18 Million People Watched My Hair Grow Back After I Went Bald

After a particularly stressful year, Kianna Chang, 30, noticed clumps of her hair falling out. After consulting with her dermatologist, she tried minoxidil, a readily available drugstore product, and documented her journey on TikTok. Her videos garnered millions of views as people watched in awe as her hair went from patchy to bald. Then, with the assistance of an affordable drugstore product, her followers witnessed Kianna’s hair grow back.

What is it like to lose your hair as a young woman—and in the public eye, no less? How do you cope with the “Dread Shed” of your hair continuing to fall out even as you pursue treatment after treatment in vain? And what is it like to share your hair-regrowth journey for so many to see? We wanted to know more about Kianna’s experience—and what she hopes people take away from her story.

In July 2023, I got laid off during the entertainment strikes. I was blindsided, navigating unemployment and insurance, unsure how long the strikes would last and whether I might have to switch industries. I was afraid I wouldn’t get another job for years.

Eventually, though, I did get a new job. Things were looking up, and I was even set to take the European vacation I had postponed during the pandemic. Though I am not a natural planner, I was hoping to see so many different countries—an ambitious goal I knew would be a lot of stress. Of course, I was looking forward to the trip and to starting my new job, but having both on the calendar so close together was stressful.

Losing It All

One week into my trip, I started losing my hair.

The change was rapid. I awoke in my Zurich hotel one day and noticed a whole pile of strands on my pillow. As I got up, I realized there was a literal trail of my hair on the floor. This continued for the rest of the trip. I sat down at a table for lunch in Paris, and as soon as I got up and was done with that meal, there was so much hair on the ground. I was so embarrassed.

If I ran my hands through my hair, there would be clumps in my hands. My hair would fall out and stick to my clothes. I felt like I was leaving a trail everywhere. Within a few days, I noticed my hair’s part beginning to grow wider.

At that point, I knew this was serious. But I still had another week of my trip left.

Luckily, I was able to book appointments with my dermatologist and my doctor two weeks after my trip was over. I got my blood work done at the doctor’s and then headed to see my dermatologist. My doctor hadn’t been too worried, so I was feeling less anxious, but my dermatologist reacted differently.

She told me she had never seen a case of alopecia this bad before. She didn’t know exactly what was happening because at the time, my blood work results weren’t in yet, so she thought it might be a thyroid issue. She diagnosed me with diffuse alopecia areata. Alopecia is just the medical term for hair loss, so any sort of loss of hair is considered alopecia.

My blood work eventually came back normal, so even to this day, I’m not 100% sure what it was. Still, I’m positive it was stress-related alopecia, which can be called telogen effluvium. What’s really hard about hair loss is that you often don’t really know exactly what the root cause is.

Getting It Back

My dermatologist suggested I try using minoxidil topical aerosol 5% foam, so right after our appointment, I went to the pharmacy and bought a four-week supply of two cans for $38.

I started using it that day. I’d rub it into my bald spots and let it dry. I do that every day. I was very consistent about the minoxidil and applied it every night, after I washed my hair, before bed. I brought it with me everywhere, even when I traveled.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but when you start using minoxidil, there’s this thing called "dread shed," where all your old hair starts shedding. Your hair growth process restarts as it speeds up your hair growth, which means you’ll shed a lot of your old hair so new hair can grow faster. I wound up shedding from “dread shed” enough that I was completely bald on top of my head.

I noticed the minoxidil working about three to four months in, around March 2024. Around April 2024, I decided to finally cut off the last few strands I had left. It wasn’t shaving, per se, but at that point, I could probably count on my hand how many strands of hair I had left. I finally decided to bite the bullet and cut it off. It was a really hard experience for me, because I was letting go of virtually everything I had left.

I went back and forth with it, waiting until the very last minute because it was such an emotional experience, just letting go of it. I had never had short hair before. But I had bald spots the entire time, so while I was cutting off the hair, I knew it was necessary, but I was just scared.

Additional Treatments

I also tried red light therapy using a lamp I bought on Amazon. I used it a handful of times over the month, but couldn’t keep up. I also took daily vitamins and supplements, like biotin and flaxseed oil. I think red light therapy and vitamins might’ve helped, but I credit minoxidil as the main reason my hair grew back so fast.

Eventually, I also added Nizoral shampoo into the mix. It’s an anti-dandruff shampoo that’s supposed to help block the DHT hormone that can cause hair loss. I had a bit of scalp irritation and itchiness from the minoxidil, which is normal, and it definitely helped reduce the itchiness, so I started using it as my go-to shampoo during this time.

Getting Off Minoxidil

I used minoxidil every day for a year and started slowly tapering off over the course of three months. While I was on it and regrowing my hair, I noticed I didn’t lose any hair. I literally had zero strands fall out, even in the shower, so it felt like my hair was growing back stronger than it was before the alopecia.

I wanted to see for myself if I could stop using it because it’s not something I wanted to be on forever. It’s really toxic to pets, so there are things you have to rework your entire life around if you want to be on it forever. Plus, I figured, my hair was growing, and I’d rather know if I could get off it. If I needed to go back on it, I would’ve been okay doing so as well.

I’m now seven months off of it, and my hair is still growing and intact, so I think I’m good, but there’s always the chance with hair loss that it’ll happen again—especially if you’ve already experienced alopecia. Right now, I’m kind of in the phase where I’m still unsure, but things are looking good for now.

Why I Share My Story

Around May of 2024, I started documenting my journey on TikTok. My hair started growing back a little bit to the point where I felt confident enough to post. I was terrified and didn’t know if I was going to be able to handle any hate comments about my hair and my looks, which is why I didn’t do it right away. I kind of regret that; I think it would’ve been helpful to other people if I had documented it while it was happening. At the same time, I think it was probably a smart move for my own mental health to wait on my hair.

​One of the biggest reasons I started posting online was that I couldn’t really find anyone who was experiencing what I was experiencing. I’m sure there were people out there, but most of them looked like their hair loss occurred in patches and was not as severe as mine. I wanted to inspire others who might’ve had it as extreme as mine, so they wouldn’t feel so alone or like they were struggling.

I was very naive when I first started losing hair. I honestly did not know it was possible that stress could lead to this degree of hair loss. I didn’t realize how many people struggled with this. For people who aren’t even struggling with hair loss, this could happen to anyone.