I battled for years. I felt I had lost, I felt withdrawn and depressed and a feeling of absolutely no hope. I suffered tremendously as I saw myself fade away and was confronted with a reflection of a person I no longer knew. Not just in the change of appearance as a result from hair loss, but rather just in the change in me.
I finally let go.
I let go of hoping my former self would come back, that all my hair would return, but rather accepted what was and is and took steps to do what I could to help myself.
I wear a wig.
That lone sentence by itself almost seems like it’s a part of my lost battle, but rather it was the winning move and it is what enabled me to move forward and move past the former years of depression and self loathing. It is a sentence of victory. In those 4 words, you may not see it, but it’s acceptance and an understanding that life is ever changing. WE are always changing, and what was 2 seconds ago is already the past. [click to continue…]
I just posted this message to the WHLP Facebook page and thought it would be good to post it here as well.
Hello Hello! I’ve gotten several emails and messages from super sweet gals wanting to make sure I was okay since I haven’t posted in awhile, and I just want to say, I’m alive and totally fine, just dealing with a crazy life situation right now that TOTALLY caught me off guard, it’s non hair related… obviously, or else I’d be posting up a storm. My life stressor occupying my time will be doing so for another month and half, I’m hoping to be able to get more zen with everything and be able to post AND deal with my stuff, but who knows.
Aside from my bumpy start to 2013 I really do feel this is going to be an awesome year, and I want to do more and share more with all of you. Rest assured all my “girls” are doing well and getting equal wear time.. sorta.
Oh and update on my hair, as in my bio hair. So weird.. but it’s doing rather good I think, not good like in, wear it out without a wig good, but still, certainly looking better for wear around the house… good. I’m surprised because I did get off the Aldactone and have been waiting for that other shoe to drop, but nope, knock on wood. It’s good, and it’s growing, finally. Almost a decent front ear-to-ear length to integrate with my wigs properly. I’ll be keeping the front long and back supa short for ultimate wig wearing š
Thank you guys so much for your emails, it’s so appreciated, and I do apologize for not having been more active posting. But I will.. soon, with more videos and blogs I hope it will be a strong year of change and hope for many women out there.
A reader of the site, Stella, had sent me an email with a bunch of questions that I made into what ended up being yet another rather long video, it’s about 11 minutes long, so grab a snack and pull up a chair š
This video answers the following questions:
1. How did you know or decide between topper and a wig. Did you not chose topper because of the clip and the damage and discomfort to the hair?
2. I have tremendous amount of itching and burning. Did you or do you experience that? If so how is that with wearing hair?
3. I know that you have recently stopped taking spironolactone and birth control pill. How did it go?
4. Does wearing the hair cause more shedding?
5. Before cutting your bio hair really short how did you deal with it when wearing hair. would you leave it down or put it in a loose ponytail.
6. I feel that with taking this leap to wear hair is a finality to that hope. Once I start wearing there will be no way for me to go back. Did you have that feeling too?
Does anyone out there who has begun their hair wearing journey regret their decision? Wish they’d tried harder to hang onto their bio hair? Feel they’ve done everything they can? Would do anything different? (Ok, so that’s more than one question, lol!)
At this point in my HLBS (to coin Lina’s term!) journey, I really don’t feel I have much choice but to start wearing hair. It’s getting more and more difficult to cover up, when I don’t use Toppik you can totally see my scalp, and even when I *do* use it, I still feel it looks like crap. š The thinning has REALLY accelerated the last few months for whatever reason, but I’ve been dealing with this for over a decade. At this point, even a crappy, synthetic wig I think would look better than my bio hair. š
Anyhow, I made an appointment at a Hair Loss Restoration Clinic about an hour from here, this coming Tuesday. I’m looking into the Virtuesse system. I contemplated wigs, goodness knows there are beautiful ones out there – but I really want something that is “mine” – so am looking into a bonded system. I feel like if I’m going to make this leap, I might as well go all in and have something I can “own” and maybe even pass off as my own. I just feel like in a wig, I wouldn’t be able to do that….I’d be way to self concious about it falling off, being obvious, etc.
The problem in both areas is the cost. For a bonded system, I’m looking at about $360 a month, for four systems per year. That is all maintenance included, I would be going in every 4-6 weeks to have it cleaned and aligned, and would get a new system every three months. For the wigs that I like, they start off at a minimum of around $600, and need to be replaced about once a year – and I prefer the high end ones, which can run several thousand dollars. [click to continue…]
Hi Everyone — Just a little update! Sorry for my delayed replies, I’m playing catch up from last week, where I basically checked out and now have a pile of stuff to do. XOXO
Last week was REALLY tough on me, it was. Something like a crap haircut on my bio hair, completely knocked me on my behind. Hair loss hits us so deep, it affects us in ways sometimes we can’t even comprehend at times. It just is what it is. But I do want to tell you I’m FINALLY feeling better, I also think my hair grew a teeny tiny microscopic bit, and from this unfortunate incident, I will learn *something* and take that with me going forward.
I hope everyone is having a super fabulous day, my little dark cloud that was following me around last week has lifted š
This is cross posted from myĀ Facebook page, so if you follow me on Facebook this will be a double post for you š
“Hi Hair, Yea — It’s Meā¦ Remember Me? I carried you and loved you for 21 years, we were besties. And then just like that you decide to betray me, torment me for 13 years slowly falling out and leaving me helpless, hopeless, and withdrawn. You suck. You look look like crap, yea I said it. Crap. I’m done with you, I’m done crying over you, you’re not the only hair in town sweetheart oh no sir-eee. Maybe you’ve noticed I’ve been cutting you (quite literally) out of my life. I waited for you, I prayed for you, I fed my body medications to save you, and still you continued to do what you doā¦ leave and fall to the floor, which often made me fall to floor. Well I guess you and me just weren’t meant to be. So I shall smoother you down each day with a crown of beautiful hair that quite frankly may be even prettier than you ever were. Oh yea, I went there. Anyways, just thought I’d like you knowā¦ we’re done.”
—-
At some point we HAVE to let go. We have to. I stopped myself from living and I hid from the world for over a decade, and when I did go out, I just wanted to run into a corner and cry. When forced to socialize I would put on my happy face and try to hide the pain I was feeling. It was a horrible way to live and I thought that would forever be my life. My greatest fear was waking up one day and I’d be 70 years old and I’d look back and realize I gave up my entire life for my hair, for mourning over it’s loss, that I would let it beat me down and rob me of living. That thought tormented me and haunted me as each year passed by and I stood idle, not making any positive changes towards actually moving on.
So I wear wigs now, SOOOO what! No one even cares, seriously. It’s only something I thought was a big deal, or built up in my mind to BE a big deal. Everyone I’ve told is like “Oh.. wow, looks good.. pass the salt” I should have chopped off my hair and worn wigs a long time ago!
Reclaim You. Do whatever that means you have to in your life, but reclaim you. Take back what’s rightfully yoursā¦ living.
Okay so I should start this off with an apology for not writing this post sooner, the days slipped away and I looked at the calendar and said “Leaping Lizards!” I never wrote the post about the women’s hair loss article that appeared in this month’s issue of the Canadian magazine, “Today’s Parent.” If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube then this is old news for you because I did post a video about it on August 29th to those social media outlets, but I just never got around to writing the actual post for it.Ā My wig must be squeezing my brain too tight because I just totally vegged on it, blame Anya.
Onwardsā¦
As we are all know women’s hair loss is such a closeted issue that whenever there is some media attention bringing more awareness towards it I leap up and down like a giddy little girlā¦ I also do the same little chair leap when cake or wine appears before me, eagerly clapping my hands together š
This month Today’s Parent published an article written by a really awesome writer, Marci O’Connor, titled “Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow.” In the article Marci shares her own story dealing with hair loss and writes about the causes, treatments, and available options that women have today, like wearing wigs. It’s rare that I read a hair loss article, “done right” and Miss Fabulous O’Connor, definitely got it right! [click to continue…]
Hello to my wonderful sisters. I thought I would update you on my hair wearing process. Today marks exactly 5 weeks since I first shaved my head and have worn my wig āfull-timeā. The few posts that I have made I noticed a lot of struggles out there and I wanted to let you know that I have not abandoned you, on the contrary, you are all on my mind.
So, quick recap: I shaved my head because after 25 years of battling hair loss, I had a āmelt downā this summer (hair loss plus a lot of life stuff), I was 3 months after major surgery and boom ā a bout of TE set in ā well, no hair to lose any more and out came the clippers (I was drinking wine at the time, hmmm). Well didnāt cry when I did it and havenāt yet shed a āhair tearā. Well, that night I was brave, next morning I looked in the mirror and went, hmm ā is that what I really look like š
Well, no going back right? I had to wear my ājust in caseā wig. Maybe God knew I would chicken out and get frustrated and not wear the wig after a day or two and thatās why he gave me the strength to shave my head ā this way I had to commit to wearing hair. I will tell you the honest truth in my experience ā I was frustrated with the wig, it takes getting used to: used to feeling like you have hair, seeing you with hair, accepting the fact you wear hair (thatās the toughest). So, first few days, wanted to rip it off, couldnāt look in the mirror because it didnāt look like me. How funny is that? I havenāt looked like me in a number of years ā hair or expression. I avoided mirrors for the first few days. I finally washed the wig ā much better, positioned her properly on my head (made a big difference), got the wigrip that Y suggested (life saver). [click to continue…]
I want to first write that I am not a fan of hair transplants for women, I personally
think that most women with androgenetic alopecia are NOT candidates for
this procedure. Having said that, I get emailed all the time from women looking
for a good hair transplant surgeon.
If you are deadset on having a consultation, please visit the International Alliance
of Hair Restoration Surgeons. The IAHRS (http://www.iahrs.org)
is an organization that selectively screens skilled and ethical hair transplant
surgeons. Read
my thoughts about hair transplants here.
This is cross posted from myĀ 
Okay so I should start this off with an apology for not writing this post sooner, the days slipped away and I looked at the calendar and said “Leaping Lizards!” I never wrote the post about the women’s hair loss article that appeared in this month’s issue of the Canadian magazine, “Today’s Parent.” If you follow me on 
