Post COVID hair loss: Will it grow back?

Posted by nichirschfield @nichirschfield, Feb 2, 2022

My husband had severe COVID in late Oct/early November, and now his hair is falling out rapidly. Has anyone else experienced this, and did it grow back?

Thanks,
Nicole

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@judyfa43

Thank you for responding!!! I very much appreciate it.
I have been taking Nutrafol for about a year, also applying Minoxidil topically to my scalp
twice a day, and experimenting with washing my hair either every day or every other day.
My dermatologist added Clobetasol applied topically once a day, and Ketoconazole shampoo.

Despite an initial spurt of hope, thinning of my ONCE very thick hair continues with tell-tale
signs similar to some animal living in my house and shedding - with hair everywhere, and a
large accumulation in the drain when washing it.

Blessings and hope to all us long Covid victims. One of my doctors has joined our group, assures me they are doing all they can to find treatment for us. I know there is a bill before congress for funding research.....

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I wash my hair every 4 days. But with the clobetasol you put on your hair I understand it might get a little greasy. Have you tried the red light cap? You know wearing a wig til your hair grows back is not so bad. You could rest your body from the drugs and save the money and just do the nutrafol(natural) and wear a wig when you go out. Calm yourself down. I believe the body rights itself eventually. Laugh too. Be positive. You are alive! Anyway, that is what I am doing.

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I am an 81 yr old female, but I lost some hair after Covid. I had already been taking Pure Life collagen peptides which I think has kept loss at a minimum. My daughter urged me to buy a very expensive keratin shampoo) Kera Factor).
Some people will say it’s age related, but my hair stylist said I had no abnormal hair loss before Covid.

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@dloos

Good luck to you.
I do think that this particular symptom may resolve for most people. It seems to me like a trauma response. I’m still in this thing so it has not yet resolved.
My husband got over Covid more quickly than I and his hair has grown back in.

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My hair fell out some after covid and bc diagnosis. I think my hair loss was caused by the trauma and stress. It seems to be growing back. I meditate and take nutrafol. 2nd month of nutrafol. Not sure if working yet.

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@user628267

I am having hair loss too, it awful. My eyelashes are falling out, my eyebrows are getting thinner. I have swelling over my body, and still suffering tremors, when will this ever stop, I'm on oxygen 24/7 . Even through all this I'm still working but its so hard the pain, and all of this is just to much, I spent 5 days in the hospital with covid, why do we still have to suffer. Why aren't they putting this out there so people know

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I also had swelling joints.. headaches.. hair loss.. each time I’ve had Covid 4times so far.. along with a cough that comes on for no reason and has lasted through 4 Covid hits.. during Covid 2 or 3 I got blood clots in my lungs .. and because I’ve been on antibiotics and steroids I now have osteoporosis and arthritis with bone loss so bad I have to be on a medication called Forteo a shot every day for 2 years that makes me very sick sometimes..

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I didn't even know this was a symptom until my hair started falling out in chunks. I stopped dying (thinking I would help take away less cause to losing my hair) it and in a few months, like 5 months, it eventually started growing back.

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I hope so I started wearing wigs!

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I'm glad I found this thread and want to share my experience and hope to find support. I'm a 39 yo female, healthy with no pre-existing conditions. Got sick in August 2023 but my two covid tests came back invalid (I think they had expired) so not sure if it was actually covid. A little over a month later I started losing massive quantities of hair. Fast forward to 9 months later and my hair loss has not lessened at all. Here's what I've been doing:
*The majority of my hair loss has been at the sides of my head--has this been the most common for you? I can now visibly see my scalp over both temporal areas
*Took Vegamour gummies and scalp serum daily for 7 mos. Saw some growth around my front hair line but no growth where the majority of my hair loss occurred, at the sides of my head
*Switched to Nutrafol supplements, have been on them for 2 months. So far no decrease in shedding, no new hair growth
*Daily massage serum or rosemary oil into my scalp
*Only wash hair 1x/wk
*Have had my scalp microneedled 3x (not PRP)
*Hormones and thyroid levels normal

I feel daily anxiety about my hair loss, especially because it's been almost 10 months with no regrowth. I now dread taking showers and even going to the gym and sweating, which makes my curls clump together to only reveal more of my scalp. It's almost made me a social hermit as it's taken a huge toll on my self-esteem. When I caught Covid, I was coming off of 3 years of intense, intense stress (new doctor, opened my own practice during the pandemic). I shut down my practice at the end of December 2023 and much of my stress is gone, so I assumed that my hair loss would slow, but this isn't the case.

Can anybody tell me where they saw most of the hair loss on their scalp and how long they saw the shedding for as well as how long it took for them to see growth? My fear is that this hair loss will be permanent.

Thank you guys for the love and support.

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@rainorshine

I'm glad I found this thread and want to share my experience and hope to find support. I'm a 39 yo female, healthy with no pre-existing conditions. Got sick in August 2023 but my two covid tests came back invalid (I think they had expired) so not sure if it was actually covid. A little over a month later I started losing massive quantities of hair. Fast forward to 9 months later and my hair loss has not lessened at all. Here's what I've been doing:
*The majority of my hair loss has been at the sides of my head--has this been the most common for you? I can now visibly see my scalp over both temporal areas
*Took Vegamour gummies and scalp serum daily for 7 mos. Saw some growth around my front hair line but no growth where the majority of my hair loss occurred, at the sides of my head
*Switched to Nutrafol supplements, have been on them for 2 months. So far no decrease in shedding, no new hair growth
*Daily massage serum or rosemary oil into my scalp
*Only wash hair 1x/wk
*Have had my scalp microneedled 3x (not PRP)
*Hormones and thyroid levels normal

I feel daily anxiety about my hair loss, especially because it's been almost 10 months with no regrowth. I now dread taking showers and even going to the gym and sweating, which makes my curls clump together to only reveal more of my scalp. It's almost made me a social hermit as it's taken a huge toll on my self-esteem. When I caught Covid, I was coming off of 3 years of intense, intense stress (new doctor, opened my own practice during the pandemic). I shut down my practice at the end of December 2023 and much of my stress is gone, so I assumed that my hair loss would slow, but this isn't the case.

Can anybody tell me where they saw most of the hair loss on their scalp and how long they saw the shedding for as well as how long it took for them to see growth? My fear is that this hair loss will be permanent.

Thank you guys for the love and support.

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My hair has not grown for two years.I use to have really nice long hair and it destroyed it.Clumps started coming out and than it basically fused together like dreadlocks.I had to cut it.The only thing that has changed is that my hair is pretty much all silver now.I had brunette hair and never even dyed it.Now it looks like a 100 year old woman's hair.It also does not go down.What I have left goes outward like I stuck my finger in electric socket with these weird little curls.I guess kind of like chemo hair growing back.My follicles on my scalp hurt too.Someone was saying that is part of it.My face,eyes,hair and body are destroyed from this virus.It is just awful.I hope they can come up with something to get mine to grow again.It is very upsetting.I feel your pain.

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@j77

My hair has not grown for two years.I use to have really nice long hair and it destroyed it.Clumps started coming out and than it basically fused together like dreadlocks.I had to cut it.The only thing that has changed is that my hair is pretty much all silver now.I had brunette hair and never even dyed it.Now it looks like a 100 year old woman's hair.It also does not go down.What I have left goes outward like I stuck my finger in electric socket with these weird little curls.I guess kind of like chemo hair growing back.My follicles on my scalp hurt too.Someone was saying that is part of it.My face,eyes,hair and body are destroyed from this virus.It is just awful.I hope they can come up with something to get mine to grow again.It is very upsetting.I feel your pain.

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I am so sorry to hear this and you are not alone. Thank you for sharing your experience with me. How interesting you mention your follicles hurting. I don't have this but I was watching a video from one of my favorite dermatologists, Dr. Andrea Suarez, about covid hair loss and she mentions scalp pain and exactly what causes this. This site doesn't allow me to post a link on here but you can look up her YouTube channel and look for the Covid Hair Loss Explained video.

How did the virus affect your skin? I've never had acne in my life but have struggled with acne around my jawline since contracting Covid.

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@rainorshine

I am so sorry to hear this and you are not alone. Thank you for sharing your experience with me. How interesting you mention your follicles hurting. I don't have this but I was watching a video from one of my favorite dermatologists, Dr. Andrea Suarez, about covid hair loss and she mentions scalp pain and exactly what causes this. This site doesn't allow me to post a link on here but you can look up her YouTube channel and look for the Covid Hair Loss Explained video.

How did the virus affect your skin? I've never had acne in my life but have struggled with acne around my jawline since contracting Covid.

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Thankyou for telling me about the video.I will watch.I don't have acne,but my skin is so dry it is literally like a 100 year old person.Every specialists I meet with mentions something about it.I went from a healthy 40 year old that walked almost 8 miles a day to pretty much disabled.I worked in healthcare and had to leave my job.I have really bizarre symptoms.I lost all strength in my trunk of my body especially diaphram and sternum,upper arms,legs and pelvis.Extremely dry painful eyes and weakness in my facial muscles which causes slow chewing,swallowing,talking and facial expressions.I had anemia for years and I believe covid got me and attacked my entire body including my central nervous system.Apparently covid attacks the vagus nerve which controls so many functions in the body.A doctor is trying to get me into NIH because the specialists I have seen can't find much.I wish they could find something to help with the hair growth.I will probably have to end up getting a wig or something.I don't even look like the same person I was 2 years ago.It is sad

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