The subject of hair loss and female baldness has been swirling around my peer group lately.
There's nothing worse than a bunch of peri-menopausal women with one more thing to gripe about. But having lived through the trauma of an illness-induced hair loss myself I felt it was
time to come clean on a dirty subject and perhaps ease the anxiety of others sharing the same experience.
In 2005 an acute blood disorder that I suffered from left me with the unfortunate side-effects of hair loss. Hair loss comes with it's own stereotype in the guise of baldness; but there are additional symptoms which are often overlooked. In my case the thin hair that I did have just wouldn't grow.
It seemed to stop after a few inches, and some areas were less fortunate than others. All in all it was a mess of sparse, irregular growth. I tried hair color as an option, some dirty blonde, reddish shades worked well to hide the damage. And golden, light browns would naturally hide the flesh tones of the scalp showing through.
During this time I made several dietary changes to add enormous amounts of protein, mainly
from fatty fish and eggs, to my meals. Protein shakes and select organic supplements boosted
my cell growth and regeneration. The hair was growing.
By 2007 my medical condition had improved and the hair seemed to be doing okay too. And then
it got even worse. I developed an allergy to the hair color. At first it was some tingling, burning behind the ears. Month after month, as I colored my hair, it got more severe. I began taking a Benadryl before each application. Finally, bubbling up like poison ivy, the rash caused me to stop coloring my hair.
Now I had to deal with the color issues. First I had to use some
harsh chemicals to strip away the color, leaving a
taupey-grey mess of damaged hair. The most important task was to save the damaged
hair from additional trauma.
I conditioned the hell out of it with
everything you could think of. Apple Cider vinegar rinses to lower the
alkaline and neutralize
the ph. Mayonnaise and olive oil to soften and
nourish. Expensive salon conditioners with baggie-wraps and hot towels
to repair.
The hair survived, it bounced back. It was strong, healthy
and growing. Everything I could wish for, but this color?
Yikes. I had
to to deal with the color.
It made sense to me that blonde hair color products would not have the same dyes as the shades
I was now allergic to. I made a very brave test move by applying a pale, light blonde hair color.
The product lifted away any traces of dingy grey and tinted a soft palette of creamy yellows
through my now shoulder-length tresses. Things were getting better again.
My hair started to look so great that many ladies remarked. Some were actually envious.
And, Oh yes, the results were so good that the green face of envy for my blonde tresses started
to rear her ugly head in the most wonderfully flattering way. For some with challenged hair
growth, covering up with a wig was the best choice; and now women were wearing wigs that looked like my natural hair!
Today, in 2013, the hair is even better. The hair has grown, or should I say thrived, to a place around mid-back length. (any longer and my arms get too tired taking care of it) The color is still a pale blonde; I am terrified of an allergic reaction so I will never go darker again.
The diet is fabulous, beef, salmon, chicken, eggs, cheese, the list goes on; and I can eat all that I want, literally.
Anyone interested in following the "
MrsMay" plan with diet and supplements can contact me directly for a free consultation at
Mrsmay@mrsmay.com , by
Linda Maintanis
