Inspirations and Reflections: Learning From Each Other

I recently went to visit my hairdresser. No big deal I hear you say and normally I would agree. I have quite short hair and was just going for a regular haircut – or so I thought!

My hairdresser took a lot of time checking out how the last cut had turned out; what had worked and what hadn’t. She made the comment that it was very important to her that she understood the hair that she was cutting. She said that she had to take her time to learn to ‘speak’ to my hair so that she understood the best way to cut it so as to create the style we had agreed upon.

I suggested that there was another way to look at it; that if she was prepared to let my hair guide her hands so that she knew what, where and how much to cut, she would have all the support she needed and the end result would be amazing.

My Experience with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Hair Loss and Wig Shopping

by Linda, Brisbane, Australia

After reading Rachel Mascord’s inspirational post, LOVE – falling in love with my own hair, I felt to write about my own experience.

I lost most of my hair several years ago with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and Androgenic Alopecia. PCOS is a complex hormone disorder that may be defined by symptoms such as irregular or absent periods, acne, hair loss, hirsutism, insulin resistance (diabetes) and fertility issues. Women diagnosed with PCOS can present with a unique combination of symptoms at varying levels of severity.

LOVE – Falling in Love with My own Hair

by Rachel Mascord, Australia

Make-over aged 15

The first time I coloured my hair, I was fifteen years of age. It was in no way a gesture of teenage rebellion as my Mum took me to get it done. My naturally blonde hair had darkened to a colour that she called “mousey”. What an awful description for a colour! It was a word that said “drab”, “dull” and “plain”. In my desperation to be anything other than “drab, dull and plain” I readily agreed to the process, having recently been dismayed by my appearance in my Year 10 school photo. I thought myself too ugly for words. My hair was the focus of critical attention, and so willingly I surrendered to the offer for transformation via a hair makeover!

Hooked Transformation ­– from mousey to blond

So I was introduced to the wonderful world of hair colouring, and the medieval torture implement known as the streaking cap. For those who are unfamiliar with this device, it is a thick rubber cap that is pulled down over your head. You feel like every hair is being pulled out… slowly. It clenches on to your head for the entire period of the colouring process… about 40 minutes (feels like 4 hours). To add insult to injury, a fine crochet hook is used to gouge into the scalp to fish out strands of hair for bleaching. You sit, coated in blue peroxide, looking like a reject alien extra for Star Wars, but the result is a lovely, natural blonde effect.

That first appointment had me hooked. The pain and suffering were forgotten when my hair was revealed, all gleaming, blow-dried and sparkling. Ah! I was beautiful, blonde, not mousey, not drab and plain. Mum was delighted too, for her blonde daughter had been restored!

My mum’s relationship with her own hair was nothing short of tortured. She deeply hated her hair, was always dissatisfied with the colour, and I never recall her being happy with a cut. There was always something wrong, and she was always wishing her hair were different… straighter, blonder…. something else. She would tear the brush through her hair in self-loathing and fury, and it was truly awful to witness. I could never understand her self-hatred: why did she not just look in the mirror and see how lovely she was? She was a stunningly beautiful woman, but all she saw was hair that didn’t fit her picture of how hair should be.

Me and My Hair

by Shevon Simon, London, England

As I sit here twisting my hair I keep having thoughts of how beautiful it is and how beautiful I am.

What a turnaround!

The changes both in and towards myself began to occur three years ago, when I started regular sessions with an Esoteric Healing Practitioner in London. At this time my hair was at its worst. It was in its natural state as I had stopped all the pressing, chemical relaxing and even blow drying which had started at least 7-10 years earlier. However, my hair was still thinning and falling out. The purpose of having these healing sessions wasn’t to do with my hair at all, and in fact ‘my hair state’ was only ever mentioned once. The reason I chose to have these sessions was to feel better in my body, since at the time I was living with an enormous amount of emotional pain and stress. Slowly, slowly as I began to make changes in my life, and lifestyle, I turned my attention to my hair. I began by buying quality products, noticing the effects that such products had upon my hair, and also seeking professional help from a Trichologist. This all helped me to understand my hair, and what it needed to help repair it.

My Haircut – My masterpiece!

by Sally Scott, Perth, Australia

Getting a haircut is something that we all do – whether it be in a professional salon, visiting someone who works from home, having it done by a family member or friend, or maybe even doing it yourself. We all experience it.

For me, hairdressing salons have always been confronting I have been to small ones, large ones, cheaper ones, very expensive ones, trendy ones and those set up from home. In the past I have found them so intimidating: walking into a space with what I perceived to be lots of beautiful people walking around wearing amazing clothes and parading some very funky hair-dos. There is, of course, generally some sort of music being played, and then to top it all off, you take a seat in front of a mirror where you get to look at yourself and wait until the hairdresser is ready for you.