Hair Loss in El Salvador

“I wanted to get a picture to support that imperfect hair is International, and to ensure that no one with imperfect hair ever feels like they are suffering at it alone like I did so many times growing up. But I couldn’t. The look in her eyes, perhaps me transferring my own feelings, perhaps not, but they looked sad.”

Hola amigos! ¿como estás?

I hope this finds you well.

I’m currently sweat covered, happy, and writing from El Salvador. A land of plenty and yet their own imperfections.

Alopecia and hair loss/ hair imperfections are worldwide…but definitely harder to spot in Latin America- El Salvador is no exception. I’m about to sound borderline creepy, but Latin Americans have truly been blessed with the most lush head of hair. #hairlust. And as you can imagine my solution search has not been abundant here. I have searched all of the usual spots, the markets (many, many, many markets) and hair salons (the Spanish word for wigs is peluca and for hair extensions, it is extensiones del pelo). Charades took a whole new level, as unfortunately my Spanish is not great, and on a number of occasions I went as far as awkwardly removing my wig to explain what I was looking for. My boyfriend was a little shocked, but as always, he remained by my side and supported my escapades.

I’ve never had to search this hard for hair loss solutions, which has me sitting here pondering why. Based on discussions with English speaking local business owners and a local fisherman who accompanied us on a fishing charter, I have concluded the reason is mixed.

Firstly, As I said earlier, Latin Americans are blessed with such lush heads of hair. Despite El Salvadorian’s hair generally being lush, imperfect hair does exist- just rarely. I spent two weeks exploring El Salvador’s countryside, making use of public transport (disco chicken buses- no joke, they are exactly how they sound. I wanted to take a photo but I was discouraged- we already blatantly stood out) and exploring markets and towns galore- I only spotted one elderly lady who appeared to have alopecia. She stood at the very end of the busy fish dock, wind blowing through her thin greying patches of hair. An international symbol that no matter what age, country, or ethnicity, we may all be impacted by imperfect hair. I can’t help but wonder if she grew up like me, without ‘normal’ hair, and what she did to fend off her bullies, build her confidence, and find a partner to share her life with. I wanted to get a picture to support that imperfect hair is International, and to ensure that no one with imperfect hair ever feels like they are suffering alone, like I did so many times growing up. But I couldn’t. The look in her eyes, perhaps me transferring my own feelings, perhaps not, but they looked sad. I don’t want my imperfections photographed or pointed out by strangers- a reminder that I’m different. I remind myself enough.

I divulge, sorry. The second aspect is financial. I mean I am an Accountant! Hair imperfections do not physically put your life at risk. You can keep living/ functioning with hair imperfections (potentially self-consciously/ mentally harmed, but living all the same). As such when you have next to no disposable income, hair loss solutions are not a priority, and when the majority of the population is in the same boat, there is no demand for hair loss solutions. The average monthly household income in urban areas is approximately US$700.00 and for rural areas approximately US$360.00. This is for an entire household. El Salvadorians are working hard to grow their economy after dealing with 12 years of grueling civil war (from 1980 to 1992) which destroyed their economy, and took far too many lives. While peace has been achieved, the country still deals with political challenges, like most countries, such as working to provide adequate and accessible education to all citizens, including the lost generation forced to fight or flee, first time farmers as a result of land repatriation from the 0.01% of El Salvador’s’ elites, environmental awareness and pollution, and economic support to small business owners who continue to create jobs and work to return to the country back to prosperity.

Because of the language barrier, I have not been able to extract as much understanding about hair and hair loss within El Salvador from locals as I would like, but I have been able to make observations. While hair solutions were not readily available in smaller areas, they were available somewhere, most likely in the larger cities, which I did not travel to. I spent a lot of time in El Tunco, the coastal area that a lot of city goers spend their weekends- I spotted quite a few ladies with hair extensions, which were given away by the blatant difference in hair texture. Salty air is known to make curly hair curl which it did without a doubt, leaving behind some oddly long straight hair.

With that final sentiment, I will say adios and hope you are all having an awesome day, full of confidence.

To all the El Salvadoreans I met while on my adventure, thank you for sharing your beautiful country with me. I had an amazing time and always felt safe and welcome. El Salvador has a lot of potential and I look forward to seeing it continue to blossom in the coming years.

XOX

P.s While traveling I see the most beautiful people living their lives. But I feel so inappropriate trying to take photos. What do you do? Do you take their photo? If so do you ask first? What’s considered appropriate?!

P.s.s Want to learn more about El Salvador’s history? There are tonnes of resources online including really well-made documentaries and movies. I especially recommend ‘Innocent Voices’, which is an award-winning film that captures some of the pain El Salvador and its people have been through. Remember this is just about El Salvador’s history, it is not reflective of what the country is like now and I highly recommend you checking El Salvador out for yourself…especially if you love the outdoors and getting off the beaten track.

Alopecia in El Salvador. Read about my experience in El Salvador with no hair. travelling with alopecia can be challenging. Continuing to hunt for hairloss solutions.