*This is a true story about one woman’s experience with hair loss. Her name has been changed to protect her privacy. This story was written with her full consent and approval of the content.
Samantha contracted viral meningitis at the age of 35. While she was fighting the infection, she began experiencing dramatic hair loss. It started coming out in clumps and continued to come out a bit at a time, causing her to lose roughly half of her hair.
For about 15 years afterward, Samantha spent an hour every morning applying powders to her scalp and styling her hair to try to mask her hair loss. She wouldn’t leave home otherwise.
“Wind was my enemy”, she said.
With a thyroid condition also possibly contributing to her hair loss, Samantha finally decided to seek treatment. She underwent her first surgical transplant, a procedure called a micrograph, in a clinic in Quebec in 1997. She repeated the procedure at the same clinic in 2004.
Samantha envisioned her hair with the density she had before the meningitis. She hoped and expected good results from the micrograph procedures. The transplanted hair did grow, but her other hair continued to fall out.
Unsatisfied with the results of her first two surgical procedures, Samantha decided to try a third procedure, called a neograph, at a clinic in Fredericton. This procedure was done by a machine, rather than a person. Samantha remembers it being a “really painful” procedure and recalls feeling pain associated with the procedure for seven to eight months afterward.
“It was just more money, more money. I was hoping it would solve the problem, but it didn’t.”
One evening, while researching hair loss treatment options on her iPad, Samantha found our website by chance and sent us a message requesting information on treatment options. She didn’t expect she would be convinced to visit us in Moncton, but Larry called her at home and invited her to come to our clinic for a free consultation.
“He said he would be honest”, Samantha said.
When she met with Larry, he stuck to his word. He told Samantha that her hair was too thin and, therefore, she couldn’t achieve the results she expected from the surgical procedures. Although she was shocked to hear this, Samantha was appreciative of Larry’s honesty.
“If I had met someone like Larry before…”
With surgical restoration ruled out, they discussed the other options available for Samantha. Given her degree of hair loss and desired density, she was also not a good candidate for laser treatment. She had two options that would give her the density she wanted: a wig or a non-surgical hair system.
Samantha returned home to think about her options. Ultimately, she felt that the non-surgical hair system was the best choice for her.
Although she didn’t know what to expect, Samantha came back to Hairfax to have the non-surgical procedure. Understandably, she was scared when Larry shaved a portion of her head to prepare her scalp for the application of the hair system. She said that in the moment that she was scared, she decided to “just let go”. In Samantha’s words, “the end result was remarkable”.
“It looks natural. I look younger than I did before… I expected more with the transplants and didn’t get it. I didn’t expect much from the non-surgical procedure and got more… I was meant to go this route and get this procedure… I am very happy with it.”
Samantha now believes that the non-surgical procedure is the best option for women, and cautions others that surgical procedures won’t give them the results they expect.
“I would go back to Larry anytime. He is very supportive. He understands what a woman goes through when she loses hair- it’s like therapy… Larry gave me hope and he came through.”
Samantha’s closing words on finances and getting her confidence back:
“ I am not wealthy by any means; I am on a fixed income having retired in 2004 with a modest pension… I had to establish priorities, and had to be more careful with my budget. That being said, this procedure is worth every sacrifice and every penny I pay to maintain this look.”
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