BIG hair problem

[CandiKisses]

I dyed my hair thinking it got healthier a week ago. Now its all falling out i guess i left the dye in to long. I'm getting ready to order a shampoo conditioner package called biolustre florida. This is the website. http://www.biolustreflorida.com/testimonials.html Alot of people are telling me its good. I have a thyroid/hormone ( high testosterone level )disorder. I haven't gotten the problem fixed yet. I'm taking vitamins until i'm able to see the doctor again. I wanted to buy a shampoo that was really good for me. That biolustre caught my eye, but before i spend money that i don't even have i'd like to get your opinions first. Thank You !

[finaleofseem]

Hm. I'm always skeptical of products like this -- do you have friends who have used it? I wouldn't take the testimonials at face-value. They're too easy to fake.

Also, is your hair breaking off, or is your scalp irritated from leaving the dye on too long? Because my issue with leaving the dye on too long was always that the scalp got irritated, not that the hair itself was weak. I think this would possibly help with weak hair, it doesn't look like it will help if your scalp is having a reaction to the dye.

[chickie1]

I think leaving the dye on too long when coloring my hair has definately led to an irritated scalp for me, and I have noticed more hair loss after doing that, too.

I worry about not leaving the dye on long enough to cover my tough gray hair roots, which cause my hair loss to look even worse, so I keep it on like the box indicates. I now know not to do that, but my hair still has to regrow now.

I don't think the shampoos/conditioners can do much to help our loss of hair except for the shampoo mentioned in other threads "Nizoral". I just am afraid it will also take the color out of my hair and I'll need to color it more often, which is not good. My hair now comes in totally gray at the roots, and that just causes my hair to look even more thin!

It's hard to know what to do. I'm just glad I have this forum as a release to talk to other women who have the same issue. I feel so alone most of the time.

[finaleofseem]

Chickie, I agree that Nizoral has helped me with scalp pain in the past, but it IS awfully drying. That's a hard place to be in when you dye your hair to cover grays. :( Have you thought about doing highlights instead of all-over color? Or maybe just getting the root touch-up kits for in-between full colors?

I don't color mine anymore at the moment, so I'm not really sure which dyes are supposed to be more gentle than others, but maybe some research would provide something that's a less-harsh option?

[chickie1]

Yes, I have tried the root touch-up kits, but the hair that I have is growing in so quickly and making the loss so noticeable that I've been coloring with a permanent color (that's the only thing that covers the gray) every 4 weeks. I want to wait longer, but it's so very difficult. My hair color is dark brown, naturally, and I probably should lighten it, as this makes the hair loss even more noticeable. I'm just afraid to go to a salon. I'm afraid of them ruining my hair, as I've experienced before (it's curly and hard to manage) so I hesitate. I think I'm going to start calling the more expensive salons and ask if they have anyone who specializes in hair loss. I feel so stupid. Like nobody has ever been at these salons who have hair loss. I'm just so self-conscious.

Thanks for you help. I appreciate it.

[finaleofseem]

I can understand salon worries -- I've had my hair butchered enough times that it's hard to get up the gumption to go, myself.

The thing I liked about going to the salon, though, was having them use foils so that the color didn't touch my scalp. I would get all-over color done very rarely, but would go in every month or so to get my roots/highlights/lowlights touched up with foils.

That's probably the worst part about the HL -- being so self-conscious around the salons. But I promise that they'll be understanding and sweet to you, especially at some of the nicer salons. I wouldn't trust them to know how to treat your loss, but my stylist (before I moved) was so understanding and awesome, and very gentle with my hair. They may have dye/cut/color suggestions to help you mask the thinning/gray, as well. I think that since HL among women is becoming more common, these salons are starting to be more sensitive.

And, if someone is mean to you, don't put up with it! I know I don't like confrontation, but the one time someone cutting my hair made me feel bad, I complained to the manager. HL happens for medical reasons, and it's completely inappropriate for someone to make you feel bad about it, or like you don't belong in their salon.