It's BACK!
My hair, oh yes it is!
Hair loss is sneaky—you don’t really see it, you barely feel it. It’s also very easy to just decide to ignore it. You had so much hair to start with. Even your hairdresser can’t tell the difference.
Slowly, over a few years, your hair texture changes. It’s not just hair in the shower—it can also be the most discreet, innocent, progressive thinning. A hairline that, ever so slowly, loses its definition.
You’ll be like, “Am I imagining this?”
And most people will be like, “Oh, you totally are!”
I started noticing it a few years ago. At the time, I had gotten used to parting my hair in the middle. I got a bit annoyed when a white patch showed up right where I was parting my hair. I didn’t want the black-on-white look, so I started covering it with this perfect tool—and that’s how I started noticing the part was widening.
I completely freaked out. My mother has had severe hair loss—so I know how you can go from a mane to not much at all. I know the aesthetic and psychological damage. There was no way I was letting that happen.
So I did everything. Hormone panels, scalp massages, supplements. Drops.
Red light therapy. Diet. I even decided to cut my hair to avoid traction alopecia.
But I can’t tell you if any of it works. The reason? I’ve never been disciplined enough to really keep at it—and with hair, you have to be veeeeeeeery patient. Nothing shows for months and months.
There was also the Minoxidil route. I never took it. I know it works. But it felt like it might be toxic, and it demands A LOT of discipline. And the second you stop, your hair falls out again.
Then I heard about PRP—platelet-rich plasma therapy. It’s regenerative medicine: they use your own plasma to stimulate dormant hair follicles. It won’t bring back dead follicles, but it can wake up the ones that are still alive.
I did it in Marrakech with my friend Zahira Benzenzoum, who’s a plastic surgeon and obsessed with regenerative medicine.
Here’s how it goes:
1/ They draw your blood.
2/ The blood gets centrifuged to separate the plasma.
3/ The plasma is injected back into your scalp with tiny needles. Repeat once a month, for three months.
Yes, you read that right. Lots of needles. On you scalp.
IT’S MEGA-PAINFUL.
Here is my feedback.
1/ It truly hurts. And I have a high pain tolerance. One of my friends stopped halfway through and literally said she’d rather go bald. I took an Ibuprofen the second time, and it was easier.
2/ Results aren’t immediate—obviously. But the first month, I did notice my hair growing annoyingly quickly.
3/ Then last Wednesday was my third session, and Zahira told me she noticed a ton of new hair. I didn’t really believe her…
Until a few days later, I looked at my hairline and saw this:
Short, barely noticeable, but really there—and really new—3–5 mm hairs. Apparently they’re all over my scalp. I’M SUPER HAPPY.
Isn’t it crazy to think about the things that become precious to us as we age?
I never gave a thought to my hairline before my fifties.
Vitality lies in so many details, and it’s for us to decide what we’re okay letting go of (maybe Botox?) and what we want to hold on to for dear life.
How is your hair doing? Please share anything you know.
For anyone going through the same thing—we’re in this together!
In my last Letter I talked about the weird, unexpected things that happen when your dreams come true.
In my last Note, I talked about having zero Botox on my face, and why it feels good!
This is the link to our last live!
Big kisses!!!
Thanks for sharing, Garance. I truly trust your beauty advice and love reading about your journey and relationship with aesthetic medicine.
I suffered from severe hair loss after the birth of my child, and it was horrific! That’s actually how I found out about PRP treatments for hair loss. I even saw a plastic surgeon to enquire about it, but in the end I didn’t have the courage to go through with it. Eventually, with a lot of patience (and scalp massages 😉), my hair grew back.
But I have to say I’m still very curious about PRP, especially since apparently it can also make your hair thicker. I might give it a try 😉
I'm 46 and dealt with hair loss for a few years. I had thick/a lot of hair to begin with, but still, all these hairs in my brush each day, on my pillow, etc. I started taking biotine - after having my blood tested and my doctor saying there isn't much to do - and really, after 2 months or so, the hair loss stopped. I was advised to not take biotine all year round, so when I finished the bottle I stopped, but the next year the hair loss started again, so I started taking it again. Again: hair loss stopped within 1 or 2 months. I've just finished the bottle and am wondering if I should buy a new one or stop again, but in any case I'll start again as soon as I see lots of hair in my brush!
For generating new hair grow, I'm using a little little hammer with small needles, for tapping on my scalp. It seems to work - even my eyebrows have become thicker (I use it there too)!
Garance, did you have the plasma injected in your eyebrows as well or is that a little too tricky with the extreme hair grow? 😛