A Hairy Follow-Up

Just fine with a little brow powder

As I have mentioned before, I decided to thicken my eyebrows using Rogaine. They weren't bare per se, but I often had little sparse patches that I had to compensate for with brow powder. Like many, I went through an over-plucking phase in my teens and now lust for thick brows that speak for themselves.

In all honesty, there wasn't anything terribly wrong with them. A lot of women have it worse. But Sephora couldn't stop talking about the fuller brow trend and I started to feel unworthy. I'm being dramatic and unfair. I actually blame Sephora and Lily Collins.

I came across a video about thickening/regrowing hair from Good Morning America. The dermatologist suggested using men's Rogaine to beef them up. I bought a one month supply of the Target brand minoxidil and went to work, applying before bed with a Q-tip. The box suggests using it twice a day, but I am not. It also says it is not for use in women and it's supposed to go on your head. The instructions went out the door a looong time ago.

The good doc warned about unwanted hair growth either from the product getting redistributed on your pillow if you go to sleep before it dries, or the from the product being absorbed through the skin. I am happy to report that I have not grown a beard. Yet. Just a 'stache.

New growth + no bald spots = Eye five!

I am two months in and happy to report that . . .drum roll . . . it works!  Do I have caterpillars above my eyes? Hardly. But the bald patches are completely gone and I definitely have more brow to show for it.  Though I have been plucking the outlying new growth, you can see the little hairs growing close to my normal brow line.

I'm not sure it's a magic bullet, as it requires continued use, but it takes little effort and gives me a little more hair up there. If I forget a day or two (or even a week over vacation), my eyebrows don't fall out. I simply resume. My eyebrows look nearly as full as they did with the powder. I still use it, but I am less of a faker.

In fact, it worked so well that I decided to use it on my head as well. Because I'm nuts. Since I am pushing my luck, I will grow a mustache. For. Sure. The hair gods don't like it when you taunt them with your ungratefulness. I want a little more thickness around my crown, so I apply it along my part once a day. I have to remember to apply it at least two hours before bed so it has a chance to dry. The TV doctor said that if the women's formula isn't working after a three months to switch to the men's strength. Three guesses as to which one this impatient dame started with? It has only been three weeks, so I have nothing to report.

I'm not even sure if it will work. I am a little weary about the commitment if it does. Do I really want to do this forever? If the results are amazing, probably. I guess I will just have to wait and see. And report back. You bet your sweet Bippy I'll be updating you on this. Even if the only hair I grow is on my chin.

A Hairy Follow-Up

Friday, August 31, 2012

A Hairy Situation

 

A little brow powder seems to suffice...but, alas.

I have never, in my opinion, been a slave to beauty. My daily routine is pretty simple. I don't get chemical peels or Botox. I haven't bought any chin exercisers off a late night infomercial. I've been tempted, though. I do occasionally search the internet for things like "hair thickeners" and "fast ways to lose 20 pounds without cayenne pepper seasoned lemonade." The former was a recent search. As a child I had thick, luxurious hair that nearly reached my waist. After having my son, and with age, it has thinned out significantly, much to my frustration. So I stumbled upon a Good Morning America video with a dermatologist listing all the ways to thicken hair on various body parts. Not down there, though. No one wants more hair there. My legs, I mean. Where did you go with that? She was saying that Rogaine is great for thin eyebrows. My eyebrows aren't thin, really, but occasionally they seem a little on the patchy side...which I contribute to my pluck-tastic teenage years. Besides, full brows are back in and I like to be on trend. Needless to say, I bought a bottle of men's Rogaine. Well, the generic Target brand. Is that a product I should really be buying generic? Oh, well.

Much to my husband's annoyance, I seldom read instructions. But this time I did. The dermatologist had recommended following the instructions, but instead of using the dropper, just apply it to the brow with a Q-tip. Sounds easy enough, right? Then I got knee-deep in the pamphlet. Because some of the product is absorbed into the body, you may experience hair growth in other place. Whaaat?! Also, if you don't let it dry long enough before bed, some of the product may rub off onto your pillow and redistribute elsewhere on you face. Oh my. So what they are saying is, "You can have beautiful, thick eyebrows in 2-3 months. But you may also spring a brow on your upper lip." I also chose to ignore the blaring "not for use by women" on the box. The good doctor in the television said I could, so it must be true.

Most rational people would have run screaming from the room. But no one has ever accused me of being rational. Ever. I'm two weeks in and so far, well, nothing. I just realized how anticlimactic this post is. Sorry. I promise to give you updates. The good, the bad and the ugly. Promise. Even though it's early in the process, I have noticed that the existing hairs are growing a little faster...just no new ones. While I seriously considered using it to thicken the hair on my head, I ultimately decided against it. Applying it two times a day every day for the rest of my life is too big a commitment. I have a life, you know. No I don't. I apologize for lying to you just then. Still, that's a huge investment in both time and money to maybe see some results. That doesn't even include the cost of getting my lip and cheek waxed, because there is no way I won't fall asleep once in a while prior to the two hour soaking-in period.

The temptation is still there, though. But that is probably because I imagine it will transform my hair into this:

Or this:

It won't. I'm going to have the hair nature intended, and there are plenty of products out there that can help me (temporarily) achieve more thickness and volume. My hair will never look like the hair in these photos and I must accept that fact. As they say in preschool: You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. My new lip stubble, however, will likely be very plush.

 

Posted with Blogsy

A Hairy Situation

Friday, July 6, 2012