MY QUEST ACROSS L.A. TO SOLVE MY SUDDEN HAIR LOSS

DESPERATE, I TURNED TO DR. HAIR 90210 FOR A SOLUTION

- BY AUBREE NICHOLS

SARAH GONZALES For The Times

I'M STANDING outside my shower and I don't want to go in.

I'm not tired or in a rush, simply avoiding the reckoning of how much hair I'll lose this time. This dread has been my constant companion ever since I lathered up, rinsed and watched handfuls of dirty blonde strands circle the drain three weeks ago. It wasn't the normal 100 to 150 strands everyone sheds daily; these were thick clumps of something I never imagined I could lose. I comb the conditioner through gently and come away with more. And more. I feel fragile, terrified to pull my hair up. Even laying my head on my pillow feels like a risk. "This can't be happening," I wail, my hands shaking as I feel the unprecedented thinness of my ponytail. My mind searches for answers: Is it the creatine? The estrogen cream? The trendy hair vitamins from Erewhon I've been choking down religiously?

Turns out, I'm not alone. More than 85% of men and 33% of women experience hair loss in their lifetimes, but I never thought I'd be one of them. Between aging, stress and the rise of GLP-1s (a.k.a. Ozempic), hair loss has never been more common. "I've seen more clients experiencing shedding and thinning over the past few years," says Liz Jung, a Los Angeles-based hair colorist. "It used to come up occasionally, but now it's part of almost every consultation. I've seen confident, radiant women start hiding under hats because they don't feel like themselves anymore." Yep, that was me.