About us

My name is Julia and I have hair loss. We are not at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting here, but this "confession" is as unpleasant for most as an alcohol addiction.

Hair loss is a taboo subject - especially when it affects (young) women.

It struck me when I had just turned 15 - the perfect age for such a discovery! In the middle of puberty, instead of makeup and boys, I was mainly concerned with my dwindling hair. At the time, I didn't think it was funny at all; it was more like despair. For months I ran from one doctor to the next, the first step was to find out why my hair was falling out. Then, after several tests, I received my diagnosis: androgenetic alopecia! On the one hand, this was a relief, because if you can give the "disease" a name, there is also a "cure" - at least in theory.

Pill instead of peroxide - medication against hair loss

The reality was a little different. When I was about 16, I was prescribed Diane35 - a birth control pill that is not approved for contraception, but only for treating hair loss and acne. Added to this were antiandrogens to displace the testosterone in my body so it couldn't get to my mimosa-like hair roots. I took this very strong mix of hormones for several years - into my twenties. Unfortunately, the success of the treatment was moderate. My hair loss was largely stopped, but it did not give me fuller hair. So I decided to switch to minoxidil. It did indeed give me new hair - but only as long as I applied the medication every morning. After a while, however, I got tired of this grooming regiment, because it meant that I had to set an alarm clock for myself every night at 4 o'clock, apply the minoxidil, and then go back to bed. This is because after applying the hair must not be washed for a few hours, otherwise this limits the effect. The fact that I looked like a greasy mafioso from the 80s was not in the package insert.

Hair replacement at 20 - sexy is different

It wasn't long before I was also fed up with Minoxidil. At the age of 21, I decided to have hair replacement. The name alone is so unsexy - no wonder I felt the same way back then. Who wants a toupee in their early twenties?! But I had no choice, either someone else's hair or no hair at all. That trip to the second hair studio in my hometown was the starting point for a hair replacement career that has now lasted 12 years. Since then, I have never walked out the door without someone else's hair (there is one exception, more on that later). What I got there was a so-called second hair system. Real hair is tied onto a kind of net and this net is attached to the rest of my own hair by means of bondings. Well, I was not completely happy with it, because especially in the beginning this solution seemed very unnatural. But over the years - 12 in number - I found ways and means to make my "alternative" hair more like my own hair. I got better and better at hiding the weak points and making the hairpiece look more natural. The strange looks from strangers became less and less - yet I was always very worried that someone would notice IT.

Coming out - learning to stand by my hair loss

All these years I associated mainly negative feelings with my hair loss. Shame, insecurity, self-pity, despair - these were my daily companions. I felt like a flawed specimen since puberty and, thanks to hair replacement, also like a fraud. I lived in constant fear of being discovered. Of being exposed. Of being rejected. It took me exactly 12 years to finally break out of these feelings. The reason for this inner transformation was surprisingly on the outside. I discovered another form of hair replacement that finally allowed me to look normal. And BECAUSE I now liked the way I looked, I was suddenly able to publicly admit my "inadequacies". What I have learned in all this time about hair, about dealing with hair loss and about hair replacement, I would like to pass on here to other sufferers. I know how great the despair can be when you find more and more hair in brush, on the floor and in the shower, but less and less hair remains on your head. I want to show other sufferers that there are great alternatives that can help you live a life with hair glory - even if it's not your own.

Lucky Strands - my own hairpiece line

Over the years I have had many experiences with hair replacements from German studios - the majority of them were negative and above all one thing: expensive. At some point I switched to ordering hairpieces abroad - but without advice and with a fair amount of luck.

Sometime later, however, the idea matured in me to make sure that these hair replacements were also available in Germany. Also, women who don't know much about hairpieces and wigs or don't want to/can't order them abroad can get high-quality hair replacements. So after a few months of intensive research, I founded my own hair replacement line with the appropriate name: Lucky Strands.

If you want to learn more about Glückssträhnen, feel free to check out here or my FAQs. I hope you enjoy browsing and that the information gathered here can help you on your way.