Yeah Yeah....

While chatting last night, I realised that my flybacks home are quite short, so rather than waste my time on doing everyday stuff, I should spend the time with family and friends.

So today, I decided to get a haircut, down at Plaza Singapura. The place I wanted to go to was full and my fallback was pretty expensive (so I'm cheap, sue me!), so I decided to go to another place. Interestingly, it is a "professional hairstyling and treatment centre", also providing beauty, slimming and makeover services.

When I stepped in there, it was buzzing with activity. It was a rather large and bright establishment, offering tea and a healthy stack of very thumbed men's magazines.

The first step was obviously asking me how I would like to cut it...and then the stylist asked, "oh do you suffer from hair loss?".

I thought I was hearing wrong. "Excuse me?" I replied
"Hair loss. Are you on any program at the moment?"
"Ah no," I replied stuttering a little. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it appears that you are thinning at the back here, and you may want to check it out. Perhaps you can see one of our consultants."
I proceeded to blindly follow the sales to their special LCD monitor hooked up to some sort of optical device to do a scalp check.

"Yes - there and there, " the consultant said, pointing at the screen. "There are thinner hairs growing, so your folicles have shut. You are starting to lose hair. You're at the stage where your hormones cause the folicles to be smaller, so the hair becomes thinner. When the hairs become thinner, they fall out easier, so you will slowly have less and less hair. Some of your folicles have shut completely - see here and here? They are dead now. However, in the early stages, you can treat it and you will have more full hair".

My head began to spin. Part of it was due to seeing my scalp so magnified (which admittedly is rather scary. It's just like the tv commercials back home, where by the specialist is checking out the scalp). Part of it was really due to the fact that I may go bald. It was just yesterday that I was thinking about my out-of-town days where I had a lot of hair.

I did some quick thinking. I have noticed a few more strands of hair on the pillows and my hair appears to be thinner. My Mum and Dad are not bald, and neither was my grandfather on my father's side. I just can't remember my Mum's side....I vaguely remember one/two uncles being bald. Drats...

"Don't worry, I will cut your hair so that it sweeps to one side," said the stylist, but the only thing I heard was "comb-over"

Apparently, I'm in the early stages and can go for treatment to revers the process. Treatements cost over $100 a visit, and in the early stages, one should go for around 6 times...which is definitely a fair amount.

I admit that I was slightly intrigued as I know that I don't really care for my hair that much (but apparently it is hormonal). According to the consultant, washing too much is bad, and so is not rinsing the hair enough (which is a bad habit of mine when I am in a hurry).
I waved away the expensive treatment that they were providing, but they still managed a cross sell on some antiseptic lotion for the hair. So I walked away with a new haircut (and less hair - *sob*) and some lotion. To be honest, I hadn't realised that so much research had been done in this area - all I remembered was that some people but brandy in their hair to help promote growth. Not sure if that was just an household remedy.

Now, I hope nobody buys me a wig as a joke...