Hair loss is a stressful issue per se - but when it occurs in (young) women, the despair is usually even stronger than in men. Attractiveness in women is socially defined so much by full, healthy and beautiful hair, so that at first it seems as if an important piece of femininity is stolen from us. As in many other areas - weight, body shape, skin aging - we are so inundated by advertising and the media with perfectly coiffed and hairy (but only in the right places, please) women that it's hard to feel comfortable with thinning hair or baldness.
Of course, especially in the early days, women with hair loss are looking for a cause and a cure. Woman moves from doctor to doctor, having blood work done to rule out nutrient deficiencies and hormone levels checked. Has precious hair pulled out so a trichogram can be done.
The desperate search for a miracle cure for hair loss
As much as hair loss burdens the psyche, it is not an emergency. And this is what a woman feels when she goes through the typical marathon of doctors to find an explanation and a solution to her problem. The diagnosis for non-specific hair loss - i.e. not circular hair loss - is difficult and lengthy. The interest of the doctors in finding a solution/cause is not very high in my experience. So woman feels left alone and helpless. At this stage, she is especially vulnerable to advertising promises from (more or less) shady companies selling shampoo, tinctures or gadgets against hair loss. These companies take advantage of women's desperation to push expensive, if not harmful, stuff on them. I know from my own experience that in those early days - or for a long time afterwards - you want nothing more than to get your old hair back.
Hormone therapy against genetic hair loss
When I received my diagnosis (androgenetic alopecia), I was willing to take just about anything to stop the hair loss. For genetic hair loss, a hormone supplement (the pill) is often prescribed and may be supplemented with an anti-androgen. The latter is intended to inhibit the male sex hormones (androgens), which are also present in the female body to a small extent. In androgenetic alopecia, the hair follicles react sensitively to these androgens and fall out. I also received this combination - at just 16 years old. I don't want to know what I did to my body with it. Unfortunately, the success of this treatment left much to be desired. The hair loss was slowed down, but there was no new hair growth. After about 7 years I had enough - the results simply did not justify the strain on my body.
The next step: Minoxidil for hair loss in women
Minoxidil - a little water to apply to the scalp - was discovered by accident. It was originally tested in use against high blood pressure - but it was found that the test subjects showed increased hair growth after taking it. Since then, it has been used in men and women to treat genetic hair loss. After stopping the pill, my hopes were high that Minoxidil would finally give me back my former hair status, or at least significantly improve my overall appearance.
I can say one thing: Minoxidil stopped my hair loss and minimally increased my hair growth. But again, the price was too high for me in the long run. After the tincture was massaged into the scalp, the hair must not be washed for several hours. Unfortunately, I looked just awful after that - the hair stuck together, making the scalp even more visible. Since I didn't want to leave the house like that in the morning, I got up between 3 and 4 every night to apply the tincture. Then I went back to sleep and was able to wash and style my hair at 7am. This was simply too much effort for me and not worth the effect on my hair status. That was the moment I decided to get hair replacements. At that moment, I accepted that no medication in the world could give me back my old hair.
You won't want to hear this now, I know that. There is no effective miracle cure for genetic hair loss. So if this is your diagnosis, then I can only recommend that you come to terms with the situation and make the best of it. You only have this one life and it will not get better if you wish every day that you could have your old life back. The sooner you accept your new situation, the sooner you can start looking for real solutions. If you have already looked around my blog you know that for me that solution is hair replacement. No medication could give me such beautiful hair and so much more joy in life. Whether it can do the same for you, you have to try it out. But first you have to accept the idea that there is no "cure" for hair loss. Acceptance is the first step in the right direction!
What to do in case of hair loss without a real diagnosis?
Of course, it is difficult when a woman does not receive a real diagnosis. If all blood values are correct, there is no nutrient deficiency, the hormones are in order ... Mostly the hair loss is then blamed on stress in life. This is of course great - because the fact that your hair is falling out causes stress and not too little. I can't sugarcoat this situation either - not knowing why your hair is falling out makes it even harder to accept the hair loss. Since my diagnosis was fixed after a few months, I stopped researching what you can do for diffuse hair loss without a concrete diagnosis. There other websites are most likely a better source of information.
However, I would like to talk briefly about the stress that hair loss causes you. What caused me the most stress was the fear that I would be "disfigured" and "unattractive" forever (please keep in mind that I was a teenager or a young woman in the phase of self-discovery. Woman can of course be attractive without hair!). It helped me tremendously when I found out that I don't look like an old granny with hair replacement, but that there are all-natural and deceptively real options. So knowing that even if you lose all of your hair, you can still have a baleen mane, hopefully that will calm you down a bit in the long run.
Conclusion: Don't fall for advertising promises!
Miracle cures for hair loss are springing up like mushrooms. Of course, I do not want to exclude the possibility that there will be a "cure" at some point in the future. Until then, please be extremely careful what you spend your money on. Hair loss is a multi-faceted problem that cannot be cured simply by biotin, tinctures or laser treatment. Despite despair, turn on your common sense and look at hair growth remedies with a good dose of skepticism!
Leave a comment