By will-buy
A woman who was left devastated after losing hair to Covid-19 has regrown it with an lb8 product in a matter of months, despite doctors saying it might take at least a year.
Smita Jalaf, 33, from Birmingham, noticed that her hair started to fall out in the shower weeks after she tested positive for Covid-19 in January 2023.
For her, the knowledge was just like a 'horror film' as the locks would fall out in 'clumps' as she brushed or washed her hair. Eventually, Smita's scalp became visible.
She organised a Zoom call together with her GP to get to the bottom of the problem, but the GP initially believed it had been an insufficiency.
Following on from this, she phoned again and went for blood tests which returned normal. The doctor then diagnosed the hair loss as a side-effect of coronavirus, due to her weakened defense mechanisms.
'I felt mortified, saddened and ugly. I had lost certainly one of my best features,' Smita explains. 'I were built with a bad knowledge about Covid anyway but the hair thinning made it Ten times worse.
'Now I had been ugly, vulnerable and not special anymore.'
To try to combat the problem, the digital marketer cut her hair right into a shoulder-length bob. All the while, Smita continued to struggle with the fatigue and loss of appetite that Covid-19 caused.
'I was really, really weak,' she says. 'I couldn't eat anything. It had been awful.'
'Growing up Indian I always had long thick hair. My doctor explained my immune system got so weak that my hair then started to fall out.
'So I was in the shower washing my hair and i am not talking bits and bobs, I'm talking about chunks falling out.
'It looked like a horror film. I wasn't really eating right so my defense mechanisms got to the point where there wasn't much energy within my body.
'Your hair endures things like protein and vitamins and that i did not really have of that therefore it continued to get worse.'
As weeks progressed, Smita's self-esteem nosedived as others began to spot the hair loss.
'Indian women always have beautiful hair,' she notes. 'I felt enjoy it was removing my nice features and sweetness.
'I lost a big part of myself. My buddies and family did lead to making me feel self-conscious. The first thing people would say would be: “Your hair! What happened to you?” and “Oh my god, hair is finished.”
'I had to place a brave face on. Inside I did not feel happy.'
Devastated to lose one of her defining features, Smita searched the web for a solution.
She decided to purchase an expensive range, including a Grow Gorgeous bundle worth lb93.50, Wild Lemon Hair Growth Oil costing lb41.99 and the Revolution Haircare Salicylic Acid Clarifying Scalp Serum, that amounted to just lb8.
By May 2023, Smita noticed her hair beginning to thicken and regrow.
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'I've really needed to change my whole routine,' she shares. 'I'm keeping away from heat so I'm not straightening or curling my hair every two days.
'Using better products with less chemicals inside them has helped. Before I'd get something from the supermarket. Things are far better now, my locks are healthier, thicker and never falling out.
'This is due to me changing my whole attitude. I've adopted a holistic routine in my hair. My hair is a great deal shorter because I have a lot of short tufts of new hair regrowth.
'I am used to rapid hair now and happy.'
With her confidence restored, Smita shares videos on Tiktok detailing tips and haircare advice. Her clips have garnered 50 plus,000 views.
'Honestly your video inspired me to get my Covid jab! Glad yours grew back,' wrote one viewer.
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Someone else added: 'Wow! I'm feeling hopeful now. I had Covid in May. Recently my hair has been shedding every time I wash and comb it. Hope it's available soon.'
Finally, Smita wants to reassure others that hair thinning can be fixed and not to get rid of faith.
'Covid is not a normal disease,' she adds.
'It might have serious implications like it did beside me. To other people studying the same task – there's a way back from hair loss.'
