I'm being quoted in today's New York Times newspaper-- but I actually didn't want to do the story. Here's why...

So apparently I'm quoted in this article printed in today's issue of The New York Times​ newspaper, talking about how I am not afraid of growing a mustache... That's just fabulous. Sure, that's EXACTLY what I meant.  ;)  Seriously, though, I didn't say it just like that-- true quote is that I told the reporter about former news anchor Judy Waggoner telling me I would not need to worry about growing any facial hair if I used men's Rogaine, back in the day when I went to her laser center in West Monroe! Not sure how the story turned that quote into me specifically saying I wasn't afraid of growing a mustache.

I always try to have sympathy for a journalist making a better story, since goodness knows I have walked in those shoes... So I am just going to say she took what was probably my most "colorful" quote and sassed it up a bit more. UPDATE: I showed the newspaper to my coworkers at the Zoo, and they are cracking up about my "mustache" concerns-- so I am growing more and more OK with the story, LOL!

The story in The Times is about my struggles with having thin hair, and all the drastic measures I've taken to grow it back. I own my own personal little hair laser, I take nutritional supplements, I apply products daily to my scalp, etc. I don't sweat it too much now since I'm no longer on air every day, but it's still something I do notice-- and it's true that I see it when I film my CruzTube videos on YouTube. My most recent video even talks about testing out some hair extensions (even though I didn't like them).

Also for the record... I turned down being interviewed for this story TWICE. I was originally firm about not doing it, because Rogaine has butane and propane (I intentionally did not read the label since I purposely wanted to remain ignorant of what I was putting on my head back when I was supposed to be doing it for a TV story). I am now all about switching to better-for-the-environment, chemical-free, ToxicFree products through being a Pro Rep for the Healthy Home Company​, so I didn't want to promote something that I figure puts flammable stuff straight into your bloodstream.

The main reasons I agreed to the story is because:

#1. I don't mind being vulnerable and exposing some of my struggles to the public, because for me, bottom line is that I hope my story can help others.
#2. The PR rep who convinced me to do the story reminded me that it's always good to let people know what products you have used in the past, whether they worked or not.

Even though I have used Rogaine before, I have switched to using the certified ToxicFree product Grow Hair Elixir, and just like every other Healthy Home Company product, it's completely all-natural and will not harm you. I strongly believe it's a better choice, and hopefully this doesn't embarrass Nathan to say that he's been using it with PHENOMENAL results. His Before/After photos are compelling.

So now you know the TRUTH about what's going on with my situation! And I'm not ashamed of it.  :)  Hair is not something that we can easily control, and we just have to do the best we can with what we have. Most of the time, when you see me in special occasion photos or when I film for YouTube, go ahead and know the reality -- I'm probably wearing hair extensions!

Hopefully me writing this all out will better explain what I've gone through with this personal mini-battle. It's not something that keeps me awake at night-- sheesh, it's just HAIR, after all-- but it is something that I have thought about a lot.  :)  I would consider myself a little something of a "thin hair expert" or such! So please feel free to reach out to me... I would love to tell you about the Grow Hair Elixir, or Healthy Home Company, or even about Rogaine and why I decided to stop using it!

Spot the hair extensions... #TheStruggleIsReal

By the way, my final quote in the article is absolutely true-- I have indeed noticed that my hair is thicker in my most recent CruzTube videos! :) HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL! I do think nutrition was probably the most important reason, because I only applied Rogaine in certain spots on my scalp and the baby hairs are growing all over, not just in the concentrated spots where I put Rogaine. My educated guess is that it's because I started taking Healthy Home Company liquid supplements last year, especially the "Body" liquid multivitamin with probiotics and prebiotics and also the Iron Plus and Omega 3 liquid supplements.

I just recently learned that your hair is the last thing to grow when your body is nutritionally deficient, so your hair won't be full/lush/thick/as beautiful as it could be if you are not getting as much nutrition as you need.

OK, this blog post is way long! Thanks for reading all of this, I know it's a lot but I'm all worked up about being forever memorialized in a national newspaper with a CRAZY QUOTE!! lol ;)

Trying to grow some hair-- applying new Women's ROGAINE Foam

Sooo... If you read my last post, you now know that I'm working with The List South Florida TV show as they follow along to find out if new Women’s ROGAINE Foam with 5% minoxidl will work for me.

A no-makeup selfie?! Phew, I'm keeping it really REAL here!! Hope this doesn't frighten you away, but I wanted you to see what a fresh application of the product looks like. It does not drip... It's kind of almost like a mousse. The foam dissolves into the hair, and when I wake up my strands are a little crunchy-- just like a mousse. I can brush it out and the product disappears. Love that. 

DISCLAIMER: Rogaine is providing me with the product for free in exchange for my honest review, and for publicizing my results with The List. Do I hope the product really works? Yes-- not because the company wants it to work, but because *I* want thicker hair!!!

The List went with me as I met with a dermatologist whose name is totally escaping me as I type this blog post on my cell phone... All I remember is that she is really knowledgable, super nice -- and she gives good sound bites, lol! TV newsies know what I mean! ;)

She asked about my hair loss history, and I told her there have been times, even fairly recently, when I would be shampooing my hair and so many strands would come out, it was practically clumps. My husband did me a favor this weekend and cleaned my shower for me... Hope this isn't TMI, but he said it looked like I killed someone in the shower by banging their head against the wall until all their hair fell out! 

Ok, I'm totally giggling remembering that-- and he and I shared a genuine laugh at the silly moment-- but it's definitely no laughing matter when I look in the mirror and see straight to my scalp. 

The dermatologist recommended I get blood work done, which I did today. When I go back for my routine physical in a couple of weeks, I'm going to ask for (per her advice) that they test me for alopecia. She also said hormones can play a role in hair loss, and she said perhaps hormones are a reason I always struggle with acne-- even though I'm in my 30's! 

She also explained that my level of hair loss is about a 2 or a 3, and the chart goes up to 10. That made me feel better. Hate to say I felt ENCOURAGED when she showed me the chart, but it did put into perspective that my problem could be sooo much worse. I can easily mask my thin hair, and even when I don't bother, most people probably wouldn't really look at my hair and say "Oh, that girl is going bald."

To grow hair, I have two months until February sweeps, when this story airs nationwide. Yep, you read that right-- I'm sharing my balding head with the nation-- and that feels really quick to try to grow some noticeable hair. Will it be the proudest moment of my life when this story airs? Not really, but I keep reminding myself that somebody has to show the struggle for more people to be inspired to figure out ways to deal with it. So this is me laying it all out there. :) I'm feeling optimistic.

Living with Thinning Hair: AKA "Fighting the Good Fight"

I remember the first time I felt self-conscious about the thinness of my hair. It was back in my Miss Louisiana beauty pageant competition days, when I was up against girls with naturally luscious, full locks. My mother eventually invested more than $600 in a set of Great Lengths extensions to give me more volume—but even that did not mask the thinness on my actual scalp.

Thick ponytail full of extensions— but still thin at the scalp part-line

Growing up as a young girl, it was hard not to compare that my older sister had a very large amount of hair. Her ponytail thickness was about three times the size of mine!

I was probably wondering why I was born a bald-headed baby

When I became a news anchor in my hometown NBC affiliate at KTVE, I felt even more pressure to look my best. My mother, who commiserated with me about having thin hair, would call me after I finished a morning show to say, “Your scalp is shining through on camera. Put some makeup on your head.” So I figured out that using an eyeshadow brush to apply MAC “carbon” black eyeshadow on my hair part-line was a simple, effective method to hide the thinness.

I figured highlights would make my hair look thicker, so I tried that in the anchoring days

Eventually, I became a client of a laser center in West Monroe, Louisiana, where a hugely magnifying scalp camera proved that I DID sprout baby hairs when I used men’s Rogaine foam plus sat under a special laser-for-your-scalp chair for 30 minutes three times a week. I was thrilled, especially since my mother had paid $1,000 for the therapy! My mom was the one who had urged me to go, because she was tired of seeing me struggle with washing and drying my clip-in hair extensions for when I anchored.

You can see where the hair extensions didn't blend with my natural hair on my wedding day

It was there at the laser center that I also began to use Toppik, which covers your scalp with keratin hair fibers. I still use that product to this day to mask the thin spots, and I also will use Joan Rivers’ hair makeup, as well. Toppik is quicker to apply, but more expensive. I also learned to take Biotin supplements, and I still have them as part of my daily vitamins dose. I even bought my own mini hair laser, but I have not been that great about keeping up using it regularly.

I would have kept it all up after the success of sprouting new hair at the laser center, but—I got married and moved away! With the stress of starting a new job in a new city with a new marriage, I let my hair regimen fall by the wayside. So for years now, I have been struggling with this thin hair issue—and I’m ready to tackle it, literally by the roots, as I begin a new regimen using new Women’s ROGAINE Foam with 5% minoxidl. I already love the product and have been religiously applying it to my scalp every day. :)

A typical hair day—after a thorough styling routine, including four different hair products, blow drying with four different round brushes, and finally teasing for volume

PROS of the new Women's ROGAINE FOAM with 5% minoxidl:

--Easy to use! 

--Does not show up in your hair so you can literally put it on your head and walk out the door -- this is my FAVORITE THING about this product

--Does not drip, like the previous women's product did because it was so watery

--You only have to apply it once per day! With the old formula, you had to apply it twice per day

CONS:

--Takes a bit of time to work, you can't just magically sprout hair overnight -- you ain't a Chia Pet!

--A dermatologist told me that once you start using the product, if you want to maintain your results you can never stop using it... but I don't know about you, I want to have hair forever! ;) 

Disclosure: I'm working with The List TV Show South Florida as they follow along with my journey using this product-- hopefully it works!