All posts by miriam

You might have never thought it would happen to you but you have started losing your hair and you don’t know where to turn to for some advice. You don’t want to go to the doctor because you are frightened about what they might say and the internet is telling you some horror stories about other women who have lost their hair. In actual fact, you are best talking to your doctor and getting some professional advice about what is happening to your hair.

You will find that you are not alone when it comes to hair loss. Many women across the country lose their hair and some women have publicised the fact that they have lost their hair. It can be a difficult time because most women find it hard to comprehend what is happening to you.

According to medical reports, almost 40% of all women over the age of 60 experience some form of hair loss. This is a staggering figure and you probably wouldn’t have even noticed that some of the women that you know have had problems with hair loss. Some of these women will have been treated for their hair loss whereas some hair loss unfortunately is permanent.

Dr Larry Shapiro, who has released a new book regarding hair loss, says that Tiger Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren, is far from being the only one suffering hair loss as a result of stress. He says that hair loss has many causes and heightened stress is one of the most common.

The hair transplant surgeon said:

“Over the last few decades of observing and talking to thousands of patients, I became increasingly suspicious of certain supplements, lifestyle factors and hormones that contributed to their hair loss.”

Shapiro has carried out his own studies to try and identify some of the causes of hair loss. He believes that many supplements create hormonal imbalances that can lead to it happening. He has also looked at the impact of stress.

Talking of Nordegren, Shapiro says:

“Here you have a perfectly healthy, young woman who has been under a great deal of stress. Her body reacted by creating a hormonal imbalance that triggered insomnia, weight loss and hair loss. The good news is that anyone experiencing this type of hair loss can reverse their situation rather quickly if they provide the nutrients the body needs to stimulate the follicles to grow new hair and balance the body’s hormonal levels out.”

If you have been wondering why you are waking up and finding hair on your pillow and you are finding that your hair is going wispy and you might be getting bald patches? It might be time to consider going to the doctors to speak about getting a formal diagnosis. There are many conditions which result in hair loss but your doctor will be able to give you a proper diagnosis and tell you why you are losing your hair.

It can take a lot to pluck up the courage to go to the doctor and talk about what is happening to you but you need to be strong. There are many women out there who have unfortunately lost their hair as a result of many things that have gone on their lives. Some lose their hair to cancer whereas others lose theirs because of stress. Your doctor will be able to give you solutions to your problems and give you all of the advice that you need.

For some hair loss can be temporary and it will grow back over time and provided that you ensure that you take things easy and reduce the amount of stress in your life. However, for some it is permanent and this can be difficult to come to terms with and be very frustrating.

There are many different types of hair loss and it is worth getting your head around the different types of hair loss and the reasons why women lose their hair so that you can start to understand what is happening to you.

The most common form of hair loss amongst both men and women is called telogen effluvium. This is when the hair all over the body is lost, not just their hair that appears on your head. It can occur to absolutely anybody and it can occur at any time during your life so it doesn’t matter whether you are young or old or male or female, it could happen to you.

However, you don’t have to start panicking just yet; it generally occurs as a result of intense stress to both your body and for some it can become a very severe problem. In women in particular it is believed that those who are overanxious or overstressed are susceptible to this condition. The hair typically thins rather than goes completely bald but there is some hope on the horizon, it does get better with time and by reducing the amount of stress and anxiety that you put yourself through.

One of the most devastating side effects of chemotherapy for women is hair loss, as it can negatively impact self-esteem and confidence. Whilst the sufferer will be relieved to be free of cancer, the treatment can have more long-lasting effects.

Speaking to Wales Online this week was Cathy Fisher, a breast cancer survivor who lost all of her hair during chemotherapy treatment. She has explained her battle with hair loss – marking it as the worst part of her illness – and the effect it has had on her life.

Cathy, now 45, started to lose her hair during her third course of chemotherapy. She describes what happened:

“I woke up one morning feeling like death and I looked at the pillow and there was my hair. It was devastating.”

Cathy took the bold step of cutting all of her hair, but this upsetting experience made her feel even worse. She says that she no longer felt attractive in her partner’s eyes.

Describing how she felt when the hair started to grow back, Cathy says:

“I couldn’t wear a scarf over my head or a wig because it was too hot so I was walking around with this awful hair until it grew to a certain length and I became socially acceptable again.”

For women like Cathy who lost their hair during chemotherapy, there are now more advanced solutions available to help. You could try hair replacement treatment, or one of the increasingly realistic human hair wigs now being made.

Although human hair wigs are a good solution for temporary hair loss and they are becoming increasingly more realistic-looking and easy to wear; they aren’t the right solution for every hair loss sufferer.

It makes sense that more permanent conditions require a more permanent solution, one that gives you the freedom you need and allows you to live your life as normally as possible. Losing your hair changes the way you look at yourself and how you interact with people, and wearing a wig doesn’t always help you shake off that self-conscious feeling.

So what alternatives are there for women with hair loss?

Hair replacement therapy has advanced at a tremendous pace in the last few years and although it can’t offer any miracle cures, it can offer you the freedom you need and help to restore your self- confidence.
A key example of this is the Intralace system, which is a viable alternative to the standard human hair wig.

The system can either be used as a way of making clients hair look fuller and thicker, or as a wig alternative for those with full head hair loss. It is a permanent solution lasting two to three years, helping to restore a natural looking hairline and boost overall volume without the need for daily maintenance.