Hair

This morning I watched a film called Grey Gardens which is about Edith Bouvier Beale (little Edie) and Edith Ewing Bouvier starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, a true story it focuses on their lives, eventually they end up living in squalor in the Hamptons, a sad story, (but the make up little Edie wears in the early years is gorgeous, I may end up having to replicate it) as little Edie gets stressed her hair starts to fall out, eventually she wears beautiful headscarves with ornate brooches to hide her hair loss.

After the film I decided to take a lovely walk in the snow to go and buy a magazine, my cornershop hardly stocks anything other than the latest issues of Now and Take a break so I was lucky enough to spot the current issue of Elle.  Upon flicking through it I came across an article on hair loss written by Ellie O'Mahoney, isn't it weird how this sort of thing happens? I don't know whether its because when something affects you, you are suddenly so super sensitive to it that you have that said subject on radar, or whether you just put it all down to coincidence. 

 

Anyway 2009 was a pretty challenging year for me, and one of the reasons was because my hair started to fall out.  I still don't really know why, but all I can say is that it was devastating and it really took over my life.  My hair has always been really thick and wavy, I'm proud to say that I loved my hair, it was my favourite feature.  I don't remember the day that is started, but I do remember the days I would stand in the shower and tearfully unravel the hair that had entwined itself around my fingers.  The thought of showering every other day filled me with dread.  I decided to ask my bf if he had noticed, and he had, I had been leaving hair calling cards all over his bed after I had stayed over.  No one could tell me why it was happening, not even my GP who said that there was nothing they could do.  So I decided that the best thing I could do was cut it off, make the most of what I had left.  I decided to cut it to just above shoulder length,  eventually the hair loss caught up again so I went even shorter.  I kept being told the more you think about it the worst it will probably get, but it was all I could think of, of course it was.  Everywhere I looked people had glossy, long flowing hair and mine was just hanging there getting thinner by the minute. 

Just after Christmas my hair had grown into a short bob, and it still didn't feel like my hair, so I decided to get it cut even shorter and I will keep getting it cut until it feels like my hair.  I don't know how long it will take but I am now lucky enough that it is no longer falling out, so I am not thinking about it 24/7.  My hair loss was probably at the lower end of the spectrum, and also not permanent but it affected me enough that I think it will always be in the back of mind, just in case it happens again.  I hope you don't think that I have gone all cry baby on you, but according to the article in Elle it's actually quite a common problem, just no one talks about it, so I thought I would.