Washing Hair And Blowdrying Is Exhausting

[Suzanne]

Hi, does anyone else feel dreadful after they have washed hair and blowdryed it? I have to lie down for an hour. I make sure the water is not hot and I don't do anything fancy with my hair, but still, it is every second day. Tried doing at night, but it exhausted me so much that I had trouble sleeping. I feel I need to cut it all off, but I am hanging on, have had to change so much, my body is a bigger shape, but I try and care for my hair - call me vain! Any tips would help.

[Tanzanite]

I'm even worse, due to POTS I'm lucky if I get a shower once a month or even two! I'm fed up with my horrid lank, greasy, matted hair and I used to shower once, sometimes twice a day. I feel awful for days, can't breathe properly, exhausted etc. I have to use almost cold water too.

If I'm desperate for my hair to be washed in between I do use NoRinse Shampoo, it's not ideal but it gets me by in between showers. Also the NoRinse bodywash which is excellent. Even doing that leaves me ill for a day. If someone else washes me and/or my hair I still suffer just as much as if I've had a shower. No win situation.

After I have had a shower though, I use Avon fresh hair extender, it keeps my hair looking ok for longer (up to 2 weeks) after a proper wash. Though they're discontinuing it now, grr!

[Tessa]

You are not alone. I feel exhausted after having a shower or washing my hair. Blowdrying on the same day of a shower is just impossible.

I have tried to organize myself by having a shower one day (without washing my hair) and washing my hair another day, when I am feeling better... I do not dry it completely anymore as I cannot stand the heat and the effort.

Now in the summer, I just leave it drying by itself.

Hope this helps,

Love

Tessa

[persephone]

It is exhausting because we have to raise our arms up to wash our hair and that makes the heart beat harder and faster. I cannot compromise on showers- it is very rarely that I won't have one. luckily, my university room has a walk in shower with a fold down seat, so that if I feel myself starting to go funny, I can sit down. I sometimes have to when I'm doing my hair. Have you tried getting a seat in the shower? I find that when i'm bad, standing up is murder. you could always try washing your hair in the bath by just lying back - I have done that , too at home, but moving from supine to sitting up in the bath can be really, really hard, especially if you are very dizzy.

A month without a shower is something no one should have to suffer. Can someone help you shower- a close friend or a relative? failing that, in the UK at least, if someone is fundamentally unable to maintain their own bathing and washing needs, then social services are obliged to carry out an assessment and help them to do it.

[MightyMouse]

Heat + exertion, especially with arms above shoulders usually equals feeling bad for people with autonomic problems.

I got my hair cut super short in 2002 and have never gone back to longer hair. I don't even need a hairbrush!!! In fact, I'm leaving to get my hair trimmed in about 10 minutes--the only downside is I need to get it cut every 3 weeks to keep myself from looking like a matted dog.

Nina

[Tanzanite]

It is exhausting because we have to raise our arms up to wash our hair and that makes the heart beat harder and faster. I cannot compromise on showers- it is very rarely that I won't have one. luckily, my university room has a walk in shower with a fold down seat, so that if I feel myself starting to go funny, I can sit down. I sometimes have to when I'm doing my hair. Have you tried getting a seat in the shower? I find that when i'm bad, standing up is murder. you could always try washing your hair in the bath by just lying back - I have done that , too at home, but moving from supine to sitting up in the bath can be really, really hard, especially if you are very dizzy.

A month without a shower is something no one should have to suffer. Can someone help you shower- a close friend or a relative? failing that, in the UK at least, if someone is fundamentally unable to maintain their own bathing and washing needs, then social services are obliged to carry out an assessment and help them to do it.

Social services gave me a stool for the shower but when it's in there, there's no room to move. A stool is no good for me anyway, makes me feel dizzier.

Someone helps me get everything ready to have a shower but they can't help me in it, too small.

I can't have a bath because it's downstairs, I can't get downstairs. The one time I did try it, I nearly stopped breathing.

My landlord wont allow any adaptations to the house and I can't find a new place to live because no one will take benefits. I'm on the council list for a place but was told it would be a ten year wait!

I used to have short hair but it's now really long and drives me crazy. Haven't been well enough to have it chopped again then there's having to keep the length maintained by having it cut every 6wks. I haven't been well enough to have a hair cut for 2 1/2yrs! I feel like putting it in a ponytail then chopping it off myself even if it's all wonky lol I could solve the problem completely with a shaved head lol

[Tessa]

Nina, I also got my hair cut shorter than usual this summer for the same reason.

[pat57]

http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/shoppin...eyword=psssssst

[pat57]

That link went clear across the page when I posted it so to type a message "broke " the link, so heres my comment. The stuff works good. Not cheap. It has a strong smell. If you can't tolerate hairspray, you probably can't tolerate this.

[Sophia3]

Yuck! Spray on shampoo! I remember when that junk came out in the 60's or 70's.

Its my SCALP that gets gross. When too tired to shampoo, i kneel on chair over the sink and rinse it with diluted vinegar water. Scratch or brush scalp first, wet hair, rub scalp and then put on vinegar solution. Rinse well.

I have a goose neck faucet in bathroom sink. I can NEVER wash and blow dry at the same time. I use a chair for hair and makeup up fixings when I do those two things.

I try to shower once a week or so and take "spongebaths" in between.

Even a shower chair does not help much.

I have to wash my hair every day or every 48 hrs due to scalp issues. But when ill, I have just rinsed with plain water or the vinegar deal (2 Tablespoons to quart of water, do not get in eyes)

I have cut my hair to chin length and may get cut shorter in the back but can't afford the frequent hair cuts or going INTO salons regularly. Hate the environment of music and or smells.

[flop]

Dry shampoo - Batiste (the tropical scented version) is fantastic! Rather than needing washing every 3-4 days my hair will go 2 weeks between washes if I use the spray shampoo. You do need to ensure that you get it on all areas of the scalp though - tipping upside down to spray it on is the easiest way, then a stiff hairbrush.

I never wash my hair and have a shower at the same time (no energy / too dizzy to do that). I stand / kneel next to the bath and tip my head forwards over the bath and use the shower held in my hand. I try to towel dry as much as possible and then use a hairdryer set on "cold" to blow dry. If I am feeling really bad I will hold the dryer with my elbow near my body and the jet of air blowing upwards. The next morning I use ceramic straightners to make it look presentable - all set for the next 2 weeks.

Hope that some of you might find a useful technique to try in all of my babbling,

Flop

[Sunfish]

at my "best" these days i can get a seated shower once a week, which is then my "project" for the week. i do wash my hair during this shower b/c i haven't figured out a way to do it separately that isn't in fact worse. i used to have really bad scalp issues but for some reason they have been one thing that's improved for me which i'm super thankful for as they used to get out of control (to the point of being painful) without my using prescription shampoo every 2-3 days at minimum. thank God for small blessings! but anyway...

i cannot remember the last time i blowdried my hair. literally. i never did it (or had any interest in doing it) all of the time, but when health didn't limit it i usually preferred it in the winter for warmth sake. spring/ summer/ fall i was always an air dry gal, regardless of how short or long my hair was at the time. but these days my version of drying my hair is putting a towel on the pillow as i'm collapsing onto it .

as some of you know, during/ between my months of hospital stays this past year i wasn't able to get any semblance of a regular shower/ bath/ hairwash for months. in past years i'd always hated the no-wash shampoos (tried during other hospital stays) but this go-around the hospital had something i LOVED. it wasn't by any means the same as a real hairwash, but it was loads better than nothing & unlike other no-wash options i'd tried in the past actually made me feel cleaner (scalp too) rather than dirtier after using it. i bought some at home now too & while they're quite expensive, they're well worth it if/when a real wash isn't possible for more than a week or so at a time. and they've been on a sale a few times at walgreens (buy 1, get 1). here's a link http://www.comfortbath.com/aboutrf.cfm. it has a link to where you can buy them as well. essentially they look like a shower cap but have no-rinse shampoo of some variety inside. a lot less messy, don't smell bad, can be warmed up in a microwave first (but not necessary), & can really allow for a good scrub of hair & scalp by yourself or someone helping out.

melissa

[yogini]

Hi. I get tired showering too. I used to shower every morning before work, but since my last POTShole I started showering at night. I don't feel as clean, but it is much easier for me energy-wise. That way I just collapse after the shower. I have thick. long hair which I insisted on washing every day up until I got POTS. Now I wash every 2-3 days and use the Klorane spray shampoo in between, which works but has a little bit of a smell. I used to like Paul Mitchell Dry Clean Only, but don't think they make that anymore. I'll have to check out some of the other brands you guys mentioned. I do find that I have problems with my scalp because I think my scalp never adjusted when I stopped washing my hair every day. Actually in the salon they tell you not to wash every day, so we shouldn't feel bad.

For those of you that have trouble blow drying, try getting a hair dryer stand from Bed, Bath and Beyond - it's just $20 and you can blow dry w/o having to hold the hair dryer!

[Tammy]

I have to plan to take a shower when I know I'll have time to "recover" from it. Sadly, my husband ends up telling me I stink and tells me to go shower, but it's soooooo much work when at my worst. It's just crazy, as before this started years ago, and when I was able to work, my co-workers all joked about how I loved my long hot baths and at the time my husband put in a huge corner whirlpool tub in the bathroom we had added on to our home just for me since he knew I loved baths so much.... I think I got to use it about two times before I got too sick to use it and now it just sits there, unused. What a waste of lots of money for the beautiful bath tub I'll never get to use for a long time, if ever. Oh well, at least I live in a country that has running water so when I have to bathe, I don't have to try and walk 10 miles to get to the nearest watering hole. Ah, life.... it's all how you look at it!

- Tammy

[Suzanne]

Thank you all so much for your feedback. I feel lucky to have a shower at all. A good suggestion was to only have a shower at night. I am a bit of a clean freak, but I think this will work for me. Just have to work out best time to shampoo hair. I can't put my head in a sink, but will try for a midday shampoo. I might have to bite the bullet and talk to my hairdresser about a simpler style, one that needs little blowdrying. As always, good to know I am not alone.

[pastordari]

Arms over the head it possibly my toughest position.

Thanks for the hairdryer stand idea. Who would've thunk it???

I've found that bending over and drying my hair upside down is easier for me.

You have to raise up slowly. Can't do that quick flipping of your hair like models do o TV or you will go plop!! l

I've gone from a hairdried, styled, flip style to a quick wash and scrunchy style.

People surprisingly like it better and it takes way less time to accomplish.

Dari

[Sunfish]

just wanted to chime in (again) that showers at night (seated) worked well for me in past years as well, i.e. when i was still able to work. though i'd previously been a morning shower gal i "converted" & thus would take my showers just before bed for night. i'd essentially just crash for the night post-shower, perhaps watching a bit of TV or movie before sleeping.

melissa