I sat down with the intention of answering one of the questions I received through my survey I sent out to the mailing list about a couple weeks ago, but I realized there is so much back story to my story that it veered so off topic I felt I should maybe make it a little mini series, a collection of blog posts of my life with hair loss. I’m still flirting with this notion, so I’m starting with Part One, and you let me know below if this is something you’re interested in.
While I’m fairly sure this can be located here and there on this blog, it’s not in one straight forward series of before the fall (prior to 1999) to dealing in the isolation, devastation and confusion that came after, and living with hair loss… to starting The Women’s Hair Loss Project in 2007, to starting to wear wigs 2012, to present day. I’m getting Grant chart vibes from that. Visualize Grant chart. Or I could make one. Maybe not Grant, it’s more of a timeline chart, but I digress.
My hair loss began in 1999, and I didn’t start wearing hair until 2012. I bottomed out, meaning…I thought life was over in 2007… which is the year I started The Women’s Hair Loss Project. I cite that as an at-a-glance reference point to anything I say onwards in this post.
When wearing wigs due to hair loss/ thinning hair, I think there are certain things that are best known ahead of time, which is that at the end of the day… the “Right” way is ultimately going to be the way that allows you to live most comfortably and enables you to adjust to the process with the least about of stumbling blocks and stress that can occur.
Down the line, when you feel comfortable in wearing hair, the hair world is your oyster, but I’m a believer in sticking to the basics when getting your first piece. There’s time to live your best mermaid life… later. In the present, you likely just want to feel like yourself, natural and comfortable in the hair you wear. When I sat down to film this video it was to answer a question I received about Tips & Suggestions when first starting out wearing wigs, however, I ended up getting rather tan on my roof top because I went on all kinds of tangents. This is actually a small clip for a long ramble, my suggestions made the video super long, so I think I have to break it down into smaller segments.
This is me, and the story behind The Birth of The Women’s Hair Loss Project. Before I continue, just a note, I’m wearing a wig and have been wearing wigs for the last 8 years. I state that because I know sometimes if people don’t spot the wig, they are confused by what I’m saying when they see hair on my head, but it is a wig.
My name is Y. Just Y. I was born with more letters to my name, but was reborn as a single initial when I started The Women’s Hair Loss Project in 2007. I felt a life destroyed by my hair loss, which is what led me to start my site and The Women’s Hair Loss Project Network 13 years ago. I started it at the lowest point of my journey, when I felt there was no hope left, and I was done for. What followed was unexpected, in beginning to blog about my journey dealing with hair loss as a twenty something girl, eventually women found me and they wrote back, connected and no longer alone, the process of my own healing began. It’s a continual journey and evolution. This is a part of my story. WHLP = Women’s Hair Loss Project . WHLPNETWORK = Women’s Hair Loss Project Network. This is me, I am some of you, and we are connected.
This video really won’t provide you one solid Yes or No answer as to whether or not you should tell people about your hair loss. I want to just state that off the bat, so no one feels like they wasted their time watching for that actual answer…. What It does provide is a rather long story of my personal experience, and surrounding thoughts and reflections in sharing BEFORE the point I started wearing hair and acceptance of that and also the importance of managing your expectations of what others can and cannot provide because that can end up causing us hurt or being let down if we make the leap to tell someone while we are at our most vulnerable and that person does not seem to “get us.”
Definitely within the first year of hair wearing (2012) I began to get more comfortable telling people I wore wigs and then that prompted the question of why, and I’d tell them, hair loss. Over time that process has become quite easy to do, and it certainly was liberating for me, but that is a very different story than when I wasn’t comfortable with how I looked and was very self conscious about my hair loss prior to my wig wearing life.
I hope this video helps someone needing to hear my mind ramble and also I hope others share their experience in telling people about their hair loss PRIOR to the point of acceptance, (really at the stage of wanting to tell a friend, spouse, mother etc for support ), as that is a pocket many women are living in, and I hope when someone that finds this video and is in that space and time frame, that they can hear a collection of viewpoints, not just my own to help guide them in their own personal choice of choosing whether it would be the right time with them to share with someone in their life.
Thank you guys for watching and definitely please share your thoughts below, would love to hear from you!
This episode is raw and personal. In this podcast I share with you in more detail the cause of my hair loss, and provide a deeper look into my hair loss story/ journey. Last week I had posted a video on my YouTube Channel that was meant to really just share the cause of my of my hair loss, and open the dialogue for others to comment on the cause of theirs or if they didn’t know what the cause was, to share that too.
While I cannot advise what others should or should not do, I think there is benefit in sharing my story so that others can get a deeper look into a 21 year journey of hair loss, beginning at the age of 21, and caused by the birth control pill Loestrin FE. The podcast takes a few tangents, but my journey is like one giant tangent, so perhaps it works. I share some of my hair loss treatment regrets, and the things I tried over the years. It took me a very long time to accept anything and get to the place I am at. It didn’t happen over night, and I think it’s important for others to know that, so they are more patient and kind and loving towards themselves when dealing in what can often seem like the impossible…. Hair loss.
I post all over the place from YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and my Podcast, so I’m providing the links to all those, to make it accessible and easy for you to choose how you’d like to follow the things I post and share.
I hope everyone is staying safe. Much Love to All ! XOXO ~Y
What caused my hair loss? What caused your hair loss? Me and my wig sit in the sun to discuss this topic. I’d love to know what caused your hair loss, and would love to also know if you don’t know. I think often many women live their whole lives not knowing, I think that is pretty common, but the more we share, the more we can learn from each other…. and sometimes it will just forever remain a mystery. It’s hair loss, it’s complicated, so that’s a thing.
In this video I discuss the cause of my hair loss, which was getting off the Birth Control Pill, Loestrin FE in 1999. I also discuss my own regrets in jumping the gun on treatment and not allowing my body to maybeeee have a chance to resolve the situation on its own. Things I’ve pondered in the past a million times over. Maybe it would have, maybe it wouldn’t. I’ll never know, and while we can’t look back or go back, I can certainly share my story so that perhaps it helps another. Would love to hear from you with what caused your hair loss and also if you don’t know, definitely share that too!
On May 8th I posted a podcast (Episode 9) titled “My PRP Journey Update and The Power In Decision/ Action.” I also recorded video with it, which is just a video recording of the podcast, and I will post that below, along with the video I made this morning providing my Day 3 update since having my PRP & Exosome treatment here locally in Los Angeles.
If you’ve heard the podcast, you can skip down to the second video, but if you haven’t, I do think it’s worth hearing to understand my whole thought process that went into deciding to do this, before taking the step to shave my head. This way, down the line if I ever reference 1,2,3 – we can all be on the same page as to what I am referring to as it pertains to the system I had put in place years ago for myself, that made living and accepting my hair loss situation completely manageable, doable, and removed it [hair loss] from controlling my life — dismantling the power it had formerly held over me, prior to my 1, 2, 3 system. Okay fine, if you just want the punchline… here it is:
1) Wearing wigs (allowed me the ability to look and feel like myself again). Critical.
2) Cutting my hair into a massively short cut (quite often shorter than most men’s hair cut in the back), basically buzzed at back/nape and longer in front to integrate with my wigs. That action also happened same year as I started to wear wigs (2012). Cutting most of my hair off did two things. One, shorter hair tends to look thicker and two, it allowed me to not see the majority of the shedding. Seeing the shed (to me) is ONE of the most debilitating aspects of dealing with hair loss. My hair is so freaking short, there are no tangles… which means the fallen hair is likely gonna slide out right in the shower without my knowledge. Usually. Total Win.
3 ) Lastly, and quite important for myself… PRP therapy (started doing this in Nov 2019). PRP therapy didn’t grow all my hair back, but it reduced the shedding, and slowed the progression of my hair loss. This was important to me. I do like to utilize some of my hairline with my wigs to enable them to look more natural and I also enjoyed keeping as much hair on my head as my body would allow. So 1,2,3. That’s the system I had in place. For a longer deep dive into my mind saga please listen to the podcast.
Jan 1st of this year Ricki Lake came out to the world revealing her secret battle and struggle with hair loss that she had been dealing with for nearly 30 years. I met Ricki in 2012, she had joined my site, The Women’s Hair Loss Project, in search for help, support and understanding. We connected through hair loss.
I am so honored to be able to be joined by Ricki from her home in Marina De Rey, for this episode of my podcast. It was an unbelievable privilege to sit down with her and listen to her tell her story as she shares how her hair loss started and takes us along for an inside and intimate look at what it was like dealing with hair loss while being in the public eye.
She also shares some never before seen personal footage from from the day she shaved her head, and also snippets of documented clips from when she revealed to her boyfriend for the first time (after dating for 20 months) about her hair loss struggle. Spoiler alert, he embraced her with loving and open arms, as any good man would… for those women who are concerned about dating and hair loss.
Ricki is truly a beacon of strength, and hope for others, and I am inspired by her courage to be able to step forward, and put a face (a very public face ) to this debilitating and devastating disorder that so many women like myself have had to deal with and often having to have done so suffering in silence. Much love to Ricki ! And Much Love to All ! XOXO ~Y
Life is out of focus. I’m out of focus. In the midst of chaos it’s easy to loose focus on what can keep us grounded and together. It is a mindful practice I have to actively do, and strive to do (and sometimes forget to do), but I find that practicing gratitude helps. Not always, but sometimes. What do I mean? Gratitude for all we have in this moment. This one. As a good friend of mine has always said to me over the years, tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us. There are so many times in life, where our actions and inactions can affect others, but for sure that is massively truth NOW. I am relying on you, and you are relying on me, we are relying on each other.
Small sacrifice to help yourself and others….to live, have the chance to live. I lived through the Northridge earthquake, I lived through 9/11. I was one of the people running from the building (my apt was 2 blocks from ground zero), but I’ve never lived through something like this. It’s scary, for me, as it is for others…. It creates a lot of anxiety. It takes me 20 minutes to open a package between wiping down the door handles, the box or package… wash hands, wipe scissors, wash hands discard boxes, wipe handles, wash hands. It’s a new normal right now, I have asthma and worry tremendously how my body would respond to this virus. While everyone stocked up on toliet paper and paper towels, I stocked up on my inhalers and meds for my nebulizer. I have a fairly poor immune system as it is, always have. When someone gets a cold, I’m down for 2 weeks. When someone gets the runs from bad food eaten in a restaurant (having eaten same food as me) I’m hospitalized for food poisoning. Stress flares my rosacea into a burning mess flares my asthma, so it’s important to try and not stress, which I feel for an anxiety person like me, is like saying, don’t breathe, but I’ve grown to accept that’s just how it is. I just do my best. Staying home, it’s something I can do to help me, and those around me. Be kind to yourself, practice self care, practice gratitude.
I am joined again by Joe Tillman, The Hair Transplant Mentor to discuss the validity of the Low Level Laser Light Therapy and PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) Therapy for the treatment of hair loss.
I have personally chosen to never try low level laser light therapy for my hair loss and discuss my reason for that, however, over the years I have heard some people say they received some benefit and others say they received none.
I have been doing PRP Therapy since Nov 2009 with Dr. Joseph Greco in Sarasota Florida. Side note, I live in Los Angeles and have chosen to take the trip from LA to Sarasota (with no direct flights) to see him every 4-5 months for this treatment (not sure thats the exact prescribed timeframe to go, but it’s what I felt made me feel most comfortable). I have personally have found value in this treatment, but like I mentioned above with LLLT, I’ve also heard from women who have felt they received no benefit at all. As with all therapies, our bodies are unique in how they respond, and if they respond at all.
Joe shares his knowledge and insight on these two very popular treatments often being promoted online. It’s important we have all the information needed before we can decide whether or not we want to try any hair loss treatment.
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.
Life is out of focus. I’m out of focus. In the midst of chaos it’s easy to loose focus on what can keep us grounded and together. It is a mindful practice I have to actively do, and strive to do (and sometimes forget to do), but I find that practicing gratitude helps. Not always, but sometimes. What do I mean? Gratitude for all we have in this moment. This one. As a good friend of mine has always said to me over the years, tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us. There are so many times in life, where our actions and inactions can affect others, but for sure that is massively truth NOW. I am relying on you, and you are relying on me, we are relying on each other.
I am joined again by Joe Tillman, The Hair Transplant Mentor to discuss the validity of the Low Level Laser Light Therapy and PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) Therapy for the treatment of hair loss.
