The Voice of the AHLC
Creating a Support Group You can’t put a price on sitting in a room with women who have been down the same road as you. by Stacey Handel, Owner, Garde Bien Salon, Knoxville, Tennessee
T
he most rewarding part of my day is helping a woman look and feel her best. It is especially true when I have the opportunity to help someone who is feeling helpless and frustrated because of their hair loss.
first Volumizer or other alternative hair choice. The emotions and feelings at that moment are almost beyond words.
Unfortunately, the excitement is not one many of these women feel comfortable sharing with even their More than 46 million women in the closest friends and sometimes even U.S. experience abnormal hair loss. The their spouses. Instead of wanting to tell average woman loses between 50-100 people about their new hair and their hairs daily. The problem obviously new found excitement on life, many of comes when the body does not replace them have told me that while they love these hairs, creating gradual thinning, hearing the compliments about their or when a person experiences increased “new look,” the attention makes them hair loss over time. extremely nervous because they’re afraid someone will figure out it’s not The immediate assumption, for most, their real hair. Surprisingly, several when they see a woman who has hair clients have told me that I’m the only loss, is that she is sick or probably going person who knows their secret. through chemotherapy. But for many women, the cause of their hair loss is The need for emotional and peer never clearly determined or diagnosed. support for these women became abundantly clear to me a few years ago “I went to doctor after doctor. I tried when three of my clients just happened nearly every remedy there was out to be waiting for their appointments for there, but nothing worked and no one hair loss services. Each woman was at could figure out why this was happena different stage of hair loss. After realing to me. All they could say is that it izing they were all wearing alternative could be stress related. I didn’t want to hair, they began to talk opening with get out of bed in the morning,” my client each other and were greatly relieved to Brandy shared with me as she painfully connect. One of these women sat in my recalled the frustration of dealing with chair with tears, explaining how wonher initial hair loss at the young age of derful it was to talk to another woman 38. who could relate to her.
HAIR LOSS IMPACTS A WOMAN’S SELF IMAGE Hair is an integral part of a person’s self-esteem and self-image; great hair is often the difference between selfconfidence and self- consciousness, and it can also be the difference between enjoying a night on the town and staying at home. I absolutely love sharing the excitement and happiness with my clients when they see themselves for the first time after getting their
14 Issue 18, Summer 2016
While women who are dealing with cancer and illnesses such as Alopecia or Trichotillomania, may have support groups they can reach out to, the majority of women who are dealing with thinning hair and hair loss don’t have that network of support available to them. They long to share their frustration and concerns with another woman. Blogs and web sites are flooded with sharing, questions and experiences from women who are desperate for someone
Stacey Handel helps members of her Hair Loss Support Group