My hair loss story
My battle with hair loss started back in college almost 15 years ago. Never did I think I would have to worry about losing my hair. But looking back I now understand why. My grandfather was bald on my mom's side and my dad has thin hair in the front and a bald spot in the back. What was in store for me, who knows, but one thing was for sure, I was going to do everything I could to keep my hair from falling out. I have a big head and I would look stupid bald.
Back then I had long hair and after a shower I would always comb my hair straight back. Well I started to notice that I had tons of small hairs that would stick up straight while the rest of my long hair was combed straight back. I laugh just thinking about it because I actually thought that it was new hair growing. Well it was the exact opposite; it was hair receding and falling out. And it was going at an extremely fast rate; it was like the hair loss switch was turned on.
I grew quite accustomed to looking at my hair in the mirror analyzing the situation. I would spend at least an hour or so a day combing my hair and seeing it get thinner. The hair in the front (the temple region) was getting thin, invisible looking, limp, and it was receding at a rapid rate. I was also actually seeing what would become an almost bald spot on the back of my head. Overall, I couldn't believe it was happening to me. I would constantly be in the mirror trying to downplay the situation. Oh it is going to stop. There is no way I could be going bald.
Well it was happening, I was losing my hair. When losing your hair you start to shed more and grow less. I was finding hair all over the place. My brush was full of hair all the time and my pillow had hair on it also. And the shower drain was no picnic either. I had hair everywhere falling from my head.
I started to look for answers and solutions. Back then the Internet was new so the only way I knew how to look was in papers, books, magazines, and on TV. I was desperate; my hair was thinning quite fast and I was willing to try anything to save it.
After weeks of research, I found a Canadian company that had a shampoo, conditioner, and a topical solution used for hair loss. I called and ordered it. I used it for a couple of months, but it didn't work. My hair was still thinning and receding, so I stopped.
After that I started to look again and I found a business about an hour away that had a treatment for hair loss. Their primary business was hairpieces but they added a service for those that had hair to save. It was a combination of some home use products and then a weekly in office treatment which included using, what I believe is called an ultra violet ray. It was a glass rake looking thing that simulated the hair follicles. It was an electrical current, which was put directly on the scalp.
A picture of the device is above.
The products they used were crap, but the rake device did bring back the color of my hair. Prior to treatment, the hair on the top of my head almost looked translucent. It wasn't stopping the hair loss, but it did bring the color back and I believe it did slow the hair loss down. I couldn't continue the treatments because of the expense; I was a college student with no money and the price wasn't worth the benefits.
I kept looking for answers for months at a time. I came across numerous products and I tried the one's that made sense at the time, but nothing worked. I even went to another hairpiece clinic that was local. He told me to massage my head and use a shampoo and conditioner formulated for thinning hair, and that product was called Nioxin. It makes sense to use a shampoo and conditioner that is made for thinning hair, so I started using it and I use it to this day. But at the end of the day I was still losing my hair and I was still averaging an hour a day in the mirror studying the situation and I still kept looking for answers.
Well after months of praying, one of two answers came. Rogaine 2% was just released on the market. This was a topical solution used on the top of your head twice daily. I quickly went to my doctor for a script. After a couple of months I realized it worked on the back of my head. What had become a very thin, but not completely bald, spot on the back of my head was now full of hair again. Yes victory is mine! Well almost. The front was still thinning and receding on the sides.
The main ingredient in Rogaine is Minoxidil, which was used to treat high blood pressure. Well doctors and scientists realized that patients on this medicine were regrowing hair. So after clinical trials the first and only topical solution for hair loss was released on the market.
Within a couple years or so of using the Rogaine another medicine came to market: Propecia. The day I realized it was now available I went to my doctor for a script. It was funny because he didn't know what it was so we had to call the drug company to get the prescription information. I also had to do the same thing at the pharmacy. I like to think I was the first person to try it since becoming publicly available.
Propecia was a 1mg once a day tablet that I started to take with my morning vitamins. Propecia's main ingredient was Finasteride, which was used in the treatment for an enlarged prostate. Well in treating the prostate the scientists and doctors realized that it was regrowing hair on balding patients. So they did the research and the clinical trials and the end result was the first and only pill to treat hair loss.
After that I didn't worry about my hair again for almost 10 years because it worked. The combination of using the Rogaine on the back of my head and the Propecia stopped my hair loss and I actually regrew hair in the front. The only change I made during that ten-year period was changing to the Rogaine 5% solution.
Well three years ago something changed. I am not sure if it was my age or the effectiveness of the Propecia, but my hairline started to slowly recede again. What got me noticing it again was when I would comb my hair back (yes I still had long hair) I began to notice short hairs on the temple. It was receding. The hair was getting shorter and shorter and was changing color to a weak, translucent look.
After realizing what was happening I was back in the mirror all the time studying the situation and telling myself that it is going to stop receding. In addition to spending time in the mirror I also started to spend time on the Internet searching for options. This was my first time researching options like non-surgical hair replacement and hair transplants. I knew what each was just from seeing it on TV, but now I actually made an appointment to speak with someone, just in case if I was to lose my hairline, I wanted options.
I learned a lot from each visit, but I also realized that my hair loss wasn't too bad and neither of them would touch me until it was worse. From that day forward I thought highly of each business. It was Hair Club for non-surgical hair replacement and Medical Hair Restoration for hair transplants. Non-surgical hair replacement is real human hair bonded to your scalp and a hair transplant is surgically moving hair from the back of your head to the top. Either one of these businesses could of taken my money because of my fear of losing my hairline. But they didn't take my money; instead they said to call them when my hairline was more receded.
It is interesting that both Hair Club and MHR recommended laser hair therapy. Laser hair therapy is using a low level laser to stimulate the hair follicles to produce hair. In my research I found numerous companies that make some type of hair comb, even full head laser devices used in clinics, but one company stood out, it was Lexington International.
Lexington International made a hair laser called the HairMax Laser Comb. They had completed successful clinic trials to prove that it works. This is a small hand held home use device that you use a couple of times a week. I purchased the HairMax Laser Comb since they spent money on research to prove it works.
Within about four months of using the laser comb I could tell that my hairline was looking stronger. The hair was thicker and full of color and growing. I was now once again safe; it was nice not having to worry about losing my hair once again.
I think back years ago when I first started losing my hair; what a journey it has been. I wasted so much money trying to save my hair, but at least I found some answers that work. I am now 36 and I have a full head of hair, minus a slightly receded hairline.
What have I learned from my experiences? There are a lot of products out there to treat hair loss and a lot of them don't work. When researching hair products ask yourself does it make sense? Are the ingredients proven to work? There are currently only a handful of products that have been clinically proven to work. No treatment works for everyone and that includes non-surgical hair replacement and hair transplants.
Look at my experience with Propecia. I have been on it for so long that my hairline started to recede again. Was it less effective since I had been on it for so long? Maybe so. Or maybe it is just my age and I am supposed to lose my hairline. Not sure. But at least I was able to ad the laser comb to stop the recession.
My goal is to educate fellow hair loss patients on hair loss and to let them know of the best options to stop their hair loss and regrow hair. Do everything you can to stop your hair loss to save what you have and hopefully regrow some of what you lost. It is a much easier process to save the hair you do have verses losing it all and then trying to get it back. But the great thing about this day and age is you have options, regardless of how bald you are; you can have a full head of hair once again.
Thank you for reading about my experience with hair loss.
Sam Jordan, President and CEO
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