C is for... A-Z of hairloss

I know it's been a while since my last A-Z of hairloss, but it's finally time for the letter 'C'...

Calendar: I can't let the letter 'C' go past without a little mention and plug for our 2015 calendar - great awareness and working to change opinions. Read more at www.prettybald.co.uk 

Calm: in the early days, feelings of bring 'calm' seemed few and far between and I was in a semi-agitated state most of the time. Difficult as it will be, try your best to stay calm for two reasons; first, it helps you think more rationally and second, in things some cases e.g. Alopecia, feelings of stress can exacerbate the issue.

Cancer: Possibly the most obvious one when it comes to hairloss is cancer. Whilst the disease itself does not affect the growth of the hair, treatment in the form of chemotherapy causes partial or total hairloss. As treatments improve however, the rate and finality of hairloss is diminishing and there is hope that in the future, the hair won't be affected at all. Fingers crossed!

Caps / Coverings: other words for Bandanas as covered in our 'B' post, caps and coverings can be a great go-to for keeping things hidden. Even if you are used to your hairloss and are happy to expose it, caps and coverings are a great way of keeping toasty warm, accessorising and outfit or keeping the sun off your head!

Caring: if you let them, in my experience people will be really caring about you and your hairloss. A mistake I frequently made was feeling guilty about being upset and so I kept shutting people out and bottling it up which wasn't good for me, or for those around me! People will be caring, you just have to decide to let them! 

Cause: fairly self-explanatory this one, but cause is a huge factor in any hairloss experience! I remember thinking 'but I don't understand what causes it!' A large part of your experience will centre on causes and of course then the cure. What you may have to accept is that the cause may be unclear - they can give you a label e.g. Alopecia Areata or Trichotillomania, but that doesn't necessarily mean the 'cause' will be clear. 

Challenge: Losing my hair was probably the single biggest challenge I have ever had to face, but on the plus side it's a challenge that I won! Now I am working to challenge perceptions and help others beat that challenge!

Changes: Inevitably, if you are losing your hair - via whatever means - then you will be going through some changes. From physical changes to your appearance to changes to your general health and wellbeing, to adjustments in your emotional and mental state, changes are inevitable. It is definitely worth highlighting here that not all changes are for the worse - I and many others I know have had positives come out of their hairloss and definite changes for the better! 

Charity: If you are having difficulty handling your hairloss, seek out a Charity. National charities exist to support sufferers for example Alopecia UK, Macmillan etc. who can provide advice and support and signpost to experts to give you the help you need. They also appreciate people fundraising for them if you get a chance! 😉

Cheated: This was a huge 'problem' for me and many others I know. As your hair falls out and you struggle to deal with it, many people highlight how they feel 'cheated' by their body and struggle not to feel angry with themselves. The good news is that this feeling passes and hopefully will be a temporary status rather than a permanent reality! 

Chemotherapy: one of the most common treatments for cancer, chemotherapy uses chemicals to permanently damage cancerous cells so that they can't reproduce. Unfortunately, side-effects include damage to other healthy tissues, including hair follicles, resulting in hairloss.

Children: Children is included for two reasons:

First, people often fear telling or showing children their hairloss, more so than showing an adult. Children are known for getting to the heart of things, saying it like it is and not censoring what comes out of their mouths. Somehow, that makes them scarier than adults, somehow increasing the likelihood that our fears we are less attractive, less valuable or something else entirely. We hope that their adult counterparts will be less honest and better at hiding negative feelings, leaving us intact. I can't speak about all children, but you can read about one of my experiences here...

Second, whilst hairloss is terrifying and somewhat devastating at every stage of life, but somehow, despite their resilience, it seems ten times worse when a child goes through it. It breaks my heart every time I see it, but I admire there general acceptance of it too!

Cicatricial Alopecia: the scientific name for scarring Alopecia, it includes traction Alopecia and Alopecia from any scarring. 

Cold-Cap / Scalp-Cooling / Cryotherapy: a relatively new treatment, the cold-cap is one of the aforementioned ways do reducing the likelihood of total hairloss from the scalp. It involves the patient encasing their scalp in a cooling ice-pack, reducing the size of the blood vessels and therefore the amount of chemotherapy drugs which reach the hair follicles. As a result, less hair falls out and many cancer patients are managing to keep large amounts of hair. The downsides are that it doesn't work with all chemotherapy drugs and it only works where applied, so eyelashes, eyebrows and body hair will still shed. Macmillan has more details on it here...

Comments: when you are bald or balding, comments can be expected and often unappreciated. From stating the obvious to striking up a conversation, to frankly being downright hurtful, there's not a baldie I know who has been completely without commentary! There's not much to say here - it's on a case by case basis and you'll have to handle it as best you can when it happens. Not everything will be bad though; just remember that!

Confidence: I'd love to say hairloss has no significant effects, but it's likely that it will impact your confidence in some way. It could be a little or a lot depending on your personality, support network, attitude and general attachment to your hair. You need to accept that this will happen; you are not weak, worthless, shallow or anything else negative you might think about yourself - it is completely understandable and acceptable. Work through this, deal with it your way and try to remember not to let your hairloss beat you - don't let it change who you are or what you do. I really and truly appreciate this is easier said than done, however it's something I worked hard at and now if anything, I am more, not less confident than I was before!

Corticosteroids: more commonly referred to as steroids, corticosteroids are often used in the treatment of a number of hairloss and / or auto-immune conditions. They can be taken orally, injected or applied as a topical cream or lotion and have anti-inflammatory properties. They are used to help suppress the immuno-response, thereby enabling short-term and sometimes permanent regrowth.

Cure: A natural progression from 'cause', cures are one of the primary things that people pursue, providing a focus for anxiety, mental challenges or even an end point. Cures are a good thing to understand and appreciate, but pursue with caution; sometimes the side-effects can be as bad or worse than the hairloss and many have limited or questionable results. Pursuit of them can also become an obsession so take care that this doesn't become more damaging to your psyche. Sit down with a trained expert  question what they tell you so you fully understand the implications, then give yourself time to consider everything - is it really what you want? 

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

Different experiences

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald -- My Twitter: @baldguyproblemz 

Hi, it's the 1st of the month so here is my blog... If you haven't read it already, my story can be found here: http://prettybaldonline.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/real-life-male-alopecia-story-meet-ben.html 

I have already talked about my opinion of alopecia, and this time I wanted to talk about the different experiences people can have with their alopecia... Although I do think I have come to the conclusion that the experience is pretty similar but there are different stages of the journey.

Pain --> Learning --> Strength

That's my experience with alopecia in a nutshell.

Pain
Of course it was painful, it was probably the most difficult thing I have had to deal with in my life.

Learning
The lesson I learnt was that with hair or without hair, it didn't change who I was, I found I didn't need hair to have a good time.

Strength
This is my latest stage; this journey has helped me become stronger as a person and I genuinely think that it will help me with any hardship in the future... And strangely, I think it has helped build my confidence.

I do acknowledge that everyone's experience with alopecia will be completely different and I wanted to see how it differed. I did a little research into others' experience's of Alopecia; I went onto a Facebook group that I am a member of 'Alopecia Areata' (we are about 5000 strong now) and posed this question:

'If you could describe your experience with alopecia in a word or phrase, what would it be?'

I received well over 100 responses and my findings were quite interesting... Some results were as expected and some were very encouraging.

Of course words like 'depressing', 'pain', 'stress', 'scary' and 'sad' topped the list with 27 in total, this is what is exactly what I expected... However, promisingly, 35 responses were extremely positive and included words like; 'freedom', 'gift', 'strengthening', 'loving self', 'learning', 'empowering' and others. I was extremely pleased to see so many people see it in a positive light!! Additionally, it was nice to see so many people enter funny answers which really demonstrates the good humour and comfortableness with their condition, my favourites included 'suddenly smooth' and 'bad hair year'.

After asking this question and seeing the answer 'a gift' from a lady called Rachel, I asked her more about what she meant... Her story was truly inspiring, she described her alopecia as a 'cataclysm to redefine myself and become a more authentic version of me, my best self'... She has learnt to love herself and believes that alopecia has improved her life; she is genuinely thankful for her alopecia. This may seem odd to some of you but I think this is the last phase of everyone's journey through alopecia... 

I don't feel like I have reached this stage as I still struggle with it and have only been suffering fully for just over a year. It seems pretty far away to be honest, I cannot imagine myself rather having alopecia than not... Rachel says she would not change anything which is vastly admirable, because if I had three wishes... Having my hair back would definitely be one of them! However, I do acknowledge that alopecia has strengthened me, I still think I have a long way to go as I haven't truly accepted it yet. I still look at myself and wish for improvement but I do think this will gradually go away, soon I hope.

Personally, at the moment, I feel inadequate and to be honest a little self pitiful because I am really concerned that no one will find my attractive. When I say this to people, they tell me not to be silly but it is a genuine concern of mine that I just look too weird to find attractive. I am not looking for a relationship but still, it does upset me. 

I do not like to feel sad about it, I feel guilty for doing so... I tell myself others have it worse, which can be useful but it is important to remember that we are allowed to feel sorry for ourselves... Saying you can't be sad because others have it worse is like saying 'you can't be happy because other people have it better'. Which makes no sense!! 

I would like to finish as usual by saying alopecia doesn't define you, which I know is true but I have to be honest and say that I am struggling at the moment. On the bright sight, I have come a long way and bumps are to be expected. I do think that eventually, I will come to fully accept it and love myself; Rachel's story has been very encouraging in that it helps provide a promising future.

BP

My view on alopecia

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald My twitter: @baldguyproblemz

Hi I'm Ben and this is my first blog!! Victoria has posted my story which you can find here if you haven't already seen it: http://prettybaldonline.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/real-life-male-alopecia-story-meet-ben.html

Alopecia...

It doesn't sound particularly appealing does it?

That's because its not, there's not many people in the world who would voluntarily get rid of all their hair. And I have to say it's definitely the most difficult thing I have had to overcome in my life. Although I have come to terms with it and am much better with coping with it than I used to, I still wish everyday that my hair would come back.

It's probably not surprising and I'm sure there's many of you who feel the same way. But genuinely, I think about it everyday and wish it wasn't the case. I look at myself in the mirror and think 'eww'. I think 'how could someone find this attractive?'. And then I tell myself, 'shut up, what's the point in worrying about it, it is not that bad'. Hmm, perhaps that's a good or bad way to look at it, you can make a judgement on that.

'It's not that bad'... I think telling yourself this can either be seen as a good coping strategy or a misconception. On the one hand, it helps in being more positive and makes you more comfortable with your alopecia. But on the other, it can downplay what in reality, is a huge deal. I am not saying that it should be all consuming but just, it has the capacity to be. Sure you can say 'at least my condition is not life threatening' (quoting myself there) and although that's true and something you should be thankful for, it does not bring your hair back.

Personally, I think what takes the biggest toll, psychologically, is the fact that alopecia leaves you feeling helpless... It leaves you feeling that resistance is futile and it leaves you feeling that there's no hope for your follicles. The shear nature of something that's out of one's control has always been frightening, this is no different when it comes to alopecia, as it is a problem you cannot escape... It is literally right on top of you.

This 'problem' you cannot shake can often make you feel alone, it might make you feel like you are fighting an entire army on your own. However, we are not alone and this is something I have realised fairly recently and it has definitely contributed to my mental improvement recently. Realising that there are others like you, fighting the same fight, oddly, makes you feel better. It is always just nice to have someone or some people who understand how you feel and its something that people that don't suffer from can struggle with. It is nice to know that there are others, and since I have found a wider community of alopecians, I have felt much more comfortable.

There may be many of us but perhaps not as many as you expect... According to the NHS, there are 1 in 1000 people who suffer from some type Alopecia in the UK... Which means there are roughly 60,000 people in total who have either alopecia areata, totalis or universalis. Which sounds like a huge number but in reality that is 0.001% of the UK's population. Weirdly, this makes me feel better as it makes me feel very special. Furthermore, 1 in 200,000 people have my type of alopecia (universalis)... Which if you do the maths works out to 35,500 people IN THE WORLD that have the same condition as me (you could not fill most big sports stadiums with that amount of people)... Thats such a small amount of out of 7 billion; you would need 2.5X that amount of people to fill Wembley stadium!!

Apologies for the stats and football stadium comparisons but thats how my mind works!! The point is, that if you have alopecia, you should feel special because it makes you even more unique as a person. As I said in 'my story', it is what makes you, you. Having this condition builds up so much character and inner strength, that it will equip you to overcome any adversity that you will confront in the future; in this sense, view it as a strength!!

Lastly, I would like to mention my personal, most used coping strategy to my alopecia. I am always the first person to make a joke about it (rightly so), I do realise that occasionally that they are misplaced and/or not funny but making comments about it makes me feel more comfortable; I guess it really comes down to the fact that I think everyone else is thinking it (which they probably aren't) and that I have to say it to avoid others thinking it without my knowledge- I want to be in control of when people think about it I guess. That is something I've just figured out while writing this, its just a way of normalising alopecia for me. I do worry however, that people think I mention it too much and think I am doing it for attention when in reality it's my way of dealing with it!

All in all, to summarise my opinion on alopecia; I think it is unfair because no one deserves to feel like they are helpless against their own body. However, I do think it is important to think positively and remember that in the long wrong this condition will benefit you in terms of your character... I mean who knows, because of the fact that evolution occurs through natural selection of random genetic mutations, we could be the next step in human evolution; this mutation in our genes may be advantageous in the near future! I digress, I think it is important to leave you with my motto on the subject as you are so much more than your hair (or lack of):

Alopecia doesn't define you, you define alopecia

Guest post: choosing the right treatment option for you...

I love the power of Twitter and via its engaging 140 character posts, I became engaged with Dr Bessam Farjo, a hair transplant surgeon! Working in the industry since 1993, we're pretty convinced he knows his stuff and we're delighted to share his insights into treatment for hairloss and treatment choices! Enjoy...

WHAT’S THE BEST OPTION FOR YOU?

Blog by Dr Bessam Farjo, founder of the Farjo Hair Institute and medical director of the Institute of Trichologists.

Every week, it seems a new ‘miracle’ cure for alopecia is hitting the headlines, but it’s important that those living with the condition know all the facts before starting a new treatment. Estimated to affect over 1.7 per cent of the UK population, new potential treatments for alopecia will always be a hot topic, but it’s my job to ensure that people exploring treatments are correctly informed and advised before any decisions are made.

As many of you will know, alopecia areata is renowned for its sudden and random onset, whilst other forms, such as traction alopecia and female pattern hair loss, are more progressive.

Treatment of alopecia areata can be controversial and, if you’re happy to live with your hair loss, my first piece of advice would be to leave it alone to see if it recovers on its own. Alopecia areata is a very unpredictable condition and there is always the potential that it will grow back without any treatment at all.

If you’re keen to consider taking action, many doctors will advise you to start with steroid injections, as these are generally deemed the most effective form of treatment. These injections contain corticosteroids – an anti-inflammatory medicine which is essentially a man-made version of a hormone usually produced by the adrenal glands. As alopecia areata is a condition caused by the immune system ‘attacking’ its own hair follicles, the steroid injection works to suppress the immune system, so that hair follicles have the opportunity to grow back. These injections are usually administered to the affected area on a regular basis – but it differs from patient to patient.

Another option available on prescription is oral corticosteroids, such as Prednisone. Again, these steroids work by suppressing the immune system to allow hair to grow.

Many people will also be given the option of applying steroids topically, but the real long-term benefits of this are unproven.

For those suffering from female pattern hair loss, there are an abundance of additional options available. Minoxidil – which is available to buy in lotion or foam (Regaine) – most likely works by regulating the potassium channels in cell membranes, and allows increased production of protein. This was proven by published research we collaborated on a few years ago, with University of Bradford.

Low level laser treatment may also be something that people with female pattern hair loss would like to consider. Laser treatment works by projecting laser light energy directly on to the scalp to help strengthen the cells within hair follicles, thus promoting growth.

Of course, hair transplant surgery is also an option for female pattern hair loss sufferers – although this needs to be carefully considered. Some women are more suited to surgical treatments that others, while some are not suitable candidates at all. There are a several different surgery options, including Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and ARTAS Robot.

The main difference between these procedures is that follicular units grafts are harvested in strips from the donor area for FUT – which are then microscopically dissected and prepared – whereas grafts are extracted individually in FUE. The ARTAS robotic procedure is a minimally invasive option that uses digital imaging and precision robotics to harvest healthy grafts for transplantation by the FUE method. There is no need for the surgical removal of a strip of tissue from the back and sides of the head, which means there’s no need for stitches or staples to close the wound. Benefits of FUE include a quick recovery time and the ability to return to normal activities soon after surgery, while FUT surgeries typically allow the transplantation of more hairs.

Other people claim that platelet rich plasma therapy (PRP), Derma Roller and even Minodoxil are worthwhile treatments for alopecia areata. However, in my opinion, I think that the likelihood of results with these treatments is purely coincidental, as the hair more often than not comes and goes anyway.

At the Farjo Hair Institute, we work hard to make sure our patients are armed with all the information they need to make the best decision for themselves, whether that is surgery, medicine or ‘watchful waiting’.

Dr Bessam Farjo

Want to keep reading...? Here's another guest post by Mark Blake Trichologist, with a Q&A on alopecia...

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

#100HairFreeDays Week Nine - over halfway there!

We're more than halfway through the #100HairFreeDays challenge and here's the next seven reasons why having no hair can be a bonus!

• Men going #bald help keep the razor companies in business! Thanks @JimB
• If you're confident with it, it can be a real ice-breaker!
• No sweaty rats tails when you're running at the gym
• No greasy roots - ever
• If you opt for a synthetic wig, no hair styling required, period!
• Walk out of a spa straight into a restaurant - this is worth a read...
• Brilliant for an open top car - no Bridget Jones moment!

I cannot believe we have done more than 60 reasons why no hair can be a positive! Awesome!

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

Meet Miss April - The very gorgeous Julie... #PrettyBald #Calendar

We of course cannot let this month pass by without mentioning the very gorgeous and lovely Julie (Juliana), our Miss April.

Julie is the epitome of hairloss 'success' if you can call it thay; someone who has battled the demons associated with hairloss and emerged as a gorgeous butterfly, full of confidence and at her happiest! You might have spotted her in Sunday People telling others of her story, but if you didn't, don't forget to give it a read...

Julie is 52, and has been a mental health nurse since the age of 18 (kudos). She has been a sufferer of Alopecia Areata for much of her life, with bouts at the age of 12 and 16 initially. Steroid Injections did the trick and then Julie went unaffected until the age of 32, getting progressively worse until not only was her hair affected, but her confidence and self-esteem too. The hairloss ultimately led to a divorce at 43 as she hit rock-bottom.

Slowly, engaging with her hairloss, telling others and slowly coming to accept it, made her a stronger, happier person. She met a new man, who accepted her as she was without the hair and they married in 2012. Since then, she's embraced the hairloss, going wig-free after the Alopecia UK Liverpool Flashmob and even opting for a gorgeous floral tattoo on her head (ouch)! She's vivacious, funny, charming and a delight and her story is one of personal tradegy and ultimate happiness which I believe is possible for anyone!

Well done Julie

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

Would you date a bald girl?

In order to keep up to date with everything that's relevant to Pretty Bald, I'm subscribed to a number of alerts that send me updates on anything and everything. One that caught my eye this week was a link to a forum post on the My Fitness Pal forum, which was entitled 'Guys (or girls) would you date a girl that was bald?'.

I of course had to read it and it's quite clearly a conversation starter as there are currently three pages of replies!

Delving into the story, the original poster starts with her own story, highlighting her Alopecia Areata, which has recently been getting worse. In the last shedding she lost 80% of her hair and despite regrowth is curios to see whether the other followers would consider dating a bald girl. In her words she writes "I came across a post on a different website of women showing how afraid they were to take off their wigs or to tell their dates of their issues when I feel like it's nothing to be ashamed of. I've already accepted the way I am and happy with myself, if people can't see your inner beauty then what's the point? I'm genuinely curious though to see how most people view it considering that it's not really "socially acceptable" for women to not have any hair."

The responses to this post were overwhelmingly positive, but whether this is the reality or born of the desire not to appear 'horrible' on a forum, there were very few negative comments at all. There are a couple of really interesting comments worth a mention too...

• "I would, I have known a few women who lost hair due to chemo, etc. and it didn't change their personality, just their looks. A woman can wear a wig, a scarf, or go out with a bald head -- it is her business, not mine."
• "I think with treatment being so common that causes hair loss, it is socially acceptable (whether that matters or not is another story). I'm accepting and I actually like what some would consider 'different' hairstyles on women."

I know this is a question many new baldies ask, and often fear if they're not already in a relationship; whilst I'd like to say my own experience was totally positive, in fact I had to kiss my fair share of judgemental frogs before finding T.

At the end of the day, hair 'is just hair', even though it doesn't always feel that way and worrying too much or letting it affect confidence is more than likely the contributing factor rather than that actual hairloss. Remember, try to be confident and rock your hairloss the way you feel most comfortable (covered or not) and hopefully this question won't even need to cross your mind! Don't forget, Too Ugly For Love followed the very gorgeous Jen on her dating journey without hair and is available to watch on our YouTube channel...

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald