Rogaine: My Beauty Hero

My hair usually on the thin side, so its default setting was usually short.

For the last few weeks I've been experiencing the weirdest facial skin problems, ones I've never seen before.  Given that I'm constantly coming up with new strange symptoms (emphasis on "strange") it was difficult not to simply attribute the new problems to my CFIDS/ME and/or my fibromyalgia.  However, as I became more frustrated, it didn't sit well with me that something else was being blamed on the DD.

My face was becoming a bit rough, with a bit of bumps going on, not pimples, just bumpy.  Now I do have problems with pores and hyperpigmentation, but really, considering everything, my skin is not too badly off, especially in light of how little care it gets.  I thought it might be stress or any number of things, but nothing sat right.  Then a couple of days ago, my hand involuntarily came across a dry patch on an eyebrow.  What was going on?

Today I decided that despite how awful I've been feeling (oh my, I am sooo the master of the understatement) I needed to give myself a home DIY facial treatment, and a very serious one at that.  I decided to go through my *ahem* rather extensive collection of cleansers, exfoliants and treatment masks and line up my plan of attack in order to cut down on fibro-brain not being able to carry me through the process.  I'm talking serious business!  At any rate, Step One was taking a bath and that's when I suddenly realized the problem - finally!

Not too long ago, after getting my hair, lashes and brows done before my madcap adventure to Malaysia, the people at my "beauty palace" recommended a new shampoo/conditioner/serum system that was made for thinning hair. ("Thinning"?  I had five bald spots - yes, 5! - as described here).  I was told that women who lose their hair from chemotherapy love this particular product line because the success rate was even better than that of Rogaine's. This sounded tempting, despite my great success with Rogaine, because I would be eliminating a step, simply changing to a different shampoo and conditioner. They were out of the shampoo I needed, but had the conditioner and serum and to give the "beauty palace" wonderful credit, they didn't want to sell me a substitute for the missing shampoo, preferring that I buy the shampoo elsewhere, but get the right kind - for color-treated hair in addition to thinning - than get the wrong thing.

Well, I finally got around to ordering the shampoo a few weeks ago and loved it as well as the conditioner. Given how exhausted I was after taking a bath, I never had the energy to try the serum. I didn't even have the energy to use a couple of standard hair products either, ones I use religiously. I was delighted that my hair felt lovely - soft, no frizz problems, just the texture I really normally WISH for - despite the lack of added hair products and I was quite happy with the new shampoo and conditioner. I did feel that I needed to spend a bit more time and product washing my face because I really did not like the idea of all those hair-growth chemicals touching my face, but ignored that little voice nagging me. WHEN will I learn to actually listen to that voice: gut instincts are built into us for a reason, after all, no?

The new shampoo system was Nioxin #4, the kind for "noticeably thinning" hair. I'm not exactly blaming the shampoo as a lousy product, but it does give me pause: why would I want to expose my face to those chemicals, especially given that those with CFIDS/ME and fibromyalgia so often also have chemical sensitivities. If someone were to shampoo my hair the way one does in a salon where you sit back with your head against the sink, the shampoo never touching the face, it might be one thing, but in a bath - I'm not sure that's a good idea. A careful shower might be more successful, but I can't stand in a shower without collapsing, so that's pretty much out of the question.

But having said that, I must hasten to add that to make things worse, I've also had a terrible itching of my scalp problem, going nuts some nights. I had assumed (dangerous thing to do, I know!) that it had to do with my occasional bouts with head swelling, where the water builds up, and just yesterday upped my medication for this problem (as mentioned very briefly here). AND what's really gross is that after just two days of not washing my hair, my scalp was getting some sort of crud that would pop up under my nails as I madly went through scratching sessions. Misery? Oh my, yes, but "we" all know how many cruddy things we put up with and I just thought I was simply going through yet another yucky and gross CFIDS/ME/fibro symptom and annoying problem.

So, I think I'll be returning to the Rogaine treatment I was using before, as described in an earlier post. And I will also go back to the SmartLash for my brows (described here). The brows are starting to thin because I've just had no energy to keep up with them since my adventures - and after all that work! (Bangs head against the desk.) I think I'll wait for a while before I do anything with my lashes since I'm going through a bit of a problem with dry eyes, which started with itchy eyelashes: again, due to the new shampoo system? I have no idea if the eye problems are also connected with the Nioxin, but I'll be watching to see what happens in the next week or so.

So, there you have it: hopefully I now have the answer to this most annoying problem. One down and 8,997,999 to go, give or take a couple thousands.

And before *I* forget, a reminder that the clock is ticking for the Followers Giveaway and a chance to win the lovely Skyn Iceland kit. It's an incredibly great product line, almost a "cult" product line, and if UPS or the postal service can get to you, I'll gladly send it to the winner wherever she (or he) may be. Don't be shy...the odds are greatly in your favor and it's an incredibly easy and quick thing to do. Just go here for the easy-peasy rules and the place to leave your very quick comment. And if you subscribe to my blog and don't have CFIDS/ME nor fibromyalgia, please don't feel shy about entering the Giveaway: you actually almost deserve extra credit as you learn more about this illness and thus become our "goodwill ambassadors"!

At any rate, thanks for stopping by and until next time: I hope everyone is feeling the best they can be, only better!

Dealing With Chemical Sensitivity

Wearing all cotton by Joan Vass made life infinitely more comfortable: office get-together picnic in the '80's (can't you tell by the hair???)

Like many of "us" who are cursed with this DD, I can't walk down the detergent aisle of a store because that aisle in particular seems to irritate almost all of us with CFIDS/ME/fibro in the form of migraines and even skin irritation, often in the form of abrasions and hives.  I can't even go into most department stores without my eyes turning severely red, which burn so painfully that I find myself wondering, "how much worse can any of Dante's hells possibly be?"

On the whole, however, I've found that the higher-end stores like Saks are significantly easier to "endure."  My head and skin tell me that the higher-end stores don't use as many chemicals in products (such as clothing) as the lower-end stores do.  Due to the superior fabrics used in high-end stores, fewer chemicals are needed, for example, in their sizing, in order to look good.  Furthermore, when fewer chemicals are used, the stores themselves don't cause my eyes to immediately redden and water, and a migraine hitting me like a sadist banging a shovel over my head as soon as I walk through their doors.

At any rate, I thought that I'd jot down some of my survival tips in this area of pain in the behind-ness:

1.  If at all possible, wash your garments before wearing them.  Of course, as with most things, there are exceptions to the rule.

•  I find that Eddie Bauer and The Gap/Banana Republic T-shirts, for example, are OK.  Yes, some garments will make my eyes burn but in a perverse sort of way, that's a blessing since it warns me to not even go there! Eddie Bauer and The Gap don't seem to make my eyes red, I get no headache nor skin sensitivity in the way of hives and/or rashes.  However, since I only order on-line, I'm not sure how actually going into one of their stores would react with my traitorous body.

• I try to buy fabrics which are washable and do not require dry cleaning.  Of course I'm not crazy enough to do this with coats, though I must admit that I once tried this with a washable suede jacket and to say that it was a failure is to say that Dorothy had a bit of a hard time getting back home again from Oz.

2. Establish if you are allergic to any detergents, fabric softeners and other laundry products, including spray-on starch and spray-on sizing.  I find that I'm off and on in this area.  I'll be sensitive for a few years, start in with the more "organic" products for a couple of years and go back to the old, established ones.  (Am I high-maintenance?  Nah!  What could possibly give you that idea?)  Surprisingly, I don't have trouble with Downy fabric softener: in fact, if I don't use it, I have skin irritation, perhaps because the clothing is then too hard on my skin?  And for some reason I've not had good luck with the organic fabric softeners.

3. Set "rinse" on max and/or "extra cycle" in your washer setting in order to get rid of as much detergent as possible.  This is, actually, my best weapon in my laundry wars: rinse, rinse and rinse, and then rinse again.

4. As my garments become more mine and less the manufacturer's, I find that I can use less cleaning product as well as less fabric softener. With each wash, more of the chemicals are washed out, bit by bit, load by load.  Because of this, I like to buy higher end garments (nightgowns and lingerie, especially, since they are closest to the skin).  I'd much rather lean toward the expensive nightgown which will last me a minimum of 10 years, has fewer chemicals to wash out in the first place due to the finer fabric, than a cheaply made one which will last only for a couple of years, most of which time I'm fighting the chemicals embedded in the fabric.  I discussed cotton wear (nightwear) in this post, here. 

I hope that you can find something in this post that'll help make your life easier.  What tips can you offer us in dealing with these chemical sensitivities?  We'd love to have more tips!

And, finally, I do hope everyone's feeling their best today, only better. Ciao and paka!