When I was younger, my stylists always told me, "You're not going to get a perm, you're not going to get a straight perm. I had permed, straightened (open in new tab), and bleached (open in new tab) my hair throughout my teenage years. But everything changed when I was a sophomore in college. I started using a brush to get tangles out of my hair and pulling my hair out of the shower drain. I stopped getting compliments and started worrying. I jealously observed the girl next to me on the subway. Why can't I see through to the root of her scalp?

And my hair, once a shiny black curtain, had become remarkably transparent. I stared at my scalp in the mirror for hours, parting and re-parting my hair to see which looked fuller. I bathed my head in volumizing sprays, detoxifying tonics, and shampoos for "weak hair." The treatments were thick on the ground, but my hair continued to thin. I was shedding. And I was scared.

Like the bright feathers of a peacock, hair is a secondary sexual characteristic, explains London hair scientist Dr. Philip Kingsley (opens in new tab). As it "needs neither heat nor cold retention, its primary function is to enhance attractiveness."

"The hair is a secondary sexual characteristic," Dr. Kingsley says.

Sex appeal and self-esteem go hand in hand, and a 2004 Rogaine survey of more than 500 women across the United States found that 24% considered losing their hair the same as losing a limb. With 30 million women in the U.S. (roughly one in four) having thinning hair, this represents a serious part of the mental health crisis.

Eventually, when I brought up the topic of my hair problem at my annual physical, my doctor tested me for lupus. However, the test results were negative. *Afterwards, I was told that since I was not completely bald, there was no problem. So I started thinking maybe it was just my imagination. When my boyfriend ran his fingers through my hair, the first thing that came to my mind was that my hair was falling out. More importantly, I was losing a lot of it.

Needless to say, the relationship did not last long and I began to lose faith and confidence that he would find me attractive in this condition. I didn't dare ask my friend for a second opinion because I didn't want him prying into my scalp. After another frustrating physical exam (which I never got an answer to), I consulted a dermatologist. Instead of dismissing my concerns as mere vanity, he immediately wrote a request for an endocrine blood test.

Here is what I gleaned from my blood tests and research on hair loss There are many causes of hair loss, from stress to chemotherapy, as a quick search on WebMD will show, but 90% of hair loss is genetic and needs to be treated with medication. It can also be a sign of thyroid disease, according to Dr. Emilia Liao, an endocrinologist who diagnosed me with mild hypothyroidism (opens in new tab).

"It's good that you came to see us," she told me during our first visit. She told me, "The older you get, the more complicated and possibly dangerous it becomes, especially if you are expecting a baby." Apparently, hair loss during pregnancy is a major red flag. One in 50 women will be diagnosed with hypothyroidism during pregnancy. It is still the most common cause of mental retardation in children," says Liao. And the idea that thinning hair is simply a symptom of menopause is a myth: the average age of women suffering from hair loss is between 25 and 35. [If there is baldness anywhere in your family tree, you are at risk. However, unlike male pattern baldness, where hair falls out in patches over time, female hair loss is very difficult to transplant because the volume of hair decreases. The total number of hairs is not necessarily reduced," Kingsley says, "but the diameter of each strand is smaller. In addition, hairs that are too fine will stop growing after a certain length, so the baby-like fuzz at the hairline is a cause for concern.

If the above symptoms sound familiar and scare you, don't worry. There are secrets to successful hair regrowth. First, admit that you have a problem. If you are in denial every day, you will lose valuable time. The more hair you lose, the less likely it is that it will all grow back. Signs such as wider hair partings and smaller ponytails do not appear until you have lost nearly half of your hair. Seek out a hair doctor, dermatologist, or endocrinologist who specializes in hair problems. (A good place to start is the American Alopecia Association (open in new tab).

Last summer I began weekly visits to the Philip Kingsley Hair Clinic in New York City (opens in new tab). There I learned that emotional stress as well as physical stress can cause temporary hair thinning and exacerbate genetic hair loss. Think of it like the domino effect.

Hair loss directly affects spirit and morale, says Kingsley, who coined the term "Bad Hair Day" 40 years ago Courtney Hagen, a 34-year-old breast cancer survivor, learned this firsthand. When she heard her diagnosis, her first concern was her golden hair: "I had a double mastectomy, but losing my hair was more traumatic"

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As for me, thanks to two years of regular treatment, I finally reached the stage where my hair growth was thickening day by day. But the process is daunting and expensive: Rogaine needs to be used diligently and costs about $40 per month for the rest of my life. Also, some hormone-regulating drugs, which I believe are the main reason for my good results, like Avodart (opens in new tab), cost more than $200 a month, but are not covered by insurance because they can harm the development of the fetus if taken during pregnancy. For me, however, the risk is worth the cure, so I continue with my regimen. I also believe it would be much easier to find a potential father if I had a full head of hair.