Women’s Hair Loss Project

I was on Ortho at first, then my gyne prescribed Zoloft for depression and ambien so that I could sleep! Now that’s a cocktail…and not the fun kind! I’m now on Spironolactone and its a weird drug in the way it makes me feel emotionally and physically…(of course, i’m always the “one in a million women” that encounters that side effect)
What’s hardest is accepting the fact that its happening. We always have this “why me?” attitude about things, we feel perfect…we’re not mean people, we do good for others and work hard toward our own betterment and yet…we lose hair. The fact is there is no direct correlation…sometimes the best things happen to the worst people, and vice versa. Now I look back and say, wow, that was a tough challenge to face up to! I look at it as a sense of accomplishment…it didn’t kill me, touch wood! We’re always being challenged in life, one way or the next…think about the challenges you’ve faced up to now. Think about projects or work, life’s little kick’s in the behind…how do you tackle those issues now that you’ve faced the hair loss challenge? Were you passive or aggressive? You might be suprised with your answer!

Habits I picked up…

I had this habit of picking up the strands that shed and place them back on my head. Silly…I knew it wouldn’t take root but at least it wasn’t on the floor. I had a habit of collecting the strands and putting them into a bag. My mom saved my hair from my first hair cut and I wish I could do something with it…it would be a nice art project. I must have stared at the mirror and tried comb over styles a milion times. I inspect my scalp daily, hunting for new hair…hoping it would sprout from one of the dormant follicles. I’ve stood in front of the mirror with a razor in hand, thinking about why I should or shouldn’t just shave it off!

I know everything about situations consuming your thoughts elevating your depression and crying giant pool size amounts of tears…Why do you allow it to consume you? For me, I thought about mind over matter and decided to tell myself that “it’s under control”…i wear a wig, I get dressed…I may not always feel 100% put together but at least i’m not suffering from dry, frizzed out, colored or permed hair…Speaking of noticing things…there are so many full-header’s that don’t even properly manage their own hair. One woman sat next to me while getting a manicure and said, “you just look so perfect! Your hair is gorgeous, you look great!” I just blushed and thanked her but deep down I said, “if she only knew!”

Some days, I forget I wear a wig unless I get a reminder…the elements, or people’s stares as if they’re trying to figure me out!

Steer clear from negative thoughts and do something for yourself everyday…force those smiles when you look into the mirror…who knows, you might wake up convinced. I’m so so happy to have found this website. i’ve been searching for support groups like this for 10 years. I’m so glad I’m here…

You know, you are stronger than you think you are. Really. Its the little steps you take that may help you realize, “It’s going, going, gone.” Tomorrow is another day, you make the choice of whether or not you want to be happy tomorrow. DO NOT ALLOW The time you spend obsessing, is time and energy that can go toward other things that make you happy. trust me…i was there so often and still find myself there. I constantly fight back the tears and the urges to obsess. Somedays, I notice myself getting prepared in the morning without my wig on…I’ll stand there in front of the mirror and see pattern baldness get wider and worse. My hair is so baby fine, if you grabbed hold of a strand it would featherly fall in your hands, without pulling!

Read this little anecdote: One day a massive flood covered the grounds of a small town. Several people were trying to escape the flood on cars, canoes and boats…they came across a woman and tried to save her…she told them to move on, as her faith and prayers were going to save her…as the waters and storms grew stronger, a helicopter came to her rescue, again she refused and continued to pray for God’s help. The flood consumed her home, and there she was on the roof with nowhere to go….but heaven. As she reached the pearly gates, there God stood before her. She bellowed, “The flood took our land, our homes…i prayed for you to save me…what happened?” God replied, “Lady, cars drove passed you and you refused, the people on the boat tried to rescue you…the helicopter was there to take you up and still you refused, you tell me what happened!”

So you see, maybe all this strength and prayer is giving you answers. Everyone on this message board is living proof! You just have to open your eyes and heart to receive the answer. Its easy to pray for it, but what steps are you taking to truly receive the answer?

julie, Where you fighting with the insurance company or the pharmaceutical company that manufactured the drugs that caused your hair loss? Are you seeing any results from the spironolactone?

Dear Y

I so know how you feel. The medications can be such a trap. You must feel damned if you do and damed if you don’t. We feel so desperate about what to do when our hair falls out. I saw a quote that struck me the other day. It said A man’s hair is his strength and a woman’s hair, her beauty. That means a lot to man or woman, though not so widely accepted by women to lose their hair.

I thought that I would mention that I have never really been on the pill(except for 6 days once, made me feel awful) and have lost 60-70% of my hair. The docter wanted to put me on stuff like rogaine and monixidle, but these kinds of chemicals wreck havoc on your body. I decided that it is healthier for me to go bald and learn how to live with attractive hair coverings and wigs than to fill my body with chemicals in the hopes that my shedding will lessen or that I will grow more hair.

I hear the sadness about taking these meds and feeling trapped, and we are when we feel that they are not doing us any good. Would it not be better to approach this in a way where we are being as good to our bodies as we can be? Like eating a wholesome diet and helping to keep the toxic burden off of our systems so that we can feel as good as we can without having hormones that are wacked out and cardiovascular systems that are manipulated by drugs? It just seems to me that this can’t possible be the answere. I am not happy about hair loss, but appreciate that my body has been so good to me all of these years and I want to honor her by letting her have her own balance so that she can honor me also, with good health. I try to feed my spirit a diet of loving and kind thoughts and live a kind life. I am not saying that you should do as I do because we all have our own way of handling things. I am just trying to point out another point of view when it comes to these strong medications that are not helping. If one feels that they are helping, than that is a different story. Perhaps your body could use a drug vacation so that she can reestablish herself. Personally, I feel that if my hair comes back it will be because I supported my adrenals, nervous system, digestion, etc with wholesome foods and nutrients rather than supporting the drug companys and the doctors. Put the money on good nutrition and nice hair items that make you feel good. I may sound bossy and a know it all, but I truely don’t mean to. I so understand that we will do anything to save our hair. It is just that some therapies are worse than others. I would trust the Earth Mother’s medicines before the modern day chemicals. This, I send to you with love for you are truely so good to all of us and have helped each and everyone of us with your hard work to give us this blog,and i so appreciate your sensitive kindness. Hugs Rachael Jean (RJ)

Julie,

Can you tell me what salon you go to in the Chicago area for the Reprieve Hair System? I’d like to give it a try, but I live in Michigan and I would have to make a special trip to Chicago so I want to make sure I go to a salon that is well experienced. How much does it cost and how often do you have to go back for maintenance or replacement?
Thank you, J.

I am 35 years old and this is only the beginning of my story. For about the past month I have been losing handfuls of hair every morning. I’ve been to the doctor and all blood levels are normal and she thought it was just stress. I’m using a shampoo that is suppose to stimulate hair growth and I see a dermatologist next week. I have come to terms with the fact that I may lose all my hair, but I’m sure I have no idea what that will be like. I have a hard time in the morning watching my hair go down the drain, seeing it stuck to my body, and seeing it everywhere. Like some of you, I tried collecting it because no one in the beginning seemed to believe me. To them it appeared as though I had a full head of hair. I’ve noticed it much thinner all over and I have two, almost bald patches on the sides. I look everyday for new hair growth. And the other day I was vacuuming the dog’s hair from the hardwood floors and found that I’m now sheddding more hair than the dog. My husband now believes that I have a problem. I don’t know where I should go from here. What I do know is whatever happens I will accept what GOD brings me and know that he will not bring me more than I can handle and I will not lose faith in him. And maybe he sent some of you here to comfort me and I will do the same for others someday.

I appreciate the support and everyone sharing their personal story.

Thank you all for posting on here. I am feeling very sad about my hairloss. I am 32 years old and about 2 months ago, I noticed my hair starting to fall out. As you all know, it was that awful feeling of seeing so many strands - everywhere.

I went to a doctor and they checked the thyroid and my iron. The only thing that was low was the ferritin at 22. The doctor just said to take a multivitamin and if that doesn’t help - go to a derm.

I checked with an ARNP that I go to and she suggested taking the Slow Fe and B12.

I’m just feeling like I don’t want to wait to see if something changes if I am not even taking any supplements that are going to maybe work. Seems like a waste of valuable time and lots of hair.

Do you guys think that I should see someone else? Should I up the Slow Fe so that I am taking two pills a day? I’m so confused.

Also - did anyone find that cutting your hair shorter helped at all (emotionally at least) or do you find that longer is better?

Thank you!

Has anyone tried Nioxin Shampoo and conditioner? I have a feeling that it might be yet another product that I have purchased that will do nothing but give me false hope. Also, I have losy a lot of skin pigmentation from a condition called Vitiligo that started just after my hysterectomy 12 years ago…….just about the time I started noticing my hair heading for the exit. Yikes this is awful….
Cris

If lo-estrin is a high androgen pill, then why has it helped my hairloss and when I go off it will fall out again then when i go back on it stops it and clears my skin and I have no weight gain issues with it either…I have tried others in the past that caused hair loss.. orthotrycyclene, ellesse, that caused problems, but i went back on lo-estrin and it helped with my endometreosis and my hair loss and my skin is great and no probs with weight gain…They say its one of the highest andrenic pills but it has helped me.. i wonder if it is due to our bodies are all so different and what one may cause the other may help…This one has helped me.. I have once lost about 50% of my hair going off and satying off over a year then decided by talkin to my OB that it may help to go back on so we tried it and it did help…Our hair all thins as we age and due to stress and what we eat and not getting the proper nutrients that feed your hair skin and nails..I have studied this for 20 years and if anyone needs help and advice to what things have helped with hair skin or nails you can email me i have tried tons of things and helped others too and would love to help you.. lilladyvixen@yahoo.com Rhonda

I too have thinning hair and have shed as many tears as hairs. I started loosing my hair when I was 18 when I first stared taking birth control. The Dr. at the time changed my prescription and said it would grow back. Of course, it never did. My hair has slowly thinned over the years and I am now going on 43 years of age. My hair loss has been limited to the top of my head and is becoming very whispy. I have considered weaves (which are very expensive, short term benefits, and cause more harm in the long run); I have tried rogain which made my head itch like crazy; and don’t know what else to do. My doctor has recommended that I stop taking birth control pills and go onto another type of contraceptive (IUD or somethin along those lines), but I am terrified of loosing what I have left. I don’t know if going off the pill will cause me to loose even more hair, or (like the original Dr. said) maybe my hair will return. My Father and my grandmother on my father’s side have experienced hair loss, but my brothers and sisters all have thick manes. I take Zovia 1/35 now. I plan to try to research what others taking Zovia have experienced in stopping usage. I have tried the Nexium shampoo, feels tingly, but that’s about it. Just more money out the window. I don’t know why I am comforted by sharing this, but I am a little. Like many of you, I think of it every minute of the day, spray my head with sunscreen and just try to keep my thoughts positive.

Wow, just reading your stories I know I am not alone although I can’t stop the tears from falling as I write this. I am 28 (almost 29) and I first started noticing that I was losing quite a bit of hair a little over two years ago. It’s been very hard to accept because I was always known for having beautiful, thick, long hair. In the past two years though, I have lost about 50% of my hair. At first, no one would believe me and thought I was just imagining it, but now, it is hard for them to deny my widening part and the patchy area on my crown. I hate washing my hair and do it every other day because I get so depressed seeing all of the hair I lose. I am so obsessive about it that I am constantly checking my hair in the mirror to see if my scalp is exposed. I know that everything happens for a reason and I too believe that God wouldn’t allow this to happen to me if I couldn’t handle it, but it is still hard. We live in a world where we are constantly judged by our beauty and as vain and shallow as it sounds, I don’t know if I am ready to give that up yet. I don’t know what it is like to be unattractive; I don’t mean to offend anyone, but it is so hard for me to not be able to do anything about it. I know I am also intelligent, kind, a good friend, but it hurts when no one understands what you’re going through. I have researched so much about this topic already, but I have decided not to use minoxidil or any other medications that might help because I have always tried to keep the toxins that I put into my body to a minimum. I anticipate that at this rate, in about a year or two, I will need to buy a wig or shave my head. In fact, I am already giving serious thought to shaving my head. I know beauty is only skin deep, and I think maybe that is what God wants me to learn–that I am much more than my hair and my outward appearance. Thank you, thank you to all those who have shared your story too and I wish everyone the best.

Hi everyone!
I just wanted to say to evey that I totally understand how you feel about your hairloss and relationship to God. I too have wondered if my hairloss is a lesson from God. I was always know as the “pretty one” of my three sisters. So much of who I felt I was as a person was tied up in my looks. As a child I was complemented after a band performance or basketball game on my looks and not my ability. Ex-”You were the prettiest one out there.” When I began losing my hair, I had a great fear that I would not be loved anymore. I also had to redifine who I am as a person. I am more than my looks or my hair. Beauty is only skin deep. My husband and family still love me. I knew my parents would, but my husband’s reaction I wasn’t as sure about. He has been excellent. After I lost my hair the first time. I wore a wig for over a year. My husband was constantly telling me I was still beautiful. I thought “Wow, love really is blind!” My hair did come back to a point that I could go without a wig again. I am now going through another major shed as a result of having my second child. It is funny, but it does get easier. Losing my hair has not been as traumatic this time. It still bothers me a lot, and I do still obsess, but not nearly as much as I used to. I ordered a wig which will be done sometime in Sept. hopefully before my sister’s wedding. I hope I have enough hair to make it until then. If not I go for the ball cap look. The only problem is I can’t wear it to church. I hope to continue to learn from this experience. I need to learn to accept what I cannot change, but if there is something out there that would help or solve my problem. I would go for it in a heartbeat. Best wishes to everyone.

hi all, ive just come across an internet site that looks fabulous, try this, Lucinda Ellery Consultancy, it is a company based in london. Look at the different types of hair extensions etc that they do.

Hello Everyone, I can barely muster through the tears enough rationalness to write this out. I am at the beginning of what you ladies seem to be going through. I am about over a month into realizing I am losing my hair and like another lady here, I’ve been hospitalized over the depression and shock.
I’ve always had incredibly thick and long hair, I also was a hair model like someone else here. Everyone knows me for my hair.
walking by the mirror in the bathroom on June 26th (how pathetic that I remember the exact date!) I flipped my hair and it stopped me.. I explain.. what the! I am missing hair!?! How have I not noticed this. I had noticed in photoshoots that my part was a little wider or stranger than it used to be, but chocked it up to a bad haircut maybe.
Well I started coming this way and that and it looks like the parts are widening or they are blending into each other, with just islands of thicker hair left in between. I noticed my crown just yesterday plenty bare with just a clump of strands in the middle.
The anxiety and the nauseaus feeling I have everytime I look at it is causing me so much stress and my loved ones as well. Sad fact of the matter, like many of you they “Can’t See” what I am talking about and I am either neurotic or crazy. Apparently it’s obvious only to me.
I am not losing anymore than I ever shed when I brush or shower. It’s about even LESS than we I first figured this out. So it boggles my mind. I am with some of you that I am counting them in the shower and on my hair brush. I won’t let my husband touch my brush, just so I know what’s mine or his (he has long hair too). I don’t get why this is happening. So far when I was hospitalized they did blood work on me including my thyroid and it all came back normal. Though I have yet to do one for hormones or iron.
I have NEVER been on the pill and I’ve never given birth. I am 37 years old and way too young still to even be in premenapaus.
I’ve gone to one STUPID dermatologist where I live and I am guessing he thought that I meant I had huge bald spots when I called. Because he blew me off and just asked.. is your dad bald or balding?? I said well balding.. but he is 70 years old after all! He didn’t prematurely go bald either. He said..well then you will be too… and it made my heart sink! He wouln’t hear of the fact that I was living on a couple of cup cakes and diet 7-up a day. Also I CONSTANTLY had it up in a bun with a metal clip that was anchored on the very top of my hair.. the weakest part, because of my highlights. Also I was suffering from a deep depression this past year and had worries and I stop taking care of my hair very well .. I’d wash it once a week, no matter how sweaty and greasy it was. So greasy that even a good shampoo wouldn’t remove the gunk! It was constantly itchy.. to the point I thought I had lice, and was always “damp” because of the bun it was in around the clock (my hair WAS down to my waist). I noticed it got dryer ..VERY dry around the middle of the length and nothing that I had EVER done before to make it snap back to a healthy state would work. Oddly enough the back has now gotten healthier trying to see what is wrong with the top.
Besides the derm telling me that because my dad is balding I will too without so much as a medical history on me.
My hairdresser and the girl who has shampooed my hair for ages say it seems to them like traction alopecia from the barrett pulling my hair cause of the weight of my hair..and also I might have had a mild scalp infection to boot. Because again I don’t shed excessively. But I’ve gotten to this point, so it has to have at one point.
It’s at the very top middle and the crown.

I’ve been hosptalized because of my severe reaction to this and every single day is a struggle. The doctor ordered me on Lorazepam in emergency, but he will not refill the prescription (which was a week’s worth) because he thinks I am at risk for addiction. So I guess he would rather me go crazy or worse! I am driving everyone around me nuts because of this. My parents are worried sick… I flew in to be with my parents and I sit here like a zombie locked up in the guest room, except for last night when I cried in my mother’s arms. I’ve gotten down on my knees and asked god for help, I know there are worse things in the world… but this is heart breaking. My husband who has been a jewel through this whole thing is finally losing his patience. They just CAN’T see it. I don’t know how or if they are turning a blind eye.. but they can’t. That is added stress that he will leave me because this is taking a toll on me and us. I can’t stop stressing AT ALL.. so I am sure that is making this worse and giving everyone a reason to say… it’s just stress!
I flew in to have my hairdresser (well the one who replaced my hairdresser of 18 years who passed away this January and caused me endless heartache over) give my hair my body and layers and free it up of the weight .. and it’s a catastrophe. It just looks like a fancied up mullet to me and yet I can still see the wide part and crown plain as day, as opposed to everyone teling me once it was cut I would noticed THAT was the problem. Now I have an UGLY cut and I am still left with those spots.

Can I technically be balding if I am hardly shedding? Was that all it was going to shed when I figured out this was happening and took up a healthy lifestyle again… will it grow back now??? and how long will it take??
For a week out of all this I tried to be optomistic and say it was just the hair clip that yanked my hair out for over a year, since I only took it off to wash my hair once a week…it had to take it’s toll. But for some reason I dread it’s AGA.

I want my life back. No matter how much I complained of it before, anything is better than this. There aren’t enough towels to wipe my tears.. My knees are bruised from praying so very much. I had two events I was sooo looking forward to attending and now ..I can’t. My mind wanders to suicide everyday. Doors just keep getting slammed in my face… no one can help me and I am chocked up to just being paranoid. I dread the point when they will finally see the truth. I pray that day never comes. I have cried so much I have no more tears left. I am in a constant half sleep state lying in bed and I see a flash in my mind of a balding head and it rips me to shreds. Even medication that I need to keep me calm, I am refused.

Here is the only place I’ve posted this. I haven’t been able to stomach going to hair loss sites… it all seems to futile, so pointless..everyone is desperatly searching for an answer or a miracle that might never be.

Good luck ladies… thank you for listening.

D,
My relationships are falling apart as well. I am staying with my parents at the moment and like a little child my mother slept with me last night and listened to me cry about every awful thing in my life that I am now sorry for. She is shattered when she sees me cry,so I try not to do it in front of her much. Other than in Emergency back home and that nitwit dermatologist I saw.. I have no answers. They tested me in emergency just for the over abundance of pills (over the counter sleeping pills) I had been taking to numb myself. They checked my liver and kidneys and the doctor checked my thyroid, which all came back “normal”. I am on vitamins now that supposed to help regrow hair and keep what you have. I admit like I said.. I do not shed more than I am supposed to. I shed lately shockingly less than 40 hairs a day and I have very long hair.. except now on top where that idiot hairdresser chopped off hair yesterday. I can not feel “bald” spots… I just see the thinned areas. That’s why I am so desperate to figure out something now!! It’s proving impossible to wait the 3 months or more needed for hair to regrow if it was a scalp infection or traction alopecia.
Worst of all is NO ONE believes me! They are treated me like a crazy obsessive person. They think I’m actually mentally ill and need a psychiatrist (which I went to see and was a fiasco in itself). I keep telling them.. why can’t you seee!!! Do you not want to admit it to me because I keep freaking out!?! Everyone tells me..if we had seen anything or if we do, we’ll run not walk to a specialist. Yeah right, after reading all you ladies stories here.. it’s FUTILE. I tell that to my family and they turn around and just ask.. why is it hopeless? because you read it on the internet?? ridiculous!
My poor father because he has that half moon hair in the back and some patches of hair up front considers himself “not bald”… I seriously hope he doesn’t think I can go through life like THAT.
Slowly I’ve been trying to imagine going through life with a wig, or the endless doctors I am going to have to see. With no insurance to boot.
My parents have set up on a appointment with their doctor tomorrow 200-400 a visit, I am still NOT convinced I don’t have a medical disorder. It’s strange to me that just one day I look at figure out my hair is falling out ..after looking at it on daily basis.
I’m glad I found this site. The other sites out there are frightening and this one at least lets us share our pain.

I can only say that after dealing with thinning hair all my life, at 47 I have given up on therapies and drugs and vitamins; they didn’t give me a thick head of hair, just a bit more “fuzz”. I have been wearing clip in extensions, after years of taped in, which I learned to do myself, due to expense. The only thing I do notice, is that most people who are overweight do not have thinning hair, unless over 40, while I do know LoTS of women over 40 with thin hair who are on the trim side - does this have something to do with it? I eat meat, vegetables, healthy mostly, except too much wine, to numb the pain and anger I feel most of the time. My husband is wonderful, he says he will love me with or without hair - I fear I won’t have any by the time I’m in my 60’s. But, as many of you have said, it’s almost more important than breasts - at least we can wear padded bras, or get implants. But the hair thing, is so noticeable! I now am ordering another set of hair pieces; I can’t go the whole wig route yet! Custom is best, but am trying a new one, top secret hair (.com) not the greatest people to deal with, but they have hair much cheaper. And before I could get by with side pieces, but in the past 10 years I have had to wear a crown/top piece as well.
Thanks for sharing, you ALL know what this is like! Complete Hell! I just wish I could find a remedy for all the anger and depression I feel. Hugs to you all! Elisabeth in Italy, 47

My nightmare started when my menstrual cycles ceased for 2 months in March and then started up again in May. I was suffering from Anorexia and kept it from everyone including my doctor’s.

Well when I got my menstural cycle it didn’t stop until the middle of June. I was put on Loestrin 24 and a small dose of Estrogen in late May and continued for a little over a month. The reason I stopped? My hair started shedding badly, in clumps at times. I knew when the doctor’s prescribed me the birth control that I shouldn’t take it. I just had a feeling. I fought with the gynecologist, until they finally were able to talk me through it.

After ceasing the pills in late June due to the shedding of hair I noticed my hair stopped shedding some. Then weeks went by and the shedding ceased. I had shoulder length hair. The reason it stopped shedding? Well I was now off of the birth control pill and I was eating a good balanced diet again. I gained 4 or 5 lbs that I had lost. (I was down to 105 when I was anorexic, at a height of 5′4 1/2). I also am taking a multivitamin, Alive Protien Shake and eating veggies, fruits, whole grains, etc.

For the hair loss I decided to cut my hair into a short natural. I’m African American and have very curly hair and it looks cute this way. I am seeing improvement while I eat this way and treat my scalp like rare silk. I am careful with it. I keep it conditioned and do scalp massages all the time.

I want alot of you to be positive about this. When we think negative, usually negative things occur. I know that my hair will come back. It will take a couple of months, and I already see my edges coming back, and the back of my head where most of the shedding occured is growing in fine hair.

Just be positive and prayer helps as well. I hope this helped someone.

Also to Kat, thank you for posting that. It’s given me some hope.

Miriam-

Try to improve your nutrition. You need more than cupcakes! Eat lots of protein and flax seed oil and B vitamins are good for hair. Chamomile tea can help calm you naturally.

It is not hopeless. Don’t forget that there is always a hair transplant as a last resort. Very expensive though and do your homework to pic the right doctor. But there are other things to try first (have you talked to anyone about topical medicine). If it is alopecia, it may take several years to improve. But it is important to remeber there is help out there. We are lucky to live at a time where there is help available! I hope you are feeling better.

Hugs,
Lily

My story is exactly the same! How sad. Just i took diane -35 and it caused hair loss forsever, then i took another very light pill and it helpped a little. I didnt want to keep on taking it so i ve stopped it 3 month ago and since the last 2-3 weeks i ve noticed that i start to shed like a crazy again and the hair structure is worsened again badly….

My heart breaks for all of you who are going through this. But, please read my introductory blog that I just posted. Reading posts on alopecia websites, I feel like I’m really strange for just accepting my hairlessness and letting people see my bald head. It’s the way I am now. Other than one course of Prednisone, I never considered taking any medications that would affect my otherwise good health. For me, there was no question about damaging my health for the sake of hair….am I just weird, or what?!

Yes, I went through a time when I thought it would be the end of the world for me if I lost my hair. I cried and raged and obsessed for months. But when I shaved my head, I got some control back. Then I went through it again with losing my eyebrows and lashes. And when I finally lost all my hair a few months ago, I quickly decided that I couldn’t stand to cover up my head and be hot most of the time for the rest of my life. It’s so much easier, so much less bother and stress, and SO much more comfortable to just be my bald self. I have three looks: bald (much of the time), scarf (often, when it’s cool enough), wig (seldom, for dress-up, and only when it’s cool).

Please watch my YouTube video “Alternatives to wearing a wig”. While you’re there, do a YouTube search for “Gail Porter”. She’s a British TV personality who lost all her hair and who refuses to cover up at all. There are videos of her on the air, bald. She’s inspiring…I wish we had someone like her in the U.S.

I’ve come through all those classic stages - denial, grief, anger…..to acceptance. Once I accepted that this is who I am, and allowed myself (slowly at first) to be seen bald my friends and in public, it just didn’t matter so much anymore. Yes, it was hard, and still is at times. I went to an art reception last weekend bald - the first night-time event I’d gone bald to. After the first couple of introductions, I forgot about being bald, and everyone seemed not to notice. As always, I had a few conversations about alopecia, which just helps raise public awareness.

Hugs and best wishes to everyone,
Mary

I’m always cold. I wonder if this has something to do with my blood circulation and hairloss. I’ve taken flaxseed oil for over a year but it doesn’t seem to help. Might start on iodine.
What are other peoples thouhgts?

Vivian
Me too feel always cold and my doctor said it was because my Thyroid functions is low and prescriped me pills for that

Unlike all of you who don’t know the reason why you loss hair, I have so many reasons that cause me to loss hair
1. My Thyroid functions
2. Genatic reasons
3. I have 3 major surgeries in the bast 10 years
4. I am always stressed and nervous
5. I am too busy to notice what am I eating

So my problem is which of those reasons are causing me to loss my hair

any way… sometimes I feel its getting better after taking those pills for Thyroid functions , and sometimes not… I really can’t tell
Hang on there girls

Lilo

Courtney, did your hair grow back?

Hi everyone, I just cry so hard to hear about your saddness and knowing what us ladies go though, no one can possibly understand until they go through it them selves…I too went off the pill and was adviced to go back on and the one i chose was the lo-estrin 1/5 30, its helped me stop mine too, and grow so much back but not like i had in my younger years, I am now 42 and my crown shows alittle and it makes you not want to go out side because this damn beauty industry has hurt us all and we now need to find that self love and exceptance, I have IC bladder disease, with MS and endometreosis, so many health issues may contribute to hairloss.. I want to share with you all that I have tried one thing that was amazing and my hair no longer sheds at all.. I dont know if everything works for everyone but please try this… First be on a very good multi vitimin, mine I get from vitacost, its the NSI womans formula, its the best and get your self some NSI royal jelly capsules and take them 2 times a day, then the important part, I have had a few mail me and gave them this advice and hope they have tried it, “Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar, no other brand… You mix to start equal parts in your spray bottle with water..Yes it smells, but if it grows your hair and stops the loss its worth it…I shampoo my hair with a few different shampoos i alternate with and they help too.. After you get out of the shower towel dry your hair, then spray the vinegar into your scalp and rub it in making sure to soak your scalp, then wipe off the drippings and comb it in and let in set until your ready to put your gel or styling products, this takes out the smell… You can get the braggs book and it too has topics on how to use this, its amazing and you can use the royal jelly in the capsules and rub it into your scalp at night when you sleep, them wash it the next day…I promise this has worked for me and I was just testing it out with no hope and the results are amazing…It feeds your follicles, and cleans them out..It detangles hair, and your hair styles great with it…I have been a nutritionist for years and went to cosmetology college, and have studied these things and tested so much on my self, if anyone wants any more advice they are more then welcome to email me at lilladyvixen@ yahoo.com, I know what you are going through and would love to help if i can and give you some hope… Please do try this as a few others who I have suggested are having amazing results….Well take care everyone and try and remember, we need to all try to except and love exactly who we are…We are all blessed to have each other to share with and it helps to know others are out there who share our same experiences… I do hope to hear from you in the future… And remember……
“A true friend is someone who knows who you are,
Understands where you have been,
Excepts what you have become,
Yet still gently allows you to grow” W.S.
Love Your Friend Rhonda

Hi Beth, thanks for your reply, it was so very kind, and the more help and education we can give others the better…I my self take the supplements in the morning, the the womans formula vitimins help balance your harmones too, I take them through out the day not all at once, I am on many I love and that have helped me so much, the royal jelly I would cut the capsules a few and squeeze them into a small cut and add your vinegar just to mix it..They say you can add egg for more protein too…Just like a plant needs water it also needs some nourishment plant food to grow to feed its roots, well we feed out hair from our intake and can feed and cleanse the follicles on the outside in, I would take the royal jelly once or twice a day, onve to start then give it time see how you feel and you can go to two later, then once a week I would do the nightly scalp treatment…Royal jelly is high in protein and other aminos, it wont hurt your harmonal system, it will balance it out..Our bodies thrive from certain nutrition as a plant does…And just like the sweet lady said before my first comment, the lo-estrin helped her like it helped me…There is something in that pill that helpes hairloss in many and has no weight gain affects, other pills seem to cause weight gain and hairloss so this tells you there is something about this pill, it may not be the same for everyone…Please try this i really noticed after a few weeks with the vinegas, and get the braggs book it will help you alot, I also apply this to my skin all over after my shower and its done wonders…I also take gycolic Garlic capsules, these are in the bible as natural things god put down here for us and they say they have harmonal balancing, anti inflammatories, natural antibiotic and anti infection properties, plus my father is taking it in a juice drink or a capful when he has heart burn and it has worked great for him…I too would ue it as a drink in juice with the royal jelly capsule, it will benefit us more on the inside as well as using it on the outside of our bodies…I do hope this has helped you as well as many others, I am still here at lilladyvixen@yahoo if anyone would like any more help or advice…Take care my dear friends… Love Rhonda

thank you Rhonda. you sound positive and knowledgeable. i have just started seeing a naturopath because for 2 plus years i have been saying that ‘my body is out of balance’. she seems to think that i have food sensitivities (due to several major symptoms in addition to hair loss). i’ve done some reading on royal jelly and it certainly sounds like it is FULL of nutrients that can be taken orally or applied topically. i am going to give it a shot once i figure if/what i have sensitivities to.

you mentioned that you are a nutritionist (this is so interesting to me!!!) do you know anything about MSM for hair growth?
Thanks again SO MUCH

Did the Avodart work for the lady- I do not see where she has reposted?

Hi Vivian, I know when I tried to go off my hair fell out until I could see my scalp, it was devistating…It went on for over a year and would not stop until I read about the BCP changes our harmones and your body thrives from it and when you take it away your hair skin nails just change…I was advised to go back on because I tried everything…The only thing that stopped it was doing just that..And as the lady I have been talking too said she too went back on and the lo-estrin was the one that stopped…I was on ellese and when I went off it fell out..I was almost half bald…I could not leave the house..It was so hard…But like I said to my friend up there I read up about Braggs apple cider vinegar…And it alone has stopped my hair from shedding at all…I see maybe 4to 5 hairs in the sink…read up where I have explained how to use it and get on a good multi vitimin, and take royal jelly..These alone just may do the trick for you..Its worth the try to get your hairloss to stop.. Let me know how it works if you decide to try this… Best of Luck Rhonda

Iam on tomoxafin I cant take any hormones and my hair is thinning near my forehead really bad I almost have to do a comb over, Iam on propecia it seems like its making it worst, I was on spiro worked good but causes tumors in rats I had breast cancer so Iam scared to take it again. HELP PLEASE!

To Rhonda and all others.
Thank you so much for sharing your stories. I know all people respond to meds differently and here’s my story, so far. I have been slowly losing hair for a couple years, but nothing noticable. In September, I was diagnosed with PCOS (polysystic ovarian cysts) and my gyno gave me LoestrinFe24 and my GP had me on metformin and at the same time I had a bald spot of alopecia areata for which I got a shot of cortisone. The hair in that spot started to grow back and for a couple weeks, no more than 10 hairs fell out.
Then, (after about 6 weeks on meds) my hair started to super shed. Before, when it fell, i could still see new, little hairs. Now, even those are gone and every time I touch my hair, about 30-40 fall out and washing my hair makes me cry.
The dermatologist told me to start on Rogaine and I finally went to an endocronologist who prescribed Spironolactone, and told me stay on the pill, and get off metformin.
It’s been almost a month and the hair is still falling like crazy. I dont see any new little hairs and what I have is not growing.

My question to you all: I have been on Loestrin for 5 months, and now I just want to go off it since my hair loss got a thousand times worse when I went on it. How long did you guys take the Pill before you went off it? I’m wondering how long you have to be on it for your body to “rely” on it. Should I just stay on it? My endo says I should “stay the course” for at least 3 months with the spiro and loestrin, which would make it 6 months on the loestrin and 3 months on the spiro.

Rhonda, can you use the apple cider vinegar and royal jelly with the Rogaine?

I know that a person is more than their appearance but I can’t get past this. I used to have thick, long black hair and now it’s thinning and I don’t know when, if, it will stop. I am trying really hard to be hopeful.

Thank you all for sharing your stories.
Shivani

Hello everyone, I just left a long comment and some great advice that I know will help so many of you, I did forget to ad that I know many of you have tried many of the hairloss shampoo products on the market.. I have tested many myself and so many are nothing but a scam.. So be careful, but there is a few that has worked great and wonders for me as well…If you need advice on any of those please do not hesitate to ask.. Again I would love to hear from you and can be emailed if you need any more information or just post your questions up here I am glad to answer them here as well for others to share…. Huggs Rhonda

I am so happy to have found this site. I have been experiencing hair loss for the better part of a year. About four months ago, I went off the pill (ortho tri cyclen lo) in the hopes of getting pregnant. In the meantime, I am experiencing hair loss that is worse than I could ever imagine. I can barely count how many hairs I lose after each combing following a shower. Even in yoga class, I an counting the hairs that shake loose and fall onto my mat. I am starting to think the hair I am losing is not growing back, as in any style at this point areas of my scalp peek through one way or another. Last year I visited two doctors, both of whom dismissed me. I elected to ignore it, but I simply can’t ignore it anymore. It’s so reassuring to read and hear from all the women here and feel a little less alone.

Hi everyone, I wanted to know how things have been going for you.. I read your posts and it makes me cry and want to do what I can to help with this devastating ordeal so many of us suffer from and others just do not seem to understand.. I have re-read and blogged with one lady by the name of Beth.. She is in some recent posts that her and I had a few good conversations about.. I do notice many are concerned with the birth control pills and I wish they never put these things on the market.. I also do think they are one of the main causes of hairloss… I also know because we are all different it does make a difference to find the right balance of androgen and estrogen… Some of us get to much or too little.. I also know that we need to find the right combo and as I and Beth have found the Lo-estrin 1/20 or 1.5/30 have been the right balance and have stopped our hairloss.. I have been on that pill for many years… And here is something I have found that may help you… They have the Lo-estrin24 that has not been on the market as long and I once wanted to try this BCP.. Well it started my hairloss up again and my hormones were going out of whack… I did some of my own research and found out that lo-estrin24 is not made from the same company as the 1/20 0r the 1.5/30 and the hormones in them are not the same and they are a total different manufacturer.. Now I am no expert and I only like to give advice and help on my own personal experiences and research.. You may also know that your own pharmacy may be of help in finding out what is the hormones in your BCP and do research by finding out the problems others have been having with these… I also know that generic and brand name from my own pharmacist and research are not the same hormones and will mess with your hormones.. I always stay on the brandname.. I have found that they have switched me and I myself have noticed a difference.. Then I then spoke to my pharmacist and with any brand name and generic they have to chance the fillers around so that of BCP is going to change the hormones.. and even if alittle bit to our bodies its not so little can upset the whole hormone patterns.. I have also been receiving a few emails from some of you and I have been greatful to of been able to help.. I also know that as I been giving the advice to them, as well as to all of you that what you eat food, vitamins and anything you put into your body is just as important if not more as much as what you put on the outside..So that combination needs to be balanced too.. I am 42 I have IC bladder disease and been diagnosed with symptoms of MS and chronic endometriosis along with other minor health issues and with trial and error, I have found the things that have balanced my body to where my hair does no longer fall out abnormally.. All it has taken is finding combinations of the right things to put on the inside as well as the outside.. And with a few inexpensive products for the outside and a few inexpensive vitamin supplements and things you eat like yogurt or taking a good combination of probiotics every day have not only kept my skin clear and my hairloss under control but it has balanced my weight as well… Our hairloss in made up of many different problems like our health, weight and other concerns and I know with all that I have had to fight and deal with trying to find that right combination… Its taken so many years and so many tears, not knowing what to do and you just feel like you dont want to even get out of bed, or go outside to enjoy the sunlight, or go to work.. Its that devistating to lose your hair, and I feel its even more so for us women because our hair is our crowning glory, our ideal image.. It makes us feel better about ourselves just to have the our hair and when we lose it we lose apart of ourselves… I know that self exceptance is so very important to find in ones self.. But our hair just makes us feel good about us, who we are, and waking up in the morning and looking in the mirror to see that it is all there is a vital importance to us, and those that dont go through this just dont seem to understand until they too experience it.. I persoanlly dont wish it on anyone and I sure hope I have and can help.. I also hope to set up a website someday just for this purpose and to help those with any of these issues and hope to make a difference and just to change one persons life is all that matters.. Why because I have been there.. I can be emailed if anyone needs or has any questions or advise on BCP, foods, supplements I am here if you need any advice and would like to know what I take and the things I have tried that has made a bid difference in my life… I am glad to be of help to any of you… ladyvirgo66@gmail or lilladyvixen@yahoo… I wish to you all “A very good hair day” Huggs Rhonda

hi rhonda–i tried emailing you at both the above addresses but they “weren’t valid”. any suggestions?
BETH

Royal Jelly is a supplement I get at vitacost.com…I buy the NSI products because they are so inexpensive… I take the royal jelly supplement and use the Braggs ACV on my scalp and body… Its an amazing product, I had a small Actininc Keretosis on my face and used a cotton ball and having it months not knowing what to do I decided to try the raw braggs with a Qtip, I did many times a day and that little AK is almost gone… I swear by the Braggs ACV, yes it smells but if its worth treating your hairloss and skin and balancing your body is well worth it…It dont smell once dried and you use other products one it, it just needs to be applied direct to the scalp, and massaged in… It dont work over night, I noticed results in about 2 weeks and now its been almost a year and I wont live with out it…. Here is a list of very good supplements for the hair and skin you can get most at vitacost.com.. I use them and tried many for years and found they are great!!! The Braggs ACV you get at you local grocery store and can order a book on the many uses of it for a few dollars.. Its not a waist of money!! I hope this helps.. Thanks and have a happy hair day….Huggss Rhonda

NSI- Synergy Womans muiltu-vitamin (Version3)
NSI- Royal Jelly 2000mg
NSI-MSM 1000mg
NSI- Chromium picolinate 200mg
NSI-KRIA Xanthin Antartic krill oil 1000mg
NSI-VitaminC, Quercetin, Green tea, L-Lysine and L-proline (all in one)
Now Sports (Amino Complete balanced amino acids ( this one i get at my own nutrion store or you put it in your search box and ask for the best price on Now Sports Amino Complete…It will give you a list of where to buy this and the prices..
I really like the NSI products, they were rated very high in quality when they tested and compared them to price and quality…. You will love them..

Wow! I just stumbled on to this site by accident while searching for “cures” for my hairloss and all I can think of to say is wow-

I’ve been in denial over my hairloss for about two years now. I’ve been ignoring it- if I don’t think about it, it doesn’t exist. I’m too young (27 years old) to have this happen, I decided. My hair will grow back. This is just temporary.

I was diagnosed with Lupus a year and a half ago. I was fine one moment and not fine the next, it seemed- one day I was running around being a normal 25-year old and the next I was suddenly running constant fevers. My joints ached, my bones hurt, my lymph nodes swelled, my hair began to fall out, I had rashes on my face and scalp, I was so so so tired, and something wasn’t right.

At first my doctor was baffled. She ran a bunch of tests on me and found (of course) nothing. Nothing was wrong. Cancer? No. An infection? No. Thyroid? Anemia? Wacky hormones? Nope, nope, nope. It wasn’t until she finally tested my ANA’s that she concluded I had both SLE (Systematic Lupus) and Sjogren’s Syndrome, with a possible offset of Fibromyalgia.

I was then shoved off to a few specialists, all who told me my case was mild (hooray!) but I’d have to likely live with it’s annoyances forever (boo).

“My hair, doctor!” I said to my rheumatologist. “Will it grow back? My hair?”

He leaned in and looked at my bald patches, growing in size all over my scalp. Then he sighed.

“Oh, I know how you women are with your hair,” he said. “My wife is the same way.”

And that was it. Nothing. No solution. No, “Well, you’re obviously concerned about this so what can we do to fix it,”- nothing.

I gave up on doctors temporarily after that, feeling that my hair loss was a side effect of Lupus I would just have to deal with. And frankly, I was mad. It took me months to even get my diagnosis; months of weekly visits to my GP, months of weekly tests, and months of waiting and waiting and feeling sick and not knowing why. And now I was being told, “Oh well.”

I was tired of it.

“It’ll grow back once you get straightened out on your meds!” everyone promised. “You’ll be fine!”

Two years later and I’m still not fine. I’m still tired, my hair is still falling out (and getting more noticeable by the nanosecond), and I AM STILL NOT FINE.

Which is why I’m so happy I found this site, to see other women struggling in the way I am. My hair used to be my crowning glory- really, it was. I never had a lot of hair. I was born with my mom’s hair, thin yet coarse. But oh, how I’d baby it. I only used the best on my hair- the best shampoos and styling products (Pureology! Bumble and Bumble! Frederic Fekkai!), the best styling appliances (Chi’s! Sedu’s! Solias!). I’d drop $200 every six weeks to get it highlighted and cut. Nearly $2,000 a year!

I’ll never forget my first appointment with my hairstylist, after the hairloss had started. “You can’t even notice!” she said.

And then the next: “Oh, it’s still not very noticeable.”

And then the next: “Well, it’s a little noticeable, so we’ll dye it blonder to make it blend in with the scalp.”

And then the next, “Well, um, I think it’s beginning to grow back, I think I see little fuzzy hairs sticking up. Ever thought about a hair piece?”

Yeah.

My husband tries to be as sympathetic as possible. He’s losing his hair as well, he pointed out to me. He has male-patterned baldness.

“Oh well!” I said to him one day in a fit of fury. “You’re a guy. Society doesn’t care.”

“That still doesn’t make it hard for me to see my hair go, though.” he said. Good point. It’s sad that my husband and I are going through this together. But at least I have someone by my side who knows what it feels like to have their physical appearance so severely altered in such a short time frame.

So, short story long, here I am. I’m ready to tackle this head on. My hiatus from doctors is over. I’m sick of losing my hair, and I’m sick of doctors telling me it’s nothing and rolling their eyes at me and it’ll grow back, and I’m sick of not knowing if this will ever stop. I think that’s the hardest part about this- what if my hairloss never ends? What if I lose it all?

I firmly believe that my hairloss is a sign of something. It is thinning out mostly on the sides of my head, with a bit of thinning now beginning at the crown and by my part. This is a sign of something, this hair loss. If everything was functioning fine and honky dory, I wouldn’t be losing my hair. Something is amiss, and I need to find the right doctor willing to work with me to figure this out (which is the hard part, as you all seem to know!).

I started Rogaine tonight (5% foam), Nioxin last week, and the Nioxin Recharging Complex (Biotin vitamins, essentially) two weeks ago. Doctors appointments are scheduled and I will be pressing for an appointment with a dermatologist. Hopefully one that deals with autoimmune disorders and hairloss, but I’ll take whatever I can get at this point.

So that’s my story. Thank you for letting me vent. I look forward to sticking around to update and figure out what else I can learn from you lovely ladies. ?

For the longest time I thought I was the only one struggling with hair loss. You ladies are so strong! I mean reading this was a breath of fresh air knowing that you ladies have it worst then I, but still you’re so strong! and I thought I had it bad? Just today I was thinking about shaving my head and using some scalp serum and let my hair grow back to see what the results are? But I’m really kinda scare… What are some of your opinions about that? I would love to hear…

Thanks so much for inspiring all ladies out there who are going through the similar situations.

….from my prev msg. I have decided to use the folicure shampoo and conditioners, rinse every 2 days with acv, and decided against rogaine. To me it doesnt solve the root of the problem just a temporary fix. Once you stop using it, it continues to fall, and I personally dont have the money to take it for the rest of my life. best wishes.

Hi! Thanks for sharing your story with us, and i ‘d like to salute this site, not only because one can find a lot of info, but most importantly for the support that women like us get. I really feel the need to share my story with you i am starting to cope with it and I just realised that I am not alone i thought so far. First I started loosing my hair when i was 11 years old! I am 19 now, so it has been 8 years now and as you all know, coming to terms with this problem is not simple or easy. When I was 11 years old my mum noticed that my strands odf hair started falling off. As my mum and a few members of my family are suffering from androgenetic alopekia, she instantly refered me to a dermatologist. For a few years i was using dermatological treatment, until my doctor figures out that it has to do with my hormones, and since them i am taking spiro and i have been informed that most propably i will have to take them for the rest of my life which is nothing compaired to the emotional impact. When my friends were worrying about the colour or the style of their hair, i was worried about the amount of my hair. From time to time I really feel this pressure, but most of the time I try to leave my problem to the back of my head and continue my life. I know how you guys feel, I have been through the same. Nights crying to sleep, asking the same question again and again ‘why me?’. And as a teenager I suffered a lot. I could never have my hair fixed the way i wanted and comparing my hair to my friends’ hair was sinking me deep into depression. Now I ‘ve learnt to cope with the things that i cannot change and i am in the process to accept it. At least i recognise that this problem make me the person i am now. I realised that life is not only about hair.
I really feel the need to thank you for creating this site! It has helped me a lot! Thank you! And please remember you are not alone!

Can anyone let me know if they are thinning in the front? Because I feel like all the hair above my temples is getting thinner and thinner and am afraid it will all fall out and give me a huge forehead. Does anyone else have this? Seems like frontal hair loss but its also all over my head its aga. Please help!

Can hair colored or strips teeth whitening making your hair falling out ?
OMG ! My pillow full of hairs this morning. I don’t want to comp or wash my hair any more… It’s a nightmare, but I can’t wake up.
How can I stop it or may be just die ?

Hello everybody!:)
First of all, I would like to thank each and every one of you for being so open and honest about your situations. Reading these comments has given me information, strength, hope and resources.
I started losing my hair about 3 years ago. One day, inthe shower, I lost probably around 350 hairs (two big clumps). I FREAKED. I thought mOst likely it was from my drug use ( I’m a former opiate addict, clean now, but using at that point), and blamed it on that. I continued to lose about 40% of my hair over the next month. Surprisingly, I never had any bald spots, just a ton of hair loss. I would sit in the shower, pulling clumps and clumps out of my head, crying my eyes out. I went through an immense depression: not leaving the house, staring in the mirror fixating on my hair, not brushing or washing my hair for weeks at a time because that’s when it fell out the most, and eventuAlly losing my boyfriend because of my depression.
I went to see my dermatologist and he drew my blood: everything was normal.. I couldn’t believe this!! How could my full, thick HUMONGOUS head of hair be so thin, and nothing be causing it? I have never been on birth control, so I was pretty sure my hormones weren’t a factor. I saw a naturopath and was put on about 40 pills of suppliments a day.. I saw slight improvement, butafterabout 3 months of dealing with naseau and just frustration of having to swallow so many pills a day, I quit the suppliments.
My hair stopped falling out for about 1.5 years.. Then, about a week ago, it started falling out again. I know it isn’t drugs: I’ve been clean for almost 2 years. I’m only 23 years old and have no history of family baldness. My stress level is low (until my hair starts fallng out:) and I eat very well-balanced meals. I’m going back to my dermatologist this week to try to get more answers.
I would love some advice! I was so thrilled to find some similar storiesand situations, I wish you all the best!
Catlin

I find myself so depressed today…. I feel like all I can do is obsess about my hair (or lack of it). I just turned 36 and my hair has been gradually thinning for the last 13 years. It is hereditary as my mom has the same issue. I see her and want to cry as I know it’s where I am headed. I am doing Rogaine again, but I can never seem to stay on it for long as it makes my scalp itch terribly. I usually get to a point where I can’t take it and quit. I am getting to the point where I worry all the time about the scalp showing in the front where it’s thinned the most. I find myself so envious of others who have thick hair. I have yet to find a doctor who really gets it. I have been to 2 dermatologists and 3 family doctors who all tell me my bloodwork is normal and to try Rogaine. Where do I go from here except to start looking at hairpieces? Yes I do thank God for the life I have. I am also thankful for this group of open honest women.

Pauline since you said your hair has been thinning for 13 years im guessing it started around 23? well im 22 and my hair started thinning a year ago, but i feel its progressing rapidly. Since you have been enduring this for much longer I hope you can help me by answering some questions. Is it obvious to other people> can you still hide it? ..My thinning is greatest on temples and hairline and just overall thinner in the front. Is that the same for you? Please let me know thanks so much

Hi everyone. I just wanted to share my story because I Do believe that the experts on women’s hairloss are the those that are experiencing it. No doctor ever gave me any advice that was worth a dime, and yet I’ve learned so much from other girls going through this. In 2004, 3 months after discontinuing Alesse birth control pill, I experienced a severe shedding. I was pulling strings of my already fine hair out of my head at an alarming rate. I thought I Was going bald, or that I had cancer, or that I was definitely sick. I had NO CLUE it could be my birth control pill. I was so devastated that I took a 3 week leave from work and travelled to relieve some stress so that I wasn’t completely devastated. I got extensions put into my hair to add volume, by this wonderful woman who made me feel like everything was going to be okay. And about 3-4 months into my shed, I went back on the pill, this time it was Yasmin as I heard it helped. Fast forward through two years of still wearing extensions, and taking the pill, and my stylist said - Hey, you don’t really need these anymore, your hair has really thickened up. She took them out and I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t need them anymore. I didn’t have thick hair but it was fine on it’s own. I felt like I won. My hair got thicker and thicker and I was pretty happy with it. It’s funny because the dermatologists that I went to said I had AGA - however, is that possible if when on the pill my hair comes back in? Wouldn’t AGA indicate that the follicle is dying?? Anyway, last year in March, I went off the pill and again - right at the 3 month mark it shed. However, I was trying to get pregnant and by month 4, I was pregnant. The hair continued to shed through the first 2-3 months of my pregnancy, but it was horrific. Then all of the sudden, it stopped completely. For 6 months straight, I swear I didn’t lose one hair. It was amazing. Now I will say that my hair thickened up, I didn’t have any sparse spots. It was perfect. I cut it shoulder length and it actually looked sort of thick! Here I am today at 3.5 months postpartum experiencing HORRIBLE post partum shedding. I mean, maybe 200-300 hairs a day fall out. What’s funny is that I’m totally calm about it. Maybe because I have this beautiful baby that I care so much about that my hair seems like less of a priority than it used to… but then again, I’m still looking for a solution. I hope that I don’t have to get back on the pill to stop this hairloss because I really don’t think that medicating yourself with the enemy is the key. It’s hormonal, and your body has to figure it out right? I don’t know what to do. I am breastfeeding so I really can’t go back on the pill unless I stop nursing. I also am confused because if I have AGA - why is my hair able to become thicker and full when I am on estrogen (whether my own from pregnancy, or the pill)?? I have to believe that because my hair has come back to normal when on the pill or pregnant, that I don’t have AGA despite with the “biopsies” say. It’s so confusing, I’m not sure what to do…. Just wanted to share.

Love you all.

Tara, if you have emailed me then maybe I did explain to you as I have others, it takes about 2 to 3 months for your hair to stabilize and cycle, I also have noted to others to stay away from (Lo-Estrin24) its not the same company or drug, and I have heard more horror stories about this BCP, if your going back on you need to go to the old formulas.. Lo-estrin1.5/30 28day cycle or Lo-estrin 1/20 28 day cycle.. they are the same just the doses are adjusted… The Loestrin24 is not the same manufacture.. And has caused problems.. I also listed in a few forums what you need to balanced your body with the proper nutrients as well.. I hope this helps and i feel so bad when i hear what you ladies are going through… You will notice your shedding slowing down after you complete one month cycle, but it should stop after 3 months and will grow better if you take the nutrients I have listed above… Again I can be reached at lilladyvixen@yahoo, for any questions or if you just would like to talk… }i{ugs and }i{appy hair days to you all…Rhonda

Hello everyone. I’m happy that i found this website.

I’m 25 years old and been taking care of my hair for the past year now. I also experienced excessive hair loss way back year 2003, after a hair straightening treatment from a salon.

After several months, the hair loss stopped… but it comes back seasonally. My hair became thin as well.. From a thick black hair. I felt depressed and cried buckets too.

But there’s always hope. Have you tried using Virgin Coconut Oil? it really helps.. Everytime i notice excessive hair fall, i used VCO every night and i noticed that my hair fall reduced.I also believe that everything happens for a reason.

I really salute women here who remained braved and calm inspite and despite of…

As what the other poster here said on her blog, Life is more than a hair in our scalp.

Lets see…sixteen months ago, I stopped taking Yasmin, and for fourteen of those months I experienced major hair loss plus no periods all those months. I was constantly losing hair. I could run my fingers through my hair and have a hand full of hair. It was embarrassing to me to even go get a hair cut. I tried everything to stop it from falling out. I went to my doctor a few months ago, and had blood work done, everything came back fine. I did though, start the pill again, and for the past couple of months I have noticed that Im not losing as much hair. Dont know if this is a coincidence or what, but I hope taking the pill again has stopped my hair from falling out.

Wow, I had no idea anyone else experienced this same phenomenon. I’m so glad I found this site … I stopped my BCPs over a month ago after taking them for 2 years, and I kept noticing several strands coming out every time I combed my hair or wash my hair. I thought it was a coincidence, because I’ve always heard that taking BCPs can cause hair loss, but I never heard that STOPPING them can cause hair loss too. Thanks so much for the advice on the ortho-tricyclen. I will give that a try, because I took it before and swore that it made my hair thicker — just thought it was my imagination. HA! … I’ve always had thin, fine hair, so it’s something I’ve lived with and have (so far) been able to work around. Jeez, I wish the best of success with hair growth for all the women reading this.

Hi, I’m 28 and my hair started thinning when I was 21. I was not on birth control at all and I didnt really pay much attention to the hair falling. But 6 months later, i realized i had a problem. 6 months after that, my brother died and i thought maybe my hair was falling out because of that. My parents both have pattern baldness and so did my brother. My other brother has a thick healthy head of hair. I went to get all the checkups and I’m fine. I’m in great shape, eat well, and there’s only one solution - hair piece. Also - by the way, i take a generic form of Loestrin called Microgestin - the hormone levels are really balanced. All stylist have told me the same thing - once the hair starts shedding/falling, its not going to grow back. I aceepted it and all of you should too. It may be depressing, but it is what it is. So, what hairpiece is good for you? Its especially difficult when you have thinning at the crown of the head like me. If you have the $, there are places that will custom make a hairpiece for you where your own hair is pulled out of little holes, so that your scalp can breathe and get cleaned, etc. Obviously having your own hair would be best, but you can’t look backwards, only forwards.

Hey Ladies-

Thank you sharing all of your stories. I can completely sympathisize with all of you, hair loss can be an emotional rollercoaster and very hard to overcome. I started losing my hair at age 20, and now I am 23 and still losing a lot of hair everyday. I am not sure what the cause of my hair loss is exactly, I have been diagnosed with Androgenetic Alopecia from my doctor but do not have anyone in my family who has had this kind of hair loss. I have been on BC for the last 4 years, starting with Orthotricycline and switching to Yasmin. I am not sure what pill is better for me, but they both have not seemed to help with my hair loss. Currently I am taking the essential multivitamins, spironolactone, and rogaine. I have only been on rogaine for about a month, but am hopeful it will work to regrow my hair. If any of you have been diagnosed with the same problem, I would love to know what, if anything, has helped you. I am a young woman who has, unfortunately, become depressed with the amount of hair I have lost over the years. I have lost friends, a boyfriend, and so much time worrying about my hair. Please reach out to me if you have some solutions you think will work for me. Thank you all, I wish you the best of luck in finding the solution that works for you. Stay strong and continue to live life to the fullest. Just know that you are not alone in this fight with hair loss.

As a teenager I remember being embarrassed because my mom wore a wig. At the time I had no idea that I would inherit hair loss!! At 33 I’m married with two great kids and still find myself consumed by my own hair loss. It’s completely irrational when there are so many people fighting for their health, but I can’t stop myself. I worry that I won’t be attractive to my husband, I worry that people are staring as the sun glares on my head where you can see straight through to my scalp, I worry and worry. I just started taking Rogain after 3 months of Nioxin. I’m hoping this will help me to retain the hair I have. With each year I notice it getting thinner and thinner and try to ignore it, but it’s not going to go away. I’ve been through many difficult things in my life so I don’t plan to walk away from this without a fight. Thanks to all of you for sharing your stories. It’s so helpful to feel surrounded by women who really “get it”!!!

I’m glad I found this site. I don’t know that, in the end, it makes me feel a ton better about what’s happening to me, but at least I know there are people here who understand and with whom I can be honest about what is happening. I think the worst part is how alone and ashamed I feel to even be around friends and family right now.

I’m 35 years old. I’ve never felt I was a beauty, but I was decent looking, and the one attractive feature I always had was nice hair. My hair has been waistlength to tailbone length, dark, shiny, nice texture…. Also, I’m of a cultural background where long, full hair is very much valued–expected really–for women (even more so than in American culture at large.) So, I’ve cared for it well, used no dyes or harsh chemicals, treated it gently and kept it healthy and nicely trimmed.

I’d realized I had some very gradual thinning probably over the last 10-15 years, but nothing drastic. I’d been on the NuvaRing for about 7 years without any big incident. Then, this summer, I tried to go off the NuvaRing. And all hell broke loose.

In three months time, I went from having a full, lovely head of hair and no major skin problems to incredbly awful cystic acne and my hair falling out by the handfuls!

At first I thought it was just a temporary shed…but soon I noticed my hair was getting a LOT thinner. At this point, I have lost 1/3 - 1/2 the hair I had in June. In the last month (month 4) it’s reached the point where it’s become really hard to hide it. There is a patch at the top-back of my head that is so thin, it’s become hard to cover. The temples and sides of my head are also thin and hard to cover, and all over I can just see rivers of scalp when my hair separates or is put up/pulled aside.

It’s stunning how quickly and relentlessly this has happened!

My doc put me back on NuvaRing (there were other side effects from going off of it–skin and hair aside, I reacted very poorly to the drop in estrogen and increase in testosterone–mood, dysmenorhea, etc.) She said the hairloss should stop and hair start growing back. I’ve been back on it for almost a month. Other symptoms have started to slowly improve, but my hair continued to drop and I don’t see any signs of regrowth yet. I’ve started Nizoral (1%) about a week or two ago. I’m taking hair formula vitamins. I’ve had blood tests. My ferretin was 32 (normal, but low-ish end maybe?). B12 and the TSH4 also in normal range. I’m waiting for results on testosterone, progesterone, and two other levels. I have an appointment with a dermatologist in a couple weeks (soonest I could get.) But in the meantime, I’m so lost, and so desperate.

I am just devistated I don’t know what to do. I’ve reached the point where I’m afraid to go out of the house without a hat on. I cry (sob, really) over this every day, which makes me feel silly and cry more. I’m afraid to see friends and family. I feel ugly and ashamed all the time. And I worry about what the future will bring. (Will this hair loss stop? Can I grow enough of it–any of it–back and feel normal again? Will I be too unattractive to men to be loved and desired again? What about having children–will I have to choose between keeping my remaining strands or having a baby?) Some days, I almost feel like killing myself. I won’t, but I…just feel like I don’t want to live like this.

It’s even affecting my work. Day job, I avoid office situations as much as possible because of harsh overhead lights. For my other job, I teach flamenco and I also perform (sing, dance) regularly. But now…I’m afraid to stand with my back to my students (are they staring at the balding spoton the back of my head? Will they still want to take these classes with me if they notice, or will they want to find someone else who meets the more glamorous image they have in mind?) And what about my performances? Am I going to lose gigs/not have guitarists, choreogs, and clients because I don’t have the look and the hair needed to pull it off? Up to now I’ve been hiding the loss with partial hair pieces and accessories, but I don’t know how much longer that will work if this doesn’t stop. Probably not more than a month. Plus…for certain types of performance, the fake hair is difficult–can’t be changed quickly between numbers, changes the feel of how I move, etc.

I’m also struggling with at what point do I need to (partially) give up and cut my (remaining) hair? And how short do I need to go? I know, it may sound silly and not especially rational, but the thought of surrendering and cutting my long hair hurts and depresses me terribly. (Again, the cultural thing, plus the prospect of just not looking like what I feel like/not looking like me.) I know even if I can regrow some hair (which is a big if, from what I can tell…) it would take years for the new hair to reach the length and texture of what remains…and even if I get to a more “normal” shed cycle, over time, that “old hair” will just fall out due to natural cycle…probably before new hair has grown in to the same length.

And that’s if it grows.

In the meantime, I’m trying (unsuccessfully) not to think about it ALL the time…yet here I am at 3:30 in the morning, awake again and on this site. I don’t know which I’ll lose more completely first–my hair or my mind. *sobbing*

Thank you all for listening, and thank you for sharing your stories. It is good to be able to “come out” to some people who might understand. I think my poor partner is just beside himself unsure what to say/do to be supportive.

Hi
I’m a person that does not notice stuff around me, so when I started to lose my hair I didn’t pay attention to it. My hair started to come out slowly and it never came out in handfuls. So when I was washed my hair and strands fell into my hand I just put my hand into the water and washed them away. It was not until one of my friends said something that I really looked at my hair. As I was standing in the bathroom looking at my hair I could not see what she was seeing. After my friend said something I really started to look at my hair when I washed it. I noticed that when I was having a shower and I would put my hand through my hair I would lose strands. I would not lose much but over time they added up.

I started to hate taking pictures because when we tock school pictures, I could see hair on the top of my head was missing. Then the grade 11 pictures for the next year were even worse for more hair loss. The worst pictures to be taken at that school was are grade 12 cap and gown pictures because they would be out all year round in the hallway for every one to see. In the end I was lucky because the person who tock the pictures did a little thing ware he made it look like I had more hair on the top of my head when I really didn’t. In a big blown up picture of me you can see that it does not look right but thank god they use small pictures in the year end ones.

The only time now a days when I notice that I lose my hair is when I’m in the shower and I put soap in my hair. As I wash my hair I can pull out a couple of strands easily. I find it a little weird that my hair feels a little week when it is dry but once I get my hair wet it feels really, really bad. Like when it’s wet, it feels really brittle.

Since I started to lose my hair 3 to 4 years ago I have never seen a doc about why it has happened to me. I don’t know who to talk to about it. In the city I lived in was the capital but it was very small and I didn’t have a family doc because there was not enough to go around. I never though to do to the hospital because to me that was a place for people who ware dyeing. I never talked to any one about it. This is the first time I ever talked to any one about my hair and lossing it. I hated it when I see my mom starring at my hair or when she say why don’t you do something different with your hair. Like I have not tried many different ways to make my hair look better and she is trying to tell me stuff. I know she is just trying to help me with ideas because now days I just get my hair cut to my chin and if they want to give me bangs they can. I don’t feel like I will ever get a guy because I always think that they are looking at my hair and why would they want me when I’m losing it. The kind of hair that I have now is thick near the neck area but as you go more up to the top of the head it gets thinner and thinner.

So I don’t like to talk about my hair because what if they ask me why I’m losing it and I can’t answer it because I don’t know. If I could give people a reason why then I don’t think I would not mind talking about it because then it gives me expiation why. Does that make since, I don’t know but I find stuff easer to talk about when I understand it.

I wanted to say sorry for all the bad writing and spelling. I have a problem with reading and writing since I was a child and I tried my best to make it sound sane. So if it sounds too weird, well, even I can could back in a day or two and reread it and not understand what I’m talking about. So all I can say is that I tried.

Bye All and Take Care

I am 50 and bald on top and back and the side are about 1/2 of inch. I feel really ugly and tirer of looking at my self. There is no hope of me ever having hair again. So i wear wigs and with hot flashes it is not a great feeling. I am not a pretty person so going bald even make me more unpretty. Sorry for feeling this way but there’s really no one esle i could talk to. Very sad but true.

Hi I have been on all morning looking at hair problems. I will be 69 in March
of this year. I was looking for some homemade conditioners to help my
hair. I have another problem. Perms and using them way too long is
ruining my hair. But I have a girl friend who is 73. She was having bald
spots in her head. I started using vitimins for hair which is easy to find.
They are called hair vits or vits for hair in the vits aisle of almost every store.

She told me to use biotin vit 5,000 mgs I guess that is the last part of it.
She is diabetic and it doesn’t hurt her. and I am am allerigic to lots of
things so I got biotin 1,000 and begun taking 1/2 for awhile. Then I
found Jason biotin shampoo and conditioner on line. I am sure they
have it at the stores but I walk with a cane way too much trouble for
me to run around looking for it.

Her hair is growing back. And mine has grown about 1 inch in the last 6
weeks. I do pray this will help someone. The biotin alone is about 4.00
for say 100. and the shampoo and conditioner was about 8.00 per bottle
not real cheap but reasonable.

God Bless you ladies.
Doris Gibson

hi I just came accross this site as I was trying to do some more research on my hair loss. I started shedding back in August and it hasn’t stopped. I have had tons of bloodwork done, and i was checked for POCS- everything came back normal except my DHEAS level was slightly elevated- which I guess means I have more testosterone in my body. I was on orthotricyclin lo for 8 years- I’ve been off it for two years and my derm, endo and gyno think going back on it will help lower this. I’ve been back on it for 3 weeks-still no change. They sounded so sure that going back on the pill would stop the hair loss but all I read online is that birth control has caused people’s hair loss. I never had ANY problems like this when I was on the pill all that time- my hair was super healthy and thick and it never fell out for 8 years plus the first year I was off of it. So I’m trying to remain positive that this will work for me- but after reading all these posts I don’t have high hopes.
Like all of you I am getting really depressed- I’m 28 and single- who is going to want to date someone who is balding? Like many of you- I always had such pretty hair and now it is half as thick and so limp. I dread showers in the morning and when I have to comb it out.

Has anyone else on here experienced hair loss due to high testosterone levels? If so - how we’re you treated?
thanks so much, its good to know I’m not alone

Has anyone noticed hair regrowth after they stopped taking BCPs??

Hello, beautiful ladies,

Came across this website today while researching “baby or broken hairs.” I have been on birth control three different times in my life (I’m 23), and each time I got off of it (generally after a year or so of being on it), I lost quite a bit of hair. The last time, I was on a generic pill called Microgestin, and to be honest, it was the best pill, if I can say that, of all of the ones I have tried. I am not sure why, but this time when I went off the pill, I didn’t get a bald spot, as I had in the past (alopecia areata). It has been almost 7 months since I quit (in August of 2009), and the shedding has slowed considerably. What is puzzling to me is that I have these 2-inch hairs all over my part line. I cannot tell if they are broken hairs or baby hairs coming in after all that shedding in 2009. Any advice on this, please? If they are baby hairs, wonderful, but if they are broken ones (I blow dry my hair frequently, but use the best products out there to protect it, and I have switched from permanent hair dyes to semi ones (Clairol Natural Instincts), which damage hair SOOO much less and surprisingly, last much longer), that is not the best news. When I get out of the shower, it looks like I have a puff of hair around the top of my head.

If I may, I have tried nearly every hair loss solution in the book (especially when I had a bald spot), and I have visited several dermatologists, researched the heck out of the topic, spoken to many doctors, had blood work done, etc. For me, and I know everyone is different, Rogaine for women was useless, and I didn’t want to commit to it for the rest of my life. Dermatologists were very unhelpful and without empathy and told me I had a lot of hair and it would all grow back. Usually when I went in, I felt like I knew more about hair loss than they did. Blood work always came back normal. My only thought after researching this since I was 16 is that it is the birth control. If you think about it, putting hormones into your body like the ones in BC, changing up the natural cycle of your body, such things could definitely cause one’s hair to come out! Everyone’s bodies are different, and I have some friends who have gone on the pill for years and never had a problem, but some of us ladies are just more sensitive to these things! I am one of them without a doubt. Furthermore, I do not think (from what I have researched) that getting back on birth control is a helpful solution. If anything, I think it puts you into a dependency cycle, which can sometimes make it worse because your body must take another 6 months to get used to a new pill. (Generally, it takes 6 months for your body to get rid of any effects of a pill, like birth control, so I think that I am finally starting to see some regrowth, I hope, although 2 inches worth on my part line, I am not sure.) I noticed a lot of people were getting onto another pill or taking all of these other medicines as prescribed by a doctor to help with the hair loss, and I strongly feel that these prescriptions are the worst thing you could do for your hair. I am not one who only uses natural products, but I have a strong hunch that medicine after medicine is not going to give you ladies the results you deserve.

I have also tried Nioxin, Biolage, the works, and I think that Nioxin does have a very good vitamin that is for hair growth. Kind of expensive, and it does take a while to see any results, but I can say that it works. Also, keep your hair really moisturized. I have shelled out big bucks from everything from Kerastase Masquintense (fabulous stuff) to drug store brands. I recently tried Enjoy hair products, and I think that their deep conditioner really helps with tangled, dry hair (another culprit that does not help shedding in the slightest). Always use a wide-tooth comb when hair is wet, but I am sure you all know that already. Basically, you have to treat your hair with kid gloves as it is very delicate and fragile.

I know it is extremely hard to do, but try not to think about it. I used to count the hairs I lost, too, after showering, combing, styling, and it’s not worth it. You just stress out more, and stress and tears do not help the hair grow back (really try to relax, too. Stress can be hair’s worst enemy). I have noticed that when I don’t freak out about all the hair, I feel a lot better, and I notice it shedding a lot less.

Something to cleanse your hair of any styling products or greasiness, making it shiny, less itchy (sometimes my scalp gets pretty itchy), etc. is apple cider vinegar. I rinse my hair with it about once a month, and it is great. Much gentler and more effective than an anti-dandruff or clarifying shampoo. Again, I emphasize the necessity for good conditioners. Cheap drug store ones have harsher chemicals (generally-speaking) and can be much more damaging to already sensitive scalps and hair follicles. I also mix in a few drops of peppermint or tea tree oil into my shampoo (currently using Kerastase), and it not only feels delicious, but seems to help loosen up a tight, dry scalp whenever you have one, allowing those hair follicles to breathe more, so to speak. A congested scalp will not yield new hair growth.

Diet is also very important. Keep up with those Omega-3s, biotin, iron, etc. Drink a lot of water, as your body is primarily composed of it. I used to eat spinach from bags like potato chips. Funny, I know, but that stuff is a super food for your hair.

I am currently in China right now teaching English, and these girls have amazing hair, and boy, do they know how to take care of it. I love anything with olive oil in it. Good stuff. Also, if you can go to a salon, ask them to put you under something that is like a steamer almost, cover your hair in some deep conditioner (Wella’s Color and Perm is fantastic), your hair will feel like a million bucks afterwards, and it does seem to fall out less! No lie. You can do this at home, too. Just add the deep conditioner, wrap your hair in a hot, wet towel, or put a grocery bag over your hair (another funny thing I have tried, but it is a recessionista’s alternative to healthy hair at a lower cost!), tighten it with a clip in the front, and let the humidity work its wonders.

I take a multivitamin everyday plus two biotin tablets. My hair is growing a lot faster, and I think that over the past 7 months, my shedding is finally slowing down. If you need any advice, have any questions, or just want to vent, please let me know, and I can send you my e-mail address. I know how painful it is to lose it, and as women, hair is so important. Best of luck to you all, you are in my heart and prayers, and I truly hope things will go up for each and every one of you.

Hugs and love.

This site is a huge relief to me! My story is very similar to the stories posted here. I’m only 19 years old, and afriad that this hair “thinning” is never going to stop. I was on birthcontrol for three years, and stopped it completely about four months ago. I’m so confused about what I should do. My hair has showed no improvment since I stopped the medication and now I’m not sure if going back on bc would help me or hurt me even more. I’ve been to doctors. Had the blood work, and nothing has come of it. Just huge doctor bills and no answers. How did I get here? Today I FINALLY got my roommate to realize that my hair is really falling out when I showed her a part on the back of head that just keeps getting longer and harder to cover. My family still refuses to believe that I’m losing my hair. How would they know? They don’t see how much hair comes out in the shower or in my sink everyday. I’ve told myself a million times to ignor this. There is nothing I can do but wait till it’s time to get a wig. But it’s hard. I want to have my thick hair back. Thanks to everyone on this site. I know i’m not alone now.

-Cole

Hi,

I have a question for the women who stopped taking birth control to avoid future hair loss… Did you find a better method of birth control to put in the pills place? Or are you just willing to take the chance of getting pregnant? I too have had hair shedding for 6 months now and am debating going off the pill, but I do not know which would be worse, getting pregnant, or losing more hair.

Thanks,

Sky