My hair has not been spared from the effects of menopause. Au Contraire! It is actually how people surmise that I am in menopause. I have a blond afro with flecks of white hair in the front and black roots in the back. The white blends better with the blond than any other color. If I used a dark color, I would absolutely look like a skunk.

     I have had so many different styles over the years. For many years I had the typical love-hate relationship with my hair that plagues most women, but as I reached menopause, I gained a newfound appreciation for my natural curl pattern. The blond color brings out the tiniest of ringlets. Someone once asked me how I did it. I coyly said, "It's the color."

     People look at me with an air of curiosity. The telltale sign is not the patchwork of colors, but the areas of thinning hair they surround.

     During my childbearing years, my hair was gorgeous in pregnancy. I will never forget my sister saying that my hair was so long, it looked like I was wearing a wig. During the postpartum period it was heartbreaking to see my hair shed.

     Even as a teenager, I always had an area on my head that I had to comb hair over. Menopause added additional thinning areas that were alarming in size. Not only was the hair thinning on my scalp but all over my body. I mean ALL OVER my body.

     I noticed missing eyelashes along with thinning patches in my pubic area. The only benefit was that the hair on my lower legs completely disappeared so I do not even have to shave them anymore.

     However, one thing is completely new. I have to pluck hairs off of my chin. If I could put the hairs on my face on the thinning areas of my scalp, life would be grand!

      I would look at my hair every morning and wonder if a remedy existed. I was so self-conscious when I interacted with others. However, I learned that people really do not seem to care about my thinning hair. They only cared that I listened to them. It was an epiphany. It made me realize that as long as I continued to listen and care about people, people would listen and care about me, sans hair. Everything is not vanity.

     It made me relax a lot. I have a short afro and cut it on a regular basis because it makes the thinning less noticeable. One day someone asked me if I cut my hair again. Why does one ask a question if the answer is obvious. I just said that I want to shave all of it off.

     If I was to keep my hair, though, I would preferably like to do something that would make my thinning hair less thin. I did my research to find the best solution for me. I found an herbal remedy that did not work overnight but it did work; a natural remedy for my natural hair. The areas of concern are not quite so large now and the hair that is not concerning is thicker.

     Thank heavens I still have hair that I can wash and go with but not be defined by it. That's one advantage of menopause: knowing that I am not defined by my parts but by my integrity.

Postscript: When I was shaving my legs, I used Mary Kay's 2-in-1 Body Wash and Shave followed by the Hydrating Lotion. Now I use TimeWise Target-Action Toning Lotion on those special nights when I want to paint the town red!!!

                                                                  GOD FIRST, FAMILY SECOND, CAREER THIRD