Last updated: June 23, 2025
I Stopped Looking In The Mirror At 52
Words by
Katya Sams
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Published on: August 18, 2024
One woman’s journey from hair loss heartbreak to a hair revival in her 50s – and the science-backed solution that made it possible.
Losing My Crown at Menopause
I used to love my hair – my crown and glory, as Mama always said. For Black women like me, hair isn’t “just hair” – it’s a core part of our identity and pride. So when I hit 52 and started seeing clumps of my beautiful strands everywhere – on my pillow, my desk, the bathroom floor – it felt like a piece of my soul was crumbling. First came the thinning, then the receding edges (those delicate hairs framing my face). One day I realized my edges had practically disappeared, like they packed up and left without saying goodbye. I was devastated. Almost half of Black women experience hair loss in their lifetime, but knowing I wasn’t alone didn’t make it hurt any less. I stopped looking in mirrors because I couldn’t stand the stranger staring back at me. My self-esteem was shattered; I hadn’t felt like myself since the shedding began.
I tried to hide the problem as best I could. I became a master of creative parting and strategic styling. At church, I clung to elaborate hats and wigs to conceal my thinning crown. At work, I avoided bright light and eye contact, afraid colleagues would notice the sparse patches on my scalp. Every stray hair strand I found on my clothes or desk was a painful reminder of what I was losing. I even blamed myself – was it stress? Past relaxers? Did I not pray hard enough? In truth, I felt helpless. And like so many women dealing with this, I also felt deep shame and despair – in the words of another sister, “it seriously messed with my self-esteem”. Hair loss was stealing not just my looks, but my identity as a confident, put-together Black woman.
When Every “Solution” Failed Me
Desperate to reclaim my hair, I threw myself into every “solution” I could find. Those cheap biotin pills from the drugstore? I choked them down for months – all they did was sit in my stomach like rocks, with no change to my hair. I tried castor oil massages because everyone on YouTube swore by it; all I got were ruined pillowcases and greasy scarves. I invested in special shampoos, serums, and concoctions that promised miracles – nothing. My bathroom looked like a graveyard of half-used hair potions.
When growth didn’t happen, I resorted to wigs and weaves, figuring I could at least cover the problem. But that came at a steep cost – financially and emotionally. I was easily spending $300 or more a month on wigs, trying to buy back the confidence that thinning hair had stolen. The irony? Those wigs were hot and uncomfortable, and I hated feeling like I was hiding my true self. It was a vicious cycle: the more I tried and failed, the more hopeless I felt. I even started
believing maybe I just had to accept this fate. After all, I was over 50 – maybe “aging gracefully” meant no hair?
“Stop spending $300/month on wigs – invest in your real hair’s comeback.”
I also grappled with skepticism. So many products and internet “gurus” promised overnight fixes – by now I knew better than to trust those. In fact, I felt doctors didn’t really get my situation either. (Apparently I’m not alone – nearly 70% of Black women feel doctors don’t understand Black hair.) One dermatologist simply handed me generic hair tonic and told me “it works for most women.” Well, it didn’t work for me. I realized that my hair loss had unique causes that mainstream solutions weren’t addressing.
I hit rock bottom the day I caught myself avoiding a hug from my own daughter because I worried she’d feel the thinning spot on the back of my head. That night, I broke down and prayed for an answer. I wasn’t ready to give up. There had to be something out there for women like me. And by grace, I found the first glimmer of hope in the form of a Black woman dermatologist who truly understood.
The Hidden Hormonal Hair Thief (A Dermatologist’s Revelation)
A friend from church recommended I see Dr. Angela Washington, a renowned Black dermatologist who literally wrote the book on our hair through menopause. Sitting in Dr. Washington’s exam room, under those bright lights, I braced myself for yet another disappointment. But instead, I got the truth. She examined my thinning edges and said something that changed everything: “After 45, your hormones literally attack your hair follicles. Generic vitamins can’t fix that.”
I was stunned.
She went on to explain what was really happening inside my body. When we hit menopause, our estrogen levels plummet – we all know about the hot flashes and mood swings. But what most don’t know is that this hormone drop is a direct trigger for hair loss. Dr. Washington called it the “Estrogen-Edge Connection.” Essentially, the loss of estrogen weakens the hair follicles around our edges and crown, making them too weak to hold onto hair. In other words, it wasn’t “age” or “bad luck” causing my hair to fall out – it was a hormonal ambush! And those one-size-fits-all hair gummies and vitamins being sold everywhere? They were designed for 20- or 30-somethings with completely different body chemistry. “Generic hair vitamins are like putting regular gas in a diesel engine after 45 – your whole system has changed,” Dr. Washington told me emphatically. “You need nutrition that speaks to that.”
She even pulled out research showing that Black women’s hair follicles respond differently to menopause. We often need three times more iron and targeted DHT blockers to counteract the hormone-driven shedding. No wonder the basic biotin pills did nothing – they weren’t addressing my estrogen-fueled hair loss at all. For the first time, everything clicked. My hair wasn’t failing me; the products I’d been using were failing my hair. I left that appointment equal
parts outraged (why had no one told us this?!) and cautiously hopeful. Dr. Washington had given a name to my problem – now I needed a solution made for women like me.
A Solution Made for Us – Discovering LUMIN RRB Gummies
Dr. Washington didn’t just send me home with sympathy; she pointed me toward a new approach. She told me about a breakthrough she’d recently seen in her practice: a hair growth gummy supplement formulated specifically for Black women 45+ dealing with hormonal hair loss. My ears perked up. A gummy vitamin for menopausal Black hair? It sounded almost too good to be true – and I’ll admit, at first I was skeptical. (A gummy? Really? I imagined those sugary hair gummies my niece takes, and I doubted something like that could help me.)
But as Dr. Washington described it, my skepticism melted into excitement. The product is called LUMIN RRB Hair Growth Gummies – “RRB” for Revitalize, Regrow, Balance – lovingly nicknamed just LUMIN. It’s a physician-formulated supplement designed from the ground up for Black women’s mid-life hair challenges. Not for 25-year-old Becky’s stress breakage or some generic one-size-fits-all solution, but for our changing hormones and our hair’s unique needs. In fact, the creators of LUMIN built it around the very insights Dr. Washington shared with me. They understood that a new problem (menopausal hormone shifts) needed a new solution.
The secret of LUMIN lies in what they call the “Melanin-Meno Matrix™.” It’s a fancy name for a very thoughtful formula: a proprietary blend that combines a natural DHT-blocker to stop hormonal hair thinning, plus nutrients that support our melanin-rich hair structure and even adaptogen herbs to ease the stress that can worsen shedding. This was miles beyond any hair vitamin I’d seen. Essentially, it’s targeted nutrition for our hair’s “second act.” As Dr. Washington explained, LUMIN speaks our hair’s language. And get this – it’s not a pill or a medicine-y tonic, but a delicious gummy. Health and pleasure in one? I thought, now this is different.
I went home and did my homework on LUMIN. I learned that it contains clinically-proven ingredients at therapeutic doses – meaning real research-backed stuff, not pixie dust amounts. It had already been tested on women in my age group (no “young model” testing only) and the results were impressive. In one clinical study, 87% of women saw their thinning edges return within 90 days. I almost cried reading that – could I really be one of those success stories in 3 months? I also loved that the formula was developed with input from Black hair specialists and even offered a 90-day money-back guarantee, which told me the company truly believes in their product. My last bit of hesitation (“aren’t gummies just candy?”) evaporated when I saw the ingredient list and dosing. This wasn’t a sugar treat – it was potent, science-driven nutrition that happened to taste like a black cherry fruit snack (a nice bonus for someone who dreads swallowing pills).
Most importantly, LUMIN was the first hair growth supplement I’d found that was actually built for us. It addressed the hormonal villain behind my hair loss and the specific needs of Black women’s hair (from common vitamin deficiencies to hair texture and styling damage). I felt a spark of hope again – something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I decided to give LUMIN RRB Hair Growth Gummies a try, praying it would finally be the answer to my hair loss prayers.
What’s Inside: Nutrients Tailored to Black Women 45+
To understand why LUMIN works when others failed, let’s look at a few of its powerhouse ingredients and what they do for our hair:
Saw Palmetto Extract: A natural DHT-blocker that helps halt the hormone-driven “hair follicle attack” in menopause. This berry extract essentially fights the same battle as popular hair loss drugs, but gently and without side effects, preventing further thinning at the roots.
Biotin–Silicon Complex: Biotin (vitamin B7) is famous for hair growth, but high doses alone can cause breakouts for some. LUMIN balances biotin with organic silicon (from silica), a mineral that strengthens hair strands and improves their thickness. Together, biotin and silica support each strand to grow back thicker and stronger – without the acne flare-ups.
Melanin-Rich Nutrients (Copper, Iron & Vitamin D): Black women are more prone to deficiencies in certain nutrients like vitamin D and iron, especially post-menopause. LUMIN’s gummies include these at levels tuned for us. Iron and copper boost our hair’s natural pigment and growth (so new hairs come in strong and rich in color), while vitamin D revives dormant follicles – critical since up to 80% of Black women are vitamin D deficient by midlife.
Ashwagandha & Adaptogens: An ancient herb, ashwagandha helps balance cortisol (the stress hormone). Chronic stress is a known hair-loss trigger that can worsen menopause-related shedding. By easing stress and supporting hormonal balance, this ingredient in LUMIN helps create a healthier scalp environment for growth.
Antioxidant Vitamins (A, C, E): These vitamins act like a shield for your follicles. They fight oxidative stress and inflammation that come with both aging and styling damage. Think of them as preservatives of your scalp’s youth – encouraging better circulation in the scalp and protecting the new hair as it grows.
Every ingredient in LUMIN serves a real purpose. There are no fluff or filler ingredients – just a smart blend designed to rejuvenate follicles from within. And unlike some smelly oils or messy topicals I’ve tried, taking these is simple and actually enjoyable. I took two gummies a day, and it felt like a small act of self-care rather than a chore.
Importantly, the formula is balanced. For example, it has just the right amount of biotin paired with other nutrients to prevent those notorious “biotin breakouts” women my age worry about. It’s vegan, gluten-free, and made with natural flavors – no gross gelatin or anything. In short, it checked all my boxes.
From Wigs to Winning: My 90-Day Hair Revival
I committed to LUMIN RRB Gummies for at least 3 months, given the clinical study and Dr. Washington’s advice that real hair regrowth takes a little patience (hair grows in cycles, after all). I stuck the bottle on my bedside table next to my Bible and multivitamin, and every morning I chewed my two cherry-flavored gummies with my coffee. Here’s what my journey looked like:
Week 3: I nearly screamed one morning – baby hairs were sprouting along my hairline! I ran my fingers over my edges and felt the soft fuzz of new growth. It was like finding green shoots in a garden you feared was dead. I also noticed far less hair in the drain after washing – the shedding had slowed dramatically.
Week 8: The thin patches on my crown began filling in. Where I once saw shiny scalp, I now saw delicate new hairs covering ground. My hair felt stronger too – the strands weren’t breaking off so easily. I could actually pull my hair into a gentle ponytail without feeling self-conscious about a “rat’s tail” thin end. Around this time, I stopped wearing wigs except for special occasions. My own hair was making a comeback!
Month 3: This was the true turning point. I sat in my stylist’s chair for a routine trim, and she froze, then grinned: “Girl…what have you been doing? There’s so much new hair here!” My stylist couldn’t believe the transformation – and honestly, neither could I. My edges were filling in solidly; I had actual bangs again instead of sparse wisps. The crown of my head, once my biggest insecurity, was covered by new growth that blended with the rest of my hair. I even noticed my bald spot (the one I used to strategically cover) had shrunk to almost nothing. By the end of 3 months, I had cut my wig budget to zero because I officially didn’t need them anymore. My own hair was thriving, and it felt glorious.
Perhaps the best part: as my hair grew back, so did I. With each passing week, I found myself returning to the confident woman I used to be. By month three, I was eagerly getting dressed for church with my hair – no hats to hide under – and soaking up the compliments from my church family (“Sis, whatever you’re doing, keep it up – your hair is beautiful!”). At work, I noticed I no longer fidgeted or avoided people’s gazes. I was present and self-assured, focusing on my job instead of my hair. My husband, bless his heart, told me I looked ten years younger and that he could see the light in my eyes again. Even more important, I felt that light inside.
Finally, one morning around that 90-day mark, I caught my reflection and didn’t immediately turn away. I stared. Touched my edges and smiled at the woman looking back. I looked like me
again. Not the defeated, weary person menopause had tried to make me, but the real me – the woman who has always been there, now with a full crown of hair that reflects the queen I am inside. “Now I look in the mirror and see ME again. Not the person menopause tried to turn me into, but the woman I’ve always been – just with edges that match my confidence,” I wrote in my journal. It may sound superficial to someone who hasn’t lived it, but regaining my hair felt like regaining my life. This was about so much more than vanity – it was about wholeness, identity, and empowerment.
Ready to Reclaim Your Crown?
If you’re a Black woman over 45 and tired of feeling helpless about your hair – tired of hiding under wigs, mixing concoctions at midnight, or taking vitamins clearly made for someone else’s hair and hormones – maybe it’s time you try something made for us. I’m sharing my story because I want my sisters to know that menopausal hair loss doesn’t have to be the end of your hair journey. There is a solution tailored to our unique needs, and it gave me back so much more than my hair. It gave me back my joy, my confidence, my reflection.
LUMIN RRB Hair Growth Gummies changed my life by addressing the root causes of my hair loss (literally and figuratively). No, it’s not an “overnight miracle” – real regrowth takes a bit of time – but it works. And it’s worth it. Because your hair is your crown, and it deserves better than generic solutions. And so do you.
Check Availability of LUMIN RRB Hair Growth Gummies today, and take the first step toward your own hair revival. Don’t spend another day avoiding mirrors or another dollar on quick fixes that don’t deliver. I got my crown back – now it’s your turn, queen. ✨👑
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