Disclaimer: all products mentioned in the post below were purchased with my own money.
Hyperthyroid disease takes a huge toll on your body and it can cause serious damage to hair. I've always had struggles with my hair; I'm
talking about bad perms, breakage, you name it. I've always
avoided having to manipulate my hair by wearing weaves and braids from about 12
years old until age 23, when I got pregnant. When I was pregnant, I ended up
cutting my hair into a pixie cut just as a fresh start.
When I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism a year
later my hair was still styled in a short pixie cut. I was getting a relaxer
every few weeks, and honestly my scalp is very sensitive so the relaxer used to
burn immediately no matter how gentle the relaxer was. Even though my style was
cute I was still unhappy with my hair because I felt like it was really thin.
That is when I decided to go natural, grow my perm out, and begin to repair my
hair from the shedding I experienced due to hyperthyroidism.
Here are the steps that I take to minimize shedding:
1. Wash Hair - The first thing I started doing
was washing my hair myself. yep! I rarely washed my hair myself I always went
to my stylist for all of hair maintenance. I started by using a moisturizing
shampoo such as the Creme of Nature, As I am, Shea Moisture Manuka Honey, and recently the Pantene Natural shampoo, those particular shampoos worked well for me because they were really
moisturizing and didn't cause a lot of buildup.I also use a tea-tree clarifying shampoo once a month.
2. Deep condition - After shampooing I
would deep condition my hair. At first I would use the Hask Argan oil deep
conditioner packets, I really like them a lot. I've also used the Shea Moisture
Honey Manuka deep conditioner, and most recently I've been using the Shea
Moisture High Porosity Deep Conditioner. I apply the deep conditioner and cover
it with a plastic shower cap for about 20 minutes.
3. Hot oil treatment - If my hair is
really dry I will also apply a hot oil treatment using Jamaican black castor
oil and tea tree oil. You can use whichever oil works best for your hair.
4. Moisturize & Seal - after I rinse
out the hot oil treatment, I section my hair into 4-6 sections. I moisturize my
hair with the Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil leave in conditioner and
seal with Jamaican black castor oil. Jamaican
black castor oil has helped me minimize shedding and breakage a ton by sealing
in the moisture in my hair from the leave in conditioner. I normally moisturize
and seal my hair every other day or as needed.
5. Twist/braid - After I moisturize and
seal each section I twist or braid the section. After all sections have been
twisted I wrap my hair with a satin Scarf of bonnet and allow my hair to dry
overnight.
6. Protective
styling - once my hair is dry I will place my hair into a protective style
such as twists or I will get my hair braided in box braids or feed-in braids. (I will update with a photo of my hair when my hair is dry)
7. Health - I make sure
that I take my multivitamins, eat as healthy as I can (or when I want to lol), and drink a lot of
water.
I notice a drastic decrease in shedding when I maintain a clean scalp and consistently moisturize my hair. My hair gets extremely dry very quickly so this process has worked best for me. My hair is a lot healthier now but I still have a long way to go, my hair grows really slow due to the inconsistency with my hormone levels.
What are some of your favorite wash routines and
protective styles? Let me know in the comments below.
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