Hair Loss

Homeopathy is a holistic treatment modality that prescribes an individual remedy based on a patient’s totality of symptoms; physical, mental and emotional. We seek to address the underlying cause for an ailment rather than simply working to relieve symptoms. We each experience our ailments and symptoms in unique ways so as homeopaths our job is to draw as full a picture as possible of the individual before us. This means no two cases will be alike and as such there are no ‘off the shelf’ remedy prescriptions.

In the case of thinning hair, we would rather work to address the cause in the hope that this will help relieve the physical symptom. For example, if hair was thinning due to an endocrine imbalance, we would work to address that problem first and then see improvement in hair growth.

Sadly, in the case of chemotherapy, I am not aware of any remedy that can arrest hair fall. Once the regimen of chemotherapy ends homeopathic remedies can help you restore health and vitality.

Losing my hair last fall was devastating for me. I dreaded going out initially because I was not comfortable with how I looked. I bought a wig before I had lost my hair and never felt comfortable with it, but it was nice to have when I needed to dress up. I live where it is cold so I became comfortable with hats. Baseball hats and winter hats I found looked best on me. At our annual Christmas party I wore a Santa hat and I actually had fun wearing certain hats on special occassions. My children helped me the most with hair loss as I would always walk around the house without one and they always said I looked great. Another comfort was finding a comfortable hat to sleep in as I became extremely cold when I was bald in bed. Cotton hats worked well for me for sleeping. It was just one year ago(on Sept 13th, I'll never forget that day) that my husband shaved my head and today I have about 3" of hair and it is great to have hair back again. It's coming back curly this time. I have been hatless since February and it is wonderful!

You will not lose your hair during radiation therapy to the breast. Hair loss from radiation therapy only occurs when directly treating the head or scalp. Chemotherapy, however, may cause hair loss, depending on the drug.

There are caps, scarves, turbans, and hats of many types, some designed specifically for medical hair loss, but most them serving the general head wear market. Even if you wear a wig, you will likely want other head wear options on hand as wigs can be tight, hot and abrasive on sensitive scalps that lack hair due to a scalp condition or chemotherapy. Unless you choose to sleep in a wig, a soft sleep cap is also important as you might not realize the degree to which scalp hair insulates us against heat loss until you don't have hair.

If you lose your hair during chemotherapy, consider those head wear options designed specifically for chemo hair loss as your needs can differ from those of the general head wear market. Hats and pre-tied scarves are great options if you are unable to lift your arms over your head to tie or adjust more complicated head wear items. Soft fabrics/materials are helpful if you experience the scalp sensitivity that often accompanies chemo hair loss.

Among the most important issues in choosing head wear items for medical hair loss is fit. If you're going to be wearing something on your head all day, you want it to fit comfortably and securely.