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

Don't forget Factor 30 SPF sun cream...

I first appreciated the need for a high-factor sun cream last year during the photo shoot for the Pretty Bald Calendar, as did every other lady on the shoot for that matter! We're all pretty intelligent, we all bought sun cream with us, yet in the excitement and nerves of being nude, outside in the middle of June, we all forgot to apply any at all! A major error on a warm summer day in June! The result? A series of heavily burned, red scalps, similar in colour to a tomato, later to peel in large patches as we all lamented our lack of caution! 

I know I'm stating the obvious, but the more regular sun-exposure your skin gets, the more its own Melanin protection kicks in, lightly tanning the skin and preventing serious burns. As you'd expect, your scalp, which has likely spent many years covered in a thick mop of hair, it is a little more sensitive than most, particularly if you opt for regular wig wear too! Obviously the longer you've been without hair and the more it sees small doses of the sun, the less sensitive it becomes, but that does not mean it'll ever have the tolerance of the rest of your skin.

What this means is a need to select and regularly apply a sun cream with a good SPF. Ideally you should buy a new one each year to ensure it is still functional and useable and you should use it on your face, scalp and body. In fact, if your hairloss is the result of either Alopecia or Chemotherapy, then the body's own abilities to protect itself will be diminished and you are likely to need a higher factor than before, plus to apply it more regularly. Your body's natural defences will change and in many cases lessen, so the need for Factor 30 on your whole body will be higher.

One final point to make as I sit here in the garden enjoying the gorgeous weather, you can burn your scalp through wigs; granted it isn't significantly likely, but it does happen. It will of course depend on the design of the cap, but thin, flexible and uber-natural lace can be incredibly thin and if your parting used to burn before you lost your hair, it is likely to burn through lace too! 

I'm not trying to patronise you with this post; merely encouraging you to learn from my own lesson - sunburn on the scalp is the single most painful sun damage I've done and even sleeping on a pillow is excruciating! 

Happy sunbathing!

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

The A-Team; our A-Z of hairloss...

You might have seen me announce yesterday that I'm attempting to compile an A-Z of everything hairloss, in a bid to create a useful resource for you to draw on! I KNOW I won't remember everything for each letter the first time, but whenever I remember anything extra, I will pop back over to the right letter, update it, then let you know via our social media channels!

Anyway, I'm wittering away and putting off the inevitable, so here goes 'A' in our A-Z of Hairloss . Enjoy!

Adjustable - It's a shame this is the one to start with, as it is a little bit of a stretch, but hey, that's how the alphabet goes! Anyway, it's a common misconception that wigs come in only one size, but that is simply not true! A lot (particularly synthetic) will come in multiple cap sizes AND will be adjustable! This is a great feature as you can see here...

Adjustment - hairloss is a big adjustment! From changing your routines, having to think about wig care (if you wear one), changing habits and even just adjusting emotionally, it is all an adjustment which will feel difficult at first, but you'll get there in the end I promise!

Alopecia (Areata, Totalis, Universalis, Androgenetic, Traction): A common cause of hairloss, alopecia can cause partial or total hairloss from the head and body. It is an autoimmune condition and you can find out more about it here...

Alopecia - Me and my bald head...

Alopecia UK - if you are looking for support with your Alopecia, then Alopecia UK is the official UK charity who can help. Go check them out for great information, group support and anything else you need!

Alternative Hair - another word / description for wigs, 'alternative hair' is a common term and you can search online for an 'alternative hair specialist'. As well as wigs, this term also encompasses toppers, extensions, partials, and all sorts of other things too!

Anagen - Anagen is the 'growth' phase in the cycle of a hair follicle. Depending on genetics, the anagen phase will last 2-7 years for the average person. In cases of medical hairloss, the hair fails to return to the anagen phase, resulting in baldness.

Androgenic Hair - This is the technical term for body hair that develops after puberty. Its growth is affected by the Androgen hormone which means that typically men will have more androgenic hair than women. In many cases of hairloss, including both alopecia and chemotherapy hairloss, androgenic hair will also be affected, as well as scalp hair.

Angry / Anger - Unless you are becoming a #BaldHeadedBeauty by choice, it is inevitable that at some stage you will feel an overwhelming sense of anger! Whether you are angry about the 'betrayal' by your body, by the lack of support for you and your hairloss, the reaction of others, everyone will feel angry for a different reason and it is perfectly normal! You will reach a point where you need to let it go though, otherwise you risk long-term emotional problems!

Anxiety - As with anger, unless your bald look is by choice, anxiety will be a common emotion for you to experience. I certainly did - fear people would judge me or think less of me, that my wig was obvious, that my hair would never come back (although that no longer applies) and pretty much anything else you can think of! Anxiety is common, but you need to find coping mechanisms to ensure that it passes and you can handle it!

Appearance - hairloss will change your appearance. For some people, the close cropped look is a choice and for others it won't be. Either way, it will change your appearance, whether you opt for wigs to keep it concealed, or embrace being a #BaldHeadedBeauty it will change your appearance!

Artificial - Artificial can be used in two ways when it comes to hairloss. First, as another (less common) term for wigs or alternative hair, sometimes interchanged with synthetic. Second, some people say they feel 'artificial' or 'fake' or worry other people will think them so, if they opt to wear a wig! You shouldn't, this isn't a bad thing to do and you just need to remember, it is YOUR choice!

Assumption - This is most commonly a word used with alopecia; one of the things that happens to me quite frequently with my alopecia is the assumption that I have cancer, whenever I go out and about bald. Some people get offended by this, some upset and ultimately you will feel what you feel - for me though, I TRY (but don't always succeed) to embrace these assumptions, and use it as an opportunity to educate and raise awareness of my own condition!

Autoimmune - Alopecia is an autoimmune condition which means that the immune system is attacking the hair follicles and causing loss.

Awareness - Awareness is crucial when it comes to hairloss as it is so misunderstood by Doctors and in fact a lot of people generally. What awareness does is help sufferers encounter less negativity as each year goes by, not to mention helping with fundraising, research, improved care, support and many of things besides! If you feel up to it, get raising awareness - it is so important! This applies for alopecia, trichotillomania, chemotherapy hairloss and everything else too!

Awesome - some people (including me) absolutely love their hairloss, or at least grow to enjoy it! This takes time, but is something you can acheive! The reason I wanted to include this in the list is that otherwise, all the 'A' words like Anger and Anxiety are negative, and there are positives to hairloss too! Check out #100HairFreeDays for some of the reasons I have embraced my hairloss!

Awful - As with 'anger' and 'anxiety', awful is another descriptive words that many people will use about their own hairloss or somebody else's. It can be 'awful' and there were days (and still are now occasionally) when I struggled and this was the perfect word for it, but this too will pass if you want it to!

Phew! I think that is absolutely everything that I can think of, but there'll be something I've missed!

Have we missed something? Let us know via Facebook, Twitter or email...

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

Joking aside... or perhaps not...

A couple of days ago, I overheard one of those terribly predictable but nonetheless funny jokes that start 'A blonde, a brunette and a redhead' and which inevitably end with a derogatory comment about blondes being stupid. I've told a few of them in my time and heard even more, but for the first time it occurred to me that these jokes exclude the fourth biggest sector of hair society - us baldies.

I started racking my brains to see if I had heard any jokes at all with reference to those of us that have alopecia, chemotherapy hairloss, trichotillomania, etc., but nope, I couldn't think of any! In fact, the only joke at all that I've heard was a truly terrible one in the comments section of a Daily Mail article about the Pretty Bald Calendar, which said:

"What do you call a group of bald people on a raft?
Beans on Toast!"

It barely makes sense, let alone being funny, but I have to be honest, it really is the only one that I can think of hearing / reading. Having puzzled out something new to think about, I did what I always do and popped onto Google; I searched "Bald Jokes" and whilst there were a lot listed, there were none I considered high-calibre, 'good' jokes and many more which offered poor, inadequate humour.

It got me thinking? Why is it that we don't have good humour relating to perhaps one of the most obvious targets on the planet? Is baldness still such a taboo that we dare not voice a joke in case of offence, let alone invent them in the first place? Have all the bald jokes through history flopped and failed to get a laugh? Perhaps it is just considered bad taste to point out a lack of follicles, whether to a balding man or woman? Or perhaps it just isn't a topic worth mentioning?

At the end of it all I am still not sure why; perhaps it is the fear of the unknown, not knowing how people will take it?

For me, I'm not sure I would take offence at a joke about my lack of hair, if made by a stranger, but I do suspect I'd probably be stony-faced and a little upset. It is not, after all, nice to be the butt of someone else's joke. That said though, my own family, and the friends who know me really well, have often made jokes about my lack of hair and my baldness, from drumming my head to stupid play-on-words about 'hair'. It is something for which I will always be grateful - teaching me that my lack of hair was not the end of the world and reminding me that it is important to laugh, no matter what life throws at you. Perhaps then, we do not need 'a blonde, a brunette, a redhead and a baldie walk into the bar', but in fact need to surround ourselves with people who know and love us enough to remind us, that hairloss really isn't so bad! You never know, in a few years time if we've managed to change societal perceptions of baldness, we'll be the proud owner of our own set of jokes that we can share with the world...

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

Explaining to children about hair loss...

Whether you lose your hair to alopecia, or through chemotherapy, it is inevitable that at some point at least one child will ask you about your lack of hair. In my experience, and through discussions with everyone else, it's never a malicious question, merely a curious one, but that doesn't necessarily make it easier to handle...

One of the reasons that children will ask about your hair loss is that it is visible; often the other symptoms of cancer or autoimmune conditions aren't visible, so it's natural children will attach to the lack of hair. Another is that it is 'different'; not that that's a bad thing, but that it's a change from their own appearance and experiences. What this results in is kids expressing their innate curiousity in a bid to understand the differences and their causes, working to categorise the world around them and whilst it might feel like they are singling out your lack of hair, they do the same with spots on the face, rashes, lisps etc.

A while ago, I read a blog post detailing a mother's first hand experience of other people's reactions to her child's disability; not negative as you might expect, but in fact how parents influence their own child's reactions by subconscious positive reinforcement. It's worth a read, but what this post highlights is that even if we don't mean to, our own reaction to situations and our actions in relation to them, heavily influence how a child will in turn react, now and in the future. By positively reinforcing actions, such as praising a child for playing with a disabled child, we are in fact highlighting the differences, not reinforcing the natural behaviour. In the same way, our reactions to a child's question about hair loss has the ability to form their entire opinion of the topic, and that is something we need to be very aware of.

The first thing you have to judge is the rough age of the child, as well as their capacity for an explanation. For some, a brief discussion will be all that is required and for others, a more detailed, knowledgeable explanation will be suitable. It will also be important to think about the question they asked and how they phrased it, as this can help form your answer. For example, some will ask why you have no hair, and some, like this gorgeous little boy did, will phrase it differently and that will help you gauge your response.

Some people may not agree with me, worrying that the idea of alopecia is too difficult to understand, but for me, the truth should be the focus of any answer. In every scenario where I have been asked, I have always explained that the condition is called alopecia and that my hair fell out because my body didn't like my hair any more. Every answer has some variation of this explanation, with more detail for those who want it, and a simple sentence for those who don't or who are really young. I do this for two reasons; the first is that a simple, honest explanation helps to inform and educate, making the most of every opportunity for awareness, and second, it ensures that I don't create more questions than I answer. Other things I include are things like "you know your body fights bad bugs to help you avoid being ill; well my body got confused and thinks my hair is a bad bug, so it got rid of it." Everything I say is based on the truth and whilst it might be an oversimplified version of an autoimmune condition, basing it on the truth helps me feel comfortable and respectful of the child as well. I've met many people who also give variations on this explanation, including relating alopecia to food allergies and an allergy to their hair, and you too will need to find something that helps you to explain it.

Something which often gets said to me is that people get feelings of fear and dread when they get asked this question, particularly if exposure of their bald head was accidental, but remember if you handle it positively and openly, you might just reinforce their positive feelings. At the end of the day, they probably don't realise it's even an awkward thing for you, and try to use that knowledge to fuel your own positive feelings.

Anyone else have any tips for explaining alopecia to children?

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

Can Chemotherapy cure grey hair?

Now before you gasp in horror, we're not advocating you undergo chemotherapy as an alternative to hair dye! No, instead, we're considering a story posted on a forum in Australia which claims that following chemotherapy treatment for cancer, one guy's hair grew back in his natural colour, without a grey in sight! He was previously totally grey, and until undergoing chemotherapy had never experienced hairloss.

Certainly an interesting story, but not one that has much grounding in science unfortunately...

Chemotherapy causes hairloss because the chemicals target rapidly growing cells, which include the unhealthy cancerous ones, as well as healthy hair cells for example. This means that during chemotherapy, hair growth and production can be effected and these effects can be partial or total, temporary or permanent. Chemotherapy and the ensuing hairloss will be different in each individual person and in fact, whilst I've met people with an almost immediately restored head of hair following chemotherapy, I've also met individuals with limited growth five years later. What's more, scouring the internet, this success case seems isolated and there seem to be more stories of chemotherapy removing the pigmentation and actually causing greyness. Your Doctor will be the best person to tell you what to expect, so it's worth talking it through with them to see how specific dosages and target areas will affect the outcome.

In the meantime, it seems a few people may be able to expect additional stimulation resulting in increased pigmentation in the hair following chemotherapy (a very small silver lining), but I'm not sure they'll be using it as treatment any time soon!

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

WANTED: Are you the next Pretty Bald Blogger?

The Pretty Bald blog is growing and we're in need of some more bloggers, case studies and real-life stories; could you be the next guest poster, interviewee or regular columnist?

At the moment we have four bloggers (Myself, Jen, Kayleigh and Danielle) and we all happen to have Alopecia! We're now looking for individuals with other types of hairloss to tell us their stories or to become a regular columnist. We're also looking for Hairloss experts to write one-off blog posts.

Got what it takes? Please email us to tell us about yourself and apply...

Want to be a regular blogger? You will:

- have something interesting and unique to say

- suffer from a short or long-term Hairloss condition; at the moment, we're not looking for female alopecians (although we're of course happy to consider you) - our followers are asking for people with chemotherapy hairloss, trichotillomania, female pattern baldness, male alopecians, male pattern baldness and other forms of hairloss. We're getting emails asking for insights to support these conditions

- be able to commit to a minimum of one blog post per month, preferably more

If you don't have hairloss, but are an expert in a specific field, we'll also be happy to consider you!

Want to be a case study / real life story?

Please send us an email with some information about you... Some pictures would be great too and we'll email you back with any additional questions we need answering. We'll then write it up and post it out on the blog!

The reason?

We're working to make Pretty Bald a unique resource that offers support and advice through real-life experiences, not just expert opinion. Through this, we hope to support others, and also work to change perceptions within society, making it easier to thrive in spite of these conditions, not just hide and hope for a cure!

The reward?
Initially, we're working to raise as much money for charity as possible, so this is a voluntary opportunity; long-term however, our bloggers will benefit from free products to review and hopefully some other exciting things too!

If you do have anything else you want to contribute or of course want to see us write about,  please let us know! There's a lot of exciting things coming up and we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoy writing it! 

Victoria x

An eyebrow-raising story! Beauty blunder leaves girl with four eyebrows - how to avoid the same problem

A story doing the rounds in the newspapers this week features the real life story of Delsha Campbell, a girl left with four eyebrows after making the wrong choice when it came to her cosmetic tattooing!

In a bid to make her eyebrows neater and more defined, filling in gaps in her natural brow, Delsha decided to use an online voucher for cosmetic tattooing, having the treatment at a bargain £100 instead of £350. She left her natural eyebrows in place as a guide, and visited the therapist appointed to carry out the work; the therapist outlined the brows, carried out the aesthetic treatment and then waxed off the original brow leaving what should have been a gorgeously shaped brow that's perfectly defined.

At this point, Delsha looked in the mirror and knew something was wrong as she spotted the shadows of her natural brows beneath the tattooed ones. The therapist reassured her that the distortion was a result of the swelling from the treatment and that they would go down. Regrowth of the natural brow three days later showed how wrong this was, as Delsha was left with four eyebrows in place of two, and wobbly, sub-par tattooed eyebrows. The traumatic experience left her in need of counselling and two years on, the eyebrows have yet to fade, despite £400 spent trying to lessen their appearance.

Delsha's 'clown' brows:



Now, despite horror stories like these, cosmetic tattooing or semi-permanent make-up is actually a viable, realistic choice for women, particularly those suffering with hairloss. It's something I personally opted for (as have many people I know) and although I haven't got round to having them redone, it isn't something I've ever regretted - thank god!

Eyebrows have two key functions; first, to keep dust and dirt away from the eyes and second aesthetically they add definition to the face. Whilst cosmetic tattooing cannot help with the former, with the latter its great for those who have little or no eyebrows and want facial definition. What's more, they can look really natural when done by an expert!

So how do you know if you're picking the right expert?

• Do your research - start by researching experts in the field and look for recommendations from others. Good reputations have to come from somewhere and the same with bad reviews. Obviously this won't be definitive, but if you opt to look for an expert, rather than the cheapest price or the best voucher, you're more likely to end up in safe hands. 
• Start with the training - semi-permanent make-up is complicated but safe when carried out by an expert; to become an expert however the therapist needs proper training. Unfortunately, there isn't a definitive list of training courses that people can take (the Government is working on changing this at the moment), so you need to use a little bit of initiative here; ask questions about who they trained with, how long the course was, whether they had to submit case studies, were supervised during training etc. Someone who has done good quality training will be confident talking about their qualifications, will be able to answer your questions and what's more, you'll be able to check out the academy they've trained with. You can also then ask how often they revisit their training to make sure they're keeping up with the latest information and guidelines. Therapists whose training isn't up to standard will most likely struggle to answer your questions, may start to act uncomfortably and won't necessarily check out.
• Ask for testimonials and before & after images - people who've had a good experience will be happy to talk about it, so look around for testimonials, online reviews, ratings etc. and also ask the therapists for their before and after images. If possible, also ask for 'after' shots that are taken after six and 12 months to see how they look and last; not all therapists will have these, but if they do, you have extra reassurance! 
• Consider the price - again, this will require you to make your own judgement, but price should be a factor in your decision! Rather than opt for the cheapest, go for the best value - it's about those that will look after you and understandably, some of the more expensive ones will be better! Now this isn't an exact science, but the price they are charging should be fair and prices should be consistent in the area. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is! Cosmetic Tattooing isn't cheap for a very good reason!
• Ask about insurance - this isn't just something you should ask when it comes to cosmetic tattooing; you should ask about it for any beauty treatment even waxing. Whilst the insurance itself doesn't stop the treatment going wrong a) a professional won't be without it - it's a good sign and b) it will cover you in case of any repair work required.

Once you're happy with all of the above, you should also feel personally comfortable with the treatment and the therapists; there should always be a consultation BEFORE you go ahead and you should be given time to think about it (a few days) before the actual treatment happens. 

What can you expect?

Personally here I can only comment on semi-permanent eyebrows because they're the only thing I've had done; eyeliner, lip liner and other areas of the body may be a bit different!

Once you've chosen your artist, you'll be given two appointments (for eyebrows), usually two weeks apart. You'll have a consultation and 'before' pictures taken. You'll chat through the options and what you are specifically hoping to achieve; I opted for a 'feathered' look where individual strokes are used to create the appearance of individual hairs, rather than a block colour approach for really defined brows. You'll also discuss size and shape at this point. (For a guide, don't forget to read up on how to measure your brows).

Numbing cream will be applied in advance to help lessen the pain in the area and then the tattooing will be carried out, with cosmetic-specific pigments. The second treatment will be used to fill-in any gaps, darken the pigment and make any small changes. Personally, as a result of my alopecia and the effect it has on my skin, it actually took a third application in a few spaces, but that's a personal experience!

I hope this helps. If you do have any questions you want us to get answered, please email or tweet us and we'll be happy to answer them or get a reputed expert to help with any technical bits. If you've had semi-permanent make-up done, please send us your pics and we'll share them and add them to the blog!

Victoria x 

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

'Do I look like an Action Man?' #Hairloss #RealLife #Cancer #Alopecia

With lines such as 'Do I look like an Action Man?' and 'I'd rather lose my other breast than my hair', My New Hair is certainly an interesting watch!

My New Hair is a documentary filmed and aired on Scotland on STV. It follows a hair salon which offers replacement hair services and more importantly gives an insight into the lives, trials and tribulations of different women, with different types of Hairloss!

Whether going through cancer and chemotherapy, or losing your hair due to Alopecia, this documentary offers a very real, very raw insight into the fears we all have about losing our hair! Every minute of it, I identified with at least one thing each woman said, AND was able to relate their thoughts and feelings to part of my own journey past and present!

Despite a lot of positive feeling about this documentary, and it being definitely worth a watch (STV has done a really good job) it's not all thumbs up from me! In fact, the parts / people I have an issue with are those not experiencing hairloss at all - it's the hairdressers! Let me clarify...

I really and truly appreciate why hair salons opt to offer wig services; there's an inherent level of trust someone has with their hairdresser, people automatically assume they are qualified and then the commission isn't too bad either! Many do a good job, but unfortunately however, something which often happens is that despite being well-intentioned, the hairdresser try's to be 'normal' and ends up coming across patronising or blasé. For example, phrases like 'You'll be fine' and 'It's only for a wee while', which both appear in this programme, seriously underestimate the emotional and psychological impact of Hairloss. What's more, it makes it seem like 'something to deal with' much like a cold or flu, and that somehow, it'll all go away if you just grin and bear it!

One final point and that is don't settle for a wiggy wig! Some of the ones in the programme do little to flatter those wearing them and also, there are plenty of options that you can swim in, before you opt for a headache inducing suction-cap!

The documentary is available to watch on the Pretty Bald YouTube channel here, so don't forget to subscribe! Alternatively click play below.

One final point, no matter which Internet or PC we used, we couldn't get rid of the buffering, but the audio is pretty clear throughout!

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk
Twitter @PrettyBald

#Trichology - what is it...? #Hairloss #Alopecia #Cancer @MarkBlake

Trichology is the branch of medical and cosmetic study which deals with the hair and scalp and primarily with hair and hairloss problems. From the hairloss specifically, to the side effects of it, and potentially the underlying cause, there is much that Trichologists are able to achieve cosmetically with hair. Individuals can opt to see a trichologist - most commonly privately - for excessive hairloss or thinning, weakening hair that breaks easily, scaling problems of the skin on the scalp and either excessive oiliness or dryness of the scalp.

Trichologists can help slow or reverse a lot of hairloss problems and can also provide solutions to help encourage hair growth or cure specific ailments of the scalp. They are also qualified specifically in the anatomy and physiology of the hair and skin and will look at blood tests for example, specifically with this in mind; as a result, they can often identify underlying issues which relate to the condition of the scalp or hair such as vitamin deficiencies. These insights can also help encourage hair regrowth after cancer when intense chemotherapy has resulted in total hairloss.

What a Trichologist cannot do however is treat or cure hereditary baldness or alopecia for example. It is possible that they can identify many underlying conditions which may contribute to the extremity of the alopecia, but it is unlikely there will be a cure.

Many people suffering with hairloss will often visit a Trichologist, or may even be referred by a Dermatologist. Speaking with others suffering from hairloss, the reviews of Trichologists are mixed; I myself visited one who palmed off a lot of expensive products that had little or no success link alopecia at all (this included make-up for the patches!).

Since then, I've met the very lovely Mark Blake in Cheltenham who runs a successful chain of hair salons. Meeting many of his own clients struggling with varying forms of hairloss, he decided to train in Trichology to help provide solutions where possible. He's outgoing, dynamic, interesting and very upfront about what can and can't be achieved through visiting a Trichologist. Next week, we'll be interviewing him about him, his business and Trichology in general and will post it up on the blog. What we'd like most of all however is for you to email us your burning questions about hairloss, so that we can put them to him! Mark may not be able to cure our alopecia, but he will be able to help answer questions and provide advice on the issues you most want answered!

Victoria x