Gonzales woman tackles hair loss head on

GONZALES, LA (WAFB) - One year ago, Laura Mayho couldn't believe it. She was losing her hair.

"I was embarrassed, I was ashamed. And at home, I would always keep my hair tied up around my cousin."

She finally mustered the strength to see a scalp specialist. That led her to Ynohtna Tureaud in Gonzales.

Tureaud says hair loss, known scientifically as Alopecia, isn't just something you see in older men. She's treated many women, and patients as young as four years old. She's trying to raise awareness about the problem because many patients are like Laura... too afraid to come forward.

"They're crying, they're depressed, they're sad, it's an emotional experience that I noticed a lot of people have," Tureaud said.

Tureaud was a hair stylist in Gonzales for over 15 years. During her work, she noticed how many people were losing hair for unexpected reasons, so she decided to get certified as a Trichologist. She says hair loss can be caused by many different factors... hormonal changes, stress, medications, even combing your hair too hard.

It's Tureaud's job to identify the cause so the loss can be treated.

In Mayho's case, Tureaud found that the business owner and mother of three had high stress causing her hair to fall out.

"Women, we go through a lot," Mayho said. "As a woman, you've got a daily role you're doing every day. You're tending to your home, you're tending to your family, you're tending to your business. And we, as women, have all kind of things that go on inside of our bodies."

Turead is now trying to raise awareness about alopecia so more people seek help.

She recommends seeing a certified trichologist as soon hairs start coming out. She says she never gets someone's hopes up… many people get most of, if not all of their hair back. But everyone is different, and some people may only get a portion back.

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