March 2013:
I literally woke up one morning and got ready for work and while brushing my hair I noticed that my brush felt strange on the right side of my head right behind my ear. I started feeling the area and felt that there was NO hair in that entire section. I frantically moved my hair aside and looked at it closely in the mirror. There was about a 3 inch rounded section of baldness. I immediately began to cry and wondered what was happening to me.

I didn't know what this was. I didn't know if I would continue to loose hair. My thoughts were far and wide.

That day I did some research on it and came across this condition called Alopecia. Could this be it? Is this what I have? As I read up on it more and more I was almost certain it was.

I visited my family doctor twice , who first told me that it could be stress and then gave me a steroid cream which I had extremely high hopes about but did not work for me at all.

Shortly after that I noticed that the hair loss was much greater and then in the summer of last year the bald spot more than doubled in size. You can only imagine what this did to me. I am a woman, and sometimes we feel like our hair is our pride and joy. It's our appearance, it's our look, it's our strength. Maybe it's like this for men too , but it was simply the hardest thing for me to deal with.

At this point I sank into silent depression. No one could tell that I was going through the most horrifying time of my life, but I was. I could no longer tie my hair back or put it up. I have long hair so I always kept it out to cover the fast growing bald spot, but still thinking that everyone in the world could see it. I was crushed, I was hurt, I was emotionally destroyed.

Now this is the part of the story that is to me, the most crucial.... My support system: Very very very few people knew about what I was going through. Aside from being a very private person, this was something too close to me to share. The people that did know tried to hear me out but I was so torn up that I continued to push these people away. How could they help me if I was too crushed to help myself. It was almost as though I gave up before even trying!

I continued to push them away and they seemed to step back. Except for one... My boyfriend. Now this is why I say that this part of my story is the absolute most crucial part. Believe me when I tell you, your support system will get you through. If it weren't for his persistence, his drive, his countless hours of research, searching high and low for answers; I just don't know where I would be today. Even up until this day, he is more educated about Alopecia than I am.

Together we went through articles and articles about taking care of myself from the inside out. We found that Alopecia is in fact an auto immune disorder that may not exactly be reversible but he encouraged me to not just accept that.

I began taking multi vitamins religiously twice a day (this was what my daily dosage required). I also took an extra A,B,C,D and E. I know this seems a lot but I alternated between them daily along with the multi vitamin. These are all vitamins that promote hair growth, boost your immune system and increase white blood cells to help fight off any bacteria/infections etc.

I also began working out daily and combined that with a completely clean eating regime and stuck to it. I ate foods that are also rich in the vitamins I listed above. Don't get me wrong, there were days I slacked off, however my boyfriend would not have it. Again, support systems are key!

Then he found a company that makes this wonderful shampoo that stimulates hair growth for people like me! Whether it be an alopecia client or just general hair loss, I found this stuff to work for me. It's called Revita by DS Laboratories (http://dslaboratories.com/revita/). This site gave a plethora of information which was helpful. You cannot purchase it from this website but it does give a list of places that you can do so from.

Now on top of still trying to use the steroid cream, taking all the vitamins, working out and eating cleaner, eliminating the use of heat (blow drier) and other products in my hair, I was now (only) religiously using this shampoo.

My boyfriend was still not content with this. He then persuaded me to see my family doctor for a third time and pushed for a referral to a specialist (dermatologist). Which I did. Then in September of 2013 I began steroid injections into my scalp, one per month for five months until January 2014.

When you think of a needle piercing into your scalp and the cringe you get just hearing it, that is what it felt like, times five. I have a high threshold for pain so the fact that I can tell you it was painful, is me being completely honest. There were approximately ten spots within my scalp where he injected, this caused tons of bleeding. I also found to be really dizzy, light headed and needed to lay down afterwards. With all that being said, I would do it all again if I was sure to get the result I now have.

Today, June 2014:
My hair growth is wonderful. It's about 5 inches long. Thick and full. I am almost at the point where it can be tied up without having to pin it down. I can't pinpoint exactly which one of the combination of things I did worked, as I believe that it was in fact the combination of it all.

I am so happy to have conquered this journey. Yes, I've had bumps along the way but they have helped me to become that much stronger and more aggressive at taking better care of myself. I know it’s said that there is a small chance the hair loss can reoccur, but I am equipped with the knowledge and tools I need to get through it.

PS. Having a never ending support system is what I feel really saved me. I gave in and gave up. If it weren't for the people who love me and his constant drive, persistence and support, I really don't know where things would be for me right now. So please embrace those who reach out to you because this journey is hard enough to go through alone.

 If you have any questions, concerns or just want to talk. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I will do my best to help in anyway I can.