Black Girl, Alopecia Pt 2. – My Routine

After doing tons of research, watching youtube videos and going to a dermatologist, I found a hair care routine that worked for me to help my hair grow back from my alopecia. It took months of me experimenting with different products. And when I say experiment – I mean, my hair grew back and fell right back out and I spent hundreds of dollars on different products trying to find something that worked for me.

But alas, here is the routine that worked best for me, time and time again. The tried and true. I’ve split them into two routines – my wash routine and my daily routine. All products mentioned have been linked to Amazon so you can get more details about each product and know where to get them!

Wash Routine

What you’ll need: 

• NuNaat Garlic Shampoo
• Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil & Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo
• Shea Moisture ‘Strengthen, Grow & Restore’ Conditioner
• NuNaat Garlic Leave-In Conditioner
• Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Intensive Strengthening Masque

What to do:

*Note: I don’t use all of these products EVERY time I wash my hair. I alternate between products during each wash. I alternate between the Garlic shampoo & conditioner one week and the Shea Moisture JBCO line the next week. 

1. Wash hair with garlic shampoo as you would wash your hair with any other shampoo. The garlic shampoo does NOT smell like garlic and actually has a pretty pleasant scent. Garlic shampoo is known to stop shedding and help to make your hair stronger. Even within the first two uses, I noticed less hair in the shower.
2. Apply the Shea Moisture ‘Strengthen, Grow & Restore’ Conditioner’ and rinse. The ingredients in this conditioner are awesome! It’s made with Jamaican Black Castor Oil, Keratin & Peppermint.  JBCO is known to fight against thinning and baldness. Keratin is what our hair is made of. It aids in putting the protein back into your hair. Peppermint is said to increase blood circulation in the scalp.
3. Towel dry hair and apply the Garlic Leave-In Conditioner. The leave in conditioner is vital in retaining moisture in your hair. I LOVE this leave-in. It has the same benefits of the garlic shampoo mentioned above.
4. Style as desired. To see how I style my hair, Click Here.

Alternate Week: 

1. Wash hair with Shea Moisture JBCO & Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo. This shampoo is LOVELY because it makes my hair feel really soft and really strong. I love the benefits of the garlic shampoo, and I love the way the JBCO & ACV Shampoo makes my hair feel. This is why I alternate between the two shampoos. As mentioned above, the JBCO fights against hair loss. ACV is known to have so many benefits whether you ingest it or put it on your skin or hair. For alopecia, ACV is great because it helps destroy bacteria and buildup in your hair while also stimulating hair follicle growth.
2. Apply the Shea Moisture ‘Strengthen, Grow & Restore’ Conditioner’ and rinse. This is the same step as above.
3. Towel dry and apply the Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Intensive Strengthening Masque to hair and let sit for 30 minutes before rinsing. I only do this step every other time I wash my hair because I don’t always have time to let the product sit in my hair. This product is part of the JBCO Shea Moisture line, so it has the same ingredients. I also love this because it makes my hair very soft and detangled once I rinse it out.
4. Style as desired. Again, click here to see how I style mine 🙂

Daily Routine

What you’ll need: 

• Jamaican Black Castor Oil
• Vitamin D Pills (5000 IU)
• Rogaine (The 5% Minoxidil foam one, the men or women one)
• Jojoba Oil
• Clobetasol Propionate (A topical steroid cream prescribed by my dermatologist)

What you”ll do: 

1. Take 2 Vitamin D Pills Daily. After going to a black dermatologist, she suggested that I take Vitamin D daily. She explained to me that African Americans tend to have a Vitamin D deficiency, which in turn leads to lots of health issues. She also informed me that not only do Vitamin D levels play a role in hypertension, cancer, and other medical issues, Vitamin D also plays a major factor in one’s hair and skin. She suggested starting with 10,000 IU for a whole bottle to get the vitamin in your system, and then decreasing to 5000 IU on a regular basis.
2. Apply Rogaine once a day to the spot(s). Be sure to use the rogaine with 5% Minoxidil. And it doesn’t matter if you buy the kind for men or for women, they have the exact same ingredients, one is just marketed to women. So, initially I was a bit skeptical about this step. I had read that if you use rogaine, it will definitely make your hair grow back, but you will have to use it forever because once you stop using it, the hair comes right back out. I shared these concerns with my dermatologist who suggested this remedy, and she assured me that that is only true for people with male pattern baldness, or Androgenic Alopecia, and is not true for Alopecia Areata. She also mentioned that you should only apply once a day, because applying twice a day would just be wasting the product, as this is not a product where the more you use, the better it works. Applying once every 24 hours allows the medicine to sink into your scalp.
3. Apply Jamaican Black Castor Oil twice daily to the spot(s). I always rubbed this onto my spot when I was styling in the morning and before bed. I also made sure to not also apply this at the same time as applying the rogaine.
4. Apply Jojoba Oil throughout the rest of the hair when styling. I will admit, when this first happened, I was so focused on the spot that I was neglecting the rest of my hair. Soon, the hairs surrounding the spot were so brittle and coarse that it became hard to manage. I will say, be sure to remember to care for the rest of your hair too! I applied jojoba oil to my hair to retain moisture and shine. I also believe it helped to make my hair strong.
5. Apply the Cloetasol Propionate twice daily to the spot(s). This step is optional. I was originally prescribed a different topical steroid, but I wasn’t happy with the results. When I switched to this cream, I began to see a difference. However, with my second round of Alopecia, I didn’t have the cream and also wasn’t planning on going back to the dermatologist, so  I didn’t use it and still saw my hair grow back pretty quickly while doing the rest of the parts of my routine.

Let me know what you think! Is there anything you’ve tried that worked for you? Feel free to share what worked and what didn’t work for you in the comments!