This months Saga magazine has an article about female hair loss. It states that approx 50% of women experience some form of hair thinning after the menopause.
The article mentions thickening hair products – there are a number of hair thickening products on the market which are a good way to help with mild thinning. These products (sometimes known as coloured hair thickner or scalp makeup) can be applied to the hair to cover the parts of the scalp that is on show. They are not suitable for areas where the thinning is severe or if there are any patches of hair loss. These products are generally easy to apply and will wash out when you next wash your hair.
The article in Saga Magazine also includes the journalist’s experience of her visit to Lucinda Ellery. For a large number of ladies who experience a reduction in volume of their hair then Medi Connections or the Intralace System are the most effective ways of disguising the hair loss areas. Although hair thickening products can be effective, clients who use them will often report that they would like something that lasts longer and something that does not need to be applied so frequently. Using either Medi Connections or the Intralace System will give you natural looking volume and a head of hair that will feel like your own.
There are lots of ladies who are fortunate to have a full head of hair all their life but for those who are not so lucky then there are great techniques available to replace the hair that is missing.
The October issue of Easy Living (available in the shops now) has an article written by journalist Lisa Markwell about her recent chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. She talks about how affected she was when her hair started to fall out during her treatment. She came to see Lucinda Ellery for a consultation to discuss using the Intralace system until such time as she felt comfortable with her new hair growth underneath. Lisa, like many other women that contact us, explained how she really could not feel herself until she had hair that looked like her own and that she could treat like her own.
The Intralace System is integrated with your growing hair and will not affect your regrowth. The system is designed to last for two years but typically a post-chemo client will need the system for less than its life span. It needs to be maintained (usually every 6 weeks) as it is connected to your own hair so as your hair grows, it will move away from the scalp and a trained technician at Lucinda Ellery needs to adjust it for you so that it remains secure.
One client who contacted us today having read the article in Easy Living magazine commented that Lisa Markwell had described in the article exactly what this client had felt about losing her hair from the cancer treatment. She was very happy to hear that an option like the Intralace System is available to help someone manage their hair loss during such a difficult time.
I am sure Lisa appreciates that sharing her experience has raised awareness on how deeply upsetting it is for any woman to experience hair loss.
There was an article in today’s Daily Mail about our client Robina and her experience of living with Trichotillomania. There has been a huge amount of interest from the press in Robina’s story and as a result she is going to be on the ‘couch’ tomorrow morning on GMTV.
Trichotillomania or hair pulling is something that we deal with on a daily basis so we are sure that tomorrow’s program will raise awareness about this little known condition. Robina uses the Intralace System to help her manage her hair pulling and it also gives her a beautiful disguise! The Intralace System has two benefits for our trichotillomania clients – it acts as a physical prevention to hair pulling as well as replacing the hair that is missing. The client feels better because they look better, and their hair gets a chance to regrow.
We often find that following a press article or TV piece that clients are overwhelmed that Trichotillomania is actually much more common than most people think.
There was an article by Jemima Khan regarding Trichotillomania which was printed in the Sunday Times last week. Some clients from Lucinda Ellery were interviewed about their experience of this little known condition.
The article has had a huge amount of interest. There have been calls from ladies of all ages and also a number of calls regarding children with Trichotillomania. In some cases the hair pulling may be from eyelashes and eyebrows only but in most cases the hair pulling affects areas on the scalp. The Intralace System is suitable for clients with TTM as it will replace the hair that is missing as well as act as a physical prevention. The Intralace is not a ‘cure all’ but using it alongside the TTM management skills recommended by Lucinda Ellery can make a big difference to a lot of clients and indeed many clients become pull free and experience full regrowth.
The article in the Sunday Times accurately described how someone with TTM feels and there is a great need for more awareness in schools and within the medical profession. Typically a person with TTM will say that they find it humiliating and perhaps the reason for this is because the problem of TTM is not widely recognised.
10 years younger had originally contacted us in 2007 about a lady who wanted a make over for her hair. Vivienne had struggled with thinning hair for years and as part of her 10 years younger makeover she wanted a new head of hair. She came in to see us, had the Intralace System and her amazing transformation was then featured in the show in June last year. We had so many calls from people that were amazed at how her hair had completely transformed her appearance and they were blown away at how natural it looked. Many ladies have been in to see us since and also had the Intralace System. We have recently had contact again with the makers of the program and on Monday last they had a catch up interview with Vivienne. The producers were so impressed with Viviennes new hair (one of them didn’t even recognise her) and the new program with their new presenter Myleene Klass should be aired on channel 4 over the next couple of months.
There has been lots of coverage in the daily papers and magazines about Jade Goody losing her hair as a result of chemotherapy. She has decided to be very brave and go without using a wig or hair replacement system. Of course there are so many other aspects to having a severe illness but for many women the hair loss is particularly devastating. The good news is that there are now really good hair replacement and hair extension systems available which allow you to continue life with a full head of hair whilst you are waiting for your hair to grow back.
The Intralace System is particularly suitable for when your treatment has finished. A full head of real hair can be created on hair that is as short as 2 inches. There are now very good wigs available to see you through your treatment stage. Many women do not like the fact that Wigs need to be removed before bedtime so moving to a hair integration system like the Intralace System is very appealing as you can wash it, sleep in it and even swim with it.
We have looked after many clients who have used the Intralace System while they are waiting for their own hair to recover and grow back. Getting your hair back is not the most important aspect in terms of recovering from Cancer, but having hair that looks and feels like yours can certainly help.
