Luxurious Lush

I'm starting this review on Viviscal to document my journey of whether it works or not for my hair loss/breakage. I have a few theories but I'm not really sure what's causing my hair loss. Over the years I've always noticed I've lost hair here and there but nothing like now. Back in April 2019 I noticed I was seeing a lot of hair in the shower stuck to the walls and in the drain. As time went by the few strains starting getting bigger and now I'm seeing clumps of hair fall out when washing my hair. It's scary, sad and quite depressing some days. I miss my long lush hair I once had 2 years ago. I've had a few hair cuts but nothing major to change fullness/body. About a year ago I decided to change my hair color and went to a stylist. That was the first time in my life I ever had bleach applied to my hair. I probably saw her 3 more times and had that bleached applied but stopped back in Aug or Sept 2018. I sometimes wonder if that bleach damaged my scalp and roots? Or could it be from stress, age, family genetics, implants (someone mentioned this to me) or side effects from medications. I had some bloodwork done recently to check my hormones, thyroid, autoimmune system, A1C and liver -the full workup and everything looked perfect! Either way I decided to look for somethings I could do to help out on my end and this is how I found Viviscal. This is what I take daily below:
Viviscal 1 tab 2x day w/water after a meal
Natures Bounty Biotin Gummies 2x day 2500mcg.
Phillips Colon Probiotic 1x day w/meal
Complete Multivitamin 1x w/meal
Super B-Complex 1x w/meal
I bought WOW Apple Cider Shampoo & Conditioner as I heard good things about it. It's suppose to help with hair loss, breakage and nourish your scalp.
I will post updates of my hair throughout this process. Viviscal recommends you take their product 2x a day w/water after a meal for 3-6 months. I found this product at Walmart for $33 and it had a $10 rebate on Ibotta.
Started Viviscal 7/14/19
Biotin May 2019
Phillips Probiotic 6-8 months
Vitamins on/off 2 yrs
WOW Shampoo/Conditioner just purchased

Just stopping by with my 2 week update since using Viviscal and so far I have no complaints! At first I thought I was losing more hair but I wasn’t. I was still seeing my initial hair loss the first few days of use. As of the last day or so, I noticed I wasn’t seeing as much hair falling out on the floor throughout the day especially when I would use the pick or brush and even when showering. I’m not using the dust buster as much during the day sucking up the hair off the floor, cleaning the drain or brushes out as often. I’ve been itching my head a lot the last few days but maybe that’s a good sign?? Maybe that means my hair is growing?

PROS:
I noticed my hair is looking a bit fuller/thicker possibly from the new WOW! Apple Cider Shampoo & Conditioner Combo. I LOVE how soft, shiny & healthy my hair looks. You can tell it clarifies your hair of any impurities and build up.

CONS:
I am not WOW’ed by this product just yet as I have to use quite a bit to get it to suds up and I have thin hair. As for the conditioner it reminds me of thick cream. The conditioner is packed full of different oils so when I wash my hair every other day, it starts to look greasy. However the more I use it, the more it takes my purple out. Also I can’t massage it in as much because I’m afraid I’ll lose too much hair.

I’m going to attach a photo but it’s kind of hard to get the view yourself of the fullness. I will say the hair that is growing back is coming in a different texture. It’s weird going from straight hair all my life to now having curly hair on the ends. I have an appointment with a dermatologist in August. Hopefully they will shed some light on my situation. I read some information about shedding hair and the stages it goes through. I will post it in the next paragraph. I hope someone is finding this information helpful!

TELOGEN EFFLUVIUM
Under normal conditions, scalp hairs live for about three years (the anagen, or growing, phase); they then enter the telogen, or resting, phase. During the three-month telogen period, the hair root shrivels up into a small white “club,” then the hair falls out. It is therefore normal to lose about 100 hairs every day, more of them on days when shampooing loosens the hairs that are ready to fall out. The hairs are then replaced by the body.

Sometimes people worried about losing their hair start noticing hairs on their pillow or in the sink, not realizing that they’ve always been there. A close look at these will usually reveal the white club at the end, showing that these hairs were already dead. Normally, about 10% of scalp hairs are in the telogen phase.

There are several circumstances that produce a “shock to the system” that alters the hair growth rhythm. As a result, as much as 30%-40% of the hairs can cycle into telogen. Three months later, hairs come out in a massive shedding (effluvium), especially near the front of the scalp. These include childbirth, high fever, sudden weight loss (crash dieting), surgery, severe illness, and severe stress or loss.

None of these has to be life-threatening, nor does hair loss always follow them. (It can happen after one pregnancy but not the next.) But when the hair falls out, it’s all over the place — covering the pillow, clogging the drain, and so forth. Paradoxically, the more dramatic the hair loss, the better the prognosis, because when the body gets back into normal rhythm, most if not all of that hair comes back. No special treatment is needed. Normal shampooing can continue, because this only loosens hairs that were going to come out anyway.

I been using the Viviscal for 5 weeks 2 days. I don’t feel I notice a dramatic difference with my hair (thickness/new growth). As for the WOW Apple Cider Shampoo & Conditioner, I have decided to discontinue its use. It has a 60 day money back guarantee that I will definitely inquire about. I found with each additional use I literally was losing large clumps of hair and I can’t afford that at this point of time. I only noticed the increased hair loss and clumps in the shower when using the WOW ACV Shampoo & Conditioner. It actually is quite startling when seeing this.
I changed my my brand of vitamin to Spring Valley - Biotin/Collagen Support. I’ve gone to (1) Viviscal tablet a day since seeing my dermatologist on August 9. At that appt the dermatologist didn’t give me much hope or clarification on my issue. She stated I’m the first person she seen lose hair just on one side with no scar or pattern. My strain pull test didn’t result in anything as she stated you usually get 3 or more and she got none? My scalp look great which I will credit to WOW ACV shampoo/conditioner. It will make your hair shiny and feel great but it just wasn’t for me. I was washing my hair every other day and my hair would look so oily on day 2 because the conditioner is packed with a variety of oils and so forth. The Dr. prescribed Clobatesol to put on my scalp for (1) month. On my f/u visit we may do a scalp biopsy and try Minoxidil. I wasn’t impressed with this visit as I was placed with the new CRNP not the Dr my PCP originally referred me too as he was scheduled many months out. The CRNP came from an Urgent Care as where the Dr. I was referred to was highly recommended with great reviews.
I will post some progress photos and label accordingly.
Thanks for following my journey and I hope to help someone along the way.
I will state I am unsure if this hair loss has anything to do with my Mentor MemoryGel Smooth Round Mod+ implants like someone mentioned before. I did ask my dermatologist about BII and possible effects from that and she never heard of that before. I figured I would address any and all possibilities.