Hair Newsletters

Newsletter Feb - April 2016

Lucinda's Letter
Client Insight - Jacquie Beltrao's Chemo story
Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia - Jenny Nagle's story
Trichotillomania - Emily Bruce's story
Karen Hayns Column
Star Letter - Suzanne George
Meet the Team - Virginia
Festive Fun - Christmas Pictures

LUCINDA'S LETTER
2016!

Wow it always feels a bit surreal the first few times I acknowledge the turning of a new year! A fresh start, a clean slate, and a brand new year for a brand new you.......... all of the New Year related messages I am sure you have heard, seen or even said yourself by the time you are reading this.

Although, we don't need a new year to make changes, to start our fresh journeys or to change our direction and this is all within your own power at any point in any year and the sooner you start believing you really will start seeing. If you are making any new year's resolutions this year let this be one, to have the power to believe and imagine (image in) your wishes, wants and desires into reality.

I was reading an article over the Christmas period which was explaining the 5 ways in which we can easily apply the law of attraction to our lives and I wanted to share these 5 points with you:

You become what you think about most, but you also attract what you think about most.
Your thoughts cause your feelings.
Begin to talk about what you want with others and enrol them in your dream, your desire, and your want.
Remember "I am..."
Take inspired action that aligns you with what you want.

In short you are what you think, believe, speak about and you are what you believe you are. So start taking steps to realise your dreams......... remember always Mark Twain's most powerful quotation "tell me a man's thoughts today and I will show you his future tomorrow".

If anyone reading this needs help or guidance in understanding how to manifest this notion into your own lives I invite you to book in a 1-2-1 with me, I am always on hand whether it be via face time, email or in one of our studios to discuss.

TTM evening

I was once again overwhelmed well and truly by the amount of gifts, cards and well wishes I not only received personally but that the team's received in all of our locations, as you can see from the picture our tree was once again bulging!

As tradition goes, we gave all gifts to our teams on the last day of work ensuring all had a little something to take away as a thank you from our clients. I know I say this every year but thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, your generosity and kindness is just amazing and your words of thanks just mean the world to all of us.

Thank you thank you thank you!!

I had an amazing Christmas and New Year spent with family with my darling Micky spending the holiday season with me back in my cottage in London. These moments are priceless and I feel truly blessed with every year we get to spend together. What were you thankful for this Christmas? Aside from the Christmas and New Year festivities I am very much looking forward to what 2016 has in store.... for one; our brand new, long awaited hair extension web site has been launched!! I am so in love with the new look Lucinda Ellery site, a huge revamp with a sexy, sleek and easy use look and feel... I am really looking forward to hearing your feedback regarding the site whether good, constructive or with suggested improvements, either way we want to hear from you! Email us at Priya@lucindaellery.com to let us know your thoughts........

Some shots from the photo shoot we did for our new site are below to give you a feel of the new flavour of Lucinda Ellery and the hair extension website........ You can find the full site at www.lucindaellery.com

Other amazing things we have to look forward to this year are the launch of the LE YouTube Channel!! I don't really understand these things myself but I hear it is the thing to do........ All I know is if ladies who can't attend my studios still need help, advice or clarification then I will be putting out videos on various different topics to help in any way I can. The channel will be linked to our websites via the home page so keep an eye out for them!

Also keeping in line with the digital advances we are making, I am sooooooo excited to tell you about our first ever TTM Diary! To be launched very soon, we have followed the story of one of our clients, Emily, who you can see more of later in this newsletter. We have documented her journey.... from seeking help with her hair pulling to using the Intralace, right the way through to her transition to medi connections after not pulling for a year!

Emily has become pull free and is looking forward to a new year and a new life proving that whatever you believe you really can receive based on your own thoughts, actions and words so believe, imagine and start creating your own future........ It really is in your own hands.

Love and Hugs

Lucinda

Client Insight

Our amazing clients have some fabulous, amazing and awe inspiring stories to share. Stories of strength, perseverance and achievement and we wanted to share some of these reminding us that with the right hair the rest really lies within you

Chemo - Jacquie Beltrao's Story

'Being diagnosed with cancer is cruel in so many ways, but for me the worst thing about the treatment for my breast cancer was the thought that I would lose my hair. It seems vain but it's true – for me as a TV presenter it was the very worst thing. I coped fine with my mastectomy, it was reconstructed on the spot and within a few weeks I was totally on the mend.

But I have to admit chemotherapy terrified me. The thought of looking really sick, sick enough to be pitied in the street because I'd lost my hair, was something I did not want to go through. The on – off nature of a wig was depressing and the image of me lying down beside my husband at night with a bald head, filled me with dread - not to mention how it might affect my children. What I wanted was a permanent head of hair to see me through to the day when my own hair had grown back to what it was – and in my mind that's a time frame of about a year or more.

After chemo number 2 I had already developed quite a few thin patches especially near the front and was relying on my sunglasses as a headband to cover up the baldness! Then I found out about the Lucinda Ellery Consultancy and their revolutionary Intralace System which was exactly what I was looking for! I had my Intralace System fitted at the Edinburgh Studio in April 2014. When I arrived it was with short sorry thinning hair, when I left I felt a million dollars with a thick head of long blonde hair that swished around my shoulders. It was gorgeous and I can't begin to explain the lift it gave me and instead of feeling defeated by this cancer treatment I felt empowered'.

Jacquie used our Intralace System throughout her chemotherapy treatment and during that time she lost 80% of her own natural hair. Like many other clients Jacqui was relieved that the changes to her own hair were not visible because she was using the Intralace System. In February 2015 she had the system removed as her own natural hair had completely regrown underneath the Intralace System.

Jacqui 17 days after Chemotherapy, with approximately 40% of hair loss

Jacqui’s natural hair 10 months after Chemotherapy started showing full regrowth of her own natural hair.

You can read a more detailed description of Jacquie's story in the Chemotherapy section of the site

Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia - Jenny Nagles's Story

Having hair again reminds me of when I first tried on a pair of spectacles. In that initial moment the shock of seeing everything so clearly only highlighted what I have been missing.

My own hair loss from Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia was fairly gradual and I chose to ignore it in the weird belief that it would somehow rectify itself. It was only when a few members of my family began to tease me about it that I allowed myself to become fully conscious of my new reality.

Then I tried most of the treatments known to man, there was even a period when I managed to convince myself that they were helping, My condition worsened, I tried combing what hair I had left over my receding hair line in the mistaken belief that it looked alright. My family no longer demanded that I stand at the front of the line for family photos and I became a background figure both mentally and physically.

Despite the fact that this was not a physically life threatening problem I never realised that my psyche was dying, disappearing into a reclusive grey depression.

My ‘Ahha’ moment came for me when I read an article by Sara Vine who had been to Lucinda Ellery for a treatment for thinning hair and was ecstatic about her results.

With much encouragement from my family and friends I went and, as soon as Chris put the Natural hair line parting on my head I remembered who I was, I almost cried. There I was, me, the real me.

I have had my new hair for months now and I love it. I have regained most of my self-esteem and I am constantly surprised that I had never noticed the detrimental effect my negative feelings had had on my relationships with my husband, children, grandchildren and friends, actually, everyone, but now I’m trying to improve relationships becoming involved in events and be in the front of photographs!! Instead of clothes that would help me disappear I have a new smart wardrobe that shouts 'Hey look at me, look at my great hair!'

Jenny before application of the Intralace System

Jenny wearing the Intralace System

You can read more of Jenny's story in the Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia section of the site

Trichotillomania - Emily Bruce's Story

'I started pulling my hair out around the age of 16. For a long time I thought I was the only person in the world that did it, and was very secretive about it. I soon found out through the power of the internet what Trichotillomania was, and that I was not alone. However, it still took me a long time to admit I had a problem rather than a bad habit I could look past, and even longer to talk about it openly - in fact, it was only when I was 25 that I finally opened up about it to my family and friends.

I'd seen a documentary about the Lucinda Ellery Consultancy called 'Girls on the Pull' and decided to get in touch. I had the Intralace system fitted in November 2014 and almost cried when I first saw my new hair - it was the first time in a long time I'd had a full head of it! My life changed dramatically - I no longer had to spend hours in front of the mirror ensuring my hair was all in place so that no-one could see my bald patches. I felt confident for the first time in so long, as I no longer had to worry about people noticing. The Intralace system also created a barrier so I could not pull my hair out. There is no cure for TTM but I'm so grateful to Lucinda Ellery for giving me a system to help manage it and keep it under control.

It was easy to look after and I could wash and style it as I would my own hair. I got so many compliments from my family and friends. It really helped stop me pulling - due to the barrier as well as having a full head of hair again and never wanting to go back to where I was!!!! When I saw how much my own hair had grown back underneath the system I was overwhelmed. Now, 12 months later I have had my Intralace System removed and have some extensions to both act as a reminder in case I do get the urge to pull and also they help even out the length of my own natural hair. It hardly looks any different to when I had the Intralace system - except now it's mostly my own hair!'

Emily's natural hair before the application of the Intralace System

Emily wearing the Intralace System

Emily wearing Medi Connections

Karen Hayns

Three Little Words

Hello Girls

With Spring just around the corner we have the best part of the year to look forward to as our mood becomes lighter and the days become longer. We often associate this time of the year, more than any other, with new beginnings.

And so with a new season in mind, now seems the perfect time to think about three things which I hold very dear and which I hope will offer you some new thinking too. These are the art of practice, patience and passion. They’re also the traits that hold every aspect of my life together and so they come from deep within.

My first word is practice. According to Matthew Syed, author of a brilliant book called 'Bounce', it takes approximately a decade and ten thousand hours of quality, purposeful practice to become an expert at something; (in his case a Commonwealth table-tennis champion). His story is a fascinating one which argues strongly that expertise is born out of practice and not talent alone. The examples he uses are well researched and mostly taken from the world of sport however, his underlying message he believes, as I do, can be applied to anything we choose.

About ten years ago I began a project to design and plant from scratch a piece of wasteland. The project, my garden, is now somewhere our family loves. It's not big or magnificent in any way but what it does do is demonstrate that if you keep working at something, the effort will pay off at some point. Along the way I've had some planting disasters, things dying, things under/overgrowing, things with not enough colour and not looking like I imagined they would, a waterlogged and/or a dried and cracked lawn, poor soil, dangerous decking (when wet or icy), I could go on! But – and here's the thing - I've learned so much – and after years of practice, I think I’ve pretty much cracked it. And I love it, the practice has weirdly turned into a true passion of mine brought about by a series of small victories (as I like to call them) amidst the setbacks. I even have some outdoor fairy lights and other garden decorations to keeps it looking pretty during the winter months.

The moral of it all is if you can keep bouncing back from necessary failure and remember that we can learn so much from things that go wrong and about things that we know very little, or sometimes even nothing about, then that's practice in action.

Next comes patience. Patience and practice are closely connected. If we turn our attention to hair and TTM and the frustration we feel about the condition and the yearning to stop, it can sometimes consume us because what we're dealing with (often) is a deeply entrenched unconscious habit. However, take heart, because there is hope, having pulled for more than 30 years, I realised five years ago when I stopped pulling that had learned the art of patience because I found peace and accepted TTM is part of who I am.

If you can do that, then it is entirely possible to free yourself from the desire to pull, and this will happen when you are ready. However, I never ever take being pull-free for granted because I have learned to accept that I'll always have the condition, and so I remain grateful for my hair on a daily basis, I really do. The urge to pull just disappeared, through reading, being curious and having faith that I had it in me to stop but learning patience removed the pressure waiting for it to happen.

Patience, after all, is not always easy; we live in a world that wants quick fixes, instant results and where the pace and pressure of everyday life seems to wait for no-one. And so I believe that patience (and practice) are vital if we are to survive and thrive Trich whatever stage of your hair journey you’re at.

Finally, a few words on passion. I think passion is about love, faith, perseverance, resilience, and not giving up. It is also learning about yourself which I think is a life-long art actually, and that's not always easy particularly if we are doing things for the first time and fearful of failing, or where patterns have a habit of repeating themselves. However, it is passion that gives us the courage to try new things and helps us to overcome obstacles and break new ground so that we can move forward and get more of what we deserve in life, and what's not to love about that.

Karen

m: 07887 824209

e: karen@futureperfectconsulting.co.uk

http://www.lifecoach-directory.org.uk/lifecoaches/karen-hayns-future-perfect

GET TO KNOW

Virginia – London Receptionist

YOU ARE A VERY NEW FACE ON RECEPTION VIRGINIA, TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF...

Originally, I am from beautiful green Lithuania, although my mind is always in Portugal as it is my favourite holiday destination. The first time I came to the UK was during the London Olympics in 2012 and I was fascinated by its pace and culture. My passion is hospitality and tourism; this is what I was doing for 4.5 years until I came across Lucinda Ellery which has changed everything for me!! Owning my own hotel is still on my dream list though.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS

Calm, consistent and crazy are the 3 words which I would use to describe myself. I am calm and consistent in my approach to work but when you get to know me better you might call me a little crazy.... or so my friends may say.

HOW IS WORKING FOR LUCINDA ELLERY DIFFERENT FROM THE HOTEL INDUSTRY WHERE YOU WERE PRIOR?

LE is very different from any other place I have worked before. Firstly because of Lucinda herself – I never met such a charming, passionate person. Everyone is like a big family here. In addition, I am glad to be back to a socially acceptable/normal 5 working day rota which was only a dream while working in the hospitality industry.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT WORKING AT RECEPTION?

It is always nice to help clients over the phone or email and then meet them in person. It almost feels like meeting a friend that you have not met for years. Weird, but works every time

WHAT IS THE MOST POPULAR PRODUCT THAT WE SELL HERE AT LE?

Love your hair masque of course!!! The way it coats and moisturises the hair makes it a product that our clients can't get enough of!