by Y on September 19, 2007
Debra asked this question on the “calling all thickening shampoo” thread, but I decided to repost it here so that other women can have the opportunity to find it easier and perhaps comment as well.
She Wrote:
I love reading these comments. I started loosing my hair about 3 months ago. My family doctor recommended I go see a dermatology. Dermatology told me to use Rogaine for women. I had to stop after a few weeks as I noticed i was loosing more hair. Than I had the biopsy done. Now he is telling me to use Rogaine for men! holy cow. What to do? Need your help please?
Hi Debra-
Welcome to the site!
I am not a doctor so I can’t give medical advice, but I’ll give you the information I’ve found out over the course of the last 8 years losing my own hair.
Did you recently go on or off birth control pills or any other medication? I don’t think I a personally agree that the dermatologist you saw should have advised you to go on Rogaine after only 3 months of hair loss. 3 months is a very short amount of time and you could have just been experiencing shedding caused by any number of factors.
It is not uncommon at all to start shedding more hair after beginning any hair loss treatment such as Rogaine. The hair shedding should be temporary. After a 1-2 months if the treatment works, new hair should begin to grow, hair growth works in cycles. When Rogaine causes hair shedding it may induce the hair shaft to fall off, the follicle would then enter a dormant phase in the cycle (temporarily) while the matrix is restructured for future growth, hopefully with a thicker and stronger hair shaft. In the meantime through you may lose more hair, but after waiting for several months you may have thicker and stronger hair with any new hair growth, assuming the Rogaine works. [click to continue…]
by Y on September 18, 2007
I was asked yesterday what my thoughts were on the lasercomb and other various laser hair loss treatments currently available. Admittedly, I’m not incredibly knowledgeable about them, rather I just have a personal opinion. This is what I wrote in response:
“As far as the Lasercomb, I haven’t tried it. Any hair loss treatment (no matter what it is) can cause what they call the “dread shed,” which is excessive shedding for a couple months before you see improvement. Truth be told, I can’t afford to shed anymore hair than I already am. Since I personally don’t think very much of the laser treatments, it’s really not worth it to me. I think that there would be women screaming from the mountain tops “I got my hair back, look at my pictures” if it were really all it was hyped up to be. Hair loss treatment is always a very personal choice, but for me I wasn’t willing to try the lasercomb.”
Like I mentioned this is just my opinion. I would love to hear other women’s experiences with laser hair loss treatments, whether it was the Hairmax Laser Comb, the Laser Hair Brush by Sunetics etc.
What concerns me more than the hefty price tag these treatments have, (ripping off vulnerable women is always a concern) is that I would hate for any woman to experience ill effects from it. Proponents of the laser hair loss treatments will inevitably say that the shedding caused by the laser treatment would be an indication that the treatment is working. They might go on to explain that this means the laser is exerting it’s effect on the hair follicles which in time will prove to be positive. Maybe. Maybe not. After all there are tons of medications that cause hair loss and shedding that certainly are not having a positive effect on your hair.
We all must form our own opinions based on the very limited information out there about the laser hair loss treatments. If it helps women I would definitely like to know and be able to share that with the other women visiting this site. But for now my thoughts remain unchanged.
by Y on September 17, 2007
June 14th 2004. I bet I know what you’re thinking. “That’s when her hair started falling out” Right? Nope. That’s when I had my ability to walk taken away from me. It was a normal day, and I was training for a big national competition in Australia with my horse. I had been riding for 10 years before that day, and falling off was just another thing. No big deal. I had heard that you had a 2% chance of something going horribly wrong if you fell off a horse, and I’d never come away with anything more then a couple of bruises and some sore muscles until that day. I was now a paraplegic. Being faced with the fact that I would never walk again. Ever. That I would be completely dependant on a wheelchair for the rest of my life and have to learn all over again to do simple tasks like looking after myself. It was hard. Very hard. But not the hardest thing I’ve experienced.
Just before my 16th birthday, my hair began to fall out. Very slowly at first, just a few more stands then normal. But in the next week it became more and more noticeable. There would be hair on my pillow, in my sheets, stuck on my clothes, on the lounge, in the shower, absolutely everywhere. Handfuls of hair would painlessly and effortlessly come out just running my fingers through my hair. I used to sit on the bottom of the shower in shock, as I watched my hair run loose with the stream of water and watch the water rise as the hair covered the drain. I was petrified of brushing my hair. I wanted to keep the small amount of hair that I had left. I felt so ugly, so alone, like such a freak. I was a girl! A YOUNG girl. And here I was holding my hair in my hands crying and hoping to God that this was just a horrible, nasty dream.
But it wasn’t. It was real, and after a while I decided it had to go. I was sick of the torment of showers and having to brush knots out of my hair and end up brushing out hundreds of strands, having it cover the entire house and having no control over it. So I decided to shave my remaining hair off to raise money for the Leukemia Foundation of Australia. [click to continue…]
by Y on September 16, 2007
Insurance companies don’t cover the cost of wigs, also known as hair prosthesis, when hair loss is caused by anything other than chemotherapy. And even then, not all insurance companies cover the cost of the hair prosthesis for chemotherapy related hair loss. Lisa Fayed, the cancer guide from about.com writes “If your insurance company does cover the cost of wig, you may need your doctor to write a letter or prescription that includes information as to why you need the wig, noting that it is not for cosmetic purposes, but for your emotional well-being. Request that your doctor prescribe a “hair prosthesis or cranial hair prosthesis”, not just a “wig”. Insurance companies are very particular of wording, and most will not cover a “wig”, but will cover a “hair prosthesis”, even though they are the same thing.
Well the “emotional well being” reason is still applicable for whatever the reason the person is suffering with hair loss. My insurance company covers the cost of orthotics, those little plastic like shoe inserts that are custom ordered from the podiatrist. The cost of the orthotics at my podiatrist, $500. That would provide for a decent hair prosthesis for a hair loss suffer. I suffer much more from my hair loss than I ever did from my unbalanced feet alignment. My foot ailment never caused me any “emotional well being” distress, just a little discomfort and pain, but yet that is covered under my insurance plan. They also cover “psychological treatment” which many women end up needing due to the devastating effect hair loss has on a woman’s self image. The insurance companies should realize that they are being penny wise and dollar foolish. They are probably spending millions on psychological treatment sought by people suffering with hair loss, when if fact that number could be cut down dramatically if they simply offered coverage of the hair prosthesis.
Something to think about.
by Y on September 16, 2007
Today is yet another one of the down days where I seem to focus more on my hair loss. There are a of those days. I guess perhaps it didn’t help that when I went to refasten my ponytail, my ponytail scrunchie had a ton of fallen hairs stuck into it. I flushed all the hairs down the toilet and along went a little more of myself with it.
I wear my hair up all the time, for two reasons, one is that I don’t want my hair falling all over me during the day, and the other is that it is the only way I can mildly “feel my hair.” This is going to be a hard concept to follow for anyone who doesn’t have hair loss, but as you lose your hair whether you’ve lost 1/4 or 3/4 of it, you no longer can feel it (obviously the more lost the worse it is), you become acutely aware of the fact that it feels like there is nothing there. Not a good feeling, it’s awful. I’ve been aware of the “not feeling my hair” syndrome since the beginning, but now it is at an all time high and I cannot actually function with my hair down. It simply does not allow me to think about anything else. It causes me to be paralyzed. From the shower into a ponytail, that’s how I live. Not a regular one either, it’s the kind that the hair is actually double looped and pulled though. Nowadays it is practically the only way I can wear a ponytail because it enables me to have a thicker diameter that the scrunchie can loop around.
I sit here wondering why this has happened to me. Why can’t I be stronger and take back control by making a decision to not let this rule my life or dictate a good day from a bad day. If I was stronger I would shave my head and be done with it. I logically know there are far worse things in life. But even logic cannot pull be out of the perpetual black hole I’m living in. This is my cross to bear.
by Y on September 15, 2007
I was watching TV last night when a commercial came on, it looked like your typical hair shampoo commercial you always see, but it most certainly had a surprise ending. Check it out.
by Y on September 14, 2007
Julie has sent me over her pictures of before and after pictures taken approximately 6 months ago. She was chosen as a model for Reprieve Hair, and these are the pictures from the shoot. Since her hair loss conditioned has worsened and her hair is very fragile, she can no longer wear it.
Julie, I just want to say how proud I am of you and how much I admire you for being able to be such a strong person, and for also being such a strong voice for women suffering with hair loss. You are incredibly beautiful inside and out. Through reading your story and through reading other women’s comments, I start to feel better, because I don’t feel so alone. I find that there is hope and that I may be able to accept myself one day. To move on and appreciate all I do have. So thank you. Read more about Julie’s Story
by Y on September 14, 2007
Julie had made a comment on the “Daily Hair Loss Grind” post about her suggestion for the steps to make yourself “wig” ready. I thought it was so beautifully put together that I wanted to share it with everyone here as an actual post on the blog. So here it is:
Steps to make yourself “wig” ready
Read your daily affirmations of the things you are grateful for, what makes you beautiful and strong? Do this for at least one week.
Call your friends and tell them about your “Day of Beauty” excursion and make appointments to get your nails done…makeup, whatever you want.
Locate the wig shop within the vicinity of the places you want to visit.
Write a journal about what it is you’d like to achieve when wearing a wig…create your positive thoughts and believe in them. I used to say, “i’m going to look just like Sandra Bullock with my new wig, I can’t wait” or I’d picture my face in so many different styles…so I new what look I wanted to achieve.
Plan an outfit for your day…wear something comfortable and try on different hats…use makeup lightly and embellish your favorite features.
When you wake up the day you are going, don’t look at yourself AT ALL! Ask your friends if something is in your teeth! Just avoid mirrors. Bring a “before” picture with you and keep it within reach, like in your wallet or pocket. Look at yourself, that’s who you will be again…pick out different styles and try them on..only look at the mirror once, it’s completely on your head! Wear your new look for at least 3 days and go everywhere with in on…Put it away for another 3 days and write about what it feels like for you. Find it within yourself to want change…and then do it.
by Y on September 13, 2007
I’m tossing the idea back and forth of taking a snapshot of my shower so you can see my crazy shampoo collection. All hair thickening / volumizing of course. Here is my list:
- Neutrogena Clean Volume
- Nexus Diametress Luscious Hair Thickening Shampoo
- Herbal Essence Body Envy
- Phyto Organic Syntress Volumizing Lift Shampoo
- Aussie Aussome Volume
And that doesn’t even include the conditioner, which can be even more instrumental in either aiding or wrecking the way your existing hair is going to look. Do you have your favorite thickening shampoo? I’m still on my quest for the perfect shampoo that is going to perform magic on my hair and turn into one of the gorgeous manes you see all over television shampoo commercials. The hunt continues… 🙂
by Y on September 12, 2007
| Julie has left some incredibly wonderful, helpful, heartfelt comments on this blog and now she is sharing her story. Here it is: |
For 10 long and arduous years, I’ve suffered from female pattern baldness. At 17, the pain of looking at myself in the mirror caused major depression and my health continued on a downward spiral. My gynecologist prescribed some birth control to regulate my periods and my acne, but the condition worsened. Soon, I was also put on anti-depressants, because I got depressed from the acne and hair loss…then, I couldn’t sleep at night because of the medication that I had to take for my hair loss and acne, and the depression because of my hair loss and acne! Phew! breath…so you see! After 10 years of tests and the determination I had in figuring out my problem, I figured the problem was bad practice of medicine. Well, 10 years ago is different and 10 years from now, answers will be different.
Working in retail with spotlights gleaming on my shiny scalp resulted in stares and inspections from nosy customers. No one understood the shock and devastation of losing clumps of hair. [click to continue…]
