Kenyan musician Wambui Ngugi has opened up about her struggle with Androgenetic alopecia, a common form of hair loss in both men and women.
Wambui, who is a member of the Elani Afro pop group, spoke about the condition commonly referred to as Androgenetic hair loss in an episode in her revamped self titled YouTube channel.
The sudden realisation that she was losing her hair came as a shocker for Wambui who had prided herself in having luscious natural hair which had taken nearly 10 years to grow.
“Three years ago, I started to experience hair loss. I didn’t know it was hair loss. I noticed a crazy loss of density around a particular area of my scalp. People call it the crown, but is commonly referred to as the vertex by trichologists, “ she started.
After trying a number of fixes and solutions offered on YouTube and different blogs, she met a professional who diagnosed her with Androgenetic hair loss, which startled the musician.
“For me, I couldn't say it's just hair because a full head of hair affects my confidence,” she explained.
The hair expert explained that Wambui was genetically dispositioned to experience hair loss at some point in her life and that all she could do was manage and reverse it.
The hair loss is brought about by Dihydrotestosterone DHT, a hormone in the body which is attracted to the vertex by the genetic disposition causing hair follicles to shrink and reduce the diameter of the hair coming out.
If left unmanaged, the follicles close, which then leads to a receding hairline and eventually permanent balding.
For Wambui, she tried to style her hair to cover up the loss, but if she hadn't sought timely professional help, it would have been too late.
The musician chose one of the three solutions to hair loss which are; temporary, which involves regular medication, a semi-permanent solution, where growth factors are injected into the area experiencing the hair loss which suppresses the DHT hormone and reverses the level of shrinking. The last solution involves removing a strip of scalp from the back of the head and using it to fill in a bald patch.
Wambui chose to have the growth factors introduced into her scalp other than the two other solutions.
She has dedicated her channel to educating her followers about the tips of hair care in a way they can relate and share experiences.
Watch Wambui narrate her story.
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