HELP! I"M LOSING MY HAIR!

I have long hair and worry that it's going to clog up our drains (costing me mucho money in plumbing repairs!) if I don't catch it and take it out of the shower with me - well, not actually the moment I step out, but stuck to the wall in a pile that I try to remember to retrieve and throw away, because when I forget it's a really gross sight the next day... And since I have 3 daughters, all with hair also (yes!), our drains would really be challenged if we weren't all (forceably) trained in the Mom System Of Hair Etiquette When In The Shower And Not Paying The Repair Bills process.

As I'm looking at this pile of hair every day - and because it's long, it always looks like more than it probably really is - I start to think of losing my lovely locks as I age... So I inquire and find out that in the hair cycle (sprouting, growing, resting, falling out, repeat) it's typical to lose a good 70-100 hairs a day - which sounds like a lot, but actually isn't many in the scheme of your forest of thousands of hairs (I hear you wondering, how many thousands? Wow, 100,000-150,000 -- so we can lose 100 hairs every day easily! Just as long as those hair follicles sprout out a replacement pronto!)

So one day my early-20s daughter yells, "Help! I'm losing my hair!" I'm calm, knowing the above stats and thinking she's exaggerating because it's long and just looks like more than it probably is, so I tell her to physically count the hairs. And since she's well-trained and has the shower hair pile thing going, she does and reports back the next day that it's 100s - well, she didn't count every hair, but after counting out 100, then eyeballing the size of the remain pile, she guessed at the quantity as LOTS, more than normal, enough over enough days to be in a panic over impending baldness, at that rate, in less than a year! So I called the doc and learned that stress can cause unusual hair loss, even stress months beforehand. Makes sense. And indeed she had gone through recent high stress, as her new beloved puppy lay on death's door for a touch-and-go week, eventually recovering. (Lactating Moms also experience high hair loss while nursing - babies=stress.)

Now we've all seen the Garnier commercials of strong hair tied to something (a car?) and holding tight! Pure trick photography......? What about those circus performers held by their hair and performing acrobats in mid-air, very real. So, Cookie, I wonder if there is a recommended hair product that actually strengthens hair roots? Thoughts?

~ Dolley





Dolley,
I don't know about losing all those hairs. Saving the hairs in order not to clog the drain, OK, but your method appears a bit bizarre, girl. Hmmm.

Well, I have to admit that I have had my concerns about losing hair especially when I learned that hair thins in texture and amount as we age. So I have been very cautious with the handling of my hair.

My entire body needs to be handled with care. . .isn't that right, Rocco? He's my cook. You should see the care Rocco exercises in the kitchen, especially when he is preparing those mouthwatering fresh strawberries he always serves for breakfast. Rocco loves long hair on older women, so pleasing my cook has many residuals. You know how hard it is to get a good cook.

I do the following:
1. Wash hair infrequently, and carefully with very little shampoo, not more than twice a week and, as you know, I exercise a lot. I use a dry shampoo only in extreme situations. Oscar Blandi dry shampoo.
2. No tieing hair back. No scrunchies, head bands, (heaven forbid, get rid of those) elastics regardless of how kind to your hair they profess to be.
3. Limit hair coloring - I try to stretch my time to every three months for highlights and a possible base touch up.
4. Use very gentle hair coloring - I like Aveda hair products for coloring and trust only my hairdresser to do the deed.
5. Use strengthening shampoos by Pantene and Aveda. (There are others.)
6. Blow dry or use any heat products no more than twice a week and when you do, use a product that protects from the heat. I like Oscar Blandi's Protein Mist for Restyling Hair. That flat iron is deadly. My rule of thumb is that anything that sizzles is not good for you. Two good examples are bacon and men. Speaking of men, try Oscar Blandi's Hair Serum. It smells like jasmine and Rocco, like most men, loves jasmine. Southern men are crazy for conferederate jasmine, you know. 7. Use strengthening styling products , Fekkai All-Day Density Styling Whip, plumps and protects each stand.

Gentle, girl. Everything needs to be handled with care now. . .brushing included. I hope you are not using one of those nasty brushes. . . boar bristle hair brushes are a must along with wide tooth combs. Who doesn't have stress? We all do. But rituals such as shampooing and pampering ourselves can certainly be stress relievers if we are able to lavish the moment.

~ Cookie