Posted by Hairball (other posts) on November 17, 2023 at 17:09:49 Previous Next
In Reply to: Knee length, going shorter and hair loss scare [PIC] posted by Joćo David on November 17, 2023 at 12:05:42:
: Hello everyone
: Wow, I am so impressed to both see new faces but also so many people still here from when I used to be around. That is incredible and it makes me happy.
: I have been thinking about updating here with some news, and thought why not then, even if they partially leave me uneasy, but all in all can be of help to someone else.
: When it comes to length, I have reached somewhat knee length in the past few months. Knee length happened sort of accidentally. I was dancing for a few years and I guess my hair was getting breakage, and since I stopped it resumed growing. I haven't trimmed it at all since the beginning of covid, which means a few years already, and it got to this length, which I thought was beyond terminal length for me. I will talk about the length later.
: A bit over a year ago, I discovered a small, very defined spot in my head with no hair, at the crown. To say the least, I got extremely concerned and stressed. I scheduled with general dermatology right away, and had a very bad experience with a dismissive doctor that told me I was fine but would prescribe me both Finasteride and Minoxidil. I scheduled with a second doctor that barely looked at my scalp but told me I was fine also, and asked if I was taking female hormones because my hair looks like a woman's hair - which was weird to say the least.
: I tried to calm down and let another year pass to see if the spot would fill up but it didn't. This year I scheduled with specialized hair clinics and have been to both, and the last one was the best - I did pay a lot of money for this particular appointment.
: In this appointment they took a sample of my hair in advance, with root, to analyze in laboratory. The results were good - I don't seem to have any predisposition for male pattern baldness. However, the spot is there, and is scar tissue, but not from an injury I can remember. I will have to do further tests to see what might have caused it, but I was told it could very well be related to stress. It's not very normal to scar, but hopefully this is not something that will spread around. It's a spot the size of a small coin I would say, and it's covered, fortunately, by the upper layers of hair. It shows when I fully part my hair at the middle - as to do double braids for example. This makes me quite sad, but at the same time I'm grateful that it's not a hormonal situation. I will be taking steps to see if there is something else going on and if I need to do anything to protect the hair on my head of course. I do appreciate the difficulty of finding someone who will empathize with you, and for anyone looking for advice on this I strongly recommend a specialized doctor that deals with hair and skin, not just a general dermatologist.
: When it comes to the length, I am strongly considering trimming back to about tailbone length, if not slightly above. The ends of my hair are extremely thin now and it makes it impossible to wear it loose at all. Even in a braid it gets cumbersome as the braid gets caught everywhere. I am very conflicted though - the main reason I want to trim is to feel I can USE my hair, live with it, wear it loose. I never really did that because of how protective I've been of it, to the point that I find wearing it loose extremely uncomfortable, just out of lack of habit. On the other hand, I am sometimes complimented by even strangers on how long my braid is. It makes me feel really good, but also knowing that now I am in what's considered an extreme length, and one I never thought I'd be in. It would take me about 4 years to grow back to this length from tailbone and I'm not really sure I would or even could, as I'm also getting older. I really only enjoy my hair when I am combing it in the morning though - otherwise even when I'm washing it just feels too long and thin in the ends. I miss having some fullness and feeling it's beautiful hair, right now it's super long yes, but I don't find that my hair type or the thickness in the ends makes for beautiful knee length hair.
: So yes, I'm quite conflicted! But I think I will end up trimming since I think I prefer to be able to enjoy my hair more than having an extreme length, if I think what I'd regret more one day looking back if I didn't have long hair anymore. I find it really tough to trim at all let alone a complete change of length, because as we all know, we get attached to every hard earned inch of growth.
: I am uploading a picture taken last July, if I'm not mistaken. My hair looks particularly nice there, I had just came back from swimming in the river and my hair had air dried to its most natural texture.
: Thank you for reading me everyone. This forum will always be in my heart as a lot of people I've engaged with here. Believe it or not, I have been married not for two and a half years to someone who I've met through this forum.
: So thank you for being here and beings yourselves and keeping this place alive!
: Happy growing <3
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Greetings Joćo, great to see you post here again.Always love to see the alumni return to the scene of the crime so to speak! LOL.I read your post and can tell your passion for longhair is still strong.Obviously you went to great lengths seeing doctors considering your concerns about thinning.I'm confident you'll be fine but stress can definitely affect your well being.I always try and live a stress free lifestyle.I've always been amazed at the length of your hair,certainly longer than I ever could achieve.All I can say is live your life to maintain happiness as you see fit.Thank you for your comments about this community as that makes me feel good being I'm the one keeping this site alive in an age where the format here is considered prehistoric.Please post again and by all means share pics as well my friend. Keep the faith!Cheers!!!!
Mārk