Fabulously Frugal: hair loss

It all started after I gave birth to my first son, who is now almost 12. Anyone who has kids can relate, your hormones are crazy after you give birth and you start noticing your hair, which was looking fabulous while you were pregnant is now thin and falling out. I nearly died the first time I looked at my hair brush. But, I had read enough pregnancy books to know this is normal. I didn't worry and eventually it slowed down, it never really stopped, just slowed down. Then, I gave birth to my 2nd son who is now 6, and OMG! my hair was coming out in clumps! I cried so hard one day in the bathroom, I thought this is it I'm gonna be bald and I don't even know what my head looks like underneath all this hair! Is it deformed? do I have some hideous birthmark? I am cute but, I don't have a face that can pull off a bald head!!!! (I'm a bit of a drama queen, you think? lol). Anyway, that time it took longer to slow down but it eventually did, but it never stopped. I just learned to deal with having thining hair, which I later found out is called female pattern baldness! I stopped going to the hair salon, because I was so embarrased the hairdressers would always point out how thin my hair was on the top. It is a very embarrasing thing to talk about or deal with as a woman, you don't want to tell anyone your losing your hair, atleast for me thats how I felt, I was even embarrased to tell my husband, to whom I tell Everything.

A year ago I was on the Blue Line in Boston on my way to work when I saw a lady who was in her late 40's who was obviously balding, this scared the crap out of me, you could clearly see her scalp. I felt so terrible for her. That day I decided enough was enough, I can't just accept that my once beautiful mane was just going to continue to thin out and one day I would be.....bald! I can't pull off a comeover, no way! Thats when I started to look around and do as much research as possible, I tried almost everything, my mom sent me 5 little jars of this thing called espiritu de canela (cinnamon spirit) which smells extremely strong and is supposed to help thinning hair, but burns like crazy when you rub it on your head. I thought hey, that must mean its working right? wrong! after going to bed smelling like Big Red bubble gum for a few months, nothing happened.....then I tried Rogain for women, got it on amazon on sale, woohoo! I saw the commercials all those balding men with full head of hair, this just has to work! Wrong again, after some time and the fact that it said it may take 6 months to work, I gave up. I just couldn't do it, wait 6 whole months and possibly have to continue to use this everyday for the rest of my life???!!!!!

I had lost all hope, I was already looking to see how much I would spend on wigs, I was ready to add it to the family budget. Then one day my mom calls me and she says "Aris I found it!!!!, I found the cure to your thinning hair!" sure, I thought. She said she was at the pharmacy one day looking at the vitamins and hair care and a lady stood next to her and they started discussing my thinning hair. Why would my mother discuss my thinning hair with a total stranger you may ask?? I have no idea its just how she is, lol. Anyway, this lady told her to try these vitamins, she said she had been taking them after she went through chemo-therapy and they made her hair grow back fast and fuller than ever! So, my mom bought herself a jar because she figured she would test it out, she is at the age where she noticed her hair was also a little bit thinner then it used to be. Well, the day she called me to tell me about the vitamins she had already been taking them for a month, and she told me her hair was growing back! she had babyhairs...Ha! I went ahead and looked online and ordered it as soon as we got off the phone and tried not to get my hopes up.

It has been about a month now since I started taking these vitamins and hallelujah my hair is slowly growing!!!!! I couldn't believe it myself!!! They are called Biotin 5000mcg and are sold on Amazon for under $15 for 100 capsules.

I am going to continue to take these and hope that they continue to work, if not I can always go back to plan B, sign up for the wig of the month club!

Here is what the pills look like: