Hair and emotional well-being
Women are always judged by our appearance (men too, but women are pressured more), mainly by the care we give to our hair. It is normal to hear from our friends and family: "don't cut it" or "long hair is a symbol of femininity."
The Ladies of Hive community invites us to reflect on how hair loss affects our emotional well-being and how we can deal with it.
My hair is curly and when I was a child and a teenager it was very thick. I never knew how to take care of it properly, and I grew up thinking that I should straighten it, because whenever I wore it naturally someone would tell me: "comb it." That's a little frustrating.
I have to admit that it was comfortable to have it straight, because it didn't take me much time to get ready and I didn't feel disheveled in the middle of the day. So I flat ironed and straightened it whenever I had the chance, but since I didn't know how to take care of it, it would dry out from using the flat iron.
Over time I learned to take better care of my hair, to ignore what others said and to identify the routines and products that best fit my hair, my pocketbook and my time. But hair loss has been one of my recurring problems.
Normally hair falls out every day because it has a cycle and just like the skin it renews itself, but when it falls out in very large quantities then it becomes worrying. In my case this is activated every time I go through periods of stress and worry, losing hair in large quantities.
At the end of 2019 my brother emigrated and I started a new job, so my whole life changed a lot. To add fuel to the fire, the pandemic soon arrived in 2020 that turned all of our lives upside down. My hair was falling out in large quantities and seeing it fall out distressed me even more, which only increased the problem.
How did I deal with my hair loss? At first I thought that if I cut it I would regain strength, I also changed shampoo and hair products and started washing it using rosemary infusions, after which I applied rosemary oil. I'm not sure that any of that really helped, but it helped me emotionally to feel like I was fighting to save it. I kept telling myself that I was better and eventually the loss decreased. Although looking back, I got better when everything was normalizing, but at that time I was still not aware of the root of the problem.
I had another hair loss crisis in mid-2022, because I was assigned a lot of work and the work environment was no longer as comfortable; I had more responsibilities and ended the day more tired, but receiving the same salary that did not cover my expenses. This whole situation triggered another episode of hair loss. I think it was only at that point that I realized that it was stress that was affecting me.
Hair loss may be the most visible symptom that something is wrong, but stress is affecting our body in general. Sleep is disrupted and there can be bigger consequences than losing hair; that's why I quit, putting my physical and mental health as a priority.
My family played a decisive role with their support. Quitting can add more emotional and stress burden if you have other people who depend on that salary. But little by little everything was taking stability and improving.
The health of our hair tells us many things. If it is dry, brittle, with dandruff or if it falls out; it is telling us that we lack vitamins, that we are dehydrated, that we are not sleeping well or we have a lot of stress.
Hair loss doesn't always happen for the same reason, and although I lose it because of stress, it could be a sign of different symptoms for someone else. I don't recommend self-medicating, I think that if the problem is persistent, you should seek professional help. Changes in your diet or routine, even in the products you apply, can help, but if you can, seeing a doctor from the start would be good to rule out other causes.
Watching your hair fall in the shower while you wash it is very scary, and if you're like me, you'll make a movie of yourself thinking that you're sick, that you'll go bald, and you'll even think that someone has put the evil eye on you; that's why if you go to the doctor and rule out some things, you'll feel relieved. 
I hope that my reflection and perspective will help other women feel that they are not alone with this problem that can even trigger anxiety crises or panic attacks.
If you are interested in participating and sharing your experience in this regard, I leave you the link to the Ladys of Hive contest 202 so that you can learn the rules of it.
Images from my personal archive
English version by Google Translator
El cabello y el bienestar emocional
Las mujeres siempre somos juzgadas por nuestra apariencia (los hombres también, pero a las mujeres se nos presiona más), principalmente por el cuidado que damos a nuestro cabello. Es normal escuchar de nuestros amigos y familiares: "no lo cortes" o " el cabello largo es símbolo de femineidad".
La comunidad damas de Hive nos invita a reflexionar sobre como afecta nuestro bienestar emocional la caída de nuestro cabello y como podemos afrontarlo.
Mi cabello es rizado y de niña y adolescente era muy abundante. Nunca supe cómo cuidarlo adecuadamente, además que crecí pensando que debía de alisarlo, pues siempre que lo llevaba natural alguien me decía: "péinate". Eso es un poco frustrante.
Debo admitir que era comodo tenerlo liso, porque no me tomaba mucho tiempo arreglarme y no me sentía despeinada a mitad del día. Así que lo planché y alisé siempre que tuve oportunidad, pero como no sabía cuidarlo se resecaba por el uso de la plancha.
Con el tiempo aprendi a cuidar mejor mi cabello, a ignorar lo que decían unos u otros e ir identificando las rutinas y productos que mejor se adaptan a mi cabello, mi bolsillo y mi tiempo. Pero la caída ha sido uno de mis problemas recurrentes.
Normalmente el cabello se cae todos los días pues tiene un ciclo e igual que la piel se va renovando, pero cuando se cae en cantidades muy grandes entonces se vuelve preocupante. En mi caso esto se activa cada vez que paso por periodos de estrés y preocupación, perdiendo el cabello en grandes cantidades.
A finales del 2019 mi hermano emigró y yo empecé un nuevo trabajo, por lo que toda mi vida cambió mucho. Para echar más leña al fuego pronto llegó la pandemia en 2020 que nos puso a todos la vida de cabeza. Mi cabello se caía en cantidad y verlo caer me angustiaba aún más, lo que solo acrecentaba el problema.
¿Cómo lidié con mi caída del cabello? Al principio pensé que si lo cortaba recuperaría la fuerza, además cambie de champú y productos para el cabello y lo comencé a lavar usando infusiones con romero, posterior a lo cual aplicaba aceite de romero. No estoy segura que nada de eso ayudara realmente, pero me ayudaba emocionalmente a sentir que estaba luchando por salvarlo. Me repetía a mi misma que estaba mejor y eventualmente la caída disminuyó. Aunque viendolo en retrospectiva, mejoré cuando todo se fue normalizando, pero en ese momento aún no era conciente de la raíz del problema.
Tuve otra crisis de caída del cabello a mediados del 2022, pues me asignaron mucha carga laboral y el ambiente de trabajo ya no era tan cómodo; tenía más responsabilidades y acaba el día más cansada, pero percibiendo el mismo sueldo que no cubría mis gastos. Toda esta situación detonó otro episodio de caída del cabello. Creo que fue recién en ese punto que me di cuenta de que era el estrés lo que me estaba afectando.
La caída del cabello puede ser el síntoma más visible de que algo va mal, pero el estrés está afectado nuestro organismo en general. El sueño se trastorna y puede haber consecuencias mayores que perder el cabello; por eso renuncié, poniendo mi salud física y mental como prioridad.
Mi familia cumplió un papel determinante con su apoyo. Renunciar puede añadir más carga emocional y de estrés si tienes otras personas que dependan de ese sueldo. Pero poco a poco todo fue tomando estabilidad y mejorando.
La salud de nuestro cabello nos dice muchas cosas. Si está reseco, quebradizo, con caspa o si se cae; nos está diciendo que nos faltan vitaminas, que estamos deshidratados, que no estamos durmiendo bien o tenemos mucha carga de estrés.
No se cae el cabello siempre por lo mismo y aunque a mí se me cae por estres a otra persona le podría estar indicando otra sintomatología. No recomiendo automedicarse, creo que si el problema es persistente se debe buscar asistencia profesional. Cambios en la dieta o la rutina, incluso en los productos que te aplicas pueden ayudar, pero si está a tu alcance ver a un médico desde el principio sería bueno descartar otras causas.
Ver en la ducha como pierdes tu cabello mientras lo lavas genera mucho miedo y si eres como yo, te harás una película pensando que estás enferma, que te quedarás calva e incluso pensarás que te echaron mal de ojo; por eso si vas al médico y descartas algunas cosas, te sentirás aliviada.
Espero que mi reflexión y perspectiva sirva para que otras mujeres puedan sentir que no están solas con ese problema que puede incluso desatar crisis de ansiedad o ataques de pánico.
Si te interesa participar y compartir tu experiencia al respecto, te dejo el link al concurso 202 de ladys of Hive para que conozcas las bases del mismo.
Imagenes de mi archivo personal
Hola linda! Te entiendo bien lo que has vivido con tu cabello y el estrés ya que viví algo parecido, que bueno es saber identificar lo que nos está causando algún daño y así tomar cartas en el asunto.
A veces también el uso de químicos, secadores, planchas y una mala alimentación pueden causar pérdidas de cabello, yo he tratado de vivir más calmada y mi alimentación es mucho más saludable.
Saludos y suerte @isauris 😊🌹
Actualmente estoy saliendo de otro episodio de caída del cabello, pues hace menos de 3 meses que emigré de Venezuela para Argentina. Los meses de preparación para el viaje y estos meses de adaptación... Tantos cambios, tantas cosas que están pasando en Venezuela en dónde tengo familia y amigos 😔 aunque intentes que no te afecte es complicado. Creo que por eso me animé a escribir para esta iniciativa.
Un abrazote y muchas gracias por comentar 🙏🏼
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Para nosotras las mujeres perder cabello es angustiante, suma más a nuestro estrés, lo ideal sería atacar la causa, por ejemplo, en tu caso es el estrés, pero a veces es muy difícil tener todo bajo control y estar relajados.
Gracias por compartir tu experiencia y por tus recomnedaciones.
Saludos.
Así es, es un círculo: te estresas porque pierdes cabello y pierdes cabello porque estás estresado. Cómo rompes el círculo? Lo mejor en esos casos es pedir ayuda.
Gracias por tu apoyo y comentario ❤️
Before proceeding to hair loss, I want to ask you about the concept of evil eye. I thought it didn’t exist in western society. So what is evil eye in your perspective? And how do people in your society deal with it when you believe that there is an evil eye on you? And may I know which country are you from?
You have given us an insightful blog about the significance of hair condition. So our hair are a representation of what might be going on in our body. In this way hair is a source of diagnosis for underlying deficiencies.
It is nice to have a supportive family. Such a support help us overcome our challenges.
Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts. !LADY
Hello! Thanks for your comment. I am Venezuelan and in my country when someone gets sick for no apparent reason or many bad things happen to them, they usually say that they have been given the evil eye. Depending on the custom of each family, there are different ways to combat it, but it is usually with prayers and holy water.
It is also common to put a protection on newborns with a red ribbon and a jet stone to avoid the evil eye.
Venezuela has a very varied cultural and religious mix, there are many people who do not believe in the evil eye, but it could be said that the majority do. Many use the term as a joke when someone has very bad luck.
What country are you from?
I hope I have explained myself clearly, I do not speak English and I use Google Translate.
I am from Pakistan.
You have explained yourself quite well. We have similar kind of concepts here.
I have another question. You mentioned holy water. So what is that? Given by priests or like you can prepare it yourself?
I'm glad I was able to explain myself.
Regarding holy water, it is water that a priest blesses through a prayer. It is believed that the water that receives this prayer acquires the property of blessing, expelling evil spirits and bad energies.
Thanks for the explanation.
The ideas are pretty much same as in my culture. Though I belong to a Muslim society. Seems like societies and cultures are tied in sbtle ways.
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Loss of hair can be traumatic to a lady
First of all, I want to tell you that your hair is really really pretty and full. I love it.
Like you said, loosing hair is not something some ladies can bear. Thanks for sharing this on here. I've been going through hair loss for a while now but I don't feel it cause I braid my hair very often. Now that you've said, it might actually be lack of sleep. I Iack sleep a lot
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