i was lucky enough to have an out-patient consultation with one of the world's most renowned natural hygienists and fasting doctors at his retreat last week. it really was a very worthwhile experience.

one of the things that i wanted to discuss with him was the drastic hair loss that i have experienced through fasting. there has been some discussion about this lately on this forum and i promised to post about it…

he told me that he warns all fasters, irrespective of their presenting symptoms, about the possibility of hair loss, which can occur approximately 30 days after completion of the fast. (this was almost the exact timeframe that i experienced after my first 26 day fast).

so what does this hair loss mean? nothing really! he does not consider it to be indicative of any imbalance or deficiency (eg. thyroid imbalance, insufficient Iodine etc) created during fasting. he was equally dismissive of the ideas that this hair loss could be caused by detox from heavy-metals, or a lowering of estrogen levels. (these are all theories that have been discussed here in times gone by)

i also later found this reference from dr isabel moser’s online book: ‘how and when to be your own doctor’

‘One of the most distressing experiences that happen occasionally is hair loss. Deprived of adequate nutrition, the follicles cannot keep growing hair, and the existing hair dies. However, the follicles themselves do not die and once the fast has ended and sufficient nutrition is forthcoming, hair will regrow as well or better than before.’


http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/020102moser/020102Moser03ch3.html


my doctor said it would take 18 months to 2 years to completely regrow (i have shoulder-length hair and unfortunately look ridiculous with short hair or hats!). he also said that the hair may grow back quite differently.

so i am already experiencing hair regrowth (it’s all fuzzy and fluffy, which would be cute on a bunny rabbit, not so much on me) and the hair quality itself has changed. when i was at my most symptomatic, my new hair was growing in quite coarse and completely white: now it is growing in nice and black again.

however, it is now about 30 days since my last 14 day fast and i am losing hair by the handfuls yet again – and i really don’t have all that much to lose now!*yikes*

in terms of healing, the doctor’s advice was (basically) to fast through to completion – which he estimated would be about 21 consecutive days. (the reason why i say ‘basically’ is because he does not – unequivocally – recommend fasting without supervision. i am going to do my fast from home, unsupervised, though…)

so this time i am going to try applying some virgin coconut oil (or perhaps a mixture of coconut oil with equal amounts of olive oil & castor oil and few drops of lemon juice) – topically, to my scalp only – to try and reduce the risk of any potential hair loss. i’ve been reassured that this will not have any impact on my fasting or healing process.

my plan is to fast to completion after easter. i’ll let you all know how my home remedy goes!

(i should also probably add: this does seem to only happen to a small percentage of fasters, particularly if this forum is anything to go by. most people don’t seem to encounter the kind of severe hair loss that myself and high on water have had…)

wishing you all lustrous locks and bountiful health!

- lulu

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