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Thursday 28 January 2016

HAIR TODAY GONE TOMORROW

Ever since I was a teenager I've loved my hair. In fact I can solemnly swear that it is the only part of my body I've ever loved! Maybe it's something I've inherited from my mother, who in her seventies, still remains hair proud. Maybe it's just being a girl. Who knows? All I can say is that my locks and I have always had a special bond.

In the eighties, I was queen of the frizziest perm you could imagine. A bottle of hairspray went into that look and in case of an earthquake I can assure you my hair would not have moved. In fact a small town could have easily sought shelter under that perm!

I changed my hair according to my love life. When I started Uni I had a boyfriend with a short mod haircut. Wanting to show solidarity I too had a short cut; long enough at the front so my conservative parents wouldn't kill me, prickly short at the back so the boyfriend would approve. When he dumped me I grew my hair back!

In the nineties I joined forces with a very enthusiastic hairdresser who coloured, cut, bleached,
NEVER THIS BRAVE
shaped, shore and massaged my head. It was the highlight of each month, a time to gossip and plan the look for future months, She never let me down, till she left town.

In the middle of a long hair phase one day, I looked down in the shower and spotted wads of my hair. My pillow also looked a bit hairy so I had no choice but to investigate.  Lifting up my brown locks I was shocked to see a bald spot as big as my palm. My hair had literally fallen out overnight. Doctor and hairdresser both called it alopecia areata, hair loss due to all the stress I was going through. My eldest daughter at that stage was going through recurrent pneumonia and my sister had cancer. Tough times indeed.

Over time my hair regrew but it never, ever looked the same. It lost its strength and its bounce and in some areas was still patchy and light on. But I survived and continued with my hair escapades, though these days we always had to ensure the " light on" area was sufficiently covered. I looked
longingly at my niece's pink and blue hair, but knew my days of hair experiments were over if I didn't want my hair to fall out again.

That was about 18-20 years ago.

Today I look into the mirror and I feel a little beaten. My face looks a little sad and my hair, well it's thinning. Yet again my body has decided to eliminate its hair and yet again it's not from my legs (a better choice in my opinion) but my head. And I care...a lot. It seems my body is reacting to surgery, stress, weight loss, possible nutrient deficiency. Pick one, any one! Or pick all!

It literally sucks. Of all places my hair. And I just happen to be in a short stage so people can see my scalp better. Awesome. Hurry up and regrow PLEASE. And  hairdressers no I don't want black powder sprinkled over my bald spots. With my luck I'll scratch my head, then my face and...well I'll leave that to your imagination.

Of course there are many reasons why people lose their hair. An internet friend sent me this article which is worth reading if you are having a similar problem.
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20727114,00.html

Off to look at hats, scarves and beanies. Maybe I should move to the UK till it regrows.Hard to get away with a beanie in 40C weather here.


Till next time...xxx
ST



4 comments:

  1. I have a friend on facebook with alopecia, and she has some really beautiful wigs, they even come in pink and blue :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am seriously considering this, though at age 49 i might give the colours a miss.

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  2. Hello! I found you through the meet and greet. :)
    This is something I can definitely relate to. My hair has always been the one thing on my body that I love. When I start losing clumps of my hair in the shower, it usually means my thyroid medication needs adjusting. My hair has been falling out a lot lately, too, but I don't see my endocrinologist for another month!

    I hope your hair starts to grow back soon. It is definitely not a good feeling to be losing your hair. Try to keep your life as stress-free as possible. Hang in there!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello! I found you through the meet and greet. :)
    This is something I can definitely relate to. My hair has always been the one thing on my body that I love. When I start losing clumps of my hair in the shower, it usually means my thyroid medication needs adjusting. My hair has been falling out a lot lately, too, but I don't see my endocrinologist for another month!

    I hope your hair starts to grow back soon. It is definitely not a good feeling to be losing your hair. Try to keep your life as stress-free as possible. Hang in there!

    ReplyDelete

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