womens hair loss

I came into Sophie’s salon today because I need a change, my life is changing, and I feel my hair needs one too. I have this gorgeous Follea wig that was formerly a 5010, and she’s been beautifully colored already once before, and banged… However, as I’ve evolved over the years in life and in hair wearing, so has what I want out of my wig hair wearing experience. I’m much more explorative and adventurous. I have found you need to get a little dirty to get a little more beautiful. That probably makes no sense, but I was always very vanilla with my hair needs, but working with my girl Sophie Hafner, has leveled up what I thought could be possible. So here I sit, with a wig and bangs, and feeing I need a little something something.

While my life has been in flux and ever changing, I want you to know, I’m still here…. hair loss took away my life for a long time, but in return it gave me so much more. I have found love, friendship, and you, all of you.

In my spirit of gratitude and feeling thankful, i want to thank all of you amazing women who have supported me, without the love and support of the Women’s Hair Loss Project, I wouldn’t be able to be where I am today. While some people say I gave them life and hope again, you gave me life and hope. Mad props always to Follea who let me feel like myself again, and for eventually finding my sister for another mister, Miss… Sophie Hafner… can I formerly thank you hair loss. Like thanks. I thought my world was over, but I didn’t know at the time when I was 21 (I’m 39) that my journey was really just beginning.

Sending Much Love and Hugs to You All.

XOXO

Y

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WHLP – Behind The Scenes Photoshoot

by Y on November 26, 2016

Women's Hair Loss Project BTSI’m way over due for life updates. Forgive me, this year went zip zip. I will be back with more on me.

This past week, while everyone was prepping their Thanksgiving day dinner, I met up with a group of amazing people to start a project towards de-stigmatizing hair loss and hair wearing for women. As odd as this may sound, through hair loss I have found love and friendship, I have found a greater self acceptance of myself that I never knew I could ever achieve, and the ability to connect with others who are like me. I have found the perfection in imperfection, mostly 😉

The day of the photoshoot, I woke up with a major rosacea breakout. Perfect skin the day prior and the day of it looked like Mike Tyson punched me in the face, I was swollen with a rash all over my face. I was icing my face at 4am. The photoshoot began at 7am. This on the heels of already accepting I wasn’t going to be whatever vision of scale perfection I had in mind, thanks to my new anti depressant keeping my body in a fluffier state. Lights, camera… holy crap, but a lot of time, planning, effort and money went into this and I wasn’t going to back out. The old (younger version) of me would have totally backed out and flushed it all down the drain (I’ve grown leaps and bounds), but jacked up face and all I knew this wasn’t about me. This was about helping women, it didn’t matter what was going on, on my physical being, that reality was more important… by far. [click to continue…]

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I reflect back on my hair loss journey, and if you asked the 21 year old scared girl beginning to loose her hair in 1999, if she could ever imagine life with and after hair loss, she (me) would have said, “NO” and then cried uncontrollably… as I always used to do… daily. Impossible to process, and yet here I am. I’ll be 38 years old in 2 months and this affliction stole over a decade of my life. I am not making use of hyperbole when I say that. My 20’s came and went, and all I had were memories of devastation and a complete feeling of being helpless, powerless and destined to exist in a state of forever suffering. Paralyzing.

I’ve written a tremendous amount on my blog about my hair loss, finding my acceptance… removing the shackles of hair loss and taking back my life.  This change came for me in 2012 when I started wearing hair and realizing, that while not perfect in the respect that it’s not growing out of my head… it was perfect enough. I could go out and portray myself to the world, as I wanted to be seen (the way I looked before my  hair loss) and feel good about myself again. It was a process, it took time. I cut my hair super short (buzzed in back, long in front) so I didn’t have to see my hair fall out anymore and I could have a cute edgy hair cut that I could wear, one where people would think I just was just so bold to wear a style like that, not knowing I do it out absolute necessity. Since my hair loss began when I was so young I never really got the opportunity to do anything fun with my hair… cuts, colors and styles etc., was not an option. I was just praying it stopped falling out. [click to continue…]

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So that is pretty much a title that makes no sense, on the surface… but if you watch my video below it will. I am trying to get back into the swing of things, and when I mean in the swing of things, I mean into working on my site here, communicating with everyone (to the best of my ability) and helping in any way I can.

My main goal, since starting The Women’s Hair Loss Project,  has always been to make sure no other woman ever feels she is alone in this journey. I know hair loss. Intimately.  I know what it is to deal with hair loss at a young age, since I started to loose my hair at 21… I’m 37 now, and I hope no one has to ever struggle alone, the way I did.

Once I started wearing wigs and found Follea in 2012, it ultimately,  for me was how I was able to accept my hair loss.  I really wanted women to know that there is life after hair loss, even in the worse case scenario.  I know not everyone can accept wearing wigs, it’s not perfect, it’s not our hair… but it can still be pretty awesome, it’s been a journey to say the least.. and if you read my last post, you will know this journey still continues for me.

Over the years I have received emails with the question of why do I wear sunglasses in my videos and photos. I want to answer, and answer why I am now taking them off.  [click to continue…]

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Where does one begin, you know, when you haven’t written for a year or so. I don’t want this post to be too all over the place, so I’ll sweep away the missed year, and bring the majority of the focus to just this year, 2015. Rather than talk about the hum drum, and the ins and outs of my life beyond hair (and the last year adrift) I’ll hone it in to what we are all here for… or I’ll try at least. 🙂  This post will bounce around a bit, just a forewarning.

January 2015 Hair Update

Hair update as of January of this year, I’d say my bio hair, with the continued PRP treatments, the cessation of my birth control pill in 2013 and Aldactone even before that, along with the short haircut I maintain (buzzed in the back, long in the front), that my emotional and actual hair place I was in, was at it’s all time best. I felt good about my situation, balancing wearing wigs, and also feeling quite comfortable in the short hair I’ve worn for quite sometime now. I tell people freely and openly that I am wearing a wig, if they previously saw me in my short hair and then see me in long hair and also the reverse. If they see me in a wig, and then see me in short hair, I let them know the other hair is in a box at home. Hair-wise everything was working in my life.

February – PRP Party 

In February of this year, I had my 13th PRP session with Dr. Joseph Greco, but it was a bit different, I went with two very close friends whom I met through WHLP, and we made it a group girls trip PRP party. It was an amazing experience, and I did take video of the PRP being done on my girlfriends, which I do plan on posting (hopefully sooner rather than later). It was interesting for me to actually see the process being done, because my vantage point has always been quite limited before, considering I was in the chair having it done.

PRP Party :)

PRP Party 🙂

 

Blood Sisters ;)

Blood Sisters 😉

 

It’s somewhat important to take note, that I stated “hair-wise” everything was working. Oddly that was the only thing seemingly working. My experience with one psychiatrist, the one formerly mentioned in other posts, thew my life off the rails, and it all came crashing this year. The early part of this year was emotionally devastating and draining on a personal level, and while I don’t want to delve too deep, it is important to note this, for what comes next. [click to continue…]

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Hi girls. I was planning on making my first trip to Follea in the fall but I had an incredible opportunity to go last week – so, hello, I went! Our lovely admin is piecing together a video on my visit so that I can share that with you (stay tuned). I’m going to post a few more blogs on my visit to LA and how it has helped me with my acceptance and growth but I want to share my Follea visit because it is about, well, hair (mostly anyway, haha).

Without going through my l-e-n-g-t-h-y journey to finally get to the hair wearing phase (cuz, you’d be missing at least a week of work!) I’m going to go straight into why I travelled almost 4,000 km to go to Follea.

I am two years into wearing hair and I would say one year in completely being used to my new normal, normal being wearing wigs full-time. I have been through a number of pieces that, looking back, were great to start but as I grew in my journey, I felt my hair-wearing needs changed. I would have to say to finally get to the stage of accepting that my hair was leaving me and that I needed to re-gain my life, was a very long, painful, sad, arduous journey. Phase 2 of the journey was getting used to wearing hair, any hair – it was just as difficult in its own right but thankfully not near as long. I know that lots of women here on the WHLP have echoed the same sentiments but I cannot stress it enough, cut yourselves a break ladies, hair loss sucks and she’s a tough one to plow through.

Fast forward, so I am at the hair wearing stage and what has happened in two years? Well, I went from toppers, to shaving my head, wigs, letting the hair grow in (cuz, somehow it was going to re-grow in thicker and much better, pfff) to shaving, to regrowing to finally shaving and keeping it shaved as I feel, in my case, I’m not fooling anyone and I look “healthier” in a shaved head. So, accepting my shaved head I began to think why not try a gripper and get rid of the wigrip? I never would have heard of Follea if it wasn’t for WHLP and let’s face it, Y rocks some killer locks, so I began to investigate. The more I stalked the Follea web-site and watched pretty much all their gripper videos – I decided, well if this is my fate (to wear hair), let’s see if I can get THE hair and THE comfort to take me through life. [click to continue…]

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No, I’m not dead 🙂 I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but sometimes life just gets in the way ya know?

Onwards…

When I started losing my hair in 1999, at 21 years of age,  I was certain (positive)  life was over. How could I ever LIVE without having all the hair I was born with? How? I could not process that thought. I dreadfully watched myself decline and disappear through the years. I was existing, but not living.

Acceptance never came to me until I started wearing hair in 2012. Finding something that gave me back my control, with something that made me feel so helpless, really turned the tables around on my hair loss. While it was a slow and difficult journey, it was one I look back on and realize I surprisingly wouldn’t change. That seems like a ridiculous statement (and no I haven’t been drinking today… yet) especially when I used to pray day and night for my hair loss to stop and all my hair to grow back, and may promises of this and that to the high heavens above, but to no avail… my hair loss simply continued to progress. I realize now that my hair loss has helped to shape me into who I am today, my experiences and suffering has helped others, of which I am so grateful for,  and I have found friendships I never thought were possible.

Hair loss provided me with a certain strength I didn’t know I had, and when my perception of what was happening changed,  I found that the doors didn’t close, they opened. I am 36 years old, and it is at this point, over the past year that I really feel I have begun to find myself in many aspects, even beyond hair. Though it’s all connected. Somehow everything is always connected. There where a few critical pieces to get to where I am now. First and foremost, my amazing fiancé, who has never wavered in his love and support of me. Second, the support of the women on this site and watching others continue to live in spite of their hair loss.  Third, finding Follea. What can I say, mad props (I’m dating myself now)  to them… seriously. I think they are amazing.  To see what wearing hair could be, was a game changer… big time. Fourth, the strong bond of friendships I have made with some women through WHLP that have taken us on amazing trips from New York, to Las Vegas to Canada in a wig wearing fiesta of awesomeness, and lastly, beginning to see a psychiatrist last Sept, taking medications for my errrr… anxiety/ OCD issues etc., and facing me. Not the hair issues, but me. We can get so consumed by our hair loss we totally forget we are so f’d up in so many other ways! Silly hair loss, and you thought it was all about you. 🙂 [click to continue…]

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Hi Everyone!  Happy Easter! I’m about to get myself ready for the day, but before I hop (like a bunny hop — hop) off to the shower and wig up, I wanted to share something amazing with you.

I believe we hold within us the power to conquer insurmountable obstacles and struggles, like hair loss. I’ve always believed we are stronger than we usually give ourselves credit for. I believe in the ability to allow acceptance to free us from that which pins us down and prohibits us from living our lives. Acceptance of ourselves.

Enjoy this amazing and touching video, and Happy Easter to all.

Much Love & Hugs,
Y

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Have you ever witnessed the moment of change, the moment where you watched a person’s pain be washed away with the hope of the future? I have. Incredibly moving and felt to my core, as I related on every level possible, I understood every tear and felt the impact of what each drop held as it fell — silent suffering, a loss of self held within for years. Fear. Sadness. All of it. I know all of it. I saw hope follow tears, and a smile and excitement of a self renewed. I was incredibly honored to be a part of my friend’s journey to finding her hair loss solution, and watching her moment of renewal is something that will stay with me always.

Everyone knows I love my Follea hair babies. I’m good in my wig wearing world, I pass my wigs in the bathroom and give them a high five and a double snap for their super sassy swishtastic magic powers, but while wigs allowed me to take back my life and rock my world, wigs simply aren’t for everyone. No one thing is ever for everyone, in the hair world or otherwise. We all have to explore our options (the pros and cons) and find what works best for us in our life, and if you try something that doesn’t work, it just means that, THAT didn’t work — not necessarily that nothing will ever work.

Last Wednesday I went with my friend to Lucinda Ellery in Beverly Hills, she was having an Intralace hair replacement system done and I got to watch as she got her new hair. It was an all day process, I think approximately 8 hours. The final result looked quite amazing and my friend was actually in tears after it was completed. Happy tears, tears of relief, tears that were washing away her pain. I waited to hear from my friend today to get her thoughts almost a week in before jumping on telling everyone about this option, because I wanted to hear her honest opinion on what she thought of the piece. She’s adjusting to it incredibly well, and told me that she really feels this is life changing for her and that this will be her solution. [click to continue…]

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In this video, WHLP member, Hellcat, vlogs about her hair loss story. I loveeeee this video, I love the openness and honesty and it’s so amazing to actually be able to hear and see another woman discuss her dealings with hair loss. Beautiful. xoxo

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