Are you one of the 80 million US men and women struggling with thinning hair? If so, you may have noticed that in addition to changing your appearance, thinning hair has affected your emotional wellbeing, causing feelings of embarrassment or low self-esteem.
Board-certified physician Martin Maag, MD, and the compassionate team at Honest Hair Restoration in Bradenton and Tampa, Florida, understand the complex link between our hair and the way we feel inside.
We offer a variety of surgical and nonsurgical hair restoration treatments to effectively and safely restore both hair and self-esteem for our patients in the Tampa, Sarasota, and Ft. Myers regions.
Here’s a closer look at how thinning hair affects your emotions and the ways we can help restore your confidence.
How are hair loss and emotions linked?
From underlying health conditions, certain medications and therapeutic treatments, or because of environmental or lifestyle factors, like lack of proper nutrition or emotional trauma, people experience thinning hair and hair loss for different reasons. Many women even experience postpartum hair loss.
For most of us, however, hair loss develops as the result of a combination of genetic factors and getting older. Many women and men notice their hair starting to thin a little in their 30s and 40s, and it usually progresses once the hormonal changes associated with later life set in.
When your hair starts to thin, there’s no doubt it affects you emotionally. For both men and women living in the West, hair is associated with beauty, virility, and youth. Losing your hair, therefore, can make you feel less attractive, weaker, or less capable.
In fact, studies consistently link hair loss to a drop in self-esteem, depression, and worsening mental health. Unfortunately, this can cause stress, which may also take a toll on your hair since stress hormones inhibit natural hair growth.
Embarrassment is a common reaction to thinning hair, but you might also experience other emotions and emotional reactions, such as:
- Anxiety
- Grief
- Poor self-image
- Changes in sense of identity
- Depression
- Fear of being judged
- Social avoidance
- Paranoia
Living with thinning hair and loss isn’t easy at any age. Fortunately, treatments exist to help restore both your hair and your emotional wellbeing.
Can any treatments restore my hair and my self-esteem?
Yes! Although we can’t guarantee you’ll have hair like Elvis or that all your emotional challenges will be solved, the effective treatments we use at Honest Hair Restoration can give you fuller hair and lessen any embarrassment or shame you feel around hair loss.
Your treatment starts with a thorough hair loss consultation with our board-certified physician. Dr. Maag talks to you about your medical history, examines your scalp, orders any tests necessary to uncover underlying health issues, and discusses your hair restoration goals.
With this information in hand, your team designs an effective, medically sound hair restoration plan. Though everyone’s hair loss treatment plan varies based on their unique needs, your plan may include one or more of the following treatments:
- Custom-blended, prescription-strength medications
- Noninvasive, low-level laser cap therapy
- Hair transplantation with follicular unit extraction (FUE)
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy
Because our team understands how thinning hair affects your emotions, we take time to talk to you about realistic expectations for treatment and the lifestyle changes you can make to improve hair health, such as improving nutrition and stress management.
Stop feeling embarrassed by thinning hair and start looking forward to fuller locks by scheduling a consultation online or over the phone with the hair loss experts at Honest Hair Restoration.