Bald Women

Bald women is a subject that really worries me, because I don't want to be one of them one day. A few years back I didn't even think it could be possible for women to be bald, let alone, common. Until my hair started to thin exponentially, daily, leaving my pillow, my bed, my floor, covered in hair. Everything changed about my hair on my initial years in London. From beautiful, long, shiny, wavy, healthy, it became dry, brittle, frizzy, lacking luster, plain ugly. Until the day I noticed I was losing it.

I did try going to the doctors in London, but the only thing they say is "You're stressed out. Take some paracetamol". Seriously, instead of receiving a Doctor title, they should be called "Paracetamol Prescribers", (but this is a post for another blog). The point is, only after arriving back in Brazil, my gynecologist ordered a complete hemogram and found out I had some hormonal imbalance. She prescribed me a particular type of anticonceptive pills and it worked! My hair stopped shedding around the house.

Then I got married, my husband and I wanted to have a baby and I had to stop the prescribed pill. After 6 months my hair started to shed again. I didn't want to be one of those bald women. What could I do now?

Although I didn't believe a shampoo could help with thinning hair, I didn't have many other options. Shampoos anti-dandruff helped a lot but not 100%. My scalp is oily, so maybe relieving the excess sebum which cause dandruff had a part on it. I used Neutrogena T-Gel, which is mild and leaves hair in a nice condition, but my favorite is Neutrogena T-Sal, which is a lot more potent and seems to have worked better for me.

My dermatologist adverted me about using 2-in-1 shampoos. A HUGE no-no. Anyone with thinning hair, dandruff or any other scalp ailments should never use a 2-in-1 because it is damaging to the scalp. Use 2 separate products, being very careful to not let any conditioner on the scalp, only at the length of the hair.

Those anti-dandruff shampoos were an improvement after I stopped the pill, but what really works, and unfortunately is only found online - at least here in the deserts of New Mexico - is the Avalon Organics Shampoo, which you can find here.  As far as thinning hair is concerned, all I want is to keep my strands on top of my head, not on the floor, the pillow, around the bathtub. If that shampoo can do that, I'm sold!

I bought this Avalon shampoo but was very skeptical of its effectiveness. And lots of reviewers complained about the smell. My own thoughts about it:

• it has a fresh, herbal scent. I like it. I think it's a matter of taste only.
• as it's a treatment shampoo, I prefer to leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing out. I shampoo twice: first and very quickly using a deep cleanse Neutrogena shampoo. Then I apply Avalon to my scalp, massage, wrap my hair in a bun, and go about my shower routine, soap, shaving, whatever. I only rinse it out after at least 5 minutes. It gives a nice tingling sensation while it's on. Then I rinse it really well, apply a deep conditioner only to the length of my hair, and rinse it abundantly, with tepid/cold water. 

Please, whoever has thinning hair should NEVER wash it with hot water!

The same is valid for any other scalp problems, or anyone really.

It works for me. Hair feels fuller, shinier and manageable. Use a gentle wooden comb, specially while it still damp. The difference is clearly noticeable. At least to me.

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