You look fantastic! The shorter cut lightens up your face and the styling tricks - genius!

Thank you for this very interesting series of posts.

My mother and two of my sisters have severe hair loss, and for them it began very early in life in their 30s.

My mother wore a wig through her 50s, but gave up in later life. One of my sisters takes a doctor-prescribed drug regimen and she finds that her hair loss is not quite as severe because of this. I don't know what she takes, but it is two expensive drugs.

I have been lucky and have been spared this until now my late 50s, and it is not severe yet. But it's gotten so that I hate washing my hair because the bathroom needs to be vacuumed afterwards.

I asked my hairdresser about this after reading your posts, and here is her response: "Sadly our industry focuses on youth and I truly appreciate your concern over thinning hair. To date I personally have not heard of a solution.

As you can well imagine if something was discovered to grow hair the world would know immediately. However I do know that if the follicle is dead there is no hope however a dying follicle can be nourished."

My hairdresser is in her 60s, and so she well understands this problem and the salon caters to many older clients as well as younger ones.

They also carry a high end line of products (that I won't mention because of your prohibition on brand-name mentions, but it starts with K and is expensive). I have certainly found these products helpful in styling.

As your hairdresser said, a good cut is vital and the important thing is to use products that don't weigh your hair down.

You look beautiful sporting your new, full looking head of hair. In a hurry, you can snatch that back into a baret or clip it on either side. Loove the look and there isn't a bald spot anywhere I can see. :)

Another great article, Ronni. Thanks so much for sharing a problem that so many of us have.

I think your hair looks beautiful that way and shows off your pretty face.

Joseph is a good and thoughtful person, and your new style looks lovely!

Pretty neat, indeed! You look great, Ronni! Nice to know that research, hard work and wanting to know DO sometimes produce results!

A good hair stylist is worth his/her weight in gold.

There is nothing worse than a bad haircut and nothing that makes you look better than a good one. Joseph is an artist and his palette (You, Ronni) is a very pretty one. I agree with all who told you how great you look; so much so that I saved the picture of you and Joseph.

The cat's meow you are!

The new cut looks good. Glad you found a sympatico stylist. We just went to our local monthly Senior Circle breakfast which always features a talk from a medical specialist on a topic of interest to seniors. The talk wasn't on hair loss but the conclusions could easily be applied. The prescriptions and strategies have be tailored to the individual. I have used scarves, hats, and wigs depending on my mood and the season. And sometimes I simply don't bother with anything except the clips that hold my hair up. I find it interesting that when I wear scarves people wonder if I am a cancer survivor. I have seen more Muslim women wearing hijab so maybe soon enough my wearing my scarves (definitely not in hijab style) won't seem so unusual.

Well done! I LOVE that new cut and am so happy that you've found the stylist that can produce it.

Joseph is an artist with the scissors and dead right about choosing products that are way lighter than we would have used 20 or 30 years ago. I found that out, too, on my own by trial and error, and when I did, it was like a light (no pun intended) bulb went on. Works with makeup, too. Lighter textures and shades are far more flattering.

I think we all dread looking like a sad cartoon of our younger selves. I remember older ladies in the 60s and 70s with bright red lipstick, lacquered hair, and black eyebrow pencil from 30 years before--very harsh.

I also agree with Tamar--it's definitely time for a new addition to the blog head with a new pic of that stunning cut!

You look great! And, when you know you look great, you feel 100% better.

There is money in making men's baldness go away, but us old ladies are outa luck.

I do think it's ironic that when Rogaine first came out, the rumor was that it also caused impotence! So older men had to make a choice - to have hair and attract the ladies or to be bald, but able to perform...

I shouldn't laugh since my son is going bald and is now shaving his head. He looks like a professional wrestler to me, but I'll never tell him that!

You do realize you just dropped about 10 years off your age with that cut! Keep a shine on it and use your gel and get it trimmed every six or eight weeks and you should be very happy.

Looks great!

I don't have time to read the other comments and I apologize if this is repetitive:
I have a similar problem with thin hair and I resolve it with blow drying and product (hair spray). I purchased a hair dryer stand at Target for $15 and it was the BEST $15 dollars I ever spent. Blow drying your hair without holding the dryer makes it 200% easier to manage. Seriously, it's way better.

Thank you for your wonderful blog. We all benefit from your research.

Awesome, Ronni...looks lovely. Impressed as always by your research skills--this time applied to a very personal problem.

Join several commenters in looking forward to a new photo at the top. Hope you'll post periodic updates on how the new regime is working.

Ronni, I think you look absolutely terrific. Kudos to your hairdresser and to you for having the courage to try a new hairstyle.

I have had similar problems to yours--used to have incredibly thick hair, but it started falling out in droves about 10 years ago (I was 51) to the point where it scared the pants off me. I went to a specialist and she suggested I try eating more protein. And it worked, in terms of slowing down the hair loss. I also take folic acid, and the combination of that and eating more protein has made a big difference. I'm not growing more hair, but neither is my hair falling out anymore (except for the normal few hairs that come off in my comb each day).

I don't know if this will work for you or anyone else, but it's cheap and easy to try and can do no harm. Good luck!

Hi Ronnie and all..I'm one of the people who usually respond via email to Ronnie only but thought I'd try a web comment this time.

I started losing my hair when I went on a strict low fat vegetarian diet-I had over 100 lbs to loose and had lots of medical issues from being obese. The low fat diet worked like a charm and I lost the 100 and more in about 16 months. I also started losing my hair, which was long and full and hubby loved it.

Cut to 18 years later-I'm still good on the weight loss but have cut my long hair in frustration. Yep, I sold out for the pixie cut, which I did have in 1960 and liked andI like it on me now.

I couldn't grow long hair again if I wanted to-it takes months for my hair to grow even an inch, which makes haircuts infrequent and dye touch-ups only necessary every 6-8 weeks. I do have a good stylist who taught me to use my back cowlick as a coverup for the crown balding, with "product" and a good brush and blow dryer I can now go out with a cute style that minimizes balding.

Just got a chance to look--it looks terrific! Way to go.