For as long
as I can remember I have had bad hair. When
I was about 4 years old my mom took me to a hair dresser who made such a big deal
about how fine and thin my hair was that I have had a complex ever since. I started getting perms for volume when I was
8 years old. I have since tried Nioxin, teasing,
volume products, hair extensions, Bump-its, hair pieces, etc. It’s probably one of the reasons I became a
hairstylist.
For women,
hair loss goes deeper than the hair follicle.
It affects their self-esteem.
They dread going to the hairstylist because we will inevitably ask the
client about it. Even though we just
want to help it forces the sufferer to rehash something they are sensitive about. But there are solutions. Hair loss is a symptom that something else is
going on. The first thing you should do
is go see your doctor. Your doctor may
perform blood tests to determine if you have a medical condition that causes
hair loss, such as thyroid disease, diabetes or lupus. This may result in switching
to an anti-inflamitory diet and/or drugs to reduce inflammation and suppress
your immune system, such as prednisone.
According to The American Hair Loss
Association you should ask to be tested for the following:
*Hormone
levels (DHEAs, testosterone, androstenedione, prolactin, follicular stimulating
hormone, and *leutinizing hormone)
*Serum iron
*Serum
ferritin
*Total iron
binding capacity (TIBC)
*Thyroid
stimulating hormone (T3, T4, TSH)
*VDRL (a
screening test for syphilis)
*Complete
blood count (CBC)
Some other things to take a look at are:
Family
history. Your risk of hair loss increases if relatives on either side of
your family have experienced hair loss.
Hair
treatments. Overuse or improper use of hair-coloring products, hair
straighteners and permanent waves can leave your hair brittle and prone to
breaking off at the scalp. Excessive hairstyling or hairstyles that pull your
hair too tightly cause traction alopecia.
Poor
nutrition. Your hair may thin out if you skimp on good dietary sources of
iron and protein, such as red meat, nonfat dairy products and iron-fortified
cereal. Hair loss related to poor nutrition often accompanies eating disorders
and crash dieting.
Oral
contraceptives. Some birth control pills can raise or lower hormones that
affect hair loss.
Hair loss can also be caused by drugs used
to treat:
*Cancer
*Arthritis
*Depression
*Heart
problems
*High blood
pressure
So now that
we have all the medical stuff out of the way, let’s talk about cosmetic
treatments. Of course there is
minoxidil, a topical product, and hairpieces, but an even simpler solution is a
topical powder dusted onto your scalp that matches your hair color. This gives the illusion of a full head of
hair. It’s really no different than
filling in your eyebrows and it doesn’t cause further damage to your existing
hair! Another more permanent method
would be to contact a cosmetic tattooist.
They tattoo small dots on you scalp to resemble the look of hair growing
out of your hair follicle. I can
recommend my personal favorite cosmetic tattooist; Linda Clarke in Hillsboro at
(503) 648-6878. And if you would like to
come in to Ritual Hair Design, I have some Eclipse Instant Hair Filler I can
try on you or we can talk about hair extensions!
