I am writing this because after the gut-wrenching months I have experienced I thought maybe someone else may benefit from this ordeal. Every time I went online all I saw were HORROR stories. Even though my doctor assured me this was reversible and temporary, no one was posting solutions or follow-ups indicating that the hair loss had been resolved. I found this scary and disheartening. So, I tried to be hopeful that my hair would get back to normal and vowed that if it did, I would post the information so that others can read it, maybe use it, but above all, find a ray of hope. I hope it helps! And, please remember to consult with your physician before trying anything you read here.

Facts:

1) My hair is close to African-American hair. It is very curly and fine, and it is very dry. Just a bit less coarse and more manageable. I had a lot, lot of hair and it was pretty long (waist-length). Im Puerto Rican, if that helps. My hair was pretty healthy; I do not color and only use a very mild (olive oil) relaxer in roots for about 10 minutes, every 3 months. I do not use hair dryers or tools.

2) I am 58 and approximately 133 lbs. I am a 38 year old female. I have a pretty healthy diet. Eat fruits, veggies, meat, etc, regularly, but definitely do not follow the 2 servings of these or that per day. I am not a health nut, I eat what I want, but do try to have a good balance per week. I also exercise 4-5 days a week.

3) My acne was fairly mild before I started accutane. However, I had some recurring, cystic acne that was not going away and seemed to be getting worse.

4) I had tried pretty much everything on the market, prescribed medication from dermatologists and natural remedies, such as apple-cider vinegar, etc.

5) Was on accutane for 8 months starting at a 10mg dose for the first 2 months, and then increasing it gradually up to 60mg/day, which is my recommended dose. I was due to reach my cumulative dose on October 30^th.

6) Some time towards the end of September, about a week after I went to 60mg (from 40mg), I started noticing a lot of breakage. Since I was never told that hair loss was a potential side effect, I did not correlate it to the accutane until weeks later.

Story:

About 3 weeks into this mess it occurred to me that it may be related to the accutane. So, I went online and started reading all the HORROR stories. I freaked out! The more I read the more upset I got, and then every time I washed my hair, clumps came out. Also, the texture of my hair changed considerably. My hair became coarser and brittle. In between the first two major episodes, the hair loss was slightly more than normal. But in the second episode I had enough hair to fill up my palm. And, I had several small bald spots where you could see my scalp. I was horrified! My hair was pretty healthy and I have never had an issue with hair loss in my entire life. I spoke with my doctor and she indicated that yes, this was a possible side-effect of the accutane. She explained that it is completely reversible, but that it takes about 3-6 months for the hair loss to stop, based on normal hair-growth cycle; and, another 3 months for the hair to begin growing normally. I was horrified. I thought, in 3 months all my hair will be gone! I will spare you the gory details on how upset I got. I actually believe I had my first anxiety attack ever! I was pretty depressed and terrified. I also felt stupid! For putting myself through this when my acne wasnt that bad in the first place. So, I started searching for options/solutions online hoping to come up with something that would speed up the entire process. And, that would restore me to my actual, real self hair and all.

What I purchased:

I tried various products including NuHair Regrowth kit and various other options for a couple of weeks. Could not tell if they were working or not, but ultimately, I decided to got with as little as possible as described below. Most of these items I have used regularly in the past few years.

1. Conair Shower Comb (wide-tooth with almost inch space between)

Has wider teeth than my regular comb and I thought it would help minimize the breakage/pulling during detangling

1. Pantene Restore Beautiful Lengths Shampoo
2. Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recover Hair Mask
3. Infusion 23 (Repair & Renew) Leave-in Treatment
4. Organic Jojoba Oil

I purchased a few months prior after reading about it from acne.org when (ironically) preparing for my post-accutane days. It was mentioned as helpful for acne and I then found out it was great for skin, hair, scalp, etc.

1. Organic Virgin Coconut Oil (mostly for curly to kinky hair)
2. Horsetail capsules (400m)
3. Biotin capsules (5000 mcg per day)
4. silk scarf

What I did:

The regimen below is what I did from month 2 through 8.

1. I washed my hair only once a week at the beginning. Then, only once every 2 weeks because the stress of the hair washing was taking a severe emotional toll on me. I was very gentle with the shampoo and used warm/cool water. I did not dry my hair with a towel. I just squeezed out excess water and soaked it in Infusion 23. Applied the Neutrogena conditioner. Then detangled with comb slowly and gently and let it air dry.
2. Took 5000 mcg (5mg) of biotin daily. And, 2 or 3 capsules of Horsetail daily.
3. I tried very hard not to touch my hair or put it up or pull it in any way. Was careful when putting sweaters on and taking them off, etc. Because my hair is long I used an octopus clip or pins to keep my hair up when cooking, going to gym, etc. Putting it up in pony tail or bun pulled. At home, I usually had it down or pulled back from my face using light headbands.
4. I used the silk scarf when sleeping, but I found it easier to wrap it around my pillow than to sleep with it on my head.
5. The coconut oil I purchased because I have curly hair and once the new growth started coming in, it was coming in curlier and kinkier than usual. So, I sometimes used a tiny bit to try and tame the kink. In month 3, I started applying a bit of coconut oil to the scalp the night before hair-washing because I read it helps strengthen new hair. I used the jojoba oil on my hair and scalp and hair once every few weeks.
6. After the initial month or so of depression, I tried to get back to my normal routine. Started going to gym again, meditating, and trying to rise above this mess. Believe me, I know its hard. I felt, If one more person says dont stress about it, I am going to slap them! I am not a patient person, so this waiting game did take a toll on me.

I dont know how much of this helped or how much was my natural hair growth cycle. If nothing else it will give you an idea of what worked for me. And, like I said at the start, it will present an alternate outcome to all the discouraging horror stories online.

I am now at 7 months since stopping accutane and my hair is on its way to normalcy. Re-growing is hard because the hair is growing kinkier and curlier than it was before, so I am just trying to let it grow a bit longer and stronger before I try anything else. But, the shedding is minimal and it is growing back (approx. 5 inches) and getting stronger. Im looking forward to the one year mark when I hope my hair will be completely back to normal.

I also found out later via blogs that L-arginine supplements and black tea hair rinses can be of great help. I am using them now, but my hair was already on its way back when I started them.

There are other products out there with great reviews such as NuHair, but I stuck with what I described above.

Best of luck!!

Important Note: I did find that the 2 times I had major hair loss, I had just introduced a new conditioner or shampoo in an attempt to contain the problem. I am not sure if it was the actual product or my hair reacting to something different. Either way, I went back to what had always worked for me. So, if you have routine products for strengthening/moisturizing your hair, you may want to stick with those.