Olympic cyclist [and fellow Alopecian] Joanna Rowsell has won a gold medal!

‘Then cycling came along and I applied the same work ethic. I worked through any worries I had about my hair and I focused solely on that. It made me who I am.’

Here's a good article you should check out:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2103715/Cycling-champion-Joanna-Rowsell-Alopecia-spurred-gold-medal-success.html

I was really happy to hear about Joanna Rowsell winning the gold!  WHAT AN INSPRIATIONAL WOMAN, in so many ways.  I love this.

I bet it will help to bring more awareness and understanding to the public about Alopecia, which is great for everyone out there who's got it.

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In other news, my hair has continued to steadily thin out in front/on the crown of my head.  Still no real patches, so my fingers are crossed it'll start to slow down and grow back!  I'll take new photos to share in my next blog post.

Sometimes I think about what I'll do if I lose big patches again like before....I'd definitely shave my head.  Or shave parts of it and leave other chunks long, depending on what was gone.  And I'd dye the long parts that are left weird colors.  ala Tank Girl.  haha :)  If it happens, I think I would actually have a lot of fun with it.  But for now I am happy it's been doing so well and sticking around, and I really like the sort of flapper-ish haircut I have going on.  Goodnight!

Exclaimation Point Hairs! Stress, Emails, and Blogging

So first of all, I got my hair cut last week.  I liked it long, and had been growing it out for the last year or so since my AA had been so good and most of it has stayed filled in.  BUT!  I realized that I am a short hair girl at heart.  I like it 10x better short; it's pretty much back to how it was cut when this all started.  : )

Secondly, I QUIT MY JOB!  My last day was June 29th.  I'm starting my own small business doing freelance graphic design, as well as making art pieces to show and sell.  I'm really happy and excited!  I am confident it will be great, but along with that comes the stress.  And with the stress comes...guess what...more hair loss.  Argh!  haha it's really not bad at all, but I am noticing a steady increase in loose hair, mostly exclaimation point hairs.  I think they're coming out in front, it seems to be getting thinner (my last post shows the front area that had already been thinning some).  I'm sort of anticipating another round of patches soon, though I'm not really worried about it.  I'll go bald to follow my passion and build my own reality any day.

There are a few things that've been rolling around in my mind lately I would like to talk about:

EXCLAIMATION POINT HAIRS
I've been asked many times about what these 'exclaimation point hairs' look like, and though I think the description is quite accurate, I thought I would elaborate some.  Exclaimation point hairs don't have a bulb on the root end...the end of the hair just kind of tapers off into nothing.

Here are a couple photos I took of recently fallen hairs.  (Click on the photo to enlarge it)  It's kind of hard to see, but the last 1/8" or so has very little color, and tapers off.  I also made a simple drawing to show what I am talking about more clearly.

Most of my fallen hair lately is like this.  Weird, right?  I am so fascinated by it.

EMAILS FROM (NEW) FRIENDS + WHAT WORKS FOR THEM

I mentioned before that I have been getting emails from strangers who have come across my blog.  I've been getting more and more of these lately, and building friendships with people who are going through the same thing I am.  Being able to connect with people all over the world through the magic of the internet makes me feel much less alone.  And to have people tell me that I am an inspiration, and that they are feeling much more positive about their own struggles after talking to me is incredibly flattering, to say the least.  I can't tell you how happy I am to have an impact on people, and to have my experiences help in the way they have.  I am so grateful for all of it.

I've been asking my AA friends what they have been doing in terms of treatment, stress management etc. because I find it really interesting that the disease takes a different route for each individual, and that certain things work for some people and not for others.

A few things that have been working for them:

- B vitamins for hair, skin and nails

- Acupuncture to help keep stress in check

- Injections and topical treatment

Several people also have mentioned that once they stopped analyzing their hair loss so closely, and stopped stressing over it, they started having regrowth (like me!).  It makes me really happy to hear about their regrowth, with whatever method they have been using.  I remember how excited I was when I started seeing baby hairs coming in!

BLOGGING

I started this blog a few days after I lost my first large patches; partly to share what was going on with my family (who live across the country) and friends, but mostly for me.  I find it cathartic to write about, especially on the days when it's hard.  Luckily, the hard days are very few and far between now.  I started this for me, and quickly came to realize that it has gotten so much bigger than that.  I have a handful of followers, but so many people come across my blog, I think mostly through scouring the web for information about Alopecia.  I get a ton of views, which is really surprising!  Having people go out of their way to write and tell me that I have enabled them to gain a new perspective on their situation and that because of me they are able to "let it go, it's just hair" has had a huge impact on me.

I feel lucky that this started at a time in my life where this kind of widespread connection is so available to us.  I want to encourage anyone reading this, that if you have something in you that you want to share, blog about it.  Seriously, do it.  You never know whose life you could change, or how it could change your own.

An Update at the 2 Year Mark

This week it has been two years since my whole Alopecia adventure began...since I found the first patch of missing hair, was diagnosed with AA, and started this blog.   TWO YEARS!  How time flies!  It felt like the right time for an update.

As you can see, my hair has still been doing well!  It's getting long, and I like it.  This is the longest it has been in about 8 years, when I first cut it short in college.  As far as hair loss, it's pretty consistent as to the last time I posted.  I haven't had a full on patch in a very long time.  I do, however, have continuous thinning in different areas.  That is the norm for me these days, really not a big deal at all.

The area at the crown of my head has gotten much thinner in the last month or two.  I parted it a bit for the photo, and I really didn't realize how sparse it's gotten until I looked at the photo.  When I have my hair brushed over how I normally wear it, it's hardly noticeable.  

It does seem to be falling out more lately; I have noticed an increase in loose hairs falling on my shoulders, my shirts, my pillow and in the shower.  We'll see what happens there.  No other areas have been thinning very much at all, which is good!

There have been several times over recent months where I thought I saw a patch coming in (or out, I guess).  I generally ignore them, then a few months later see baby hairs starting to come in.  YES!  It seems that my hair has really been trying to keep up with replacing what AA has been kicking out of my scalp, haha 

The photo above on the left shows the area that had the first, large bald spot when this all started.  The "OG" patch, as I refer to it as.  The photo on the right shows that same area today.  A reader requested that I show how it has filled in, so there it is.  At first, the patch of baby hair was very fine and curly, but after a while it started growing back like normal.  It's still not quite caught up in length with the rest of my hair, but it blends in normally like it was never even gone!

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I've had a few questions from readers of my blog, as well as friends and family, which I'll take a moment to answer now.

Do the hairs that fall out have a root bulb, or do you still have 'exclamation point' hairs?

Both.  I've noticed that some of the hairs I lose nowadays have normal bulby root ends, and some of them have the tapering exclamation point ends.  Which means that in addition to my normal shedding, I am still in an ongoing process of losing hair due to Alopecia Areata.  

Another thing I have noticed, more in the last few months than before, is that not only do these hairs have ends that taper off into nothing, but the ends also lack color.  The last 1/8" - 1/4" of the root end of these hairs go from dark brown to a translucent/whitish looking color, like they are missing pigment.  Interesting!

What have you been doing to make your hair grow back?

Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  In the post I made back on March 18th, 2010, I talked about the options and my thoughts and feelings about pursuing treatment.  I decided not to do any sort of treatment at all, and have stuck to it since.  My hair started to and has continued to grow back 100% naturally and on its own.  The only thing I can really say that I did was to stop stressing over the AA and the state of my hair.  Once I did that, and started making a point to manage the stress levels in my life in general, my immune system stopped bullying my follicles so much.

Are you still worried that you might lose all your hair/ Do you still have a hard time having AA?

I won't lie, of course I worry about it a little.  The thought of suddenly and for no apparent reason being bald, partially bald or missing huge patches of hair sucks!  

With the unpredictable nature of AA, there is always a chance that it will happen again and without warning.  It could be worse the next time, I could lose all of my hair in as little as one week, I could lose one tiny patch and have nothing else happen, I could have an area get thin and just grow back with no real incident...who knows.  That is still the most frustrating part of it all, but as I've said before, I'm pretty much over it.  It's just part of my life and I don't stress about it or even think about it all that much anymore.  

If it's going to happen, it's going to happen.  Besides, I found a local store that has lots of fun colorful wigs (I saw an awesome blue bob there the other day!) you know, just in case :)

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I am really enjoying growing my hair out, even though it's thin.  I think it looks pretty good :)  

So after two years, here's to a positive outlook, supportive friends and family, and the fact that even if worse comes to worse, it is just hair.  Life has been so good to me, especially in the last few years that I have nothing to complain about at all.

Thanks so much to everyone who reads this blog.  Cheers!