As most everyone who frequents this network knows, I started this site in 2007 during one of my darkest and loneliest times. At that point, I had already been dealing with hair loss for 8 years, but things had taken a drastic downward turn and down I fell into the hole of isolation.

That was then.

Since that time I have had the chance to interact with so many women that have touched my life in such profound ways. I have discovered just how strong women really are, and I have learned so much.

By being able to unite women with hair loss, and helping them to find support and understanding, I have found just that for myself… understanding and support, and I no longer feel alone.  I have met a few women from the network, in California and New York, and each time it has been a truly wonderful and amazing experience.

I just wanted to say Thank You to Everyone. Thank you for helping me to find some inner peace, a strength I never thought existed, and friendship that is pure and true.

You have changed my life.

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life.. and I’m feeling good
~Nina Simone

A press release was issued yesterday titled “Researchers Develop First Successful Hair Cloning Technique - Major Advancement in Hair Restoration” the subtitle reads ” Gary Hitzig, M.D. and Jerry Cooley, M.D., are the first medical doctors to successfully develop a hair cloning technique using a wound healing powder.”

For years we have been hearing about scientists and doctors working to clone hair, but up until now I was beginning to think I’d be in flying vehicle like George Jetson, before it would actually come to fruition. Aren’t I cynical? But hot diggity dog, it seems to have been done.

According to the press release, using the MatriStem MicroMatrix healing powder, doctors Jerry Cooley and Gary Hitzig have been able to actually to “create a technique that multiplies the number of hair follicles in an area that had previously stopped growing hair.”

In an interview conducted yesterday between Spencer Kobren and Dr. Jerry Cooley, the following question was asked by Mr. Kobren, “What exactly is MatriStem? How is it made and what does it do?”

Dr. Cooley replied:

“It is derived from urinary bladder matrix from pigs. Now it is a very specific anatomical layer that has basement membrane proteins as well as growth factors, and this material has an ability to actually stimulate the body’s natural healing processes. When there is an injury in the body it can follow one of two pathways. It can follow regenerative pathway, which doesn’t happen very often, or more likely it can follow a scar pathway. The body just fills in a defect with scar tissue, I think like spackle. Well this material stimulates the normal regenerative pathway to occur, the body’s stem cells are recruited to come into the area of injury and actually regenerate what used to be there, normal tissue“

You can listen to the entire 20 minute interview on The Bald Truth website: http://www.thebaldtruth.com

While hair growth was not the original intended use for this healing wonder created by ACell, Inc, it seems to be a nice addition to the list of ailments it was suppose to be used for.

The magic pixie dust powder actually regrew (yes I said REGREW) a man’s finger! Watch the video below:

For more information on ACell and MatriStem visit:

acell.com

American Hair Growth Centers (aka Natural Hair Growth Institute) Steals Copyrighted Information - Are They Trying to Deceive Consumers?

What do you do when you are being sued by the state after numerous complaints have been filed against you and your company? Well if you are Steve Bennis’ Natural Hair Growth Institute, you change your domain name, steal other people’s copyrighted information and hope for a new start in the cyber world.

On Nov 17th 2009 the State of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit against two Chicago based hair growth institutes, The Natural Hair Growth Institute, Omega Hair Group and their owner, Steve Bennis. [ Read About The State of Illinois Vs. Natural Hair Growth Institute, LTD ]

On Dec 4, 2009 the domain American Hair Growth Centers was registered, and the domain for The Natural Hair Growth Institute now forwards over to this new domain and website.

On December 23, 2009 William Gaunitz from Evolution Hair Centers, wrote a blog post titled “Warning Issued to American Hair Growth Centers (aka Natural Hair Growth Institute).” In this post he explains how Steve Bennis and his new American Hair Growth Centers, stole copyrighted photos directly off his website claiming to be the before and after photos of American Hair Growth Centers.

On December 29, 2009 William Gaunitz updated his blog with a new post titled “American Hair Growth Centers Took Down Stolen Photographs.” Apparently Steve Bennis is claiming he is merely acting on behalf of American Hair Growth Centers, in this far fetched explanation he states he sold the company to a firm out of Florida. Is it just me or does anyone else find that funny? There was a firm interested in buying a company that was being sued by the State of Illinois? In this post Mr. Gaunitz further reveals that there is no DBA registry for the company called “American Hair Growth Centers” in the state of Illinois.

The whole thing gets even more hairy. The new Natural Hair Growth Institute website, calling themselves American Hair Growth Centers has stolen most of their educational “Hair Loss Info,” seen on their home page, directly (word for word) off the non-profit organization website, The American Hair Loss Association (see photo below). I mean how low can a person really be? Stealing copyrighted before and after photos from another company, and stealing copyrighted information off a non-profit website is in my opinion, deplorable behavior.

The American Hair Growth Centers website is also listing an organization in their “resources” section under “organizations,” called “The American Hair Loss Society” What is that? Do you think someone is trying to confuse consumers, and make them think that is actually the legitimate non-profit organization, The American Hair Loss Association? The majority of the information on that website (if not all) is stolen directly (again word for word) off the AHLA site.

So lets recap, The Natural Hair Growth Institute (owner Steve Bennis) is currently being sued by the State of Illinois. The Natural Hair Growth Institute website now forwards to The American Hair Growth Centers’ website, which has previously stolen pictures and content from Evolution Hair Centers. In addition they stole the majority of educational content for men, women and children directly off the American Hair Loss Association. In addition to that (as if it could get worse) they, in my opinion, attempted to create a organization to confuse consumers and chose a name nearly identical to the American Hair Loss Association, and in doing so, also stole the majority of content directly off the non-profit site also. [click to continue...]

The Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, has filed a lawsuit against two Chicago based hair growth institutes, The Natural Hair Growth Institute, Omega Hair Group, and their owner, Steve Bennis.

“The defendants in this case use highly sensational marketing slogans to convince consumers to pay thousands of dollars for a service that simply isn’t proven to be effective by modern science,” Madigan said.

The Natural Hair Growth allegedly failed to provide consumers with full refunds for its service which carried an average cost of $8000 - $12,000.

Natural Hair Growth Institute uses laser therapy, scalp massage and topical hair products that it says will help consumers in regrowing hair within six months. A 100% refund is promised by the defendants if consumers are not satisfied with their results. The lawsuit alleges that the treatment method used by the defendants fails to produce the results advertised, and that the company then refuses to provide full refunds to consumers after repeated requests.The Attorney General’s Health Care Bureau has reported that nine consumer complaints have been filed against the Natural Hair Growth Institute.

The lawsuit also alleges that the company falsely claims that its “Orbit Laser Light” treatment is similar to laser light therapy that has been in use in Europe for 25 years and that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently approved for use in the United States. The lawsuit claims that the defendants’ laser light is not the same as the FDA-approved one.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan is asking the court to permanently ban the defendant from operating in Illinois in her lawsuit. She also requests full restitution for affected consumers and civil penalties of $50,000 for each violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act.

Reference: http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/224084-lawsuit-brought-against-illinois-hair-regrowth-institute

I checked the Better Business Bureau and found that 24 complaints were filed against The Natural Hair Growth Institute. It also states “Based on BBB files, Natural Hair Growth Institute has a BBB Rating of F on a scale from A+ to F.”

These complaints concerned:

1 regarding Advertising Issues
5 regarding Contract Issues
1 regarding Customer Service Issues
10 regarding Guarantee or Warranty Issues
7 regarding Refund or Exchange Issues

I hope that this lawsuit helps to bring some peace and justice to those who have felt they were wronged.

I had written awhile back but wanted to send you my story again, and this time post some positive updates.

One thing that I noticed way back when my hairloss journey started, was that the negative posts and testimonials by far outweighed the positive ones. My fear was that most women were losing this hairloss battle. My hope was that once they solved their hairloss nightmare, they were too busy not worrying about their hair to post their updates. I want to submit my story because I am having positive results as I attempt to figure out what has happened to my hair and how to stop the cycle of loss.

It was 2004 when my life changed. It was 3 months after I had stopped taking birth control (alesse) and my hair was coming out in ropes. I’ll never forget taking a shower before going out one Friday evening, and my hands were covered with hair. At the time, I had no clue that it was related to the cessation of using birth control. I thought I was dying, from cancer, from something. I stayed home that night and didn’t go out, I’ll never forget sobbing the whole evening, scouring the internet trying to figure out what was going on. My vanity was bruised. I remember feeling too ugly and embarrassed to be social or even go to the gym. I took a 3 week leave of absence from my job to go be with my then-boyfriend (now wonderful husband!) in Europe where he was for work. I needed his support and he was truly there for me no matter how embarrassed I was. I had extensions put in after much research, just to make me feel like I had hair again. I did everything I could to mask what was going on with my hair, while I devoured information to figure out what happened to me. It was then that I realized it was the birth control pill.

I made the mistake of jumping back on birth control because doctors told me that I might be responsive to a hair-friendly pill like Yaz or Yasmin. I chose Yasmin and figured I would just stay on it the rest of my life if I had to. Back then, all I cared about was how I looked, not about my health. I kept the extensions in for about 2 years. One day I went into the salon to get them done and my stylist said - “You know you don’t need these anymore. They are just your security right now. Your hair is fine.” What?? My hair was fine?? I was so used to the weight of the extensions that I didn’t believe her. She washed my hair and cut it without the extensions, and we blowed it dry. She was right, I looked totally normal. I was ELATED. I don’t think I stopped touching my hair for days. It was all mine, and I looked absolutely normal. It had thin spots, sure, but I could wear it up or down and it had body and I looked like me again. It was not nearly as thick as it was before the loss, but it was enough. [click to continue...]

So the hot buzz on the hair loss street is that there seems to be great potential in treating hair loss with a new treatment being offered called PRP therapy. Well PRP therapy itself isn’t new, but the usage in treating hair loss is.

So what is PRP therapy anyways? If you are like me, you probably thought it sounded like the latest hot stone massage technique being offered at the spa. “I’ll have the mani/pedi and the PRP Therapy.” Well not quite.

So If That Isn’t It, What The Heck is PRP Therapy?

PRP stands for “Platelet Rich Plasma,” and it has been used by hospitals and during various surgical applications since the 1970s. In more recent times it has been used in sports medicine and orthopedics to assist and accelerate the recovery from injury.

How Does It Do That?

When concentrated platelets of a person’s blood, which contain proteins and other particles are injected into the injury site, it helps to trigger the body’s ability to grow new soft tissue or bone cells to repair muscle.

Ok, Great, So How Is That Gonna Help My Hair Loss?

According to North Carolina hair restoration surgeon, Dr. Jerry Cooley “PRP involves the application/injection of plasma that has about 5X the amount of platelets as in circulating blood. The platelets secrete numerous growth factors, including PDGF and VEGF, both of which have been shown to have positive effects on hair growth. So it is reasonable to think that PRP would not only help wound healing but also hair growth.”

While several doctors are beginning to treat their hair loss patients with this new treatment, the credit goes to Florida doctor, Jospeh Greco Ph.D as being the first to use PRP therapy in the treatment of hair loss in an attempt to reverse the effects of thinning hair.

What Is PDGF and VEGF?

PDGF stands for “Platelet Derived Growth Factor“  PDGF is one of the numerous growth factors, or proteins that regulate cell growth and division. In particular, it plays a significant role in blood vessel formation (angiogenesis), the growth of blood vessels from already existing blood vessel tissue.

VEGF stands for “Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor.” VEGF is a chemical signal produced by cells that stimulates the growth of new blood vessels. It is part of the system that restores the oxygen supply to tissues when blood circulation is inadequate. [click to continue...]

I went to an allergist today because I have really been having a lot of skin issues, itchiness, eczema,  a lot of contact dermatitis around my mouth, itchy eyelids, itchy eyes and of course my usual asthma. I am always apprehensive about going to a new doctor because the patient form you have to fill out always has that place that asks you to list the “current medications” you take, and putting “Aldactone” on there always triggers the question, “You take Aldactone? What for?” So I get nervous going to new doctors.

Off I go to the consultation, the doc doesn’t even ask anything about the Aldactone, moving full speed ahead, talking about my allergies.. blah blah blah. Then he gets to the part where he wants to suggest the asthma/allergy medication, SINGULAR. Well I already know from previous searches on that medication, from previous docs trying to get me to take it, that some women complain that it causes hair loss! I had resolved myself into taking Advair ( http://www.womenshairlossproject.com/hair-loss/advair-muppets-poor-health-decisions/ ) because I had previously taken that without any issue to my hair, but this? The unknown?

I had to bring up my concern with the doctor. I HAD to let him KNOW, what was going through my head. So out with it, I told him that I suffer with hair loss, hence the reason I taken the Aldactone, and that I had read on the Internet that it can cause hair loss. He seemed to not focus too much on my personal hair loss situation, which, was good, but then he sort of made light of it, in a quasi mocking way “Well if it’s on the Internet, then it has to be true.” He said he never heard of an instance of singular and hair loss. Well neither did my gynecologist that gave me one of the highest androgen pills on the market, that started this whole mess. He proceeded to pull out the insert of the singular medication and looked in the side effect area, and pointed out that “hair loss” isn’t listed there. Hummm, that doesn’t mean it can’t happen or hasn’t happened to people. I don’t think most doctors know how to react to a woman with hair loss, in all fairness he was a decent doctor, he spent a lot of time with me and genuinely seemed interested in helping me treat my allergies/asthma. This is just a separate and unfortunate issue.

But, back to the point, the title of this post. When I had to bring up that “I HAVE HAIR LOSS,” I felt so small, so humiliated, like I was running around the office with my shirt off or something, actually I probably would have preferred that over telling him I had hair loss. I was so down when I left the office, so defeated. I didn’t feel liberated or empowered for sharing that tid bit of information, I felt ashamed. It saddens me to think that no matter how far I feel I’ve traveled, I am reminded that it isn’t quite far enough. I know I should not be ashamed of my hair loss, yet I had those feelings anyways. I guess it’s time for a little self-reflection.

I don’t even know where to begin. I am speechless and have not yet managed to pick my jaw up off of the floor. I sit her blankly staring at the computer screen, thinking that world has gone to hell in a handbasket.  I  was sent a link to a page that contained an iPhone application called “Hair Clinic.” The site claims it to be “The World First Mobile Hair Clinic System” Is it just me, or should there be an apostrophe “s” after the “d” in “world?” I’m no grammar diva, but that looked a little off.

But I digress.

Word for word, their website states:

“HAIR CLINIC, the iphone application helps you to protect it easily Various types of Inaudible wave frequencies from iPhone speaker protect your hair and hair roots with following 3 steps.”

By the way, that is exactly how it is actually written on the website. Was that English?

You simply must be busting at the seams to find out how this innovative product works. Well slide to the edge of your seat ladies, sit up straight and listen:

10 minutes a day - 3 protecting hair solutions

1. Cleaning - Keeping pores clean for 3 min.
2. Massaging - Promoting blood circulation for 4 min.
3  Improving - Improving function of hair roots for 3 min.

How does an iPhone application do that? I’m particularly interested in # 3. (??)  Just picture it now, you could be at lunch with the girls, whip out your iPhone and start “improving” your hair loss. Do you rub the phone on your head for the massage? Do you need to turn your phone on vibrate first? The whole thing in incredibly funny, from the words and sentence structure on their website, to the whole concept of an iPhone application for hair loss.

The application was just released on April 20, 2009 - I guess they missed the date they should have released the product, April 1st!  So for only $3.99 you can be the envy of all your friends.

Hair loss impacts our lives in more ways than most people could possibly imagine. It is part of the equation for many things, including choice of outfit (if you are fair haired like myself, black shows the fallen hair the most) time allotted for getting ready, deciding to even go out in the first place, and enduring the torture of hair prep and frustration. Frequency of showers, frequency of combing, hair up, hair down etc. But even worse than that, I have found it has crept into matters of treating my health conditions. I have fairly not-so-great asthma and I have avoided using the suggested and prescribed preventative treatments because I feared it could *possibly* worsen my hair loss condition. So, I always went without and lived with my asthma not really being fully controlled. Back in 2004 I was prescribed Advair by my allergist and I took the plunge and began treatment. That stuff is awesome. I mean seriously, for the first time ever I knew what it was like to not have asthma. I could do all the things that normally causes flair ups, like run, laugh like crazy or even cry, all without having to reach for my trusty inhaler.

Well as the months past my voice began to deepen. First it was raspy, then sultry like Demi Moore, then it turned Kermit The Frog. I mean seriously imagine trying to interact in society with hair loss and a voice that sounded like you came straight from the Muppets. Well shortly after the Kermit stage, I lost my voice completely and it got to the point where I didn’t even know if words could come out of my mouth when I spoke. So I stopped taking it. I do want to point out that all while I was taking the Advair I did not notice any worsening of my hair loss, nor when I stopped it. But bye bye Advair and months later, hello voice.

So fast forward to today. It seems that over the last couple years my asthma has taken a turn for the worst and I find myself using my inhaler more and more. I also find myself at the local urgent care, more and more. And even though I am frequently told to get on a preventative treatment such as Advair, I refuse. Why? Well now I have it in my head that *maybe* just *maybe* it could make my hair loss worse. I can’t believe how stupid that is. I opted to not properly treat my asthma because I was afraid any medication I took would worsen my hair loss. I am seriously embarrassed admitting that. Well last night was the last straw. My asthma was so bad I nearly landed myself in the emergency room, I made it through the night and went straight to the doctor at 8:00am. [click to continue...]