Today let's talk about my hair system journey and these five things that I wish I knew before. These insights might have encouraged me to take the leap earlier on in my journey, but there are also a couple of slight negative things. These may have caused me to hesitate, although the journey has been so fulfilling. Overall, no story is perfect, and I'll touch on that later in this article, so do stick around.

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1. The Invaluable Impact on Confidence and Mental Health:

The first thing I wish I knew before I started wearing a toupee was the invaluable positive impact it would have on my confidence and my mental health. I've discussed this in previous videos, where I was in a bad place mentally. Prior to wearing a hair system, I suffered from trichotillomania, which is a compulsive handling condition. I had bits of my hair, clumps of my hair on the top of my head and on the sides as well that were bald, and some just didn't grow back. The roots had died. I was struggling to find a solution, and I tried a lot of things. But when I got that hair back on my head, something inside, something deep inside, which I can't really explain, was a very powerful and deep transitional change within me that happened when I got a hair system. I remember it's a day I'll never forget. When I went in to get my first hair system cut in, I went in with these bald patches and thinning hair, and very anxious. I was a highly anxious person at the time, but very poorly suffering from generalized anxiety disorder. I came out a new man. I remember coming out and getting into my car and looking in the rearview mirror and seeing hair that looked like mine. It was incredibly powerful. I remember the first thing I wanted to do when I got home was see my friends. I felt so confident, so happy. I felt like a new person. I felt like I'd been reborn. All of that anxiety, or like I'd say, probably like 90% of that anxiety, just evaporated. It showed me how interconnected my anxiety was to my hair loss and my trichotillomania. How something so simple could create something transformational, and funny enough, something so discernible could make such a powerful change. I genuinely thought there was something seriously wrong with me that would require years and years of therapy to fix, and it wasn't that at all. I got my hair system and I just felt like a completely different person. So, number one, a massive increase in confidence and pretty much a near full resolution of my mental health.

2. Understanding from Loved Ones:

Number two, I wish I'd have known how understanding people in my life, my loved ones and my friends, would be of the action I've taken. Getting a hair system or getting a hair transplant or getting SMP, anything like that, I suppose in some circles is still perceived to be fairly controversial, fairly banter-worthy. But I think if you're dealing with your close loved ones and your friends, and they care about you, and this is the key, they care about you and they notice a shift in how you are as a person once you've actually taken the action of getting a hair system. I was quite surprised. Pretty much everyone I've spoken to said, number one, you look better as a result, you look better, you look younger. But also, people noticed a real shift in my confidence. I did a video a couple of weeks ago saying how I told my friends on holiday that I wear a hair system, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Guys saying I looked younger. A lot of guys hadn't even noticed. One or two actually had noticed a change when I got a hair system, and they said, "Have you got a transplant, whatever?" And back then, I suppose I was too afraid of the repercussions if I actually told them what I'd had done. So, I just said, "No, I've grown my hair out." But they were like, "I see it now. You should have just been honest and upfront straight away." And I was just like, "Look, guys, I didn't know how you were going to respond. I didn't know what the response was going to be. I was quite new to wearing Hair Systems at the time." But it's been overwhelmingly positive. My mom's being super positive, my girlfriend's being super positive. So, number two, I wish I'd have known before I got a hair system how positive the response would be when I was honest about my hair system.

3. Effectiveness in Addressing Trichotillomania:

Number three, this is a big one, right? Number three, something I wish I'd have known before I wore a hair system was how effective it would be for my hair-pulling condition, trichotillomania. I tried everything under the sun. Everything. I'd done medications, I've done supplements. There was a study that showed that this supplement called NAC could cure trichotillomania. Didn't work. I'd done therapy. I've done all sorts. I'd seen my GP about it. After all of these interventions, it didn't actually solve the problem. Hair Systems did. Hair Systems have knocked it out of the park. My trichotillomania, because most of my hair pulling was on the top of my head, which is where our hair system sits. And the reason you pull the hair out is because you get this sort of stress relief buzz, as it were, when you pull a bit of hair out, and it helps relax you. It's grounded in anxiety. I've always been quite an anxious person growing up, and I'd had it for about 30 years. But since I've had a hair system, I don't do it anymore because it's not my hair. I don't get that stress relief. So I don't pull the hair out anymore. If the hair on the sides gets too long, I do have a bit of a go at it. But the great thing is I have the choice to keep the hair on the side short. So, that's what I do now. And to be honest, I actually have replaced that habit of pulling hair with just nail biting now, which isn't great, but it's less obvious. So it's kind of like a bit of a trade-off. And heck, maybe I could work on that somehow. Maybe you can get nail systems or something. I don't know, fake nails that you could put on your hands so you don't bite them. So number three, it's all of my trichotillomania, a condition I've had for 30 years. I'm cured of it. Thank you, Hair Systems.

4. Dealing with Trolls:

Number four, and this isn't such a great one, I underestimated how many trolls I would encounter upon making a YouTube channel. Now, it's calmed down a lot, and I'm very blessed and very lucky that my subscriber base now is generally a very positive place. People are very supportive. I see people helping each other out in the comments, which is awesome. That's what I wanted, and I've always wanted my channel to be a positive place where people can share their experiences, and share their thoughts and feelings and their journey. That is so important to me, and I value that a lot, and I appreciate you guys so much for making that possible. But in the earlier days, it was a struggle. I'd get a lot of trolls, and I don't know where these guys were coming from, but I had to block a lot of people. And yeah, in the early days, it was tough. But I kept going because this meant a lot to me, and I wanted to get the word out about Hair Systems, and I wanted to help people on their journey with Hair Systems. So, I kept going, and eventually, the trolls dissipated. You still do get one every now and then, but it's just a block and delete job. It's nothing like it used to be. So, that's number four, underestimating the number of trolls I'd encounter on social media. But it's a lot better now.

5. Importance of Maintenance:

Number five, maintenance. I underestimated maintenance. I think we all do on this journey. And if you are thinking about getting a hair system, it's something you do need to be mindful of. You do need to be mindful of maintenance because it's a key part of having a hair system, and it does require planning. So, I'd say most people wear their system for one to two weeks before removing and cleaning and rebonding. You're gonna have to put aside probably about two hours each time you do that. And it's probably going to need to be in privacy. You know, if you're living with people that don't know you wear a system, or if you have a tricky work schedule where you're working from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., you're gonna need to put aside like two hours one evening whereby you don't do anything, you just gotta focus on getting the hair system off, cleaning it, and rebonding it. It's really important. It's fundamental to having a system, especially if you want to go the DIY route, which is obviously what I promote. But yeah, I underestimated that. I've got better at it. It didn't take me that long to master. I think maybe about two to three months to really get on top of it and feel confident doing a clean and rebond. But it takes a little bit of time. Like anything, practice does make perfect. And the amount of investment of your time in the early days will pay dividends in the future.

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So, guys, what did you wish you knew before wearing a hair system? Are there any other things that you weren't aware of that surprised you once you started wearing? Let me know in the comments below. Let's start a discussion on this. It's not talked about enough.

Thanks for tuning in, guys, and I'll speak to you very soon.