Hair Loss

“My hair is not right, so my day will not be right.”

“I have a hair appointment I’m so excited!”

“What color highlights should I get?”

“I know I just got a perm but, can you add color?”

The above statements are the hair gossip buzz you hear on the street, grocery store, work, or just simple conversation amongst your family and friends. Our hair has always been very important part of our wardrobe and our self-esteem. I even remember when I was a kid, my mom would get us up early on Sunday mornings to get our hair pressed and curled to go with our Sunday-best outfit. I remember relaxers and curly perms starting at an early age. It was for convenience, easy access to get out the door - faster for those of big families, and some just because. 

Different styles have been trendy throughout the decades and the present is no exception, people are still finding new trends to hop on. Straight to curly, curly to straight without waiting the proper times to keep the hair healthy, wearing caps and wigs time after time, to years after years. Then suddenly, one day you look in the mirror and notice that your hair is doing something funny. Some say their hair may seems thinner, some people go in shock and just call it what it is: hair loss. 

Hair loss can be a scary term, often kept as if it were a big secret, but talking more openly about hair loss reveals the true culprit: all the stress we put our hair through jumping from trend to trend. See, the truth is we have been harming our hair for years, but we failed to acknowledge it. We failed to believe what the mirror was telling us. I get it, you only live once, right? You want to look your best for the prom, your first date, your wedding day. But tell me, do you enjoy the hairstyle for a season and endure hair loss for the rest of your life? We have been vain about our hair.  We all have gone through that season once or twice. 

By the time hair loss is acknowledged, statistics shows we have lost over 50% of our hair. Some might think “I’ll just cover it up with a highlight or balayage special” and some may think to themselves, “It’s not just a males who can get male pattern hair loss.” Even though the light bulb turns on, you become overthrown by fear of what others might think. Fear to speak, fear to move on the right path to wholeness and healing. Embarrassment becomes our face makeup as we grab that wig, cap, or scarf and walk the road of shame on a secret mission to fix it. But there is hope. Did you know that you have 2-7 years to get aggressive with a hair plan to get you on the right hair journey? It may seem unfair because you have had an eternity to be vain with your hair. “Vain.” Let’s stop right here and explore the dictionary definition below:

Vain  /vān/ 

Adjective

1. Having or showing an excessively high opinion of one’s appearance, abilities, or worth.  Their flattery made them vain.

   1. [attributive] producing no result, useless a vain attempt to tidy up the room.

   2. Having no making or likelihood or fulfillment. A vain boast. 

Do you see why I call it a hair epiphany? Where we once showed our hair so much attention to get a high appearance and noticed from others, but really it was a vain, effortless boast when you noticed something had changed.

You see our hair is not there as just a toy to play with or abuse, our hair serves a purpose. It talks to you daily, but, are you listening? Hair loss is not just a “man thing” it is universal. Everybody encounters it whether it be temporary, seasonally, or genetically and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. 

Hair is an appendage of the skin.

Hair - any of the fine threadlike strands growing from the skin of humans, mammals, and some other animals.

Hmmmmm. Question -- what other information does your hair hold?