Growing Up with Trichotillomania

by Oscar Camargo | Jun 25, 2024 | Episode

Episode 18

Growing Up with Trichotillomania

trichotillomania-solution-Heather-Brooke-018-blog

This week, I’m bringing back the amazing story of Heather Brooke, a beauty pageant winner, licensed counselor, and author of the children’s book, “Where Is My Hair? A Trichotillomania Story for Children”. Heather grew up with trichotillomania and now she treats patients who are dealing with this disorder. In this episode from the vault, Heather talks about how she came down with this condition, how it impacted her throughout her life, and how she learned to cope with it.

Understanding Trichotillomania: A Lesser-Known Cause of Hair Loss

Hair loss is a common issue that many people face, but not all hair loss is the same. Trichotillomania is a lesser-known disorder that causes individuals to compulsively pull out their own hair, often as a coping mechanism to deal with trauma or extreme stress. Unlike other forms of hair loss that may be due to medical conditions, hormonal changes, or genetics, trichotillomania is sometimes rooted in psychological distress. Heather, a beauty pageant competitor and therapist, shares her personal journey with trichotillomania stemming from childhood trauma.

Finding a Solution: Heather’s Journey to Recovery

For those dealing with trichotillomania, finding an effective solution can be a long and complicated process. Heather describes her journey through different types of treatment and medication, none of which provided a complete solution for her. Her preferred approach covers her bald spots, which also helps keep her from pulling her hair out in those spots as well so they have the opportunity to heal. This option not only concealed the effects of her trichotillomania but also instilled a newfound sense of confidence in Heather. She shares that seeing a full head of hair again was a transformative experience for her.

Coping with Hair Loss: A Message of Hope

Heather’s story is a beacon of hope for others dealing with hair loss, whether due to trichotillomania or other reasons. She emphasizes that no one is alone in this struggle and encourages people to seek out solutions that work for them. As Heather has shown, solutions like hers can significantly improve one’s quality of life by restoring both hair and confidence. Her journey underscores the importance of seeking help and exploring all available options. For those feeling lost and overwhelmed, Heather’s message is clear: there is hope, and effective solutions are within reach.

Episode.18 Transcript

Heather Brooke [00:00:05]:

When I was a kid, I was probably about five years old when I started competing in pageants. But when I was around nine or ten years old, I was sexually abused by an older cousin. And it wasn’t long after that I started developing a disorder called trichotillomania. So the person who has the disorder actually pulls out their own hair. And the best way that I can describe it is as a coping mechanism for all the trauma that was going through and experiencing.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:53]:

Welcome to Hairpod, the podcast where you get to hear real people talk about their hair journeys. I’m your host, Kevin Rolston. And each week I get to interview people from different walks of life whose lives have been touched by hair loss in some form or fashion. Many of our guests have experienced hair loss themselves and found a way to get their confidence and their hair back. This week, we’re bringing back one of the first episodes we ever released. It’s a story of trauma, triumph and transformation. When we were getting ready to launch hairpod, I got to interview Heather Brooke about trichotillomania, the condition that caused her to pull out her own hair. She is a beauty pageant winner, a counselor, and the author of where is my hair? A childrens book about trichotillomania.

Kevin Rolston [00:01:39]:

Were going to cover all that and more today. But before we do, I just want to let you know that Heather does briefly mention abuse and trauma in this episode. Its not graphic, and we dont dwell on the subject, but if thats not something that you want to hear about right now, maybe save this episode for another day. Now let’s get into Heather’s story of hope after hair loss.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:06]:

Hello, Heather.

Heather Brooke [00:02:07]:

Hi. How are you?

Kevin Rolston [00:02:09]:

I am doing great. Tell me a little bit about your hair journey, because you’re started in a different place than what most people do. You were doing beauty pageants as a child and you started having hair loss issues. Why was that?

Heather Brooke [00:02:27]:

Yeah. So actually, when I was a kid, I was probably about five years old when I started competing in pageants. But when I was around nine or ten years old, I experienced some trauma. I was sexually abused by an older cousin. And it wasn’t long after that that I started developing a disorder called trichotillomania. So unlike a lot of people with hair issues, hair loss issues, theirs are usually natural or medical or something. Trichotillomania is actually a hair pulling disorder. So the person who has the disorder actually pulls out their own hair.

Heather Brooke [00:03:07]:

And the best way that I can describe it is as a coping mechanism for all the trauma that I was going through. And experiencing.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:15]:

What did that look like? How noticeable was it, and how did your parents deal with this situation?

Heather Brooke [00:03:21]:

Yeah, so my journey, it started out, it wasn’t super noticeable super quick. I could actually remember the first time that I pulled, and my trickatilla mania began with my eyelashes, not from my head. And I was in the hallway at our house, and I had an eyelash that kept poking me in the eye. And I went to a mirror in our hall and was just trying to straighten out the lash. And as I was pulling on it to try to straighten it out, it came out. And when it came out, there was, like, this release. I’m a therapist as well, and so the one thing that I can compare it to is for people who do self harming and cut, there’s that release that people do get when that happens. And that was kind of what that felt like for me when I pulled that lash on accident.

Heather Brooke [00:04:15]:

Like, that wasn’t even intentional, but that sudden, like, release that came, it was like, for a brief moment, all of the stress and anxiety that I had been holding inside was gone. But it almost creates, like, endorphins, like a high, and. But like any high, you have to continue the behavior to continue to get it. And so, for me, that started with my lashes, and it took probably months before anybody ever noticed that. When that became noticeable, I moved to my eyebrows, thinking, oh, if I pull from somewhere else, then maybe I’ll stop pulling from there. That didn’t work. So my parents thought that I was shaving my eyebrows, and it probably wasn’t until three or four years after I actually started pulling that I developed enough bald patches on my head, because at that point, I had started pulling from my head that I had developed enough bald patches that it was noticeable.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:13]:

About what age were you at this time?

Heather Brooke [00:05:16]:

13 or 14.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:18]:

And was it your parents that stepped in and said something? Did you hear anything from kids in your school? How was it that it really kind of first came to light to them?

Heather Brooke [00:05:27]:

Yeah. So my grandmother, I believe, was actually the first person who noticed. I always had really long eyelashes, and I had, like, Brooke shields eyebrows as a kid. And so when my grandmother was, like, looking at me one day and she was like, what happened to your eyelashes? And I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know why I was doing it and why I couldn’t stop. So I was just like, oh, I was trying to curl them with one of those eyelash things. So I, like, lied about what I was doing. And then when my parents, when I moved to my eyebrows, and my parents thought that I was shaving my eyebrows.

Heather Brooke [00:06:01]:

I just allowed that to continue because I didn’t know what I was doing. I felt so weird that I was doing this, and I couldn’t stop, and I didn’t know why. And so it was when I was 13 or 14, I was up really late one night watching a. It was like an infomercial or something that was on television, and it was about wigs. And as I was sitting there watching this infomercial, there was a woman on there who started talking about pulling her hair. And then she started talking about, like, these fake eyelashes and different things. But as she was talking, she said, trichotillomania. And a couple of days after that, my mom noticed a bald patch on my head in the pool.

Heather Brooke [00:06:55]:

We had been swimming, and I wore. At that point, I was wearing. I had always had super thick hair, and I think that’s one of the reasons that, other reasons that it took so long to notice that I’d always had super thick hair. And so I just got to the point where I was always wearing my hair in a ponytail. But this one specific day, she was coming out of the pool behind me, and my ponytail had moved enough that she could see the bald spot. And so when she said something to me about it, I was like, okay, I think I saw this commercial. I think this is what I have. And I told her, and she said, okay.

Heather Brooke [00:07:30]:

And so she scheduled an appointment with me to see the doctor that she worked for. And so I went in. He diagnosed me, and then he made a referral to a psychiatrist and put me on some medications, and that was kind of where the treatment for it started.

Kevin Rolston [00:07:50]:

Even though the trichotillomania was causing some ball patches on Heather’s scalp, she never let that stop her from competing in beauty pageants.

Heather Brooke [00:07:59]:

I competed off and on throughout high school, even with my trichotillomania. I competed some years with a wig, some years with glue in extensions or clip in extensions.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:14]:

In between pageants and trying to be a normal kid, Heather started to receive different treatments for trichotillomania. Trichotillomania isn’t one of those things you treat once and just move on from. It’s a chronic issue that Heather still deals with to this day.

Heather Brooke [00:08:28]:

Yeah, it was a lot. It’s still a lot because it’s still something that I struggle with because there’s so little research done on trichotillomania. So there’s still a lot to be learned about it. And I’ve actually been part of a couple of different studies that are looking at how genetics can be involved, how mental, other mental health issues can play into it, but there’s just so little known about it. So when I was diagnosed, I was put on an antidepressant. That didn’t help, just made me sick. Then there was points where when I was real under really high levels of stress, I would pull more. There would be times where I would pull subconsciously or unconsciously, like I would be pulling and not even be aware until after I had already been doing it, that I had done it.

Heather Brooke [00:09:13]:

Sometimes it was conscious, so there was a mixture of those, but I tried everything that I could to hide it. By the time I was a junior in high school, I was almost completely bald. I had to wear a wig. I’m wearing a wig in my senior pictures. But by the Christmas of my senior year, I was able to let my hair grow out enough that I had this short, cute pixie cut. And it’s been more manageable since that point. I still struggle with it. It’s still something I struggle with on a daily basis, but, and I’ve tried covering it up, like I said, with ponytails, doing ponytails, doing wigs, wearing extensions, all different kinds of things.

Heather Brooke [00:09:54]:

And when I got ready to compete for Miss woman Colorado, United States, I was looking for alternatives to help hide some of the spots that I had at the time. And I found hair club, and hair club was actually one of my sponsors. And so that’s kind of helped a lot with my journey.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:11]:

Oh, wow. That’s so cool. Tell me a little bit about that. Like, how did you exactly find them? Just the name popped up and you decided to go. And how did that all come about?

Heather Brooke [00:10:21]:

Yeah, I was just googling hair salons and that did extensions and looking for sponsors, and hair club popped up. At the time, I’d only heard of hair club for men, so I thought that it was just for men. But I did a little bit of research and found out that women used hair club as well. And so I just emailed them. The manager at the Denver location messaged me back, emailed me back, and we set up an appointment. I went in for a consultation, and then the next thing I knew, I was a hair club client, and they were one of my pageant sponsors. And it was awesome because once I won the pageant, right, I was going to compete for Miss woman Colorado. Whenever I got hair club as a sponsor.

Heather Brooke [00:11:12]:

And when I actually won the title for the state, I jokingly with my stylist, was like, I wish I could take you with me to nationals for you to do my hair at nationals. And so they were like, yeah, we’ll send her out there with you. So they actually sent her to Florida with me for nationals, and she did my hair for the competition.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:40]:

Now, tell me, with the x strands, how does that work with your trichotillomania that you still are trying to recover from? Do you pull out the x strands? Is there a desire to do that?

Heather Brooke [00:11:50]:

Yeah. No, actually, it’s really interesting because I have what I call trigger spots. So there’s specific areas that when I’m stressed or bored or not even paying attention that I pull from. And so what extras does is it covers the areas that are lacking hair, and then my own hair is still used in addition to that. So all of the edges I pull from the sides and the crown of my head, so all of the edges are my. Is my hair, and just the crown and the sides is a system that is glued to my scalp. And so I shave underneath the system so that the system, it fits snug on my scalp. That’s just a personal preference.

Heather Brooke [00:12:36]:

Some people don’t do that, but I choose to do that. But it covers those trigger spots for me, so I don’t typically have the desire to pull anymore.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:47]:

How about that? And tell me, how do you feel with your system on? When you look in the mirror and you see that you’ve got a full head of hair and you don’t have those, you know, bald spots that you had had before, what is that like for you?

Heather Brooke [00:13:01]:

Oh, it’s amazing. Like, I wanted to cry when I saw myself in the mirror for the first time when they did the reveal, because it had been so long since I had seen myself with a full head of hair. Right. So when I look at myself, like, I don’t see the clips from the extensions, and I don’t see, it’s really hard to tell where your hairline is at and where the extras is at. And so it just gives me so much confidence to know that I can do whatever I want to with it. If I want to curl it, I can curl it. If I want to straighten it, I can straighten it. If I want to cut it, dye it, like, whatever I want to do to it.

Heather Brooke [00:13:41]:

I have those options again. And I’m not just stuck with, like, one hairstyle or fixing it just a certain way because I have to worry about hiding the clips or the different things from the extensions. And so it’s just, it really gave me back a lot of my confidence.

Kevin Rolston [00:14:10]:

Listening to Heather today, its hard to imagine her lifelong battle with trichotillomania stemming from childhood trauma. Now, as a licensed professional counselor, Heather commits herself to assisting those grappling with mental health challenges. She’s even authored a children’s book on trichotillomania to help young clients facing the same struggle.

Heather Brooke [00:14:31]:

Yeah, so I wrote where’s my hair? A trichotillomania story for children in 2018. And I actually, I wrote it because where I was living at at the time, people got to know me as a therapist who worked with people with trichotillomania because of my own personal experience. And so I would get a lot of kids. And so I had this girl, young girl, come in. She was 13 or 14, and she was on the autism spectrum, and she was non verbal, and she started pulling her hair, and her stepmom brought her in to me, and she said, her occupational therapist says that she has trichotillomania. And she started giving me all of this information that the OT had given her about trichotillomania. And I looked at her, and I was like, the only thing that’s accurate about any of that is the name of the disorder. And so I use with kids a lot books to help them understand what they’re going through, what they’re experiencing, that they’re not alone.

Heather Brooke [00:15:36]:

And so I went online and started looking for a book that I could share with her in session, and I couldn’t find anything. There was stuff for professionals, there was stuff for adults, there was stuff for parents, but there was nothing specifically for children. So I sat down and wrote my book loosely based off of my own personal experience. And then I sent it to my mom and was like, I’m gonna write a book. I’m writing this children’s book. Here it is. And my mom likes to draw, and so I was like, will you illustrate it for me? So my mom got grabbed some pictures of my oldest daughter and some friends, and she sat down and she. She illustrated the stories for the story for me.

Kevin Rolston [00:16:22]:

Wow, that is so cool. What a great full circle story that you have to share with so many people. What an inspiration. And I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us if you had to talk to any other women out there, for whatever reason, because hair loss, you know, your story is unique. I don’t know how many other people are going to say that they have what you do, but hair loss is something that so many men, and believe it or not, so many women are going through, and it’s hard to probably hear from another woman that’s got hair loss and is open about it. What would you say to them if they just feel kind of lost and they’re listening to this conversation saying, okay, what are my next steps? What do I do? How should I feel about this?

Heather Brooke [00:17:02]:

Yeah, I would definitely say that you are not alone. First of all, we all experience hair loss in some form or fashion and are going to at some point, whether it’s from hormone issues, medical issues, mental health issues, medications, all of these different things that we experience and deal with in life can create hair loss at some point. Doesn’t mean that you won’t get it back, but you know that. But we all struggle with something. And so the first thing would be that you’re not alone. The second thing would be that there is options, you know, and whether that is, you know, a treatment that hair club has that will help your hair regrow or you’re doing something like I am with, like, xtrands. Plus, there are options out there, and you just have to seek them out.

Kevin Rolston [00:18:09]:

We want to thank Heather for appearing on the show. It was great to talk to her about her resilience, despite the struggles she faced and how she transformed a painful past into a commitment to helping kids who are going through their own difficult journeys with mental and emotional health. We find her so inspiring, and we hope you do, too. If you know somebody who is currently dealing with trichotillomania or has a child with this condition and you’d like to pick up a copy of Heather’s book, we have a link to where is my hair? A trichotillomania story for children in our show notes. Thanks for listening to another episode of Hairpot. Check us out at Hair Club on Instagram or search Hairpot on Facebook to continue the conversation. If you know somebody who could benefit from hearing this episode, we would love it if youd share it with them. If youre enjoying the show, consider leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

Kevin Rolston [00:19:01]:

We also have a website. Check it out by going to podcast dot hairclub.com. were here to build people up and share real stories so people experiencing hair loss feel a little bit less alone. And when you share, review, and subscribe, it helps us do just that. So thank you. Until next time.

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Women’s Hormonal Hair Loss & What to Do

by wendy chen | Jun 18, 2024 | Episode

Episode 17

Hormonal Hair Loss

On this episode of HairPod, we dive into the compelling narrative of Lisette Davila’s experience with hair loss treatments and hormone replacement therapy. Hair loss can happen for a wealth of reasons, but in Lisette’s case, the cause was a hormonal imbalance. It took years for her to pinpoint this, though looking back, there were many symptoms to suggest hormones were a culprit. Discover her challenges, the stigma she encountered, and the hope she found through her courageous pursuit of answers and solutions.

Confronting the Stigma: Hair Loss Treatments For Women

Lisette recounts the gradual onset of her hair loss, once boasting thick, spiral curls she was proud of. The subtle thinning eventually became an undeniable reality, which of course, prompted a cascade of self-consciousness and anxiety. She didn’t know why she was losing her hair. Because of the stigma around female hair loss, she was left feeling isolated, confused, and frustrated. Lisette shares that she even received unsolicited comments from coworkers and friends that magnified her insecurities.

Hormone Replacement Therapy and Female Hair Loss Solutions

Lisette shares her experience with hormone replacement therapy. She had a hysterectomy in her early 30s, which coincided with the onset of her hair loss, but Lisette was initially unaware of the potential connection. Her doctor confirmed that hormonal imbalances could very well be contributing to her condition. Lisette noticed significant improvements in her overall well-being within just two weeks of beginning her therapy. It addressed various symptoms associated with hormonal changes, including fatigue, insomnia, and issues with the skin and nails. However, Lisette’s hair loss persisted, prompting her to explore additional solutions such as HairClub’s offerings. She shares her experience with HairClub and the Trichoview hair analysis system.

Health, Hope & Hair Restoration

Lisette emerged from her journey with renewed confidence. She extends a message of resilience and empowerment to others facing similar struggles. She encourages listeners to seek out professional guidance, see a hair specialist to help identify a suitable hair loss solution and a doctor to rule out any underlying health concerns. Lisette highlights the importance of having a plan and a community. Whether it’s hormone therapy, hair loss therapy, or some other balding solution, the right option is out there.

Episode.17 Transcript

Lisette Davila [00:00:04]:

So I went in, and I was so nervous. I didn’t know what to expect when I went into this meeting with her. And when I came out, I was crying because it was tears of joy, because I felt, finally, somebody hears me, they get it. They know what’s going on, and they think they can fix it. I’ve never had anybody say they can. You know, they have a solution for this problem that I’m dealing with. And we put money in and invest in a home or a car or even a career. But now it’s like I need to invest in myself because it’s my health.

Lisette Davila [00:00:39]:

It’s part of my health.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:54]:

Welcome to HairPod, the podcast where you get to hear real people talk about their hair journeys. I’m your host, Kevin Ralston. And each week, I get to interview people from different walks of life whose lives have been touched by hair loss in some form or fashion. Many of our guests have experienced hair loss themselves and found a way to get their confidence and their hair back. Hair loss can happen for many reasons, and in this episode, I spoke with Lisette Devila about her experience with hormonal hair loss. Hair loss in women is perceived very differently than it is in mental, and it’s not uncommon for a woman who is going through it to suffer the physical, social, and emotional effects in silence. Like many experiencing hair loss, it came as a shock and a blow to Lisette’s self-esteem. She once was a social butterfly, but when she began to lose her hair, she became self-conscious and retreated into her shell.

Lisette Davila [00:01:51]:

I used to have, like, really thick, curly hair, super curly, like, spiral curls, and it was really thick. I used to let it just go natural. I didn’t have to fuss with it too much and started noticing probably in my early thirties when my hair started thinning out in the top part, where I started seeing my scalp through my curls. I remember fixing my hair one day, getting ready for work, and the light in the bathroom just above the mirror was shining on my head. Like, I can actually see the reflection of my scalp. And I was like, what is that? And I’m looking in the mirror as I’m, you know, playing with my curls, and I noticed it was thinning just a little bit here at the top. And so when the light would hit it, I would see my scalp shining off. And I thought, wow, that’s new.

Lisette Davila [00:02:47]:

That’s different. Am I losing my hair like I thought I was, you know, way too young? I’m, you know, still in my early thirties, and that’s unheard of. You know, my mom and my dad both had their hair, and, you know, I didn’t think that that was normal, especially for me, because I’ve never experienced anything like that. So, yeah, I remember, you know, doing my hair up and noticing my scalp in the mirror. And from there on, people started bringing it up to my attention as if I didn’t know it was going on, you know? Yeah, I had co workers, you know, mentioning it, and some family members that did not hold back, you know, they were like, oh, are you losing your hair? Are you going bald? I’m like, what? You know, I felt so mortified. I felt so embarrassed. And that’s when the stigma started for me.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:42]:

Well, yeah, I could see why that is. It’s unbelievable what some people will go out and say to other people. That’s completely unreal. So it doesn’t sound like for you, you were that self conscious about it until it was really brought up to your attention.

Lisette Davila [00:03:56]:

Right. Because I thought I was able to hide it well, you know, because it wasn’t that bad in the beginning. And so I thought, I’ll just tease my hair here, you know, style it in a way where it’ll look more full and you can’t see my scalp as bad. But when people would bring it up to me on a, it started getting, like, daily. People that I would work with or friends, you know, people that were close to me were bringing it up daily. Whenever they would see me, there was always a comment at least once a day that people were noticing that my hair was thinning because I’ve always had such thick, curly hair where you didn’t see scalp, you know, unless you parted it. And even then it was a really thin part. So I was having trouble parting my hair at that point because the part was growing.

Lisette Davila [00:04:45]:

It was getting bigger.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:47]:

Yeah. So you, do you find yourself styling your hair in a different way then? Were you styling your hair in a different way?

Lisette Davila [00:04:54]:

Yeah. So I started styling my hair, like, parting it on the opposite side that I would normally do, or I would, like, brush my hair all the way back. You know, I would tease it and brush it back and just so you couldn’t see a part at all. But it was. It was starting to get to the point where it was getting very noticeable, like it needed to be addressed.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:16]:

How much time are we talking from when you first noticed that reflection going on in the mirror to when you were able to say, okay, I’m getting these comments on a daily basis. What is the timeframe we’re talking about here?

Lisette Davila [00:05:28]:

I would say probably about five years. I was dealing with it for about five years. Yeah.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:39]:

Like so many of us who experience hair loss, the early part of the journey can be the most challenging. Its all the more so when you dont have a clue as to why the hair loss is even happening. When youre young and healthy, its the last thing you thought youd be dealing with. Of course, hair loss is sometimes more predictable due to genetics or health conditions. Lisette, on the other hand, was caught completely off guard, and it was taking a toll on her emotions and her confidence.

Lisette Davila [00:06:07]:

I thought maybe it was just stress from, you know, like, everyday life and, you know, work, things like that. So I thought, well, this should probably be an easy fix because nobody in my family is suffering from this, you know, neither on my dad’s side or my mom’s side. So, you know, maybe I’ll just try some vitamins or some kind of, you know, supplements. Maybe I’m lacking in that. And I was trying different supplements, and it wasn’t getting any better. It was actually getting worse. And I remember my mom trying to bring, like, this old, traditional, latino, like, cure for it, which was just some kind of, like, liquid serum that you massage into your scalp. And it’s something that’s gone way back into, like, I don’t know, like, maybe the forties or fifties or something like that where men used to use it.

Lisette Davila [00:06:58]:

And she would tell me, use this. This is going to work for you if it works for me. This is how my hair is so thick. I thought, okay, well, if it works for her, it’s got to work for me. And I’m pouring the whole bottle in there, and I’m massaging and teasing and taking the vitamins and doing all the things, and it wasn’t working. Then I started getting really nervous, you know, I just started getting, like, you know, okay, there’s something seriously happening here that I need to address. Like, nothing seems to be working for me. I was at home one day, and I came across a hair club infomercial.

Lisette Davila [00:07:37]:

And that’s when I thought, man, is this like an omen? Because I’ve always watched these infomercials since I was a kid, you know, and it was always a man. It was hairclub for men at that time. And now it was just like, hair club, right? So I thought, maybe this is a sign. Maybe I need to call hair club and see if they can help me. And I was hesitant, you know, but I had it on the back of my brain, like, let me just keep trying other things and seeing if that will help. And use hair clip as a last resort. Right. So that was in the back of my head, but, you know, no pun intended.

Lisette Davila [00:08:18]:

My head just kept, you know, it just, I kept seeing my scalp growing. Like, my hair’s thinning out and my scalp is being really exposed. And I finally said, you know, what? What the heck? Let me just give them a call. It says it’s a free consultation. What else do I have to lose here at this point? And that’s when I finally made that call. And this was probably about five years after I first saw my hair thinning out.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:48]:

Yeah, it does take a while. It’s an odd thing. I think, that we want to try everything first. We want to be able to solve it on our own. And it’s an unknown, and that’s kind of a scary thing. And for women, too, it’s a stigma that’s out there that I think a lot of people thought, oh, well, losing hair is something that just happens to men. But the numbers on female hair loss, it’s staggeringly higher than you would ever suspect. And I feel like sometimes women may not have the same kind of community or feel like they have a place to connect.

Kevin Rolston [00:09:18]:

Were you able to talk with friends? Were you able to find somebody that could relate to your situation, that could give you some good advice and point you in the right direction?

Lisette Davila [00:09:27]:

No, I didn’t actually. There was no one. You know, I’m in my thirties, and all my friends are, you know, with their thick, full, lush hair, and I’m going thin and starting to feel like, you know, I’m getting, like, old. Like, am I getting old? Like, you know, what’s going on with me? It was getting to the point where I felt like a recluse. I didn’t want to go out and socialize with people because I was so embarrassed. I was ashamed, and I didn’t have anyone I can turn to that was a female that suffered or is suffering the same situation that I was.

Kevin Rolston [00:10:12]:

Unfortunately, I’m sure many listeners can relate to the difficult emotions that come with losing your hair. And as Lisette pointed out, hair loss for women comes with a social stigma that only makes an already scary situation so much worse. When you combine a lack of community, a lack of guidance, and the confusion of not knowing the underlying cause, its easy to see why isolation happens as it did in this case. And even when you make that leap and decide to address the issue, it can take a while to find the answers youre looking for. As Lisette continued to look for the cause of her hair loss, she was able to start piecing together what was really going on.

Lisette Davila [00:10:57]:

I had a hysterectomy. I was very young. I was in my thirties. I was like, 32, 33, somewhere around there when I had it. And it was after, when I started noticing the hair loss. Right. I didn’t put the two together for a while. I didn’t think that having that surgery was going to cause my hair loss.

Lisette Davila [00:11:20]:

And again, I didn’t have any, you know, females to turn to that were going through my same situation to advise me or tell me that, oh, it could possibly be that. Until I turned to my doctor and said, you know, I had this surgery, and since then I’ve noticed my hair thinning. Could the two be related?

Kevin Rolston [00:11:43]:

Oh, okay. So the hysterectomy happens well before the hair loss.

Lisette Davila [00:11:49]:

Right? So it was something that, like, maybe took some time after, like, after my recovery to the point where I didn’t even put the two together. So, yeah, I approached my doctor about it. She told me that is definitely a possibility that that could happen because of the change in hormones or loss of hormones.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:10]:

Oh, wow. Okay. So I’m wondering, when you get something like a hysterectomy, you’re losing your hair. Did you have other symptoms? Were there other things that were happening with your body at the same time that you were noticing?

Lisette Davila [00:12:22]:

Well, yeah, you know, you get, like, dry skin, and it’s mostly, like, stuff to do with your hair, skin and nails, actually. I mean, we. Okay, we all hear and know about changes, mood swings and whatever have you. But nobody really talked about the hair or the skin and the nails, which is all the same kind of organ. Right? Right.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:44]:

Yep.

Lisette Davila [00:12:45]:

So that is something that I had to do a lot of research on my own because at the time, there wasn’t a lot of information out there about it. I was online all the time looking up, you know, hair loss and hormones or the loss of hormones after hysterectomy. And so with that being said, I had found for my situation was hormone replacement therapy. And that’s something that a lot of women are doing today. And that has actually helped me with a lot of other issues that I was dealing with after my surgery. So that is a huge help for women who are dealing with hormones, whether it be, you know, if they had to have a hysterectomy or if they have a thyroid condition, which can also wreak havoc on your hair, too. Just going to your physician and getting some blood tests done it’s as simple as getting some blood tests done to see where your hormone levels are at and then work with your doctor to see where you can get them back on course.

Kevin Rolston [00:13:51]:

Talking to a doctor and a hair specialist is so important. I appreciate Lisette’s insight on signs to look out for. It’s also a good reminder that hair loss can be a sign of underlying health issues and is not something we should ignore, even though it can be hard to confront. Lisette shares more about her experience with hormone replacement therapy and what a dramatic difference it made for her.

Lisette Davila [00:14:20]:

I noticed within two weeks I started feeling better. I was really tired and sluggish, and I didn’t. Again, I’m not connecting all these symptoms with the fact that I had this hysterectomy. So feeling really sluggish, not having as much energy as I once did. And at the time, my kids were, you know, I have two children and they were young and I had to keep up with them in a full time career. And I was struggling with all of that with sleeping. You know, I ended up having insomnia and the hair loss was just getting out of control. So when I started my hormone therapy with my doctor, it took about two weeks for me to notice all those things started balancing and I was able to sleep better again.

Lisette Davila [00:15:08]:

And all the other things that I was suffering from started, you know, balancing out, and I was starting to feel back to normal, but I was still dealing with some thinning hair.

Kevin Rolston [00:15:19]:

Okay. Yeah, that was my next question. I was just curious what that did with the hair loss. So thats still an issue for you. So where did you go after you realized, okay, ive fixed some of the problems that I have with the hormone replacement therapy. What was left to fix? And then what did you do to fix those issues?

Lisette Davila [00:15:37]:

Yeah. So with the hair loss, like everything else, I was feeling pretty good. But im fixing my hair still for, you know, to get on with my day. And I’m noticing I’m having to tease it and do other things with it a little bit more than I had in the past. And I was very frustrated because now it’s taking me a longer time to get ready for something that was so simple as to just, you know, getting my day started. So that’s when I decided that moment when I saw the hair club commercial a few years, a couple of years before and put in the back burner, that’s when I said, okay, I’ve tried everything. I’ve tried everything. I’ve even gone to my doctor and we had a game plan, and it fixed some things, but not all right.

Lisette Davila [00:16:20]:

That’s when I picked up the phone and I called hair club and had that consultation done. It was a no brainer for me. After sitting down and having the conversation with the hair club specialist, she was able to pinpoint what was going on with my scalp because that was not a thing that I was looking into. I wasn’t really like, is it a scalp issue now? Because I, you know, you don’t think about scalp care too much, right? At least back then, there wasn’t a lot of talk about that either. So when I went in, she, you know, was able to do the Trico view, which is the little, like a microscopic, you know, exam where they put the tool on your scalp and you could see it on a big monitor. And I saw a lot of, like, my follicles. I saw a lot of them were gone. I was like, oh, my gosh.

Lisette Davila [00:17:14]:

And a lot of spacing in between. And as I’m looking at it, shocked that I’m emotional. She was so relaxed and calm, and it was actually calming for me because she. She. Obviously, this is what she does. She’s the expert. She’s like, you know, this is normal like this. I see this all the time.

Lisette Davila [00:17:36]:

We can fix this. And she actually, you know, explains, you know, the hair loss to me and what the treatment would be at that moment. It was like, under an hour. So I went in, and I was so nervous about. I didn’t know what to expect when I went into this meeting with her. And when I came out, I was crying because it was tears of joy, because I felt, finally, somebody hears me, they get it. They know what’s going on, and they say they can fix it. I’ve never had anybody say they can.

Lisette Davila [00:18:10]:

You know, they have a solution for this problem that I’m dealing with. And it was actually instantaneously for me, like, psychologically, I just felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. We put money in and invest in a home or a car or even a career, but now it’s like, I need to invest in myself because it’s my health. It’s part of my health.

Kevin Rolston [00:18:39]:

The stress that comes with hair loss can be a huge burden, and that’s because it’s more than just your appearance. It’s your mental and physical health. For so many of us, hair is tied to our identity. It can be such a relief to finally get answers and maybe more importantly, to have a plan and a community. Also, we learned from talking to Lisette hair loss can be an indicator of a hormone imbalance or other unseen health issues. So if you’re dealing with hair loss, it might be a good idea to reach out to a specialist so you can learn the root cause. I hope you find Lisette’s experience as enlightening as I did. If you enjoyed the show and are looking for more stories on hair loss from people who have been through it or experts in the field, subscribe to the show and be sure to check out the show notes for more resources.

Kevin Rolston [00:19:31]:

Thanks for listening to another episode of Hairpod. Check us out at Hair Club on Instagram or search Hairpod on Facebook to continue the conversation. If you know someone who could benefit from hearing this episode, we would love it if you’d share it with them. If you’re enjoying the show, consider leaving us a rating and review on Apple podcasts or your favorite podcast app. We also have a website, check it out by going to podcast dot hairclub.com. we’re here to build people up and share real stories so people experiencing hair loss feel a little bit less alone. And when you share, review and subscribe, it helps us do just that. So thank you.

Kevin Rolston [00:20:09]:

Until next time.

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