Behind every bald woman head, there is a powerful story.
Hair. They have always been given an etraordinary, or rather magical meaning. Many civilizations were convinced that they give psychic power, they believed that the longer a man had hair, the more power he was supposed to have.
Hair has played a very important role in the image of man since ancient times and is an integral part of human beauty and charm. They are considered a cultural symbol, a symbol of beauty.
Losing hair for a woman is a big deal. I can also say for a man. Your hair is a part of you, you are born with them. We are comfortable with them. I don't think there is a lot of people, I mean woman, to decide from one day to another, "Hey, I want to shave my head, I want to be bald", if there is, you go girl, but not me. I felt strong with my hair, with my haircut. You are comfortable with your look and if you looking at the mirror for 23 years, and there is always something on your head, then is a bit of a shock, when you one day look at the mirror and there is nothing on your head. Not a single hair. What are you going to do?
Apparently, more than 50% of women experience hair loss. Not all of them completely, but so that is visible. And that is a lot.
There are various forms of hair loss, the most common of which is androgenic alopecia, which is a hereditary form and is characterized by gradual hair loss. After that, there is the autoimmune disease alopecia areata, which occurs suddenly and causes hair loss in the strands, causing the loss of all hair on the body, including eyelashes and eyebrows. It can happen at any age.
I can also list hirsutism, scarring alopecia, senescent alopecia or thinning due to aging, and trichotillomania: a disorder in which a person pulls his hair and cannot stop, causing hair loss on the scalp or hair on other parts of the body.
Among other things, there is telogen effluvium, an unusual word, in other words temporary hair loss, which is characterized by sudden and significant hair loss due to premature entry of hair into the telogen phase. stress (high body temperature, emotional stress, serious injuries, difficult surgery, difficult childbirth, bleeding, starvation and fast food)
postpartum period: restoration of hormone balance (especially reduction of estrogen levels) activates the telogen phase, in which significant hair loss occurs
endocrine disorders (hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism)
nutrient deficiency (iron deficiency anemia, enteropathic acrodermatitis, acquired zinc deficiency and malnutrition)
changes in the seasons: research shows an increase in the number of hairs in the telogen phase from March to April and from September to October; this phenomenon is also known as spring and autumn telogen effluvium
exposure to pollution
Serious skin problems affecting the scalp
hair loss due to medication.
And so I found myself somewhere in between.
I was treating the disease with various medications I had received from the doctor and at the time I was still somehow not paying attention to the side effects of the medications because it was my first time to put my illness in remission. But why would I even think about side effects if I wasn’t warned about them.
I was receiving the medication for about half a year when I started noticing that my skin was changing. It became red and thickened and the skin began to peel. It started to itch and soon hurt as well. At first, I noticed that scales began to appear on my hands and palms. Over time, I was no longer able to work with my hands at all because they were scaly and purulent. The doctor prescribed me creams but nothing helped. I had to wrap them up, which means I was no longer able to work with my hands. Whatever I grabbed, I felt a terrible pain in my hands and palms. Over time, it all started to appear on the rest of the body as well. I was in wounds. The whole body.
One day I asked my husband if he could help me wash my hair because I couldn’t do it myself. We talk about something while washing and all of a sudden it gets quiet. When I asked him if something was wrong he just said not to panic. Then he showed me a strand of hair he was holding in his hand. Scabs started to appear on my head and my hair started to fall out in strands. When I grabbed a strand of hair they simply tore off my skull. I didn’t know how to react. I was confused. Is it really possible that my hair will fall out?
My hair was falling out in strands. Daily. I had less and less hair and more and more bald parts. I started wearing scarves because it really looked awful. The creams didn’t help and it was getting worse. The doctors didn’t know what to do, so I stopped the medication on my own.
And that was the period when we moved to Austria when we started creating a new life. A time when you should have found a job, which unfortunately was not possible.
My hair was still falling out, so I decided to get a short haircut. I think it took somewhere around 2 months when I received the last dose of the medication and the condition all over my body started to improve. I started using my hands again and the itching stopped. The scalp, however, was still no better, in fact only worse.
And so one day we sit with my husband on the terrace, we talk and over time my husband says he got one idea. He disappeared into the apartment and came out a few minutes later with a hair shaver in his hands. I looked at him strangely for a while. His idea was that if we shave our hair, maybe the scalp will start to heal. I didn’t know how to react. It was hard for me to cut my hair short because I had long hair all my life, but shaved? Being completely hairless? But I never saw another solution. And my husband also said that if I shave, he shaves too.
And so he took the razor and we started. I don’t remember anymore if I was crying or just sitting quietly, but I know that when I looked in the mirror it wasn’t me. That's not my face. The first feelings were awful. And so I was left without hair. After a week, I started to notice a difference. My scalp was no longer itchy and the scabs started to heal. I couldn't believe it. On the bald parts, the hair began to grow again. I was mixed with joy. My hair is growing. Looks like my scalp needed air or freedom, I don’t know how to describe it, but shaving my head worked.
I don’t know how to describe this experience to you at all. Life without hair is not easy, your image is different, but everything grows back and so does my hair. It was really hard for me to show up in front of other people because no one knew what was wrong with me and everyone had different perceptions, especially if you come from a smaller place and people talk about everything. But I didn’t bother too much with that. I proved to myself that I was capable of doing such things and that I was strong enough that my self-esteem had not collapsed. I accepted what I was and came to terms with it. I am grateful for every kind word and support I received from people in that period.
“I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles.” – Audrey Hepburn
Guys, thanks for reading 💕
Till next time 🦄
With love, @tinabrezpike ❤️