By Carol (my mother)

I hesitate to write about my hair. Thin, fine, wavy/curly with a tendency to frizz, it has always been my nemesis. It seems to have a maddening mind of its own – in a contrarian way. For example, at a major social event, it will inevitably look only so-so at best. Lolling home alone, however, it can be suddenly, bafflingly, spectacular. The spectacular, of course, is relative and depressingly brief.

Astrologically, I am mane-less in Leo, a catastrophe for a lioness’s pride. Just when I think my hair’s okay, I can walk down a street and a mere breeze will flatten and undo it. Watching other women walk by, perfectly coiffed and serenely confident in their tresses, my heart starts to sink. Why cannot I, a mature woman, get it together ? Channeling Nora Ephron, I am forced to declare, I feel bad about my hair.

What to do? Over the years, as you can imagine, I’ve tried many things. I’ve had stylists who’ve blown it straight and applied a myriad of products. This worked for a good long time and I was pleased with my chin-length, Anna Wintour-style hair. Unfortunately, my hair took a beating with the blow-dryer and I was forced to give it up. That meant embracing my essential wavy curliness and determining to make it work for me.

I embarked on a new hair adventure when I heard about a German product line on the TV news. Called Thymuskin, it’s formulated with GKL, a “biologically highly active” complex of peptides and proteins and promises real, lab-tested help for thinning hair. I won’t lie to you; it costs the earth ($122) but it’s worth it.

This is serious stuff and it does take real commitment. The regimen involves using two products, the shampoo and treatment a couple of times a day for weeks or months. Once you’re on maintenance, you shampoo as you normally would.

Four of us took on this experiment – my husband, my son, my friend and I. The results were transformative. Our hair seemed more lustrous, shinier, more alive, with a terrific texture. The guys’ hair looked beautifully groomed. We all did this for years and although eventually, I found that my hair was becoming immune to its powers and decided to try something else, I would highly recommend the Thymuskin line to anyone with limp, thinning hair. It really works.