hair loss treatment

There is a lot of confusion on hair loss treatments, what works, what doesn’t. In this video I discuss the value of legitimate treatments and the importance of a proper diagnosis.

This video also discusses the importance of understanding the risks of ANY hair loss treatment and being careful in what you choose to do. I go over the treatments that have proven to be effective for *some* women (some women don’t respond to anything, and some respond to some things and not others, and for some the limited results don’t warrant continuing the treatment).

-Topical Minoxidil (Rogaine)
-Oral Minoxidil (This one seems to be doing pretty well for both men and women, I have 2 close friends taking it and they are experiencing good results, but had side effects to get through).
-Spirolactone (Aldactone)
-Finasteride (Propecia), Massive warning for women if getting pregnant.
-PRP Therapy (I did this one for 14 years, only stopping Jan 2023 because against this second hair loss it did not work)

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Nov 2022 I was diagnosed with a second type of hair loss, an inflammatory alopecia. This was in addition to the 24 year old female pattern baldness I have had since I was 21 years old. I knew this was different, it did not behave at all like my hair loss did the previous 2 decades of my life, so I went to try and seek out what could be the cause and received that diagnosis. 

Inflammatory, autoimmune related hair loss is a completely different type of hair loss than androgenetic alopecia (female pattern baldness) and the treatments associated with it are different as well. 

There are two (lesser known) things that are available for *potentially* being of benefit, to those dealing with autoimmune, inflammatory hair loss type situations, and I wanted to share those, because I don’t see them widely being discussed or referenced.

**Please note I am not a doctor, this is just what my understanding is of all of this information, always consult with your own doctor. 

1) Antihistamines – This was surprising to me, but I guess in an inflammatory alopecia the goal is to bring down the overall inflammation of the body, with the end goal of hoping that it helps turn the ship around. I was told to take Zyrtec at night and Allergra in the morning. Although no prescription is required for this, you should always discuss what you plan on doing with your doctor as there could be medication interactions or perhaps in your case it wouldn’t be good for your overall health in general. 

2) Naltrexone – which is primary used as an opioid blocker to help those dealing with substance addiction, it has also been found to be useful in LOW doses, for autoimmune conditions. Referred to as LDN (Low Dose Naltrexone). I take 3mg and I get it from a compound pharmacy, prescription is required for this. 

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My insurance company has just sent me a letter to inform me that there is a “Lack of Medical Necessity” for the Kenalog (Triamcinolone Acetonid) Injections to treat my new hair loss situation.

This isn’t for my female pattern baldness, this is for the diffuse alopecia areata I got last year after an insanely stressful situation I went through – mind and body in 2022. To learn about that, please watch my recent Hair Loss/ Life Update video: https://youtu.be/_8kVx2P7PYg

The steroid injections are to hopefully assist in resolving this new hair loss and get me back to just having the one I’ve had since 1999, androgenetic alopecia. I actually didn’t expect that they were going to pay, but I did receive an approval letter. I was pleasantly surprised when I got the letter stating I was approved. I thought, this must be the first hair loss break I got… ever in 24 years, only for it to be followed by a rejection letter. Citing that I was diagnosed with hair loss (duh), and that the service requested (Steroid Injections) is being “Modified” aka Denied, because there is a “lack of medical necessity.”

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Saw Palmetto is an herb that is often put into many hair loss products that claim to be able offer the reduction of shedding or even the regrowth of hair.  It is one of the first things I found in 1999 when I began losing my hair.  I had a vitamin book, turned to the index, searched for hair loss, and saw Saw Palmetto listed as something that can help hair loss. I consulted with no one, and went to the vitamin shop to buy that and a whole bunch of other stuff that didn’t work.. Stinging nettle, horsetail etc. You know the drill if you’ve been down that path.

Watch on YouTube

It’s been around forever. You don’t need a special hair loss product to try this, it’s sold in every vitamin shop around under a zillion different brands as a dietary supplement. 

It is usually the ingredient of a hair loss product that is sold as a “DHT Blocker.”  

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First Do No Harm, To Yourself

by Y on June 9, 2021

Be careful when making decisions in the manner in which you decide you would like to treat your hair loss. I am not against treating hair loss, but I think because hair loss is such an emotional thing, many women make snap decisions in an effort to help themselves, only to find sometimes they are now in a worse position than they were prior.

Hair loss treatments do have risks, and worth noting, most are just flat out bogus and don’t don’t carry any medical or scientific possibility to even remotely help hair to regrow or stop shedding, and some could do more harm than good.

Desperation often sends logic sailing out the window.

I am not a doctor, but doctors are not necessarily going to be honest with you and tell you the truth and the reality of all the repercussions that can happen from doing XYZ. You need to advocate for yourself, you need to do your own research and make truly informed decisions and go into anything with eyes wide open and knowing all the potential downsides that can occur. Once you have the facts you are better equipped to make the right choice for yourself.

Just some thoughts for your consideration.

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I notice a lot of people want solid answers, definitive answers on hair loss treatments, varying from IF it will work for them, IF they shed from the treatment – will the hair come back, where on the head the benefit will be, if any.

Unfortunately, there are no guarantees with anything and there are no definitive answers. We can only know what works and doesn’t work for us. There is nothing that universally responds exactly the same in every person… And everything, EVERYTHING has risks.


Anything that can make your hair grow, can also make it shed. That is a hair loss treatment universal truth. I am not a doctor, but this is also more than just my opinion and most ethical doctors would agree this is true. It’s not advertised, because it’s not a sexy selling point to anything. True for Minoxidil, true for PRP, true for laser therapy… anything.

I believe to do best for ourselves, we need the most education possible, so that we can make informed decisions and go in eyes wide open with ANYTHING we choose, whether it’s a hair loss treatment or wig.

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My 5 Failed Hair Loss Treatments

by Y on April 13, 2021

Some people have asked what are my 5 failed hair loss treatments I made mention of in a previous post. 

Important to note, everyone is different and some of these medications do actually work for other people, for me they were a no go.

There are actually a few more than this, but these are the main ones.

I separate them into two categories, ones I took, but didn’t have a negative impact on my life really, so I didn’t regret it.

And then there are the others I took that I regretted.

The three I didn’t regret and I took within the first two years of my hair loss, approximately 1999-2001:

  1. Nioxin
  2. Rogaine
  3. Finasteride (Propecia)

The two I do regret, and took from approximately 2000-2013:

  1. Ortho Tri-Cyclen
  2. Aldacone 200mg (Brand name of Spironolactone)
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Hello Everyone!

Recently I ventured back to Florida to have another PRP (platelet rich plasma) hair loss treatment with Dr. Joseph Greco. I went back at the 4 month mark, which is before the time usually recommended to patients. I did so because I was quite pleased with the results I saw, and I wanted to make sure I kept my hair in that happy state it seems to be in. After 10 years of hair loss, when you find something that helps, you pretty much jump all over it… or at least I do.

So round two begins….ding ding.

I arrived at the hotel the day before my appointment, ready, excited and pumped with anticipation to have this treatment done again. I had a lot less apprehension because I pretty much knew what to except. As some of you will recall, a big point of anxiety for me during the last trip, was exactly how much pain was involved in this process. Well thankfully that anxiety didn’t exist because I had already experienced the process and knew it was not that big a deal.

I slept like a baby, no nerves whatsoever, part of that may be attributed to the wine I drank that evening. Gotta love wine! I awoke the following morning and stepped outside on the balcony with my cup of coffee and was just in awe of how beautiful it was. It was an incredibly gorgeous day so I just soaked it all in.

An hour before I was to depart, I dialed the front desk to ask for a cab to pick me up. Before I knew it I was being whisked away by some crazy driver who seriously needs to re-evaluate her profession. I’ve never in my life had a cab ride quite like that before. I found myself bracing at every turn and frantically clutching on to the seat for dear life. And to make matters worse, she didn’t take credit cards! Every cab pretty much takes credit cards nowadays, but her machine was getting serviced (uh huh). So now I had to rummage through my purse (something resembling a black hole) to pull out dollars and quarters. Shockingly I had the cash. Yay for spare change!

I walk into the office and am warmly greeted by the receptionist. I re-sign some forms and take my place in the waiting room chair. Not much waiting time before Dr. Greco appears and welcomes me back. I say my hellos to Val, his awesome assistant, and shortly after I’m in the chair getting my blood drawn. Like I mentioned in my first post, Val is a pro at drawing blood and there was no real discomfort there at all. [click to continue…]





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It’s been 3 months today since I received my PRP hair loss treatment with Dr. Joseph Greco last November 2009. I have been meaning to write my PRP update for quite sometime, but I wanted to wait until I was sure of what I felt my results (if any) actually were.

So rather than keep you in total suspense, I’ll start with a few self-imposed questions.

Do I think PRP Therapy has helped my hair loss? Yes
Do I think PRP Therapy has reduced my shedding? Yes
Do I think PRP Therapy has been the best thing for my hair since this entire mess started? Most Definitely
Has it done anything else? Yes, it has improved the quality and color of my hair
Will I do this again? You betcha, I’ll be on a plane within the next month for another treatment

Now with that out of the way, let me start by saying that ever since I had this done last November I have just felt better about my hair loss in general. Nothing works instantly, I know that,  but my mind was for the first time in a long time, optimistic that something positive could happen. So I essentially started to feel good right from the start, way before being able to actually tell if the PRP treatment did anything at all.  At times I have wondered whether or not my favorable results were a bit of a placebo effect, you know, all of a sudden thinking my hair is going to get better and tah dah it does. Whatever it is, my results are real, tangible and visible.

I noticed fairly quickly after receiving the treatment that my shedding reduced DRAMATICALLY, and since then it has gone up and down, but far less than before having the treatment done. My hair also just started to FEEL better and LOOK better. It seemed like some vibrance and pigmentation returned to my hair as well. After living with hair loss for 10 years, the color of my hair had faded as the miniaturization progressed. All I can say is “Hello color, I missed you! ”

Up until this morning I knew the following things, 1) my shedding decreased 2) the color improved and 3) my hair quality improved. Then this morning I scheduled a haircut with a woman who has been cutting my hair since 2005. I sat in the chair, she clipped on the apron, spritzed my hair with the water bottle and started to part the hair down the middle. Then she just looked closely at my head, then a little closer, as she leaned in she appeared to be slightly confused. With that final lean towards my head she said the most wonderful words, “You Look like You Have More Hair.” What? Let me say it again for all you ladies, in case you missed it, “YOU LOOK LIKE YOU HAVE MORE HAIR.” Hot diggity dog, do my ears deceive me? Nope. She told me my hair looks thicker, and that I have tons of little baby hairs growing in all over the place. Well praise the lord and raise the roof, I have a happy dance to do.

I had to laugh because before she came over (I have my haircut at my house) my fiance said, “I bet you she is going to tell you that your hair looks thicker.” Ha! I’ll gladly take the “I told you so” on this one. He’s been telling me for over a month that he really thinks that the PRP has helped my hair loss. I felt it, I knew it, but I didn’t want to jump the gun in writing my update prematurely.

I feel confident in sharing my results now, and I hope it helps to give other women hope. I will continue to keep everyone updated as I go through more treatments.





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

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

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

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

Dr. Cooley replied:

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

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

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

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

For more information on ACell and MatriStem visit:

acell.com





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