Hair loss can be scary. It can cripple your confidence and wreak havoc on your life.
If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re dealing with some sort of hair loss. Also known as alopecia, the many causes of hair loss can include stress, years of hair styles that strained the hair, and even hereditary traits passed down in our family biology.
My personal journey with hair loss deeply affected my life. But I’m living proof that hair loss doesn’t have to be your nightmare.
My father had a brilliant head of hair, until he didn’t. It was more lavish than mine and then in his mid 30s, like many other men, our genetics began to cause his hair loss. My mother also suffered from diffuse hair loss, referring to diminishing hair patterns across the scalp. A former hairstylist, she obsessed over her hair. Applying hairspray and using hair dryers to give the appearance of volume, she avoided rain and pools. Looking back, only when I experienced my own hair loss did that begin make sense to me.
It’s unclear whether my father wasn’t concerned about how hair loss impacted his appearance, or if it was easier to pretend it wasn’t happening. Over the course of his life, he ignored the problem and to this day, I wonder how much it bothered him, if at all.
That was not the case with me. I was petrified of losing my hair. As I watched my parents’ hair loss evolve before my eyes, I saw an inescapable, inevitable future for my own hair.
Most of my teenage years, I felt fear of losing hair. As early as age 13, running my hands through my hair I counted the strands. Like my mom, I obsessed in the mirror over what appeared to be slightly thinner spots along my scalp. My half-brother tormented me with predictions of baldness. I didn’t want to believe him, but statistically he was right – it was not a matter of if, but when.
The psychological stress of hair loss cannot be overstated. I eventually learned to push my hair to the back of my head and my hairline followed suit. As I exited my teenage years, at just 20 years old I returned from a two-month trip at attend a party. I hadn’t seen my friends that entire time. Though it was intended to be helpful, when one of my friends looked at me and said, “Hey buddy, your hair is looking a little thin on top.” I laughed it off at the time, but the awareness of others noticing my hair loss, those first feelings of devastating anxiety began to creep in.
As time passed, I scanned new photos of myself and questioned changes in my hairline, especially at the crown where it was most noticeable. Perhaps as my father had done before me, I turned in the other direction with my hair loss and in the following years, it continued to thin.
Throughout my early 20s, my hair loss manifested negative aspects in my life. I became less social. I got more anxious around new people. I stopped approaching women who were romantically interesting to me. As my hair loss changed my appearance, it also changed me. The person who I truly longed to be, my best self, seemed to submerge further below the surface in the world around me.
By the time I was in my mid-twenties, I couldn’t ignore my hair loss any longer. Desperate for a solution, looking into treatment options I found that I had waited too long. It was too late for the minoxidil and finasteride type of solutions such as EXT. I researched hair systems online, but at first glance, I had misconceptions. If only I’d tried a hair system back then, but it would be years before I made that choice.
It’s hard to put into words the relief of finding a HairClub hair system that was a perfect fit for me. All of that insecurity and mental anguish just vanished. Once I accepted where I was in my hair loss journey and found a solution for my stage of androgen alopecia, everything changed. It was gradual healing, like mending a broken bone.
It extended beyond physical changes – I loved my hair again and that was powerful. Attending life events like weddings, graduations and job offers became enjoyable again. I noticed that I was smiling more, going to more parties, striving for new business goals. I started to feel more complete.
That transformative moment years ago was the impetus for my becoming a voice for others suffering from hair loss. I’ve watched HairClub transform hundreds of people, not only their appearances, but their entire lives.
What a privilege it is to turn my early insecurities into a passion for helping others. My mission today is to spread hope for anyone who thinks they just have to accept their hair loss. I allowed myself to be muted by my hair loss for too long, but it doesn’t have to be that way for you. There are solutions. Put away those doubts and don’t wait to take action.
Take care of your hair loss now. It’ll change you forever. Become a HairClub member and join us in a journey that results in you loving your hair and living your life.
[“source=hairclub”]
