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Hair, Hormones & Honest Talk
Hair, Hormones & Honest Talk episodes
- The Minoxidil Shed: What "Worse Before Better" Actually Means
Two weeks after starting minoxidil, the brush is fuller. The pillow is worse. The shower drain is a horror movie. And somewhere on Reddit at 2 am, another woman is asking the same question: "Is this normal, or is it making me worse?" In Episode 2, Esmael walked through who oral minoxidil is for. Episode 3 is the follow-up nobody warned you about — the shed itself. What "worse before better" really means, why it happens in waves, the 8-to-16-week window most women don't know about, and the three signs that mean it's time to call your doctor, not scroll another forum.
**Free guide:** If you're walking into this conversation with your doctor and you're not sure what to ask, I made you a free guide — *Is It Just Shedding? A 5-Minute Self-Check for Women*. Same 5 questions I ask in the chair. [Download the guide here.](https://www.heads-hairacademy.com/hair-recovery-programme)
ABOUT HAIR, HORMONES & HONEST TALK
A weekly podcast for women navigating perimenopause, menopause, and the hair changes that come with them. Hosted by Esmael Gilis — 28 years a hairdresser, two-time nominee at The Hairdressing Awards Belgium, founder of HEADS Hair Academy.
FREE GUIDE
The first practical step is our free guide: heads-hairacademy.com/free-guide
DISCLAIMER
Educational content only. Esmael Gilis is a professional hairdresser, not a medical professional. This podcast complements medical advice — it never replaces it. Always consult your doctor or a qualified specialist about hormonal or scalp concerns.
© 2026 ESMAEL BV · HEADS Hair Academy · Aarschot, Belgium
10 min - oral-minoxidil-for-women
Every few years, a "breakthrough" hair-loss headline lands, and the number of questions in chairs triple overnight. This week, it's oral minoxidil — the pill version of the treatment most women already know as a foam. The press is calling it the biggest breakthrough in decades. Women in menopause forums are quietly asking if they should be next. In this episode, Esmael Gilis, with 28 years behind the chair since 7 July 1998, separates the headline from the reality: what oral minoxidil actually does, who tends to do well on it, who probably should not start it, and the 7 questions a woman should bring to her doctor *before* she asks for a prescription.
**The 7 questions to bring to your doctor:**
- Diagnosis — what is my actual diagnosis, not just "thinning hair"?
- Ferritin — what is my ferritin level (iron stores)?
- Thyroid — what does my full thyroid panel look like?
- Dose — what dose, and why that dose?
- Time horizon — how long until we know if it's working?
- Exit plan — what happens if I stop?
- Plan B — what other options are in the toolbox?
**Free guide:** If you're walking into this conversation with your doctor and you're not sure what to ask, I made you a free guide — *Is It Just Shedding? A 5-Minute Self-Check for Women*. Same 5 questions I ask in the chair. [Download the guide here.](https://www.heads-hairacademy.com/hair-recovery-programme)
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*This podcast complements — and does not replace — advice from your doctor or dermatologist.*
ABOUT HAIR, HORMONES & HONEST TALK
A weekly podcast for women navigating perimenopause, menopause, and the hair changes that come with them. Hosted by Esmael Gilis — 28 years a hairdresser, two-time nominee at The Hairdressing Awards Belgium, founder of HEADS Hair Academy.
FREE GUIDE
The first practical step is our free guide: heads-hairacademy.com/free-guide
DISCLAIMER
Educational content only. Esmael Gilis is a professional hairdresser, not a medical professional. This podcast complements medical advice — it never replaces it. Always consult your doctor or a qualified specialist about hormonal or scalp concerns.
© 2026 ESMAEL BV · HEADS Hair Academy · Aarschot, Belgium
12 min - Trailer — Hair, Hormones & Honest Talk
A new podcast for women navigating hair loss, thinning, and menopause hair changes — and for the partners, daughters, and friends who want to understand.
I'm Esmael Gilis. I've spent 28 years behind the chair at HEADS — The Art Of Hairdressing in Aarschot, Belgium, and I'm a two-time nominee at The Hairdressing Awards Belgium. This podcast is the conversation I've been having with women in my salon for nearly three decades — now in your ears.
Hair loss, hormones, and honest answers. No miracle cures. No easy way. Just science, lived experience, and what actually helps.
Episode 1 drops Monday, 9 June 2026: "Perimenopause hair changes — why it feels sudden (and what actually helps)."
Subscribe now so you don't miss it.
This podcast is for education and is not a substitute for medical advice.
ABOUT HAIR, HORMONES & HONEST TALK
A weekly podcast for women navigating perimenopause, menopause, and the hair changes that come with them. Hosted by Esmael Gilis — 28 years a hairdresser, two-time nominee at The Hairdressing Awards Belgium, founder of HEADS Hair Academy.
FREE GUIDE
The first practical step is our free guide: heads-hairacademy.com/free-guide
DISCLAIMER
Educational content only. Esmael Gilis is a professional hairdresser, not a medical professional. This podcast complements medical advice — it never replaces it. Always consult your doctor or a qualified specialist about hormonal or scalp concerns.
© 2026 ESMAEL BV · HEADS Hair Academy · Aarschot, Belgium
1 min
About Hair, Hormones & Honest Talk
From the publisher's feed
Perimenopause hair changes blindside most women — and most of the advice out there is either too clinical to act on or too commercial to trust. Hair, Hormones & Honest Talk is the in-between voice you wished you had.
Hosted by Esmael Gilis — 28 years as a hairdresser, two-time nominee at The Hairdressing Awards Belgium, founder of HEADS Hair Academy. New episode every week.
Honest, generous with the science, never overselling. Hair loss complements medical advice — it never replaces it.
heads-hairacademy.com