Sabine Valkieser, 43, was always proud of her blonde hair. But about three years ago, she suddenly found more and more of it in her brush and the sink. She sought out the possible reasons for the hair loss — she went to the doctor, to a dermatologist, even the gynecologist. They knew the reason, but provided no help: the hair loss was a result of a hormonal disorder. Sabine, a confident, vivacious woman, was puzzled because her hair kept falling out. She became increasingly anxious, trying dozens of solutions — until she no longer wanted to look in the mirror. “Hair is the most important means of social communication. Hair loss can be compared with an amputation,” explains Professor Dr. Ralf Paus, Head of Experimental Dermatology at the University of Lübeck.
Because traditional approaches were no help, she looked for alternatives. A friend told her about a successful therapy from Scandinavia — Harklinikken. The founder of the company is Danish nutritionist Lars Skjoth, who knows the psychological effects of hair loss well because he suffered as a young man himself. Skjoth developed a method of therapy that has helped over 18,000 Scandinavians from ages 17 to 83. Recently, his treatment became available in Germany when Harklinikken opened a clinic in Düsseldorf Königsallee.
Britta Richter, an experienced nutritionist and hair therapist, also experienced sudden, unexplained hair loss, believed to be from the stress of work and two small children. While Britta was in London she had met Lars. She was convinced the treatment could work and went to Copenhagen. A short time later, her thin spots were gone. After Britta experienced the effectiveness of the therapy herself, she was very enthusiastic about bringing it to Germany. Due to the enormous demand, Britta plans to help open three more clinics to Hamburg, Berlin and Munich.
Sabine scheduled an appointment to see Britta at Harklinikken. “This determines whether our customized treatment approach will work. We cannot help everyone,” states Britta. Hair loss has many manifestations. A distinction is made between hormonal-hereditary (androgenetic alopecia), circular (alopecia areata) and diffuse (Effluvieum) hair loss. Possible causes can be stress, diseases, malfunction of the thyroid gland and poor nutrition — all of which create an insufficient supply of essential nutrients.
Often, as with Sabine, hormonal fluctuations are the cause of hair loss. Male and female hormones can get out of balance. After stopping the birth control pill, pregnancy, puberty or during menopause, hair changes in structure for women. The male hormone testosterone has a negative impact on the high-growth hair follicles; they don’t get enough nutrients and permanently shrink. The hair can reach a length of only ten centimeters before falling out, and then it grows less and less.
The client’s head is studied with a dermatological camera after detailed discussion. This allows hair type, hair quality and the status of hair loss to be determined. These later form the basis for the composition of a customized treatment Extract. Treatment requires the client to massage the Extract on the scalp every night. In the morning the ingredients are washed with a special shampoo and — most importantly — cold rinsed, because low temperatures intensify the blood circulation.
Britta states that the Harklinikken method is particularly promising for hair loss that is caused by outside factors such as color and perfumes in shampoo or coloring agents, thin and brittle hair, dry scalp, dandruff and cradle cap — as well as some forms of psoriasis and fungal diseases. Sabine, like many other clients, has overcome her crisis thanks to Harklinikken.
