The Hair

So most WLS patients will have hair loss starting about 4 months post surgery. Mine started in July, big long strings of it, coming out in my hands in the shower, so just about right on target. Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of hair to start with. I'd had a very stressful job in 1994 and it started falling out in great big bunches and never really came back. Then health problem after health problem, weight gain, diabetes, blah blah blah, and I had thin hair.

Well, it started growing back, so I have these hairs about 4 inches long sticking up from the formerly empty spaces of my scalp, and they like to stick straight up, and which makes my hair look fuzzy. Also, my existing hair is fuzzy.

Sigh.

I've had to do this elaborate hair comb-over "system" so that both strangers and I don't look through my thin hair to my scalp. And I've tried a lot of products over the summer and through the fall to try and have a semi-normal looking hairstyle, and this is what's working for me right now:

1. Treseme' Hydrating Shampoo.

Normally I steer clear of hydrating shampoos because I have an oily scalp. Previously if I were to use a hydrating shampoo, by the end of the day, I had a limp, greasy blob lying on my head. Ewww, gross. But for my frizzy, thin hair? It's working just fine.

Notice that it is a sample size. I don't buy full-size products anymore until I try them out. I've given away or chucked more haircare products than I care to think about.

2. Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Conditioner

This is the shizzit. Not only does it do everything it says it will do on the bottle, but it smells like apricots, one of my favorite smells in the world. I may upgrade to a full-size bottle when this sample-size runs out.

3. Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Move It Manipulating Gel

I originally purchased this because I liked the scent--black fig. Fig is one of my favorite scents--perfume, candles, whatever, I love the smell. As it turns out, this not only smells good, but it is hair glue for reals. I put it on my hair, smoosh it around, and it is not going anywhere. Period. Because my hair is so fine, and thin, I quit blow drying it years ago. It just burns my hair and makes it fuzzy. So I let my hair air dry and then I run a brush through it and my style stays in place. It's fabulous. I recommend it highly. If you want to change up your look later, just wet it and restyle it and it will stay in the new style. I follow up with a little hair spray and I'm good for all but the highest Santa Ana winds.

4. My Secret Weapon:  Frizz-Ease Serum, Extra Strength

None of the above would work without starting with Frizz-Ease as soon as I get out of the shower. I wrap my hair in a towel and let the towel soak up some moisture while I do my face (freshener and moisturizer with serum). And then, even though on the back it clearly says, "do not use more than one pump," my hair requires two pumps of serum, even though there's not much of it, what's there is snarly and defiant. So this is the first thing I put on after getting out of the shower after washing and conditioning. The best $7- I ever spent on my hair. I'd pay double, even triple, to get the benefit of this serum. My hair would be in a ponytail 24/7 without this product.

So that's it. That's my ritual. I wash my hair every 2 - 3 days depending on how sweaty both me and my scalp have been, and other than hairspray, I just wet a brush, drag it through my hair in the morning, and let it dry, and I'm good to go for another day. Easy peasy. I hope those short hairs keep growing. I wish they'd grow faster, but if wishes were horses...

What's your favorite hair product?

Oh yes: I also take 5,000 mcg of BiOtin daily, and have been since January. I can't tell if it helps or not, but it's a sublingual melt in strawberry lemonade flavor and it tastes good so I keep taking it.

Cheers.