I am writing this and honestly don’t know if it will ever see the light of day (update; this has been sitting in my drafts for about a week) I was thinking of just posting a photo on Instagram with a small caption and call it a day but I felt this was too important.
So what is the story behind my bandanas? I get asked this question at least once a week (or why I use so much gel) and it always makes me uncomfortable and usually just answer with “I love them” or “it makes it so much easier to get up and go”. Instead I should be saying “I have PCOS and my hair is thinning”. There…that is my truth but let’s face it, who wants to say that out loud?
Women who have PCOS deal with these issues:
The symptoms of PCOS can vary from woman to woman. Some of the symptoms of PCOS include:
- Infertility (not able to get pregnant) because of not ovulating. In fact, PCOS is the most common cause of female infertility.
- Infrequent, absent, and/or irregular menstrual periods
- Hirsutism (HER-suh-tiz-um) — increased hair growth on the face, chest, stomach, back, thumbs, or toes
- Cysts on the ovaries
- Acne, oily skin, or dandruff
- Weight gain or obesity, usually with extra weight around the waist
- Male-pattern baldness or thinning hair
- Patches of skin on the neck, arms, breasts, or thighs that are thick and dark brown or black
- Skin tags — excess flaps of skin in the armpits or neck area
- Pelvic pain
- Anxiety or depression
- Sleep apnea — when breathing stops for short periods of time while asleep
My hair loss is so extreme that I don’t even go to beauty salons anymore because I don’t want people staring at me. I always think “you wouldn’t ask a woman who is going through Chemo why she is wearing a bandana or wig”. Women who suffer from PCOS deal with this on a daily basis. I am not saying that PCOS is on the same level as cancer but the emotional pain is just the same. In this society where we are bombarded with advertisements with women with long flowing hair…it is hard to live this way. I am not writing this for pity but instead to bring awareness to this issue and perhaps it will help someone who is reading this. Be kind to one another…
Namaste…