When we opened Medi Tresse almost five years ago, our goal was not just to offer great treatments to women experiencing hair loss, more than that, we wanted to help bring the conversation about female hair loss out in the open. Because our society has not been willing to have this conversation out in the open, many women experiencing hair loss never seek treatment, which causes them to feel like they have to suffer in silence and feel helpless about their situation. As a woman who has experienced hair loss, I know how deeply emotional the experience can be.  While we still have a ways to go with getting our society to truly have the discussion, recent stories from Ricki Lake and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley give me hope that we are moving in the right direction.  For those that have not seen their stories, I would describe both of them as heartbreaking and courageous. As different as their stories are, they both struggled in silence before gathering the courage to speak openly about their hair loss journey.  I am in awe of their courage.

I have placed their Instagram post's in full below, because each of their stories is so personal and I think it is important to hear them in their own words.

However, before getting to their posts, I just want to leave you with one big take away.  It is 2020 and celebrities and public officials that are experiencing hair loss are still feeling that they need to suffer in silence.  You can see how hard it was for Lake and Congresswoman Pressley to share their stories.  I hope their stories can help show you that while hair loss is very emotional, you are NOT alone. If you are experiencing hair loss, schedule an appointment with a female hair loss specialist that can diagnose the cause of your hair loss and help guide you through your treatment options, while providing you with the emotional support you need.  There is no need to suffer in silence anymore.

Ricki Lake's Post

View this post on Instagram

Liberated and Free, Me. First things first, I am not sick. (THANK GOD.) I am not having a mid-life crisis. nor am I having a mental breakdown, though I have been suffering. Suffering mostly in silence off and on for almost 30 years. AND I am finally ready to share my secret. Deep breath Ricki…. Here goes….. I have been struggling with hair loss for most of my adult life. It has been debilitating, embarrassing, painful, scary, depressing, lonely, all the things. There have been a few times where I have even felt suicidal over it. Almost no one in my life knew the level of deep pain and trauma I was experiencing. Not even my therapist/s over the years knew my truth. I know that by sharing my truth, I will be striking a chord with so so many women and men. I am not alone in this and my goal is to help others while at the same time unshackle myself from this quiet hell I have been living in. Ever since I played Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray back in 1988 and they triple-processed and teased my then healthy virgin hair every 2 weeks during filming, my hair was never the same. (Yes, that was all my own hair in the film.) From Hairspray to Hairless. 🙁 In my case, I believe my hair loss was due to many factors, yo-yo dieting, hormonal birth control, radical weight fluctuations over the years, my pregnancies, genetics, stress, and hair dyes and extensions. Working as talent on various shows and movies, whether DWTS or my talk show, also took its toll on my fine hair. I got used to wearing extensions, really just over the last decade. All different kinds, tried them all, the ones that are glued on, the tape-ins, the clip ins, and then into a total hair system that I hated, and finally to a unique solution that really did work pretty well for me for the last 4 or 5 years. I tried wigs on a few occasions but never could get used to them. It all felt fake and I was super self-conscious and uncomfortable. I’ve been to many doctors, gotten steroid shots in my head, taking all the supplements and then some. My hair would recover and then shed again. It was maddening. To read more: please go to my Facebook page. ❤️

A post shared by Ricki Lake (@rickilake) on Jan 1, 2020 at 11:25am PST

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley's Post

View this post on Instagram

As a Black woman, the personal is political. My hair story is no exception. Sharing a very personal story today to create space for others: @the.root

A post shared by Ayanna Pressley (@ayannapressley) on Jan 16, 2020 at 11:24am PST

Posted by Mary Wendel, MD