In 1986, I did what so many young women were doing.
I followed the diet that was everywhere-in magazines,on television,whispered about in salons and locker rooms. It was the "low-fat,calorie deficit revolution". Fat was the enemy. The less you ate,the better. And like many young women striving to feel beautiful,i believed it,it became my mission.
I had no idea that decision would change my life. Little did i realize the nutritional deficit was going to trigger hair loss and not just any... it was telogen effluvium to be exact.
Within months,I lost over 70 pounds and my body began responding in ways i didnt understand. My energy shifted.My skin changed.And then something far more frightening happened-my hair began to fall out. My scalp began to dry up and flake.
Not subtly. Not gradually.
It came out in handfuls, in my brush,in the shower.
I was fifteen years old.
At that age, hair isnt just hair. Its identity. Its femininity. Its confidence.Its how you walk into a room...and suddenly, mine felt like it was disappearing.
What i didnt understand then-but would later dedicate my life to studying-was how profoundly nutrition impacts the hair growth cycle. The body prioritizes survival over beauty when deprived. The hair loss was a result of nutritional deficiency and hormonal imbalance.
Hair is often the first to go. Hair follicles are metabolically active. They require essential fatty acids, amino acids( proteins), iron, zinc,B vitamins and balanced hormone signaling.
But something deeper was happening...I later learned that I carried the same genetic sensitivities as my mother. My system was already vulnerable before the diet! The diet became the tipping point.
That experience did something irreversible inside me...it didnt just scare me. It awakened me.
I became determined to research everything possible regarding hair loss and the connection to health(remember no internet!!)....I had so many doctors pushing medications that made me sick and told me my hair was gone! I continued my research and sought answers as to why hair falls out, from where is it falling,why it thins, and why so many people silently suffer without answers.
That fifteen-year-old girl standing in front of the mirror sobbing in 1986 became this woman who refuses to give up and would later:
*Study Biology
*Become a Hairstylist with the only plant based brand who taught me about phytonutrients
*Become a Clinical Trichologist and Health Care Provider
*Dedicate her career to root-cause scalp analysis
*Collaborate with Regenerative Science and Stem Cell Innovators
My journey into beauty was never superficial. It was survival turned into purpose.
The desire led me deeper-into trichology, into clinical research, into the science of growth factors,regenerative therapies, and non-toxic formulation. It eventually gave birth to LASCIENZA and the BELERINAZ philosophy: beauty rooted in biology.
Because i know what it feels like to lose hair. I know what it feels like to lose confidence. And i know what it takes to restore BOTH!
Looking back,1986 wasnt the year I lost my hair.
It was the year I found my calling.
Today, when i sit with a client who is frightened and upset by shedding or thinning, I dont just see follicles under a trichoscope.
I see that fifteen-year-old girl. And i remember. And that is why I do this work.
