At my hair restoration center, my team and I specialize in helping women restore their hair that has begun to thin or has been lost. I find that my guests don’t necessarily want to stand out with the highest fashion looks, but instead want to look “normal” again. My team and I strive to help our guests not only get back to feeling normal… but more importantly feeling beautiful.
Recently one of my hair restoration specialists, Megan, came to me with a story about a guest she had seen who was struggling with Trichotillomania. Megan explained that our guest had been invited to a formal event and wanted an updo to compliment the gown she planned to wear. She did not feel comfortable going to a regular salon, so her doctor referred her to our center. The guest not only walked out looking beautiful, but more importantly she truly felt special… instead of just normal.
Some of us see the hairs we lose. We notice them on our clothes, in our brushes, on our pillows, or on our bathroom floors. Others aren’t sure what happened. It’s a mystery that leaves us wondering if we’ve used the right products through the years, if we’ve made a mistake with a certain styling routine or color processing, or if we have some sort of medical problem.
October is very widely recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness month, but many of the people I meet are unaware that this first week of October also marks Trichotillomania Awareness Week. Unlike Breast Cancer many people do not know what Tricotillomania is or that it affects 1 out of 50 people.
A woman’s hair is important to her. It is the frame that brings together all of the elements of her face. Hair has a language all its own. It tells the world whether you’re casual or businesslike, playful or serious. So looking down at her brush, and, for the first time, noticing strands of hair can send a woman into a panic. Immediately, she might wonder, “Am I experiencing hair loss, or merely losing a few strands?”
There’s no exact timeline as to how long a hair system will last. It varies on the way you wear and take care of your hair. A hair system will need to be replaced as the hair begins to come lose or thin in the hair system. While a few shedding hairs left on the base of a hair system is expected from the original hand tying process, there are five actions that can cause excessive hair loss, after the delivery of your system, and greatly decrease the life of your hair system.
I had the opportunity to write an article for Help Me 2 Stop, an organization working to bridge the gap between Trichotillomania suffers and salon professionals, and I want to share this article with my blog followers because I feel like every woman experiencing hair loss may have these same questions.
There are many special holidays and events that can be a time when many women experiencing hair loss want to hide away and not celebrate with that special someone. You ask yourself, “will he notice that I’m wearing a hairpiece,” “what will he feel when they touch my wig,” “what will his reaction be if I tell them I’m wearing a wig?”
These are all questions we contemplate each day we walk out of our homes and into a world where others never think of these things. But there are things you can do to build confidence in yourself and confidence in your true beauty.
Did you ever have a secret that you kept to yourself? A secret so private that if anyone found out you would be horrified? For many, the answer is yes.
Trichotillomania or compulsive hair pulling can be one of those secrets. My friend, Amy Burzinski, works with individuals suffering from Trichotillomania and she gave us some insight into the disorder.
Trichotillomania (TTM or “Trich”) is a disorder that causes people to pull out the hair from their scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows, or any other parts of the body, resulting in noticeable bald patches. Trichotillomania is a type of body focused repetitive behavior or BFRB for short. People who have trich will describe a strong “urge” to pull. The urge can be so strong that it can almost feel like an attack- unrelenting and demanding attention before anything else can be done.
Over the past month I ‘ve asked and you’ve answered! So many of you have sent us your stories to enter the Jeffrey Paul Salon and Beachwood Plastic Surgery and Medial Spa’s makeover contest, “A New You,“ and now, we are excited to change one woman’s life who is living with hair loss. We have chosen our two finalists and would like to share their stories with you.
Linsey: Linsey was diagnosed with Grave’s Disease, an autoimmune disorder leading to hyperthyroidism, back in 1996.
“When I first started losing my hair, I kept telling myself it would come back. ‘It has to’, I’d say. That was 16 years ago. It has been a lonely and depressing journey.”
“If I won this makeover it would truly change my life. I have been desperately seeking the confidence that so many women in our society take for granted. I long to feel what it might be like to get my fingers caught in my hair. Or to have to pull my hair back because it’s being unruly. To feel what it’s like to have to put a hat on because I’m actually having a bad hair day.“
Kylie:
Kylie began losing her hair when she was 12 and by the time she was 15 she was completely bald from alopecia. She continued to struggle with different wigs that just did not work for her.
“Winning this contest would mean that women like me across the states can also make a change in their life for the better. It stands as a symbol for anyone going through hair loss for any reason that they too- are special enough to change their lives.”
“Whether it be by makeover or lifestyle change- beauty comes from within. A makeover emphasizes that beauty and gives me a reason to share my story with others, hopefully enabling other women to make the positive change as well.”
After a hair loss consultation at the Jeffrey Paul Salon, my team will be able to evaluate each of the finalist’s hair loss and then choose one winner. Comment below, on who you would choose to be our Hair Loss Makeover winner?
If you would like to learn more about the right solution for your individual hair loss please emailor call me to set up a private and personal consultation with one of my consultation specialists. Or to get your free copy of my Personal Hair Loss Evaluation eBook Guide, which helps determine your loss and best-personalized solution, all you need to do is sign up for my blog!
“I feel like a completely different person. I can’t remember the last time I felt this confident. I feel like this is how I am supposed to look. They helped me look the way I am meant to look.” -Bethany
A fabulous head of hair, a beautiful smile and confidence – that’s what you see when Bethany walks into a room. But it wasn’t always so. In fact, since she was five, Bethany has suffered from Trichotillomania – also known as hair pulling. Not just harmless hair pulling – hair pulling that results in hair loss. For Bethany that hair loss led to drastic action when she was in high school. She was so desperate to get rid of “her problem” that at one point she shaved her head; reasoning that if she didn’t have any hair, she couldn’t pull it out. Thankfully, Bethany was able to correct her situation with a hair replacement system.
Consultation:
We helped prepare Bethany for her hair system by carefully reviewing each step of the process – outlining options for color and style and ensuring that lifestyle and preferences were a major part of the final outcome.
Linsey was diagnosed with Grave’s Disease, an autoimmune disorder leading to hyperthyroidism, back in 1996. 
