When we don’t talk about hair loss…

Hair loss and the solutions for the problem of hair loss are something we talk about with men, in mind. My husband worries about going bald, my father is very proud that he still has a full head of hair at his age (and he isn’t that old, he reads this blog, I just have to add that) and all the adverts for hair loss products I have ever seen and when I go shopping, are aimed mainly at men, I think. 

However, it’s not just men who loose hair and who worry about hair loss and it’s something I have struggled with too. 

Hormone treatment that I have recently been through, has triggered hair loss and it’s been a really hard, personal journey for me. My hair is part of who I am, and it’s hard to explain, because it does sound a bit weird and vain to be so concerned about my hair falling out. I don’t want to be bald. For women, hair is part of our look and from the little bit of research I have done, we spend an awful lot of time, money and effort on our hair. I am pretty middle of the road in that I don’t style my hair much or do an awful lot to it and I normally have a pretty full, thick head of hair.

However in the past year, I have really struggled with the loss of a lot of my hair and even a few very thin patches.   It’s not too noticeable unless I point it out, but it really has been a confidence breaker for me and it bothers me a lot. I think for women, hair loss is not talked about much. It happens post birth as part of the normal adjustment to your body settling down after pregnancy, but for a woman of my age, hair loss isn’t that uncommon and it’s hard to explain how I feel or to talk about it. Of course it may grow back and it already has started to, a bit, but it’s not fully back to it’s former glory and I don’t know if ever will be. That’s hard. 

(image used with permission)

Hair loss affects my confidence. I worry that people notice the thinning patches, and that they can see handfuls of hair coming out when I touch it. I don’t like wearing it down, because to me, it seems obvious that my hair isn’t as thick and full as it used to be. It bothers me a lot and I have spoken to other women who have also struggled, and hair loss and the fear of struggling with baldness is real.

Thankfully, there are solutions to hair loss, from shampoos, to scalp treatments, to supplements, which are your basic treatments, then you have more scientific medical interventions like hair transplants which can help other methods haven’t worked. It’s amazing and comforting to know that there are answers out there and that I don’t just need to start wearing hats all the time. There is real out there, and ways to improve and solve hair loss problems. It’s not all gloom and doom, thank goodness. 

Hair loss still seems to be taboo,  and I don’t think it should be. We talk about other issues we face with our bodies, we should be able to talk about dealing with hair loss too. 

Have you faced hair loss? Like me, has it dented your confidence? What did you do? It’s good to know there are answers out there, though, for us, isn’t it?

*this is a collaborative post*

 

Posted in Everything else and tagged hair loss, hair loss solutions, hair transplants.