The Effects of Hair Loss on Self Confidence

How does hair loss affect self-confidence?

For decades, hair has been a symbol of gender discrimination and the formation of personality and identity. Long hair, feminine hairstyles, short hair, and simple hairstyles for men were usually associated with hair.

Most of all, hair makes us feel good about ourselves, enhances self-confidence and affirms that it is for many the crown of glory that represents youth.

Hair was usually associated with physical strength and manliness, as it was said that human virtues and many of his features are concentrated in his hair, as it is a symbol of natural instinct and physical attractiveness.

It comes to most people’s minds when thinking about hair loss that it often affects men, and they do not realize that there are millions of women who suffer from hair loss, and even baldness as well, and we can imagine the psychological impact of baldness and hair loss on the psyche of both men and women in an attempt to not show it, or even to avoid public appearances.

What does hair loss look like in your twenties?

As Laura Zenger told her story, a 26-year-old young woman, about her painful experience with hair loss and her defiance of the circumstances around her, she says that her grandfather was the first to notice patches of baldness on her head while she was playing, and realized that she had alopecia, an autoimmune disease characterized by bald spots appear on the head, eyelashes, eyebrows and all over the body.

Laura was diagnosed with alopecia areata, and that her grandfather's lookout to the first spot on her head, when she was nine, did not come out of nowhere, as he was the one who inherited the alopecia gene, who was diagnosed with it as well at the age of forty, as she says, "I can't remember that he had a tuft of hair anywhere on his body.” At that age, Laura suffered from bald spots on her scalp and using some steroid creams, the patches disappeared for 17 years, only to reappear at the age of 26.

It was not problematic at first, as soon as these spots appeared, Laura thought of treating them like before using steroid creams, but the shocking was that the spots did not vanish, but rather multiplied and increased in the area so that it became difficult to cover or hide them, and her hair was transformed within 6 months from healthy hair. And thick to completely bald hair.

Hair loss was not the only problem that Laura was suffering from, but rather the psychological impact, obsessions and anxiety. losing her hair made her always think that she had a serious illness, and by reviewing the doctors, they told her that her alopecia areata had developed from my spots to cover the entire head, which means that Her bald spots have covered her entire head.

What she was thinking at that time was that she had lost her hair forever: "Since my grandfather lived more than half his life without hair, I thought I would be bald for the rest of my life."

How do other people's looks affect self-confidence?

"When you feel that people are afraid of you, or even worried about you, that scares you!!"

Laura was unlikely to have the option of regular treatment with painful steroid injections in the head, so she decided to accept baldness, but it made her feel deeply sad and psychologically hurt. The looks and reactions of people make us feel anxious, and think, What is the problem with us?

So, after Laura lost most of her hair, despite accepting baldness, she started wearing wigs, and she went through in choosing their types from natural hair, heavy and expensive, to multi-colored synthetic hair wigs, which can be purchased as sets, and in the diversity of colors, day after day was What caught Laura's attention the most was the change in the way those around her treated her according to the color of her hair!

In the end, Laura says, "I'm really glad I have alopecia areata. Of course, I now have all of my hair (except for one eyebrow that won't grow back).

However, I'll still be grateful for that as it made me a more healthy person. I started doing yoga regularly to help relieve stress. It made me eat better and changed the type of work to be less stressful than before."

What Laura found is the importance of healthy food, getting the necessary vitamins, and avoiding stress and anxiety to stop, and she recommends all women to look for the causes of hair loss problems and seek to solve them, even if these problems are genetic and difficult to solve.

There is always something to do that can stop hair loss, to keep it, and thus to maintain self-confidence. Many great problems begin to be solved with a choice. We should not hesitate and let time pass. With regard to hair problems, we have to look at all possible solutions, and growth hair stimuli, and all supplemental treatments.