It is no secret that suffering from hair loss severely effects your self-esteem and mental health. From the moment you start experiencing hair loss, you begin to worry about what will follow. You begin to question; will you lose all of your hair? Will people start to think differently about you? Will you still be attractive? How do I stop hair loss? Is this change permanent?  As the questions and worries begin to flood in, so does the anxiety. First, know that it is reasonable to feel this way, but this doesn’t have to be your reality. We will explore the many reasons hair loss anxiety exists, but also offer some peace of mind. Because, the reality is, millions of people all over the world are discovering that hair loss is completely reversible, and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg (and a lot of pain!) to do so.

#1 – It’s Not Necessarily Society’s Expectations

As a society, we tend to emphasize our appearance, and we are expected to live up to often unrealistic beauty standards. So when you begin to experience balding or a receding hairline, you feel like a magnifying glass follows your every move.

However, typically you are the only one who will notice a receding hairline. Even though it feels like everyone is paying attention, they don’t. Having a full head of hair is not an absolute necessity to be attractive anymore; in fact, many have found that their partners don’t mind baldness whatsoever. Some may even prefer it.

The thing is, there is still an unspoken pressure to look a certain way, which can have dire effects on your mental health. When you don’t feel good about how you look, your confidence, and self-esteem plummet. Having a head full of hair isn’t something we desire to impress others. It’s an innate desire we have to fuel our own confidence, irrespective of the preferences of others.

The good news is that being ashamed of your balding hairline doesn’t have to be your reality. New research has found that bald men are perceived to be more confident, have better leadership skills, are thought to be more confident, and dominant. This study indicates that perceptions around baldness are changing rapidly. Now you might be wondering if the same standard extends to women as well.

While having a flowing head of hair used to be the ideal look, those trends are changing. Currently, women with bald heads have been revered as a new beauty standard. Social media has been taken by storm with women shaving their heads, and a recent article by Cosmopolitan dives into the new movement surrounding baldness in women. Women are challenging the status quo on their hair, and it impacts their self-esteem. Even if you do not want to shave your entire head, the standards around how hair influences beauty has changed.

With all this being said, why are we still finding ourselves drawn to having a head full of hair? The answer is that scientific studies aren’t addressing one core principle of what hair means to you, to me, to the individual. Let’s dig a little deeper…

#2 – Hair is Our Identity

The reality is that our hair has a significant impact on our identity. For instance, if you used to be blonde and dye your hair black- you look like an entirely new person. The same can be said when you get a dramatically different hair cut or alter your typical style. We tend to use our hair as an accessory, and the market is full of products, styling tools, and new trends to try. Both men and women have different perceptions of how they like to wear their hair, but it is an integral part of your style and personal identity either way.

Given that we put so much stock into how our hair looks, it’s no surprise that when you begin to lose your hair, you begin to question your identity.

Change is scary, and with hair loss comes to an entirely new style and look to your hair. Losing your hair is not as simple as getting a bad hair cut that grows back in a few weeks. Hair loss can feel like a permanent change, which has significant effects on your confidence and self-identity.

Have you ever seen those photos of celebrities with their eyebrows photoshopped out? It’s downright creepy, and sometimes you can’t even tell who that celebrity is.

Well, the hair on our scalp is an extension of that. And while the rest of society may not be paying attention to our receding hairlines, our brains certainly are when we look in the mirror each morning.

#3 – Losing our Hair is a Mortal Reminder

We associate thinning hair with age, and getting older is terrifying. Facing your mortality and leaving your youth behind is no easy task. It comes with its own set of anxieties, and hair loss amplifies that feeling. Hair loss begins in your twenties (sometimes even earlier) and typically does not accompany other symptoms of aging. This is your first experience with getting older and realizing that time is going by too fast.

We all have our way of dealing with aging, but it is more challenging to face hair loss. This can often be your first realization that you are growing older, and your youth is fading. While getting older is a milestone, it’s not usually one you want to reach in your twenties.

#4 – There is No (Obvious) Cure

You’re going to go bald, and you’re going to stay bald. This statement would have been true years ago. That said, the good news is that in recent years there have been several new options to restore your hair.

There are hair supplements you can try, lifestyle changes you can implement, and rapid developments in LLLT (also known as low-level laser therapy).

However, the reality is that there is no one simple answer to getting their hair back for most people. The finality of a permanent change to our appearance is scary and can increase your anxiety rapidly. This is not just a bad haircut, or a hair color fail; this is something that you might feel will never improve.

#5 – Treating Hair Loss is Embarrassing

Let’s say you do come to terms with losing your hair. Maybe you have moved past the anxiety of it, and you are ready to do something about it. Unfortunately, in our society, the pursuit of treating hair loss can be seen as insecurity. A pursuit of misguided vanity. Admitting that you want to change your appearance is considered weak and emasculating. For women, this perception is even worse.

Whether or not our culture is wrong in its harsh judgement of those pursuing self-actualization is a discussion for another time.

For now, let’s work within the confines of the reality we’re in. You might not want to have surgery or publically try to treat your hair loss. Finding treatment options that remain private is essential to mitigate the stress and anxiety of trying to regrow your hair.

So what can we do about it?

You can quickly treat your hair loss in the privacy of your own home. You can purchase hair growth supplements, make changes to your diet, and use anti-fungal shampoos. There are also several LLLT options available that are non-invasive and can be used at home. LLLT treatment uses medical-grade lasers to stimulate cells in your scalp and encourage hair growth. This method is commonly used with laser caps and is a comfortable and discreet way to restore your hair.

The best part is LLLT is backed by clinical research and does not require countless hours of treatment per day. “Controlled clinical trials demonstrated that LLLT stimulated hair growth in both men and women. Among various mechanisms, the main tool is hypothesized to be the stimulation of epidermal stem cells in the hair follicle bulge and shifting the follicles into the anagen phase.” Having anxiety about hair loss doesn’t have to be your reality. You can treat your thinning and dying hair at home gain some peace of mind in knowing that hair loss doesn’t have to be permanent.