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“Why do I have to deal withhair loss?
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I’m not a middle-aged man,” my 27-year-old sister Taylor recently asked me.
As an aspiring comedian, Taylor knows exactly what kinds of laughs that joke elicits.
Arguably since the beginning of time, the ultimate stereotypical symbol of femininity has been long, flowing hair.
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Just look at Eve.
Her hair is often what sets her apart from Adam.
“For a lot of women, [their hair] is how they define themselves.”
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“It’s a shame thing,” Taylor admitted to me during our interview.
“I never wanted to talk about it with anybody because I was embarrassed.
The word balding is embarrassing.
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That’s not even what this is.
My hair is thinning, but in my head, when I see pictures, I feel bald.
It makes me want to throw up.”
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(By 49 years old, 25 percent of women do, too.
That number increases to 41 by the age of 69.)
Keeping it constant made her hair an afterthought.
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She took it for granted.
Every other month, she’d dye it a deeper shade of black.
Almost every day, she’dblow it outand reached for whatever hair products were lying around.
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Occasionally, Chang would even skip conditioner.
“Looking back, I’m surprised it didn’t fall out sooner,” she says.
Skin, instead, was Chang’s focus.
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Her complexion was everything.
She directed her energy toward keeping itclear and acne-free.
“My hairlinehad recededso much,” she recalls.
Fear, regret, and desperation took over.
“Thinking back, there were little signs along the way,” Chang says.
“First, my scalp started getting excessively oily, and it never was before.
(you’re able to learn more about scalp inflammation by listening toepisode 10ofAllure’sThe Science of Beautypodcast.)
Back in 2015, conversations on social media about women’s hair loss were few and far between.
Desperate for more stories, she decided to share her own on a beauty blog she’d just started.
“Okay, there’s something I can do about it.”
As she found agency in the situation, the way Chang takes care of her hair completely shifted.
The health of her hair, just like her skin, is her ultimate beauty priority.
“The way I view my scalp now as an extension of my face,” Chang says.
In the process, acne has become a less scary situation for younger people and people, in general.
Gaveras echoes her sentiment, adding, “What you have on your head doesnt matter.
You’re still beautiful.
She is not simply analopecianmodel.
Originally, her dermatologist told her it was specificallyalopecia areata, which mainly causes sudden patchiness.
However, she’s since experienced all stages of alopecia hair loss.
Before alopecia affected the state of her hair, Turner considered herself the girliest of girly girls.
“I was blessed with themost beautiful 4Creddish-blonde hair,” she recalls.
“On a regular basis, I got relaxers, protective styling, and my edges laid.
My hair was my everything, and my mom took care of it like it her own.”
When her hair became nonexistent, Turner’s mom continued to take on this supporting role.
She even offered to shave her head to match for a matching bald look.
Turner’s hair-loss experience wasn’t always this positive, though.
Not even a teen at the time of her diagnosis, Turner was convinced the world was over.
Her self-esteem took a major blow as kids at school had brutal reactions to her baldness and wigs.
Thankfully, the older she got, the less bullying she experienced.
If you want to have thick hair, youonlysee people with thick hair, Taylor remarks.
Her hair was longer and more knotty than usual, so she owed it to that.
Back in America, Taylor noticed she was still losing lots of hair, though.
Worried, she visited her college’s health center to get her thyroid levels checked.
All of her blood tests came back normal.
The doctor wrote off her hair loss as stress.
Wanting a second option, Taylor visited another physician, only to be told the same thing.
“I didnt really have any answers,” she recalls.
“I just assumed it would get better.
Then, it did, but it goes in phases.”
Many women have gotten this sort of diagnosis due to the pandemic.
It’s also often sparked by hormonal swings.
Neither option is great, she adds.
Growing up, our family moved around constantly.
Taylor always preferred to fit in.
“I don’t stand out unless I want to,” she says.
Every hair is more precious to her now than ever, she says.
She even takesNutrafol, a daily hair wellness vitamin she heard about on a podcast.
Panic immediately set in.
Prior to getting pregnant, Rivera Chillogallo says her hair was always dependable.
Through all her experimentation, it seemed to put up with everything.
Yet, now, her long, raven hair seemed to be failing her.
“[My cousin] right away said that isn’t normal.
you gotta go to the doctor,” Rivera Chillogallo recalls.
After that, I called my mom and my aunts on both sides of my family.
“Natural remedies are a thing for my family,” Rivera Chillogallo adds.
“Everythings been passed down from my grandmas to my mom.”
“I felt so ugly,” Rivera Chillogallo says.
He would tell me how beautiful I am with or without hair,” she continues.
“I know it sounds silly, but it did help me on some days.”
Rivera Chillogallo continues masking alongside scrupulously reading the ingredients in her hair products.
“It gets better,” she says.
Model based in Houston
Christina Porter had suspicions she was losing her hair back in 2019.
Unlike Rivera Chillogallo, chunks of her curls weren’t falling out, but Porter could just tell.
As a model, she’s constantly staring at photos of herself.
The difference in the thickness and definition seemed obvious, even if Porter didn’t have tangible evidence.
Soon, a continuously clogged sink confirmed Porter wasn’t just imagining things.
She also kept up with monthly trims with the help of her hairstylist mother.
To help her deal with the damage, Porter’s mother wanted to give her abig chop.
“I needed some hair on my head or else I wouldn’t get booked,” she says.
Porter’s mom, instead, helped her change up her hair-care regimen.
Two years later, Porter is still recovering.
Most of all, Porter reminds others dealing with product-related hair loss to be patient and avoid comparison.
“It’s a long process, but you’ll get there.”
Accountant and content creator in London
Keerthana Kethies never really loved her hair.
She thought of it as too thick, too curly, too frizzy, and too unruly for her.
For years, she fought against her natural texture, resorting to straightening it constantly.
Slowly but surely over the past 10 years, Kethies' hair got thinner and thinner.
They’d assure her losing some hair was completely normal, and she accepted their explanations.
Needing more answers to her hair loss woes, Kethies booked an appointment with a trichologist earlier this year.
Naturally, this discovery was upsetting for Kethies.
However, she felt relief knowing what she’s fighting against.
Daily scalp massages have also been worked into her daily routine.
Kethies hopes more hair loss products will become available for women as more share their stories.
“Even the products for women are pretty questionable and confusing.”
“If you Google hair loss, you are shown products for men first before women.
Even the products for women are pretty questionable and confusing.”
Scrolling through her feed just perpetuated her insecurities surrounding her hair.
“To anyone who is suffering, know that you are not alone.
At seven years old, Cooper was diagnosed withEhlers-Danlos Syndromeand Tethered Cord Syndrome after experiencingchronic painin her back.
After getting surgery on her spine, she started taking countless medications to manageher pain and illnesses.
A side effect of them struck when she was about 10 years old.
Small bald patches started cropping up all over her head.
“I was very upset and embarrassed by my hair loss,” she recalls.
“I also remember feeling very confused.”
However, Cooper had yet to reach the hardest part of her hair loss journey.
She was in middle school, extremely ashamed and terrified her classmates would notice what she was going through.
At home, Cooper was heartbroken as she noticed her bald spots multiply and grow bigger and bigger.
Every day, she slipped one on as she accepted her hair wasn’t coming back any time soon.
“Wigs provided a huge relief for my overall anxiety,” Cooper says.
“It became exhausting,” she adds.
Her body was physically exhausted, too.
A few days before starting junior year of high school, Cooper was ready to set it aside altogether.
Instead, they are challenging society’s definitions of beauty and setting new standards.
“It gives me the motivation to continue embracing my hair loss.”
Assuming you’re healthy, ask yourself why your hair loss is bothering you so much.
“What is my hair?
What does it mean to me?
What has it meant to me?”
“That is a lot more useful discussion to have.”
