My Personal Experience of Dealing with Baldness

When one thinks of dealing with baldness, a man's bald head is usually the first picture that pops into the mind. I could never see why men worry about becoming bald. It's a natural process of life, that until recent years was taken for granted, like the middle-aged spread.

My dad became bald when he was quite young, I was told, the summer he worked in a "canning kitchen," decades before the advent of air conditioning. He supposedly sweated his hair out under the cap he was required to wear. Earlier pictures of him showed a full head of black curls that must have made the girls swoon.

But I thought he was cute with his bald head encircled by a thin fringe of what little hair he had left. When I cut his hair I would pull the few wisps he had left on top up into a kewpie peak and tie a pink bow on it. If no one outside the family was around, he would wear it till I removed it myself. He was always a good sport and never seemed to mind his baldness.

But some men have an aversion to baldness, and will try anything to keep or regain their hair. I have male friends who keep their heads shaved, on the premise that they will never have to worry about becoming bald, or at least about anyone knowing it.

Many treatments are available for thinning hair.

In recent years many advances have been made to help those who either want to keep their hair or get it back. Such products as Rogaine have been on the market for years, but these products are not without risk. Besides the possible side effects listed on the packaging of such products, it is said that one will need to continue using the product indefinitely in order to retain the hair regained from their use.

There are businesses that specialize in hair restoration, or creating somewhat permanent replacements by using one's own hair. Some are surgical treatments, and other remedies vary from thickening shampoos to coloring products designed to make the hair look thicker. There are also supplements and other kinds of pills to take that can help the hair return to its former fullness.

One website that provides excellent coverage of available treatments and services is:
http://www.hairlosstreatment-s.com/

There are many causes of baldness or thinning hair.

Many health problems can cause baldness or hair loss, including chemotherapy and hormone imbalance, as well as some medications, stress, and improper diet. Surgery, or the anesthesia for it, is also said to cause hair loss. It is helpful, but not always necessary to learn the reason for hair loss in order to correct the problem.

Women also have problems with thinning hair and varying degrees of baldness.

In my mother's last years, I always helped her care for her hair. As the years passed, I saw her hair become thinner and thinner, to the point it would not cover her head. She said her mother's hair had been the same as hers. I kept her hair permed to try to give it more body to disguise the condition.

She had Alzheimer's for a number of years before she died, which made it more difficult to do anything with her hair. I eventually resorted to giving her a quick, very short haircut, as it was easier on both of us. At this point, her hair, or lack of it, was the least of her worries.

Sadly, as she lost the hair on her head, the hair on her face started growing like a man's. Because her illness made it hard for her to cooperate with my efforts to use hair remover on her face, I would shave her about as often as I shaved my dad. Partly for that reason, I think her hair loss was caused to a large extent by hormonal imbalance. But she refused to discuss the problem with a doctor, so we just had to deal with it as well as we could. Any time I see a woman with very thin hair and quite a lot of facial hair, I think she needs to be taking some hormonal treatment.

My own battle with hair loss.

During the last two decades, it has been necessary for me to undergo a number of surgical procedures. It seemed that after each one, I noticed my hair becoming more and more thin. My hair brush was always full of hair. When I showered, my hair stopped up the drain. I tried every natural product I could find to restore my hair, to no avail. My hair became so thin my hairdresser was afraid to put in a perm for fear of causing me to lose what little hair I had left. I refused to use a product such as Rogaine, because I have so many allergies to chemicals and medications. I bought wigs to wear when I went out, but found them extremely hot and uncomfortable.

The situation was extremely embarrassing and distressing for me. My hair had been one of my few features I had that I felt comfortable with, and now it was just about gone. I wondered again why men should be so distressed about going bald. I felt that was completely natural. But a bald woman is another story.

My daughter lost all her beautiful hair last year due to chemo, and was so happy to get back some hair, hair of any kind, although it was totally different from the hair she had had before. But I had no excuse for looking like a refugee from a cancer ward. I hated the way I thought people were looking at me.

One day while researching the problem on the internet, I came across a product called Maxi-Hair, which was said to be a restorative hair product that was completely natural and did not require a prescription. After reading the reviews on the product, I decided to try it.

After using the Maxi-Hair for about 3 months, I went back to my hairdresser for a perm. Since my hair is not only thin but extremely fine, and since my face is round and needs fullness and height in my hair, I feel I must use perms for body. My hairdresser was amazed at the improvement in my hair. I still use the Maxi-Hair on an ongoing basis, as it is primarily composed of vitamins with a few other natural products added, and I feel it is helpful in other ways as well.

A few months ago, I was talking on the phone to an old high school classmate when I mentioned "my hair vitamins." She asked about what I was taking and I told her it was Maxi-Hair, which I order from Vita-Cost.com.(I previously wrote a review on Maxi-Hair on AC, in case anyone should like to know more about it.)

Recently we had a class meeting and this friend came to town to attend it. When I arrived at the meeting place, she rushed up to me, waving her beautiful hands in my face and said, "Look at my nails. I could never grow nails before." When I asked her what had made the difference, she said it was Maxi-Hair, which, by the way, is recommended for nails and skin as well as hair. I also noticed that her hair was much thicker than it had been the last time I had seen her. She said her hairdresser had been amazed at the improvement.

I would not claim that Maxi-Hair will work for everyone, as I'm sure it will work for some and not for others, depending on the reason for their hair loss. But it certainly was a Godsend for me. I feel my own hair loss was caused by a number of factors, some of which I can control and some of which I cannot.

Whatever one's cause for baldness might be, they should not quit trying to find help for the problem. Help is out there somewhere. One thing for sure is that at least there are plenty of people out here to sympathize with anyone who has the problem.