After Struggling With Hair Loss for 30 Years, Learn How Ricki Lake Reversed Her Thinning Hair
At 56, Ricki Lake has more hair than she’s had in years—learn what she used
Hair loss can hit anyone at any age for a wide variety of reasons—and celebrities aren’t immune to experiencing thinning hair any more than us. In fact, some celebrities have spoken out about their experience with hair loss, helping others not only feel less alone, but also offering advice on what helped them regrow their thinning hair. One celeb that comes to mind? Ricki Lake. The actress, 56, has given credit to a certain hair growth brand for helping thicken her once-thin hair. Here, we get into Ricki Lake’s hair loss journey and what worked for her.
About Ricki Lake’s hair loss
On New Year’s Day 2020, the Hairspray actress, TV host and producer took to Instagram to share photos of her shaved head with a caption describing her journey with alopecia, the medical term for hair loss. She started off the post with the words, “Liberated and Free, Me.”
In the post, Lake explained how she had been quietly suffering with hair loss for the past 30 years. “It has been debilitating, embarrassing, painful, scary, depressing, lonely, all the things,” she wrote. She also shared how she had tried countless remedies and treatments like steroid shots, PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy, supplements and more, as well as relying on extensions and clip-in hair pieces for years to disguise her thinning hair.
She also writes in the caption how she believes her time as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray is part of what led to her hair loss, as she was having to triple-process her hair as well as tease it every two weeks while filming. Aside from that, she contributes “yo-yo dieting, hormonal birth control, radical weight fluctuations over the years, my pregnancies, genetics, stress and hair dyes and extensions,” she wrote, to her thinning hair.
What Ricki Lake used to treat her hair loss
The specific type of hair loss Lake suffered from is androgenetic alopecia, a gradual form of hair loss that is often caused by genetic predispositions. After sharing her post on New Year’s Day 2020, she was recommended the hair care line Harklinikken by her hairstylist and met with the founder and lead researcher of the brand, Lars Skjøth.
“Androgenetic alopecia is exacerbated by epigenetics, which can play a significant role in hair thinning and loss,” explains Skjøth. “It involves changes in gene expression that are influenced by various environmental and lifestyle factors, without altering the DNA sequence itself. These changes are reversible and can impact the hair growth cycle, leading to hair thinning and miniaturization.”
What makes Harklinikken stand out amongst so many hair loss competitors is that their treatments are unique and catered to each individual’s needs. Skjøth did a consultation with Lake and felt like he could help her regain her hair.
To start her treatment, Skjøth prescribed Lake a preliminary treatment, Nizoral (available at the drugstore), which would help get her scalp in top-tier condition to fully benefit from the products. Once her scalp was at optimal health, Lake started using Harklinikken Hair Gain Extract, an award-winning, tailored-to-you extract applied to the scalp to support hair growth.
“The Hårklinikken Hair Gain Extract is the main cornerstone in the Hårklinikken Method, combined with the Hårklinikken Hair Supplements. All the constituents in a client’s Hair Gain Extract are continuously adjusted throughout the treatment, depending on response and compliance,” Skjøth tells us. “Ricki was an A student, so we never had to worry about her compliance being an issue. Ingredients used in the Hair Gain Extract work in unique synergy and none of them work when used alone. Ricki was exposed to our proprietary Burdock root extract, constituents from apple and sandalwood.”
“The Hair Gain Extract, I believe, is the game changer. I apply it to my scalp every night,” Lake said in an interview with Oprah Daily. Along with the extract, Lake’s hair care routine also included Harklinniken Balancing Shampoo, Daily Conditioner and Hair Hydrating Crème.
“I’ve been doing this very consistently; it’s working for me, and I don’t want to screw it up!” she said in the Oprah Daily interview. And in another interview with People, Lake said, “I’ve more than regained my hair. It’s healthier than it’s ever been.”
It took only a few months for Lake to start seeing results, says Skjøth. Around a year after starting treatment, Skjøth tells us, “Ricki had more hair than she used to have when she was in her 30s.”
Harklinniken has clinic locations in New York City and Beverly Hills, and is also available online.
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