Hair-raising Tales for Women Over 50
Women over 50 often experience thinning hair. This can be caused by hormonal changes such as decreasing estrogen, increased sensitivity to testerone, or low thyroid. Sometimes it’s just hereditary. I did experience hair thinning a few years back, and since I’ve always had somewhat thin, very fine hair, I’ve been dealing with this problem for at least 50 years now. I therefore consider myself an expert on this subject, and will now tell you all my secrets.
First, after my hair had thinned to the point where styling it was a huge chore (I had to carefully arrange each strand so as to not have scalp showing), I decided to try Rogaine™ - the generic form is minoxidil. I’ve used it now for at least three years, and I estimate it has increased my hair volume by about 20%. This is a great result, it makes all the difference. I recommend it for anyone, it works for at least 60% of women. I’m also amazed at how many hairdressers don’t know anything about it, or are misinformed (one of them told me, “You must use it twice a day, every day, and if skip it even once, all your progress is down the drain.” WRONG!)
Minoxidil for men and women. Find the best internet prices at
OnlyHairLoss.com.
Here’s the straight scoop. Minoxidil is a clear liquid, you do need to apply it to your scalp twice a day for at least the first year. If you forget or skip a time or two, it’s no big deal. To give it an honest try, you’ll need to commit to following the procedure for at least four months to judge if it will or will not work for you. So, to start, buy one bottle of Rogaine™ and 3-4 bottles of the less-expensive, generic minoxidil. The reason for this is that Rogaine™ includes a couple different applicator types in their package, including a spray nozzle that I prefer. The generic brands just give you a dropper. But, the bottles are all the same size, so you can use the spray nozzle on the generic bottle. Keep the original cap, I’ll tell you why later.
Apply the minoxidil once in the morning and once early in the evening if possible. You want to be sure it is thoroughly dry and absorbed before you go to bed, so it doesn’t get on the pillowcase. Otherwise you might get fuzzy facial hair – yikes! If that happens, shave or wax it off, and get a prescription for Vaniqa™. But that’s expensive, so just be careful and you should be ok. The reason you need to give it a four-month trial is that minoxidil works by stimulating the dormant follicles to wake up faster, and to start producing a hair that may be slightly thicker. It cannot have any effect on hairs that are already growing. Obviously, this is not an overnight process. After four months you should at least be able to detect some new growth. Then, keep it up, twice a day for a year, after that you can slack off to once a day. You can even skip a few days, but not too often. If the minoxidil irritates your scalp, try a different brand. It’s probably not the minoxidil itself, but the other ingredients that may cause irritation.
When you travel, remove the spray nozzle or dropper, put the cap you saved back on the minoxidil bottle & put everything in a ziplock bag. You may want to tape around the cap & bottle just as a precaution.
So there you have it, I realize it sounds fairly high-maintenance, but it’s not so terrible. I’ve had high-maintenance hair all my life, so what’s a couple extra minutes a day? The results are so worth it! The generic minoxidil is $23.95 for 3 bottles, theoretically a 3-month supply. The Rogaine™ is more, probably about that much for one bottle. Be sure you get the 2% strength designed for women.
Rogaine. FDA approved to stop hair loss and regrow hair. Get it from OnlyHairLoss.com
I still have another problem, however. I’ve always had a very high, wide forehead that hasn’t changed. And I have a dark-pigmented spot on one temple. The dark spot has been biopsied a couple times (benign) and now there’s a tiny white, bald scar. I’ve tried a few different things but several months ago I discovered a product that really works for me. It’s called DermMatch™, it looks like pressed powder and comes with sponge applicators. You wet the applicator, swab it around the powder, then apply it to your scalp. They offer eight different colors, and you get a free one with each order, so you can combine colors if necessary. I just apply it along the temples hairline & scar, then blend the edges of the dark spot. You could actually use it over your entire scalp if necessary. It doesn’t seem to feel itchy or dull your hair, and you have a lot of control over the thickness. It’s only $29.95, and will last a long time. Low Price Guarantee on
Derm Match instant hair loss and thinning hair concealer at
OnlyHairLoss.com.
One other suggestion, and I must tell you I was thrilled when I read Christopher Hopkins book,
Staging Your Comeback: A Complete Beauty Revival for Women Over 45
(
see article in June issue) – he agrees with everything I’ve said so far, and what I’m about to tell you; that is layers don’t add volume! Here’s what Christopher says about that: “Layers will not stand up on their own on fine hair. Back-combing will add height. Layers will add layers.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve let a hairdresser talk me into layers (“Oh, there’s a new method I learned at the show, it really adds volume” – ha!), only to regret it later. I’d finally decided to just say NO when I read Christopher’s book. He does go into a detailed explanation about it on another page, that you don’t see what the model’s hair looks like the day after the show, when everything has collapsed! This man truly understands hair, he has a section on curly hair as well. And he delves into the other aspects of hair such as length, hairstyles for women over 50, color, maintenance, and so on. If you have any hair issues at all, I highly recommend his book.
E-mail this article to a friend
