True Or False? 30 Days to Thicker, Fuller Hair... Find Out Here!

This post is brought to you by my working relationship with the One2OneNetwork and NIOXIN.

There's this saying, "you always want what you can't have," and if I had to guess, the person who coined that phrase was someone with stick straight hair, much like myself, who pined for wild, crazy, curly hair and so to describe their predicament, they came up with those exact words.

"But you have curly hair! Why can't I have curly hair? I waaaaant curly hair, MOM. It's just so...pretty," I would say, each morning as my mother would fix my stick straight, kind of mousy brown hair before school. And every morning she would reassure me that, in fact, my stick straight, kind of mousy medium brown hair was just as beautiful.   

Ha, mothers.  

After years of watching my mother tame her wild Sicilian tresses, after years of whining and begging for curly hair, my wish came true with my very first perm at the age of 11. I was so excited. So excited that the smell of skunk, or rather the perming fluid, didn't even bother me for the entire three hours it took to give me curly hair. 

I was beyond thrilled with my new, curly hair for about seventy-two hours, or until the first time I had to wash and dry it myself. It was awful. I finally had the wild and curly hair I so terribly craved but with it came hours of brushing, tears streaming down my face as I willed the tangles to free themselves from my hair. I longed for my straight hair again and vowed to always be happy with what I was given for the rest of my life. 

Until I discovered highlights and how easily it was to achieve the change I so desperately craved by just adding a little (or a lot) of color to my hair. Honey, amber, blonde, red and eventually, black, depending on the season of life I was in, I found myself spinning the color wheel and changing my hair to match. 

Not one of those instances, however, prepared my hair for the drastic changes it would undergo during pregnancy and the following 6-12 months after giving birth. Don't get me wrong, my pregnant hair was TO DIE FOR. It practically grew right before my eyes and its length was only surpassed by the gorgeous thickness that came with those glorious pregnancy hormones. 

But much like ripping a band aid fresh from a wound, my gorgeous pregnancy mane quickly became dull and brittle mere months after giving birth. Around the six month mark, it began falling out at an alarming pace and at this time after my third baby, I swore there was something wrong with me. I had lost so much hair that I had visible bald spots and when I pulled back into a pony tail (the no. 1 hairstyle of exhausted mother's worldwide) you could see. my. scalp. 

I freaked. I went to my doctor. She reassured me that it was all due to hormone changes and once my hormones evened themselves out, so would my schizophrenic hair. I tried to wait patiently. To soak in my rapidly growing and changing little family but every time I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror or flushed another handful of hair down the toilet, I nearly cried. I needed to try something. Anything. 

Grasping for straws, I took the NIOXIN 30-day Challenge. For more than 20 years, NIOXIN has been committed to providing real answers for thinning hair and has recently designed a new range of six different scalp and hair care systems. Using NIOXIN's convenient online consultation tool, I was quickly able to determine which hair care system was best suited to me. 

Each of the NIOXIN hair care systems addresses three key factors that are crucial in understanding and treading the appearance of thinning hair: scalp and hair environment, the role of hair health, and the change of the hair structure over time. 

The best part? Using the easy 3-step system didn't require any extra work on my part. I need to shower and this was something I could quickly and easily do while getting ready for the day. As a busy mom of three boys under five, I don't have a lot of ancillary time on my hands so it was nice that this challenge didn't require any additional "time" on my behalf. 

Now, before I started, I promised myself that I wouldn't expect grand results. I'll admit, I was leery from the get go- but I was desperate and desperation will try anything. As soon as my kit arrived in the mail, I wanted to use it, even if that meant getting in the shower, for a second time that day, at 4:30 in the afternoon. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the smell of both the shampoo and condition. Very minty and within minutes of applying, my bathroom smelled kind of like a spa. Within seconds of applying the shampoo, my scalp began tingling. Actually, it began burning but that feeling quickly faded to a pleasant, almost-refreshing tingle. After a few days of this, "hmm, that must mean it's working," I thought to myself. 

Halfway through my 30 day challenge, I began noticing small changes in my hair. Not only was the texture changing from dry and brittle to soft and voluminous but I began noticing a surge in the regrowth of baby hairs around my hairline. Certainly the hair care system couldn't be working so soon, could I? I pressed on. 

I had never been so happy to see baby hairs (and so many of them!)

My hair was most definitely beginning to look thicker and fuller, specifically around the root section. This new development was putting the ends of my hair to shame. Suddenly they were looking dry, split and quite unpolished compared to the rest of my hair. As I'm known to do, I made an appointment at my local salon for a, you guessed it, change. 

Despite being created specifically for color-treated hair, I had been noticing that the NIOXIN was slowly stripping the black box-dye from the roots of my hair. By the end of the challenge, not only could you see loads of regrowth at the hairline, but the entire crown of my head was back to my natural color. 

I chopped off eight inches of my hair and decided to, quite literally, return to my roots. That's a whole other story for another day but as I took a seat in my stylist's chair, even she noticed a difference in the appearance of my hair. 

Before the NIOXIN 30 Day Challenge and After (hello fuller hair!)

I used the NIOXIN Hair Care System for thirty-five days, or as long as it took for me to run out of the conditioning product. Not only did I notice changes in the shape and texture of my hair but also incredible regrowth at the hairline. Thirty days to thicker and fuller hair, guaranteed, said the box. And NIOXIN delivered. 

Despite the uncomfortable tingling/burning sensation in the beginning, as well as the occasional itchy scalp due to sudden dryness (easily remedied by using my own personal conditioner 1-2x per week) I would absolutely recommend taking the NIOXIN 30-day challenge. (#NIOXINChallenge)

Now, whether my hair is pulled back in a pony tail or styled for date night, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I no longer cringe at the sight. I no longer look as if I'm going bald. Now? I only cry at the thought of my baby rapidly approaching his first birthday and no longer the rapid thinning and loss of my hair. 

Have you ever experienced fine, thinning hair or hair loss? As women, we are quite literally (and figuratively) attached and it can be a sensitive subject to talk about. I'd love for you to take the NIOXIN 30-Day challenge and share your results on their Facebook and Twitter pages. 

To enter for a chance to WIN your very own customized NIOXIN Hair Care System, see below. 

To enter, please leave a comment below telling me about a time in your life when, perhaps, you didn't make the greatest hair decision! 

Giveaway ends Friday March 20th, 2015. 

No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway is open to US residents only. 

Must  have a valid email address and US mailing address.

As a member of One2One Network, I received a NIOXIN hair care system kit in exchange for compensation but all opinions are my own