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Tanya
- 32, Female
- Vancouver
- Canada
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- About Me:
- Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by!
My name is Tanya. I've had alopecia (AT/AU) since I was 10. If you are in Vancouver, Canada and have alopecia, I want to invite you to join our Vancouver Alopecia meetup! Find our group here on AW:
http://www.alopeciaworld.com/group/vancouveralopeciasupportgroup
It's amazing what getting together does for everyone, and we have such a great group.
Having had alopecia for so many years, I feel that I've grown a lot in how I respond to it. I used to feel extremely sad about it often, but now it doesn't feel devastating. I used to be desperate for treatments, now I still research and try things, but my rule is it has to be good for my overall health! My self confidence used to be so low, and I thought I couldn't find another boyfriend to love and accept me, but I was wrong about that. Many guys you meet will be fine with it and think you are beautiful and amazing, inside and out. It took a long time, but I have healed much and have more confidence now than ever.
In the summer of 2011, I felt the need to reach out to everyone in Vancouver with alopecia, to give the needed support. I had been there in the dark, for so long, and I just want to help everyone to feel better sooner :) Hence the Vancouver support group was formed, and it's been amazing. I'd like to see that every Vancouverite with alopecia knows about our support group, by making sure that derms, naturalpaths, and wig shops will share the info. I know how life-changing it would've been for me if I had a support group when I was first diagnosed, and feel responsible that everyone should know they are not alone and there are people to talk to :)
Below are some background info and tips to save some FAQ answering! Cheers :)
My hair:
I've had AT since I was 10. It came and went couple times over the years. At 16 I did a low fat low cal diet which my body didn't react well with. It damaged my digestive system and gave me what seemed like a nerve infection where my whole body had nerve pain. Doctors couldn't figure out what it was. After the diet, my hair grew back (probably because my immune system was weakened), then within a year it was gone and never grew back for over 10 years! It was spreading into AU after the diet as well...but I always had a bit of peach fuzz instead of completely smooth. I know the damage to my digestive system definitely made my alopecia worse.
Over the years I've tried many treatments (DPCP, cortisone injections, and more). They all seem to work for a while but not long term. I'm now approaching alopecia treatments from a more holistic angle: it has to be good for my body and soul. I feel that anything less than that is the equivalent of a fad diet! :)
Since Sept 2010 I've been on the Primal diet. Lots of veggies, meat, and fats. Just cut out wheat, potatoes, corn, and grains. Occasional rice and quinoa ok. Squashes and sweet potatoes are totally fine. I've had regrowth since starting the Primal diet (took about 9 months). It's slow but happening. Right I have about 40% of my head covered with hair. Not super dense hair, but healthy looking hair. As of 2012, I started eating rice more. It's relatively harmless, and makes meal planning easier :)
The reason why I chose Primal diet is because I think it's a healthy diet with our without alopecia. The lectin in foods such as grains can worsen leaky gut and affect autoimmune conditions. The diet helps the gut lining heal, maintains blood sugar level, and reduces inflammation. It's an anti-inflammatory diet that benefits many other conditions such as RA, diabetes and candida. Your digestive system is your body's plumbing system, so what is good for it will benefit your health overall.
I've also learned that parasites can be responsible for autoimmune diseases. Candida, for example, may adhere onto cells, causing the body to attack those cells. It's more of a theory, but has potential of being correct. Candida is hard to diagnose because everyone has different symptoms. Judging by my tongue (white coated in areas) and other symptoms, I think I do have candida, and I treat it with probiotics and Candida Clear.
My hair piece:
I wear a lace wig from Toplace.com. It's a high quality lace piece at about $450. (Takes about 6-8 weeks from order date to arrival.) I use GotToBe Glued (a spiking hair gel available at Walmart for $5) as an all over glue on my scalp to attach the piece. If I want waterproof attachment I use Supertape. The hair lasts about 1 to 1.5 years for me. I'm not super careful with my hair, so it's pretty good lifespan considering ;)
My hair dresser:
If you're in Vancouver, BC, I highly recommend a haircut from Beth, owner of Textura Salon in Kits. She is fabulous.
My eyebrows:
Very recently (Nov 2011 and Jan 2012) my eyebrows and eyeliner were done by an experienced Chinese lady in Richmond. (close up photos coming soon). She "designed" my eyebrows to fit my face and I said yes to it right away. She did hand tattooing instead of machine-aided, which looked more natural. It felt like an exacto knife against my skin - but the result was amazing - brow hair tattooed in natural hair directions and strokes. The price is $280 (Normally $480 for manual, $450 for machine), plus $10 when you go back to touch up. She handles some customers from home, which is why it is a much better price. Her home is professionally set up :) I was so impressed that I promised to spread the word for her! No website - you can reach her, Miss Wong, at 778-893-4568.
Before this, I had temporary (2 year) tattoo by Longtime Liner. Not nearly as good! They did the fine eyebrow lines, but the lines were all parallel. Not very natural.
Inspiring videos:
Miss Delaware is a great role model and ever so graceful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mL7CIHaHIY
Aimee Mullins is very cool:
http://www.ted.com/talks/aimee_mullins_prosthetic_aesthetics.html
- Do you have alopecia?
- Alopecia universalis
- Are you age 18 or older?
- Yes - I am 18 or older
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Comment Wall (37 comments)
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Tanya, I too have found that cutting out wheat, grains, and sugar from my diet has given me more hair growth. I hope it continues to work. Best of luck to you.
Good Look!
Hi Tanya, I've been following all your posts with interest. Unfortunatly I won't be able to be there, as I live out of town, but grew up on the North Shore. Hopefully I'll be able to attend in the future. As I'm sure you saw on my page, my 8 year son also has AT, so any fresh perspectives are always welcome. Thanks for starting the group, something like this would have so supportive at the time my hair fell out ( over 20 years ago)
Thanks!
Janeen
I am very interested in your eye brow tattoos. I have had mine done with the permanent and I don't like how they fade to that blueish color that you mentioned. Please give me some more info on where you got yours done and how much. And how long they last. Thanks so much. Hopefully we can meet one day. I know a few in Vancouver with alopecia. Perhaps this summer. Cheers Nikki
I would love to hook up with and anyone else you know with alopecia - I have only met a couple of other people here in Vancouver with this condition and would love to share stories.
Let me know if this is something that you would like to do and when a good time to connect would be for you.
Best,
Chris
I live in Vancouver as well and wondered if you belong to any kind of Alopecia support group - if so which one and if not, would you be interested.
Chris
cool having them in your hometown.
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