Saudi Arabia: Over $ 320 Million Spent Annually on Hair loss Products
This article also hints that all the product used in an effort to manage hair loss is contributing towards another hair blight of the Saudi population....dandruff. For a desert area there's sure a lot of snow here!
16 comments:
Perhaps, without headcovering, less hair would be lost ;-))
Hans- I'm glad you brought that up because the article did suggest that could be a possible cause. However, many men and women only where their head coverings when they are outside. Upon arriving at their offices or other destinations, we take them off. For example, my own hair thinned out dramatically when I was in England because of mixed gender atmosphere's, I spent the majority of my days covered. Upon returning to Saudia, I had to relearn how to fix my hair as well as dealing with my lusterless locks.
Ah! So that's why I hate wearing ghutras/shimaghs. Because I loooove my mahevelous head of hair and fully intend to keep it that way :D
I am having issues with my hair. Although I think it's purely hormonal, I think covering it all day long is a problem.
I still don't see myself living in Saudi. Do you find it difficult after living in the West
Saudi Jawa- Mashallah, spoken like one with "shaar naam" (fine straight hair). I doubt it would be the same if your name was "Kisha Jawa":P
Organic- honey, welcome to the post teen years. It only gets worse after childbearing. As far as living in Saudi, I think the Emirates would suit me more. I could have my Islamic cake and eat it too (be western). The thing that frustrates me here is having to depend on my husband to do so many things for me because of the Saudi "shabaab" club. It adds so many fights to our repertoire when he hasn't done something for me or doesn't deem it as a priority (that in another country I could do for myself) and my frustration builds up. It far supercedes the 'taking out the garbage' argument of our yesteryear's and really puts a strain on our relationship that wouldn't exist if we lived elsewhere.
Having said that...nah nah nah nah nahhhhh nah....I get to go to work/parties and look pretty with all the make-up I wanna wear, big hair too if I so choose, and figure-flattering clothes:) U can't do that in the States. There are some perks.
LoooL...well, a friend of mine veiled several years ago and suffered severe hair loss and thinning following that. I think some people's heads react differently.
I have very fine hair to start with and after I had my second child(c-s), I lost so much, or maybe this time I noticed alot, freaked out,but now am seeing some new growths. Someone once said that covering it up alot leads to that. Sigh,I think it's mostly hormonal too. sf
Could be hair loss coupled w/ covering. A friend recovering from chemo wore a wig, and he hair came in very, very thin.
Assalaamu alaikum,
C'mon... women have been covering their hair for a long time, and many of them have thick heads of hair... And the men have also been covering their heads for a long time, with ghutras or turbans or other headgear.
Cairogal, SF, Ann- for women I think it's just a coincidence that most of us start loosing hair thickness in our 20's which is around the same time we start having kids. Since I've been back to Saudia, I rarely cover my head now unlike how I did in England. My hair thickened up thanks to pregnancy hormones only to be thinning out drastically now, 8 months on. My housekeeper's even been commenting on all the hair of mine (easily distinguishable from the rest of my family's) she's been sweeping up off the floor and finding all over my clothes lately.
My husband, with constant ghutra wearing, needs to shear his head weekly to maintain a neat haircut but his brother has a mean bald spot growing instead of hair. Same family, different inherited traits.
You know, the US Army used to think that those helmets and caps they made the young recruits wear contributed to the hair loss of those 18-ish year old boys. In actuality, that's about the age that many men who lose their hair start to lose it.
I have been covering now for a year and a few months... and I haven't noticed any hair loss. Less, in fact, actually... My hair is a lot healthier now that I don't brush it quite so often. Yet I remember being able to pull out tons in the shower and now? Nope, just a little bit, and what's left on the drain is proof to it, and my hair is even longer now than it was.
I don't think covering has anything to do with it. I live in the states, cover at least 10 hours a day on average... and don't have problems. And I'm 23. I think that people who are going to lose their hair are going to lose it, whether they wear hats, scarves, ghutras or wigs.
amy- you make me think...I'm sure there's a study out somewhere on the effects of headgear and whether or not it causes hair loss. I think your right though, if you're gonna lose it you're gonna lose it.
I think I take the middle ground on this; for those of us who were gonna thin out anyway...headgear doesn't help and you'd probably be thinning out anyway (as I am) even without covering.
I remember my mom used to say that she lost most of her hair when she had us, at that time , I was to young to *get it*. Now, I think it's most women who go through it especially after childbirth. I remember a friend of mine, who doesn't cover up and she was complaining about the same thing after she had her daughter. It's a hormonal thing and once we forget about it,it will be fine. Btw, ssw, I get some of my outfits from saudia(jeddah), they are so amazing and stylish. I know there the occassions/weddings are like so huge. Am waiting for a post on that. And what's the deal with all that make-up????? ;) sf
sf- I've been waiting to go to a wedding so that the event is fresh in my mind. The only problem is....I HATE weddings and have completely sworn them off unless it is an immediate family member getting married. I was happy that I could avoid going to two of them last summer when I was in the states. Since I've stopped working I've been getting a bit bored lately. I may start seeking out wedding invites and go as a plus one just to get out and get my groove on occasionally:P
I'm not going to comment on the effects of veiling because living here in the US where I do a Muslim is a rare sight indeed! However we do live in a high desert to sub alpine climate and sun protection is just plain wisdom. I work outside a great deal and always wear a hat in these days of easier sunburning. My hair does better covered. I might also add that using flaxseed oil, black current seed oil or evening primrose oil, taking it in a capsule form each day is a big help with texture issues in hair and nails. For any woman with issues causing non cancerous lumps I would not use evening primrose oil. For some women it also be very helpful. Flaxseed is safe for just about everyone. Love your blog saudi stepford! In my neck of the woods we have "Big Love"- for real! Eat your heart out!
Anon- Wow! You and I are totally on the same wavelengths...I just bought whole flax seeds on Friday! Not something I've done in years. Only thing is, they're rather...how can I say...'natural' and the bag of flax seeds is half seeds/half icky stuff lick twig bits and pebbles. Me, my maid, and my oldest daughter spent an hour on Saturday sorting teeny tiny flax seeds and only ended up with a few tablespoons full and most of the bag remaining to be sorted. We gave up! I'll just have to wait till we go to a bigger city to get a cleaner bag of seeds since I'd rather grind and eat the whole seed than just the oil for digestion as well as the nutrients. Thanks for the info on Evening Primrose...I didn't know it has that side-effect.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments in the future.
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