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Did you know that some 21 million women are currently experiencing hair loss?

Hair loss happens for many reasons. It may be the result of androgenic alopecia or alopecia areata. It could be caused by trichotillomania, telogen effluvium, or another autoimmune disorder. Medical treatments such as chemotherapy can lead to hair loss and it’s also a side effect of a number of pharmaceutical drugs.

Regardless of the medical reason, the experience can be difficult, I know because I have lived it. Something I have noticed, is that, much like the stages of grief, there are stages to accepting your hair loss. Where you are in your journey impacts everything from your level of happiness to your feelings of fulfillment and purpose.

3 Phases of Hair Loss Acceptance

There are 3 stages to accepting hair loss: initiation, rebirth, and resurrection. Like any heroine’s journey, the phases of acceptance begin with a struggle. That struggle strengthens the heroine in the second phase so that they’re able to realize their full potential by the last phase.

But there’s a little more nuance to it than that. Let’s find out more about what each of these phases feels like.

Initiation

Phase 1 is full of wishing, hoping, and acting like things will go back to normal. This is when you first start noticing your hair loss is more severe than just a few hairs on the shower floor and it starts to take over your thoughts. It’s usually a time filled with worry, fear, and a sense of being alone.

This is where everyone starts out and there are two important steps you can take to help you through it. The first is to connect with people going through the same experience, to combat that sense of being alone and to help support you through some of the fear.

The second step is to learn how to accept. That doesn’t mean to accept your hair loss, but you can start with learning to accept little things like the sensations in your body, a head full of thoughts, or even accepting that you can’t accept this right now. Acceptance is a skill and a journey that gets easier as we practice it, so start doing it now.

Rebirth

Phase 2 is the rebirth stage. There is a degree of acceptance about your hair loss reality and you’re starting to feel all the emotions that brings up. All the changes are too much, and it feels hard and heavy, scary and impossible. For many, this will feel like rock bottom – but this is also where you start to grow.

All of the struggles and everything you’re working through are only making you stronger. It might not feel like it, but this is preparing you to emerge into the last phase of your hair loss acceptance journey. But, in order to get there, you’re going to need to do some work.

The key in this phase is mapping your inner world and all the limiting thoughts and beliefs that comes along with. It’s only in understanding this inner world that you can begin to heal it and move into the happy, positive, care free and confident woman you were always meant to be.

Resurrection

Phase 3 is the  last phase of your hair loss acceptance journey, you’ve moved through the most difficult parts of your journey and you’re well on your way to embodying the resilience, beauty, and enlightenment that your struggle taught you. You might not know it, but your strength and wisdom can be felt when people talk to you and you’ve become a role model.

No matter where you’re at in your relationships, your work life, your spirituality, or any other facet of your life, the best thing you can do is continue to connect to your sense of purpose. Your strong sense of self confidence empowers you to explore the reason why you lost your hair and how those lessons can be shared to better yourself and your community.

Take the Quiz

Do you know where you’re currently at in terms of these phases? I’m sharing a 45-second quiz that can help you determine exactly that. Armed with that knowledge, I offer you the personalized weapons you need to move through to the final phase of your hair loss acceptance journey and step into the woman you were meant to be. Take the quiz here!