I’m glad you decided to make a comment and join the network. I truly believe the healing starts here. Sharing my feelings feelings and listening to other share theirs has had profound effect on my ability to live with hair loss. I use the word “Live” not to remove hope from others, because some women ARE able to only have their hair loss journey as only a hiccup in their life, but the reality is also that others like myself need to move beyond and dig deep for self acceptance and realization.

Our hair is important to us, who would deny that? But is it worth losing years of our lives and tormenting ourselves with self hatred and loathing as we stare at our reflection. Heck No. I try to gain inspiration and strength from other people who are dealing with things far beyond hair loss, yet continue to thrive in life. I want to be that person. How do THEY do it? I don’t want to let my hair loss take me down, it has already robbed me of 9 years of my life. Everyday I am reminded of my thin hair as I comb it out after my shower and it falls into the sink. I can see the rake marks of the comb all over my scalp, something that I never used to see. But 99% of the time I’ll just let out a big sigh, tie it back and move on with my day. I used to fall to the floor in tears in be inconsolable. So does it getter easier to LIVE with hair loss, I think so. A lot of women don’t want to hear that because that isn’t an option, they just want their hair back. I get it, I totally get it, and for some women they will not have to deal with this for the years that follow. But there is no downside to just learning to love ourselves more, so even if you get all your hair back, you will have grown some as a person and be better off.

Welcome to the site, and welcome to the network!

~Y

Y, reading what you have written is like looking at a mirror. All of us share the despair, the hope and the crushing hopelessness, the tears, the anger at ourselves at not being able to cope….

I noticed that everyone has gone through the same emotions. I realized that the feeling of sadness does not go away, we dont get ‘used to it’ like one might get used to a constant bad tummy or headache. But Life does go on, and the choice is to be normal for the remaining 99% of the good things in my life, or to dwell and burn in this 1%.

I’m trying to get to where the 99% is more important. You are all helping me to accept what I am going through, to realize that it may never get better or even stable. I have no control over that, and letting go of the need to control it may help me handle myself better.

Its just reassuring to know I’m not going crazy.

Love you all for making me feel better for the first time in over a year.

mj

Thanks for saying things that people need to hear. You may not realize just how many of us need to hear something. We are dealing with trying to move and relocate and it just isn’t happening. Stress is high and I was telling my oldest friend that I have prayed and prayed and I don’t even know what I want to pray for any more. She looked at me and very nicely said, “stop trying to figure out what you want to happen so you can ask for it, just pray that God will allow what He wants for you” Man, that smacked me in the face. How true!

Ultimately, this is all out of our hands! Everything is out of our hands. Acceptance is hard… but once it happens, then we can move forward and take the day that we have been given and live!

Thanks!
Misty

The permanent attachments, such as the ones that are braided or weaved onto your hear, will cause more tension to your real hair, and possibly in the long run make the hair thinner. And any attachment that needs to be glued, would have the same issues. Also not the best option.

My unit has 5 tiny clips, two on each side, and one in the very front. Having this type of unit, allows you to take it off every night when you goto bed, giving your hair a chance to breath, and not putting undue stress on your hair by sleeping with a permanently attached piece.

The permanent attachment methods also require you to go into the salon more often to have them tightened and or re-braided or re-glued, as your real hair continues to grow. A real hassle and just not something I would suggest, unless you absolutely have no other choice.

The salon you goto should also have only compassionate and professional people. If you are not treated well, during your consult, then walk out, and never come back. This is a sensitive issue and only the true professionals can be trusted. If someone does not treat you with sensitivity and compassion, then they are in the wrong business, and you are not in the right salon.

Best of luck.
Carly

Even if I decide to try the laser hair therapy first, I still must wait until I’ve saved up enough money. That’s the tough part about this condition…everything we want to try costs a great deal of money. Although the money I’ve spent on hair replacements, I consider to be an investment in my sanity.

That leads me to Julies question about finding a reputable salon. Be careful not to respond to ads in magazines for hairloss, that give you the name and contact information for any salons who say they can help. I can’t say all who advertise this way are a scam. But that is certainly where I would feel they are questionable. The place where I had my bad experience, came from a magazine ad I read, while on a business trip. And of course I was very vulnerable at the time, being so upset about my hair loss. They were 2 hours away from my home. But I didn’t care about the time, because I thought, it wouldn’t matter the distance if it made my life better. What I would recommend, which is what I did after this experience, is to go to your local yellow pages. Look under Hair Replacement Centers or Just Hair Replacement. Some places can afford a large ad in the yellow pages, in addition to the regular listing part, where all businesses are normally listed in alphabetical order. Those were the ones I put at the top of my list, and then the ones just listed in the reg listing only, were on my list directly after. Not that this would be a certain way to determine if they are reliable…it was just a thought (if they can afford the extra space, I guess they are not some hole in the wall place with no reputation) Once you find a few close to home, then goto to each of them for a consultation. Any reputable salon should offer you a FREE consultation. If they want to charge for this, I would stay away. There is no reason for a consultation to cost money. Only the services that follow, if you choose to go that route, are what should cost any money. Take your time and meet with a few places, until you feel really comfortable with one. I did start out trying one I felt comfortable enough with, but later went to another I felt even better with, after their consultation.

Once you find a place, the hair replacement I suggest, should #1 have 100% Human Hair (that is the most natural). Synthetic hair is horrible to work with, and can get burnt with the blow dryer. Synthetic is like the material wigs use for their hair. It may look good for the first time you put it on, but having this long term, and wanting to wash, style with hair spray, like real hair, you must have 100% human hair. Wigs you typically don’t wash yourself, and cannot style with hairspray. You would normally take them to the salon for them to clean it for you. Real hair is easier to care for. Way easier.

If you’re working with REAL hair, you dry it as you would your regular hair, and it reacts almost just like hair does, that is growing from a scalp.

You will hear about options with percentages of real vs. synthetic hair. They may cost lesss, but are still not a good option. If synthetic is even a part of the piece, it will be difficult to work with, and not look as natural. So every strand must be human or real hair.

And #2 The very best quality real human hair out there is European Hair. It is silky smooth, and just the most natural looking hair on the market. Granted it will be a bit more expensive, but definitely worth the extra money for you to get what you expect, and to be happy with the results.

The cost will also be determined by the size of the piece you need. And even you have thin hair all around, does not mean you will need a full unit that covers your entire head. I have thin hair all around, but way thinner at the top or crown area. So I had them custom make a piece that is just enough to cover the crown area…and then the hair is cut into (or styled into) my own hair, and the length is blended into my hair.

#3 would be (stay away from places charging thousands of dollars for synthetic hair. That is the least expensive to make, and again the worst to care for. I cannot quote you a realistic price, since it would depend on how much area needs to be covered, but a small piece covering just the crown area, and made with 100% Human Hair, can cost up to around $1000.

Go for your consultations first, and get quotes from each one of them on what they suggest for you. Make sure they ask you what YOU are looking to achieve as well. That’s really important.

I hope this helps.

Carly

A few things to keep in mind for anyone considering this:

– don’t let pain stop you. It is only terrible for the first 24 hours. Two days after, I didn’t even need Tylenol. (Those gory videos are enough to scare anyone off!)

– You Do need to have strong donor hair in the back of your head (like from ear to ear). If you are a woman with thin wispy hair all over the scalp, you will probably not be a good candidate.

-Expect some permanent improvement, but be realistic. No transplant will give you the thick, luxuriant head of hair of your youth. It can however fill in sparse areas that will allow you to style your hair differently. Remember you are not gaining more hair — it is just being moved to a more cosmetically useful location.

-Be prepared to have to have repeat sessions as you age and your hair loss progresses.

-The biggest problem with transplants for most women is the increased trauma shedding that occurs about three months post-op and lasts for about six weeks. This was the most traumatic aspect for me, and for awhile you may look even worse than before you started out! However within three months the transplanted hair does start to grow in, and the shock loss hair returns shortly thereafter.

– As i said, you probably won’t look dramatically different, in fact don’t expect friends to even notice the difference. You may discover though, that all of a sudden you can part your hair differently or pull it back for example and have it look passable. If this is enough to make you happy, then I recommend going ahead with the surgery. If however, you want abundant hair, I would recommend a hair replacement system, which truth to tell, over the long run will cost you at least as much money as surgery or more.

To sum up, hair transplant surgery is a good option for women who have a good donor area and realistic expectations.

Hope this helps …

BethS