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The day I lost my hair

Newest Pipestone Flyer columnist has hair-raising experience
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You know when you go to the hairdressers and they ask you what kind of products you use in your hair? Then you watch them turn into something that resembles a devil while steam pours out of their ears because “I use drugstore products because it’s cheaper!” Yep, been there, done that and I miraculously survived to tell my story.

I was a drugstore brand addict until one of two things happened: I started losing my hair and I moved in with my now roommate, a hairdresser.

Let’s start with the hair loss…

At 24 years old my long, blonde, thick hair was my staple and I thought I was taking extraordinary care of it, with cheap drug store products. I had virgin hair that naturally lightened in the summer so I hardly ever visited the salon.

I was in the middle of a hot yoga phase and if you have thick hair you know washing it every day is not an option. So, I’d turn to my trusty friend “dry shampoo.”

On the days I wouldn’t wash my hair, the dry shampoo made it appear as if I had, leaving it smelling fresh and clean.

A couple months later, I had noticed that my hair was thinning. I am known for how crazy thick my hair is and the fact that I was loosing it was extremely alarming. Fast forward another month, I was braiding my hair when I noticed it… a golf ball sized bald spot on the right side of my part…

I went into panic mode. My hypochondriac self was brain storming all the horrible illnesses that I could possibly have. I instantly booked a doctor’s appointment for the following week.

Once the doctor saw my bald spot and my thinning hair she ordered blood work for me for the following week. I lived in Calgary at the time, so nothing happened fast. She said I could potentially be in the early stages of alopecia but she wouldn’t know anything more till my results came back.

As I wondered around aimlessly for the next week convinced that I was going to drop dead from all the life ending illnesses I clearly had, an article came up on Facebook that changed everything.

The article was about a group of woman who were suing a certain company that produces the dry shampoo I was currently using, for hair loss! I ran to my bathroom, took the bulk supply of that dry shampoo and threw them out. I could still potentially have a horrible life ending illness I thought in the back of my hypochondriac brain, but this could potentially be the answer to all my questions.

The next week is when all the pieces fell into place.

I read the article and stopped using the dry shampoo on a Thursday. I had my blood work on the following Tuesday, and no joke, that Thursday my hair had already started to grow back! A week after disposing of my beloved, now turned evil dry shampoo, my hair was returning. My blood work came back perfect, because I am, so I knew that I had 100 per cent fell victim to a drugstore brand scam.

In the following months I had to deal will Alfalfa like hair, where the little growers would stick straight up out of my head no matter how much product I applied. Two years later, after recently chopping off roughly six inches of hair, I am happy to report the little sprouts are now the same length as the rest of my thick healthy strands.

A life lesson to all the cheap people out there like me, invest in hair products. Since my run in with death, I have done my research on the affects of drugstore hair products.

I also live with a hairdresser… It’s a blessing and curse. I would literally be evicted without notice if she ever found a drugstore hair product under my sink. “Sorry about rent Shad, I have to buy salon grade products.” But at the same time, she is always available to tame my locks and on the odd occasion she comes home with free hair products for yours truly.

Maybe you wont have the same type of results as I did, but trust me, your hairdresser knows what he/she is talking about!

At the end of the day, instead of buying Blueberry Timbits and a large dark Roast 2 creams every single day, save your toonies for your split ends.

You know you love me,

Xo Xo Gossip Girl…Also known as Madison Holland.

Madison Holland is the new sales representative at the Pipestone Flyer and will be writing a column from time to time.