factor in multiple treatments–usually one every 2-3 months.
For those of us that are suffering from hair loss, we know how devastating it can be to lose our hair. It is not an easy thing to hide from others. Therefore, depending on how dire your situation is, microneedling with prp might be a sound investment.
Steroid treatments
Some types of hair loss might warrant the use of steroid treatments, which only your PCM can prescribe. This is not a long term solution, because continued topical steroid use can result in thinning of the skin.
For my own situation, I used the topical steroid for as long as my doctor directed, which was long enough for my hair to start growing in. Once I had some baby hairs coming through on my scalp, I didn’t need to worry about using it anymore.
Losing your hair at any stage of your life is hard.
I am thankful that the Army updated the hair regulation to include pony tails and braids, because I did NOT want to spend the rest of my military career with a bob. With the winds in New Mexico, my hair was always in my face.
If you have female Soldiers that are experiencing noticeable hair thinning, you might need to set the example that pony tails and braids are O.K. It’s interesting that good hygiene is something that we counsel our Soldiers on and taking care of our hair/scalp should be a part of that conversation.
For those that have experienced permanent baldness, you can still claim it through the VA for disability. And before any of the haters come out of the woodwork for my advice on claiming disability for hair loss, then you really don’t understand how mentally damaging it can be for anyone experiencing permanent hair loss.
You are going to want to have the hair on your head when you’re long gone out of the military, so there should be no reason why our female Soldiers should feel pressured to conform to the military bun if they are suffering.
Do you have any go to hair growth solutions that I didn’t mention here? Let me know on Instagram @memoirsofanarmymama
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