Trendy Mindy Knows...: Hair....over processed...hair loss...rogaine....yay

My hair has always been a source of annoyance for me. My natural hair is wavy...brown....I think?? Being that it has not seen its true natural state since ummm 5th grade.

I have basically longer for the perfect blonde hair since 6th grade when I discovered the ole sun in. I would bleach my naturally brown hair white all summer long...then I would be so sad when summer was over and it would grow back brown. I tried several times to use the hair dryer like the sun in bottle so elegantly describes but I always send up a delightful shade of orange. This routine went on thru middle school. With my lovely fried white/orange/gross hair.

Then high school I discovered highlighting...but every single time I would get my hair done I would never be happy with the results. Too blonde, fried, too white, too much....

Then I discovered a hair stylist an hour away that could fix my hair....so my mom drove me there and he would "low light and high light" my hair. He got my hair very healthy over the course of a couple of years...I was happy for a bit.....

Then it just wasn't blonde enough for me...so I switched and went to someone new and agin the whole gross white blonde fried started again.

When I got my asthetics license and started working for a hair salon I was thrilled. I thought yay I can get the hair I want and that I did. I found wonderful stylist that made me blonde I was able to have long blonde hair just like I wanted. I got it highlighted ALOT! Every 4-5 weeks. As soon as I would see dark roots back I would go to have more highlights weaved in.

And before I knew it I was super bright blonde....almost clear blonde....again I had taken it way to far....too much...too often...

It was not good! I had way over processed hair.

Then I got pregnant...and omg how much hair I had! If you don't know...when you get pregnant the hair you normally shed doesn't fall out so you have a ton of hair! I had the thickest most awesome hair ever.....it was great! Long...thick...blonde...over processed yes...but I loved it!

Well then....the worst! The loss of hair post pardum.

About month 4 after having my daughter my hair started falling out. So all of the hair that I had gained during pregnancy was falling out and even more...it was terrible! After one month of my hair falling out...on sides of my head my full scalp was showing...about 4 inches on each side. I describe it as similar to male pattern baldness. Like an M shape where my hair line is.

There are very few photos of this because I was soo mortified....these are the only ones I could
find...and they really don't show it well....

Hair really falling out here! Balding patches starting to show.

I had bangs cut to cover the balding areas...notice the very dark roots and overly processed rest:(

I had shorter pieces cut to help cover the areas...I also completely stopped highlighting a few months after it started to fall out.

I also bought a ton of hats..

At the 6 month mark I had tried a ton of different things

1. Saw my Derm for cortisone scalp injections, once a month.

2. Biotin.

3. Viviscal.

4. Nioxin.

5. Bangs/side pieces cut to cover areas.

6. Clip in hair extensions.

7. Stopping high lighting...embracing natural ombré.

Still nothing worked!

I had serious bald patches.

At the 2-2.5 year mark...after dyeing my ends to match my roots...completely stopping the bleach addiction aka highlighting....I still had bald spots!!!

Then when I was due for a hair cut with my stylist I noticed that his bald spot in his hair had vanished!! Did he have plugs put in? Omg I had to know the secret!

He had been using a combination of rogaine, Rene Furterer , and Rene Furterer Complexe 5.

Just topical products!!

So when I left I immediately bought everything he was using and started the same regimen.

I also had an awesome conversation within the next couple of days about the importance of fat in my diet with my fav nutritionist. He told me to add more fat in the am. So I starting eating this. And using this to sauté my dinner veggies at night. I also started eating more eggs thruout the week.

AND

I started researching and had found out some great info about scalp massage and the importance of blood flow to your scalp. I started doing this every time I washed my hair. Basically with my finger tips I massaged my shampoo into my entire scalp for about 2 minutes before rinsing. Not rough...just nice and gentle.... like your giving yourself a scalp massage with shampoo. I focused on the bald sparse patches.

So with a ton of patience.... after 3-4 mths after using my new routine.....I had sooooo much more hair! My patches were filling in with tiny baby hairs. My scalp started to not show as much. It was amazing!!

Within 6 months there was a huge difference! I would say 70% of my hair was back. I cut a few more side bangs just to help cover where the new growth was coming in...but I had hair!!

Then my stylist of over 12 years stopped doing hair! Ahhh! I loved him! He and I had been through so much together...I would so miss him!

I had to find someone new...someone I trusted with my new baby hair...I wanted a new look for my new hair...something really gentle..someone that I could fully trust.

So I started researching what type of highlighting Gisele, Sarah Jessica Parker used...it was definitely not bleached...it was not foil highlights as you could not see a line of demarcation when they had their hair done...so what was it??

BALAYGE

With the balayge technique the stylist uses a sweeping motion on specific sections of hair and paints the color in a V shape down your hair shaft...thus no harsh line of demarcation. No out growth...no roots!!

So I found a new stylist that does this technique, I scheduled a consult with her, and loved her!

I told her all of my hair woes...the hair loss...the gentleness I was needing...how I didn't want to use bleach...Or look stripey...how I wanted to have beautiful golden Gisele hair.

So now with a bit of tweaking she has taken my hair to places I never knew it could go! She rocks! I love her too! I never knew I could be so lucky to find two hairstylist that I adore! And that I have a friendship with...

I am soo greatfull!!

I actually LIKE my hair!!

It is soft, healthy, blonde...but not overly...not stripey....just really pretty!!!

Thank you thank you thank you to both of my hair gurus!

This is my hair stylist info...she's the best!!

Element salon...Glenda Martin...elementsalonnashville.com