Hair help? K18 failure, alternatives please?

[AshBea]

As the title says.

The backstory is this: I have had a rough few years, loads of health problems, hospital stays and confused Drs.
Around May/June I was deteriorating.
Among many symptoms my hair started falling out in clumps, even though I have always really looked after it.

At the end of June I was hospitalised.
I was falling into a coma.
At this point the Consultants finally found what is wrong with me, I was in hospital for all of July.
My diagnosis is an autoimmune disease, for which I will be medicated for the rest of my life.

My hair is long, straight and very fine.
Usually there is lots of it.
It grows ridiculously quickly, which is great in this case because the bald patches have already grown back by a few inches.

As recovery will take some time both my hair and my whole body I have decided to leave my hair to grow without a trip to the hairdresser until it is back to its’ previous thickness.

One of my friends is a beauty maven, I asked her for shampoo and conditioner recommendations.
She suggested K18 peptide shampoo, which didn’t blow me away but it was ok + K18 molecular repair mask, which made my hair sticky and difficult to brush.
I’m not going to use either K18 product again.

Can anyone suggest gentle shampoo, conditioner and hair treatments to encourage healthy hair (re)growth for my long, fine hair please?

Should have said I turned 50 in hospital! in July.
My hair is naturally dark, golden blonde.
It last had a few highlights 2 years ago.

My hair usually looks shiny and is in good condition.
I do not have any greys.

I hated k18 it left my hair lank and felt coated, it looked awful.
I find hair oiling has made a noticeable difference. Once a week when I don’t have anything on I slather it on, give myself a bit of a head massage then leave it as long as I can, usually most of the day before washing it out.
I switch between revlon shampoo and conditioner in a red bottle or redken ABC
I hope you’re feeling much better and find something that works for your hair

Sorry to hear if your health issues. I use La roche posay shampoo and treatments which are really gentle.

I’d giv Champo a go - if the issue is hair regrows and your hair is actually not over processed then K18 is going to do nothing for you as that’s a treatment for an entirely different hair problem.

I’ve been having haircut issues and Champo was, in my opinion, amazing (and smells heavenly) I did switch to The Ordinary hair loss serum, but my hair started falling out again.

Philip Kingsley density range,

I like Absolute Collagen hair thickening shampoo and conditioner. I also use topical Minoxidil.

If you want a peptide bond-builder that isn't k-18, I get on well with Cosrx Peptide 132. I only use the conditioning mask, but it works well on my mid-50s frizz. Rinses very well for me, but some reviews have similar issues to your k-18 experience. I get it on sale and a little goes a long way.

I like kerastase they do a growth one, genesis.

Have a look at Abbey Yung on Instagram. She says to focus on two things - scalp health and reducing breakage. You don’t have to do all the steps of her routine but she does recommend some good affordable products.

I like the OGX bond repair range and Olaplex no3.

Sorry to hear of your health problems and hope you recover quickly.
Another vote for the Kerastase growth one. My friend used it with good results.

Wow, thank you everyone. I wasn’t sure anyone would respond.
Also, K18 has almost a cult following so I thought people would tell me I’m using it wrongly!

To everyone wishing me well - I wasn’t expecting that and your kindness has made me emotional (I’m blaming my meds!) thank you.
My recovery will take a long but hey, I’m alive.

@managingexpectations yes! My hair was lank, yet sticky and difficult to get a brush through.
What type of hair do you have?
Which oil do you use, please?
Thank you for the shampoo/conditioner recommendations. I’ll see if I can get them in a travel size having learned a spendy lesson with K18!

Oh! I love LRP body cream, I use Cicaplast for dry elbows, knees etc. and the exfoliating Lipikar once a week on everything!
I didn’t even know they made hair products, I will take a look, thank you.

I’m sorry The Ordinary caused hair fall @OneandFiveOnly I think they use peptides too? I love peptides for my face, I’m not sure how effective they are for my hair.

You don’t have to answer this but what were your haircut issues?

When they were first available I tried the products for fine and thinning hair, I liked the smell. Otherwise I didn’t feel like my hair was really clean and the promised fullness and body didn’t materialise!
To be fair I can only ever achieve a little fullness with styling products, even hairdressers can’t make my hair full.
Having said all of that, they are nice products and I would recommend them to anyone else, it’s just me. I’m Becky with the bad hair!

As an aside; my hair will not take a curl.
Over the years I have tried everything, sleeping in things, hot irons, rollers, you name it.
My hair is stubbornly straight and fine, though there is usually a lot of it which can make it look like it has some body.

I’ve seen that @Charlenedickens do you mean the range in the dark green and white packaging?

@Deeandwizzy thank you, I will try the shampoo and conditioner.
Unfortunately I cannot use Minoxidil because of the meds I am taking.

@CapabilityBrownsHaHa hmm I might try Cosrx when I have recovered from the K18 disaster!

@rowlinginthedeep after I last posted I went to watch Abbey Yung and fell down a rabbit hole of YouTube trichologist content!
The big question mark I have is that I haven’t found any British trichology channels yet and USA products can often have different ingredients from their UK equivalents.
However, the advice is good and some of it is applicable to me.

There is a creator with Afro hair completely different from mine though she did explain the difference between serums and other treatments which grow hair vs those which help with thinning.
That made perfect sense when I watched it, it also made me feel really stupid! Why didn’t I know that?

The problem with my hair is not length, it is past my bra strap in the centre of my back because it grows so quickly.
I’m trying to ensure I don’t lose any more hair, stimulate my scalp to grow more and grow healthy hair back.

In the past I have been wary about Kérastase @MrsE1 and @Mybrowsaresisters I think because it is expensive and it seems to be everywhere, I assumed it wasn’t very good.
Apparently it is good and I am a fool!
Thank you, I’m going to try the Genesis line.