In Feb., 2021, I came across this article and shared it. Before you get too hopeful, the study was successful using animal fur & whiskers in a petri dish.

Read the article by clicking here.

Given they’ve used stem cells, I wouldn’t expect it to be as simple as applying a cream or swallowing a pill. But I’m no scientist.

Currently the only successful treatment I’m aware of is a hormonal kind, which means you have to use it daily starting as early in your life as possible. I believe if you do start at the first signs of thinning you may eventually use the product every other day, but if you completely stop taking it you will lose all the hair you would have by that age anyway.

Reading this article got me thinking more about my advise when asked about this topic.

When asked what I suggest someone does about thinning, balding or graying, I say:
Accept it.

Consider this: when we look at ourselves (I at myself, you at yourself) we see the trees–different individual parts of ourselves, those which catch our eye because nearly all of us see ourselves daily in mirrors.

When we look at others, we see the forest–you take them in as a whole and deal with the person as they express themselves in their physical form, words & actions, no?

If you or someone you know doesn’t take in the whole person, think about why you’ve chosen to focus/obsess about a person’s physical feature(s). Individual appearance is no easy predictor of an individual’s thoughts or future actions. Or so I’ve learned over the years.

A reaction to someone else’s appearance (or your own) says something about the reacting observer (whether or not a second person agrees) and nothing about who (or what) is being looked at.

All thoughts are INSIDE the observer. And by extension this also means one’s appearance is not at fault for someone else’s feelings.

However, when we hear how other people see us it can effect how we see ourselves.

I try not to let one person’s opinion dominate my thoughts of myself (Ex: my mom always has something to say about my appearance). If many people (quite often strangers) share a similar view (often positive), I may give that perspective more consideration.

So, if you don’t feel like shaving, don’t. If you want a tattoo or piercing, get one. If you have a scar, let it be seen. If your hair is changing color or thinning, adapt to it.

Be proud of who you know yourself to be and if you want, find a way to broadcast it to others via your appearance.

Then, as needed, surround yourself with a greater number of people who acknowledge and appreciate you as a whole being rather than those who judge you for what may or may not be apparent to the eye alone.

I always advise people to avoid spending money trying to fight against natural processes; however, I learned about someone who made peace with a “costly” solution:

Here’s the article about someone who is dealing with his early-onset baldness using a surprising old-school technique until he can learn to accept himself au naturale. I’d only recommend this to someone willing to commit a lot of time each morning.

~ aL