2020 is the year of Covid-19. There is no denying the way that it has controlled our lives over most of this year. However, many do not know the full extent of the symptoms that someone experiences when they contract the virus. Hair loss is a symptom that has been linked to the virus and this is something that continues to impact the lives of patients, long after they have returned home.
The main ways that Covid-19 causes hair loss is through stress. There are roughly 100,000 hair follicles on the average adult scalp, with each hair follicle constantly cycling between growth and rest. Most of these hair follicles are in the growth phase.
When the hair follicle moves to the resting phase, the hair starts to fall out and shed. During an episode of telogen effluvium (resting stage), a trigger causes a sudden, abnormal shift of hairs into the telogen phase all at once. One possible trigger for this sudden shift is heightened emotional stress.
Typically, Telogen Effluvium (TE) will start approximately 2-4 months after a triggering event, such as stress, grief, shock, or a side effect of illness, amongst others. The global pandemic that we are currently seeing is not only a threat to our physical health, with the virus itself, but also our mental health with stress levels increasing from all the chaos.
Simone Thomas Wellness has been inundated with Zoom consultations, treating patients throughout lockdown with hair loss caused by stress. The good news is that stress-related hair loss is something that can be treated.
You must break the cycle of stress-hair-loss-stress. You can do this through meditation, exercise, and more sleep to manage your stress levels, and, for most, after 3-6 months of this sort of stress management, hair will start to grow back. For those that still struggle with hair loss, there are treatments available. Simone Thomas Wellness can help.
Whilst Paula has been emotionally and psychically stressed her hair loss was not caused by stress levels but rather because of contracting Covid-19. As hair is not a vital organ in our body when experiencing Covid-19 our hair is the last part of our body to receive the vitamins and minerals necessary for the growth of healthy hair. She had no prior symptoms until she collapsed at her home in London with a high temperature and was blue-lighted to A&E at King’s College Hospital.
“I was introduced to Simone after I experienced severe hair loss earlier this year due to a prolonged stay in ICU. With her guidance we looked at my diet, supplements, and overall wellness. Three months later I have significant hair regrowth and have improved my vitality. She has a unique way of putting you at ease and explaining things simply, you feel like you are talking to your best friend."
Paula suffered with 70% hair loss. She spent a total of 102 days in hospital, 47 of those in ICU and a total of 15 days hooked up to machines and ventilators. Since this experience she has also suffered with reduced visibility, loss of feeling in one leg, pelvis, and jaw pain, and continues to take a long list of medications to keep her healthy. Paula was bound to a wheelchair and is still working on her mobility and overall wellness, which is her focus for the foreseeable future.
Through BioEnergetics Screening, Simone has put Paula onto a gluten free diet, and removed corn, nightshades as well as goji berries, white potatoes, peppers, aubergines, chillies, paprika and tomatoes. This group of foods causes inflammation and can stop healthy hair growth.
The programme Simone put into place for Paula’s ongoing treatment includes:
- Bioenergenetics every 4 weeks
- A hair review every 4 weeks
- Taking Skinquencher daily
- Following the biotin hair growth plan
- Naturaltech Energising Seasonal Superactive
- Naturaltech Energising Thickening Tonic (To support hair growth. She can use this every other day for the first few months to give a fuller and healthier look to hair)
- Naturaltech Renewing Conditioner
- Naturaltech Energising Shampoo
It is not a one size fits all treatment plan and requires Simone to work closely with her clients to achieve the best results.
Everything from a tailored diet plan to wellness routine and adding in supplements. With diet, what works for one body to heal will not work for another one to heal when it comes to food. When we look at foods and the powerful effect, they can have on treating those with illnesses, imbalances, hair loss and poor gut health we also need to look at food types or groups of foods that weaken the body as well as those that can cause stress to the body and most importantly those that will help it repair and become stronger.
The foods that have been removed from Paula’s diet are those that would cause her body a lot of stress as well as inflammation which are two things you want to stop. All processed foods can cause inflammation. They can alter the bacteria that live in our gut, enabling them to interact with our immune system and eventually trigger it in a way that leads to chronic inflammation.
Paula meets up with Simone and her team of specialists to access her progress and she takes these supplements alongside her ongoing medications for the virus to treat her long-term symptoms. Although the journey to healthy hair is long, as it is for those who have experienced significant hair loss.
Paula is proof that there is a way to combat it if you seek the right help. She had this to say about her treatment, so far: “The hard work seems to be paying off, as I can see little bristles beginning to appear. Simone says it will take 12-18 months, but there is no reason why my hair will not recover fully. The repair process is tough, but through this whole experience I have accepted every challenge and I am taking each day one at a time. It is baby steps. Losing my hair feels like another test, but it is another path I have to walk on to the road to recovery.”
For consultations and treatments visit: www.simonethomaswellness.com