Curly hair

Oh my gosh, me too!  I notice the icky dryness first, and yes, curls! So hard to comb out!  I pile on the detangler and leave in conditioner, and now use Argon shampoo, recommended by someone here!  If I dry it straight it surprisingly looks thicker! Otherwise fine.  And now I can go 3 days without washing verses before.  It's so hot here I always put in pony tail or bun. Refuse to cut hair short, it's too fine and I was called a boy a few times as a kid when it was short. but am sick of all the hair I'm losing...assuming it's increased due to meds. But can't tell on my head...hope it stays that way! Maybe it's normal loss.

cute and funny post, made me smile. 

You are right about combing it out. I brush my hair initially which improves it a bit. I don't think I would ever be able to just comb it, it is so tangled. I use Argan shampoo, conditioner and spray. I have tried everything including something used on horses' mains which cost a fortune. 

Interesting, we have a conditioner one hair dresser told me about called Mane and Tail, but it's dirt cheap here and I didn't find it to work.  Ha, it's probably a nock off of something better.

i like one we have here (in states) called Aussie 3 minute miracle. 

 

I like Aussie products too. The horse one was not Mane and Tail, I got it off Amazon, but it is no longer there. It probably has been withdrawn because it does something dreadful to your hair!! It did not help mine. 

Just read your post.  I have lost lots of hair on one side and at the back.  I have very fine hair anyway so it is beginnng to look awful.  It has also become very dry and frizzy which makes me look like a mad old woman !!!!

Mine went very dry and frizzy from being greasy, fine and straight and would stand straight out all over. It looked and felt awful, like a brillo pad.   I had a shoulder length bob, which I had had cut a bit shorter. Last time I went to the hairdresser I had it cut to about one and a half inches all over. It now really looks good. 

Yesterday I experimented... For one I went 4 days without washing it!!! Never got oily, ugh. I too have fine straight hair normally. 

So I piled on that cheap conditioner before shower. Left it on 5 minutes. Then in shower I just used a tiny bit of shampoo and just massaged on head and back of neck, left ends alone.  

Then lots of detangler.  I dried it a bit to straighten. It looked beautiful!!

then I went outside...ugh!!!! Frizzed!!!!  So I came in and tried an anti friz... Looked better, but went outside and... Well you know... So it went up into a bun!   Dang.   

Unfortunately I cant cut mine short because I have lost so much hair on one side and the back that it would look as though I was going bald !  Am still trying to find a product that will keep it from being frizzy, just smooth it down a bit.

Ask your GPp for Folic Acid, helps to stop hair loss, automatically supplied when on cancer drugs.

Paul Mitchels leave in conditioner, applied after you have shampooed and rinsed all the shampoo off.  You can apply a small amount everyday between washing hair.  BTW wash hair too often, stimulates oilyness.

Try Argan oil on your hair. Mine turned so frizzy & coarse I couldn't deal with it & found that a little bit of the oil worked through my hair before drying it really helps. Wen is quite expensive and you have to order it, but I'm using that instead of shampoo now, & it also helps a lot to add moisture & not have the drying effect of regular shampoo.

 

Tried to look up how to stimulate the oil gland, didn't find much except something about brushing your hair Morocco method. Watched a video. I might give it a try,  also saw essential oils that might encourage hair growth or discourage hair loss.  

If we are having blood flow issues with PMR, I wonder if it's involved here verses the Prednisone, though with my dry skin...I'm pretty sure Pred. Is cause, though I keep seeing hypothyroidism also causes dry skin which I think many of us are??? Maybe??? 

Jan, have you tried John Frieda Frizz-Ease Hair Serum - it's great used just following a perm to smooth out any initial slight frizz.  After finding it so successful, I recommended it to a couple of friends and they've used it ever since.

I like the sound of that, I will try it.   I usually wash my hair every other day, but now it looks so awful that I have to style it every time I go out !  Do you mean that if I wash it more often it would get oilier ?

Thanks Vicki.   So you actually use the Argan oil instead of shampoo ?  I cant wait to try out all these tips.  This is such a fantastic forum !!

Thanks Mrs O.   Aanother great tip.   I havent tried any of these yet, but cant wait to do so !   I will report back on which works best, for me anyway !  It will cheer me up no end to have decent hair again.

I used to have very oily hair all my life. With pred it just became dry and frizzy. Washing it every day did not make it oilier in my case and  I found it was actually better not washing it so much.

I use Argan Oil shampoo, Argan oil conditioner and also plain Argan oil. Having tried virtually everything under the sun I would definitely recommend Argan oil! Having my hair cut very short also was great for me. 

I get pretty scared washing my hair as I seem to lose quite a bit each time, so I do it less often and very gently each time .  I think the PPIs I take also contribute to hair loss, also my beta blocker has it on the list of side effects !!

Jan I agree with you, PPIs definitely make your hair fall out in my opinion. I try not to comb and brush my hair too often even. I used to look like the wild man of Borneo until I had it cut really short. The short cut has made it much more curly and so the curls cover up the bald bits I hope!

I use the Wen cleanser/conditioner instead of shampoo now. I used to wash my hair everyday since it was so limp and fine, & that was the only way I could make it behave. On prednsione, it got so dry and coarse that I couldn't do that anymore. The Wen cleans & conditions it without soap. On the days I use that (about every 3 days for me), I don't use the Argan oil. On the days in between, I wet down my hair, rub Argan oil through it, then dry it. This works for me--I'm sure everyone is different in what the pred has done to their hair and what is takes to deal with it.

After 1 year on pred, I stopped the PPI's, I suddenly realised that everything came with side effects and how do you know you need them tell something goes wrong.  Then if it goes wrong, put it right.

Well I did have a problem with acid reflux, but MrsO's lemon juice remedy did the trick for me, so I have never taken  PPI's from that day

on and still don't.

Anyway, the one beginning Omnaprazole? when you read the side effects, can cause muscle pain, just like simvastatin does - why would I want to take either of these there are other PPI's and Statins.

Well that is me, it was a very personal decision and I always recommend you make your own decisions.

Lodger, Very sensible decision. All these drugs seem to have horrible side effects. I think people get to the point where they are taking drugs purely to get rid of the side effects of other drugs. There was one lady on TV taking forty different drugs. I think doctors are starting to look at the problem of over prescribing though, unfortunately for the drug industry! I now take coated pred so should not need PPIs. 

I have received some emails from Wen and it seemed a fantastic product. I then checked on the internet and there were an enormous number of complaints about the company mainly on auto charging and money, although most people said the product was OK although some said it caused bald spots. I suppose I was put off Wen as the company did not seem to have a very good reputation for customer service, which is sad if it is a good product.

I read all those things too, so I was cautious. I didn't want any automatic shipments & charges, so I bought a single bottle from QVC. It's quite expensive, but for me it's been worth it, because I couldn't find anything else that would work for my "prednisone hair".

I might try it if I can get away without being enticed into their auto payment system. I suppose I felt I did not want to support a company that did that sort of thing, it is annoying they have a good product! I did get conned by a makeup company that used the same auto payment system as Wen and lost over two hundred pounds for just two bottles of face cream, so I am a bit more careful now. 

The argon oil shampoo and conditioner worked really well !   My hair is looking pretty much back to normal apart from the lack of it !!  Have now used it twice.  It is great not to look like a lavatory brush.  Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.

I love our terms for what we look like with our prednisone hair. I thought & looked like a giant Brillo pad, but I llike your lavatory brush description even better! Glad the argan oil worked for you too!

Its so good to have something that is more positive.  I wish other side effècts  could be helped/cured like this one!  My blood sugar is rather high now and I have just read that lemon juice can help lower it, so am going to try that now.

Drop all sugars and soft drinks that contain any sugar or sugar substitutes.

Don't over do fresh fruit either.

Cut out any ready meals as well.

Read the ingredients on anything you buy.

You can treat yourself to 2 squares of 79% cocoa solid chocolate a day.

When you feel hungry, 1" of a cucumber (keep it in the firdge wrapped in foil) knocks every back and supplies loads of vits and minerals.  Great for cleaning mirrors as well.

Feels like a Brillo pad, looks like a lavatory brush! Obviously the IN look. 

I just never knew this style would be IN!! lol

I just have 100ml of apple juice with my breakfast.  No other sugary or fruit juices.   I like the idea of the 79 chocolate. Will get some tomorrow.  I eat cucumber every day, but I didnt know about the mirror cleaning !  Brilliant!  

I am going to see a nutritionist to make sure I am doing everything I can to keep the blood sugar down.   It was always fine until the pred.   I also take the beta blocker atenolol and I have just read that it can also raise blood sugar. 

 

I've read cinnamon lowers blood sugar. My father takes it in capsuls.

i miss chocolate lodger...read if have acid reflux, must cut out chocolate.

yall make me feel so "normal", hee, hee...though I've always read labels I do even MORE now, but never see anyone else doing so, and watching them shop in the center of the grocery store, verses the edges where fresh foods are...I feel so sorry or worried for them.

though I envy the cheese section!!! 

Gotta  try that mirror cleaning thing!  thanks for sharing your post. Will go eat some cucumber right now! 

Tyr this for acid reflux, take one organic lemon, put in microwave for 1 minute (more jiuce) squeeze and divide into three portions, take one portion three times a day, acid reflux gone in 99% of cases.

Worth taking a swing at it.

Jan, I heard about lemon juice and blood sugar too. Lemons are supposed to be a super food for diabetics. I read in Readers Digest that by sprinkling a couple of spoons of lemon juice on your rice or whatever could reduce the ​impact of a meal on your blood sugar by 30%.

I freeze the whole organic lemon and then grate the whole lemon and sprinkle it into everything  I can when cooking including stews etc.  This was a tip given to me by another patient.

That is really encouraging.  30per cent is a lot.   I also like the taste and usually have lemon juice with olive or avocado oil on my salads.

I have just looked up cucumbers.  I had no idea that they contained so manyvitamins  and minerals.  I had heard that pantothenic acid (B5) was needed to help the adrenals get going again, and cucumbers have it and lots of other goodies !   

I ate at least 2 or three inches each day.  Stopped me feeling hungry.

Should have learnt how to grow them   I still keep them in my fridge and when I want a snack, cucumber.   You can survive in the desert with them, no I have no intention of trying that to see if it works.

Lodger i will eat more cucumbers now i know they ontain B5, would not mind been in the desert today flipping cold here.

A fresh crisp cucumber is great to eat.  Apparently if the cucumber tastes bitter it can be bad for you, I think the article even used the word poisonous.  

That is why I wrap  them in foil and keep in the fridge.

Tip came from a Food Production engineer.

Thats a good tip, will do the same

I now buy the cucumbers that are "seedless", some call them English Cucumbers (ha, kind of ironic for me to be communicating with Englanders (or is their a better word))... anyway... They seem to taste milder and the skin not as tough.  Also I slice them real thin! Then I feel I get more freshness tasting...hmmm... Not sure why, actually, but I like them real thin verses chunky slices. 

Never heard of seedless cucumbers, mind slicing them 'real thin' won't stop you feeling hungry.  Unles you slice them real thin and then eat one inch worth.

I have never heard of seedless cucumbers either !  Would like to have one as the seeds are ok when they are very small, but not sure I like them when they get big !!   I also like to slice them thin, sometimes with a potato peeler

Hope you eat the skin, like you do with potatoes, contains nutrients.

I didn't used to, but do now !

With my dry mouth syndrome I have now, thanks to Prednisone...going to ENT doctor tomorrow to see what he says...but hurts to eat anything dry or hard, dang it! So I've been needing to peel the cucumber. But love the idea of using a potato peeler!  Maybe if I cut/peel skin smaller it might be easier to eat...I agree Lodger, lots of nutrients!  

FYI, again on hair...mine NOT even getting oily...my sweat glands I think are compromised now too...anyway, if anyone else has this, lately when I wash I get hair wet, put on cheap conditioner, let it sit while wash other body parts, then rinse well and my hair is squeaky clean and soft and easy to comb out! Strange HUH?!?! Guess I don't need shampoo to get oil out since I'm not having any...ugh...will be glad to join the ZERO club...  

Mine doesnt get oily either.  I am finding the argon oil shampoo and conditi ner really good.   But I am do isNg the same as you sometimes and just usi ng the  condioner.