Hair and now

Four years ago, my hair began falling out…and falling…and falling. A hairdresser first noticed it in January. He said I had a bald spot the size of a five-peso coin. In the summer of that year, it got worse; when we’d sweep the floor of the house, we’d find two types of clumps: My dog Freeway’s (whose shedding during the hot months is legendary) and mine.

The first dermatologist I consulted tsk-tsked when she measured the bald spot at the back of my head (11 cms. in diameter). Imagine this: In the middle of my frizzy, unruly and thinning hair was a spot that looked like it was stamped on. It got so bad I didn’t want to go out. It got so bad people thought I was getting medical treatments.

The thing about falling hair for women is that it’s scary. It’s like accidentally yanking off the shower head and there’s no plumber around to stop the water from gushing out. It was a depressing, stressful two years for me.

A second doctor diagnosed what I had (alopecia areata) and gave me brochures about it, told me it’s an auto-immune disease and that people – even young children – go bald from it. I got some injections and topical solutions and very slowly, as in irritatingly slow, hair began to grow. My colleagues at work and classmates in my French class would cheer me on every time a wisp of curls began to grow hesitantly. And here’s another thing about this condition: Everybody has his two cents to pass on to you. My husband’s boss gave me an aloe vera cutting to plant (it died quickly), a hairdresser friend told me to rub garlic on my scalp, another one told me to put olive oil every night, and yet another coconut oil. If I had followed everybody’s advice, I’d have been going to sleep with tossed salad on my head.

It was a year or maybe more before the spot was covered by hair. First, white hair appeared and then it turned black. Sometimes I’d even talk to the hairs to please, pretty please, speed it up because I was developing a new bald spot in another area of my head. Needless to say, I’ve learned to become very patient with new hair growth.

Today, I’ve just started another round of injections and still have thinning hair and bald spots that appear on one side and then transfer to another – but they’re not as big as the first one.

So, apart from my irregular treatments (injections to the scalp hurt, you know), I am constantly on the lookout for products to delay my becoming a female Kojak.

I’ve also just started using Phyto, a line of natural products to combat thinning hair. The products work on the peri-bulbar area and use a wide range of botanical active ingredients to stimulate hair growth.

But why do we lose hair in the first place? Reasons range from genetics (your entire family tree is bald) or a temporarily deregulated hair cycle due to your lifestyle (stress, pollution, weight-loss diet), hormonal changes, aging or the use of unsuitable haircare products.

To combat thinning hair, Phyto uses selected plant extracts to work in synergy and provide a precise response to the specific needs of each hair type. Phytosolba Laboratories have developed, through extensive research, an actual library of all documents and articles available about plants. Did you know, for example, that every plant has over 200 elements whose chemical structure gives a complete extract?

Its scientists have collaborated in the selection of plants and choosing which active substances (root, flower, bud, whole plant, resin, sap, etc.) to use.

Phyto has a simple treatment principle: "Purify, soothe, and care for the scalp to stimulate the hairbulb area and regenerate growth."

The Phytoaxil shampoo contains ginseng extract to strengthen the hair, zinc trace elements to promote keratin synthesis and improve the absorption of amino acids in the hair, and sage and rosemary to purify the scalp.

The Phytoaxil Hair treatment with patented phytoactive concentrate contains grapeseed and shiitake extracts and essential oils. Its other ingredients help tone the hair bulb to promote growth and strengthen the hair. Clinical studies have shown that there’s an 86 percent positive result in the second month of treatment.  

The Phytopolléine Plus with green placenta and essential oils helps delay thinning hair, stimulate hair growth and also improve the appearance of the hair. It comes in small vials to be used every four to five days for three to four months.

Phyto has also designed a three-step hair-care program specifically for women. First is Phytocyane shampoo, which has grapeseed procyanidins and gingko biloba extracts. The shampoo gives hair vitality and volume from the very first use. It also optimizes the action of the second step: Phytocyane Treatment. Also presented in vials, one vial should be applied and massaged into the scalp twice a week for four weeks for intensive treatment and once a week for two to three months for maintenance. Studies have shown 85 percent positive results in hair growth while also helping delay the appearance of gray hair. The third is Phytophanere, a dietary supplement to go with the program.

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Phyto is available at Essenses. Customers can get free gifts like a hair brush, Phyto hairdryer and travel bag with every purchase.