Latest news with #Mitski
Vox
09-05-2025
- Health
- Vox
Losing my hair sucked. Trying to regrow it has been even worse.
is a culture writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. Her latest book is Laid and Confused: Why We Tolerate Bad Sex and How to Stop . I never appreciated how much I aspired toward conventional hotness until I got cancer and lost all my hair. As I underwent 12 rounds of chemotherapy in 2023 to treat advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma, I became measurably 'uglier': bald, muscle-free and inflated by steroids, with only three eyelashes to my name. The Mitski lyric 'But if I gave up on being pretty, I wouldn't know how to be alive' comes to mind. Ironically, as my hair fluttered to the ground like falling leaves during those early days of treatment, I realized that the wild, oft-frizzy hair I'd spent my whole life tussling with was central to my look. I tried my best to hold onto it. During my first few rounds of chemo, I opted to try a relatively new process called 'cold capping,' which is what it sounds like. The patient wears an ice-cold cap before, during, and after chemo, and for some, it can reduce the amount of hair loss during treatment by up to 50 percent. (New York recently became the first state to mandate insurance coverage of scalp cooling; I had to sink a chunk of my GoFundMe to afford it.) Today, Explained Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day, compiled by news editor Sean Collins. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The cap is, unfortunately, a torture device. Just 15 seconds into my first treatment with the freezing helmet latched to my head and with six more hours to go, the cold was unbearable. I took more Advil and Tylenol, and requested more Ativan, too. An hour later the nurse returned with the benzos and began pumping me with four types of poison, as I shivered on the most depressing floor in Murray Hill. Once I experienced the brutality of chemo, it became unimaginable to elect additional discomfort. The moment I stopped capping, the hair loss quickened, thinning out my wavy bob. Every day I asked myself: Is today the day I shave it? Would classic bald look better at this point? How much longer can I cling to hair normalcy? When I found clumps of hair caking the pillow on my hospital stretcher, I asked the emergency room doctor to buzz it. Why hair is so much more than that During the treatment, losing my hair was upsetting, but I had bigger problems, like cancer and sepsis. The post-chemo hair regrowth process — slow, uneven, patchy, lonely — has been more gutting because I'm supposed to be normal now. More than 80 million people in the US experience hair loss. In addition to affecting cancer patients, hair loss is also a common but rarely talked-about side effect of perimenopause and childbirth. While baldness, thinning, and hairline woes are more commonly associated with men, female pattern hair loss is estimated to impact 40 percent of women before age 50. Hair loss in women is more likely to be caused by medical conditions, medications, or psychological distress. Across the board, it has a significant impact on a patient's quality of life, but women are more likely to experience psychosocial problems as a result. 'Hair is deeply tied to our identity, confidence, and even how we just move through the world.' 'Hair is deeply tied to our identity, confidence, and even how we just move through the world,' Dr. Asmi Berry, a board-certified dermatologist in Los Angeles, says. 'Our hair is one of the first things that people notice. So when a patient or anyone experiences hair loss, especially after something life-altering like chemo or pregnancy or a severe illness, it's not just physical. It could feel like you've lost a part of yourself and that has an emotional impact.' People often get 'chemo curls' after cancer treatment: Their hair grows back thicker and curlier, sometimes in a different color. My alleged curls sprouted up unevenly on my head, as I was now expected to find work, love, and normalcy. After I begged, my oncologist finally referred me to a dermatologist at the cancer hospital who prescribed me minoxidil (Rogaine), spironolactone (a heart medication that can help treat female pattern hair loss), a scalp solution, and a military-grade anti-fungal shampoo that turns hair into straw. Neither the anti-fungal shampoo, which is also used to treat athlete's foot and ringworm, nor the topical solution are FDA-approved for hair loss, but have shown promise as adjunctive therapies and are among many tools a dermatologist may use to help a patient. A picture of my scalp at the dermatologist. Courtesy of Maria Yagoda Unfortunately for me, the growth process has remained slow-going. I'm grateful, though, that the dermatologist was willing to help me try — that she took my distress seriously. 'It's just hair,' people with an abundance of it tell me. 'You're rocking the short look!' Imagine if the most traumatizing thing that ever happened to you were visible on your body, and people made upbeat comments about it. When I finally worked up the courage to post a wig-free photo on my Instagram Stories, after over a year of hiding, someone told me I looked like Stockard Channing's Rizzo from Grease — the famously mid-30s actress playing a high schooler whose hair I hate. The patchy science of hair regrowth This is all to say, I'm not surprised that people go on hair plug vacations to Turkey. ('First stop is always Istanbul!' as they say). Unfortunately, there are few solutions for hair regrowth that are guaranteed to be effective. 'My advice is just to look for treatments that are backed by science and clinical data,' Berry says. When people ask Lindy Segal, a beauty writer and author of the Gatekeeping newsletter, what hair growth products are 'worth it,' Segal's answer is always the same: minoxidil, also known as Rogaine. 'It's still the only FDA-approved ingredient for hair growth in those assigned female at birth,' Segal wrote in an email. Finasteride (Propecia) is the other FDA-approved medication to treat hair loss and pattern baldness, but only for men. 'There's some research that red light therapy could boost hair growth, but a $45 bottle of Rogaine is a safer financial bet than a $500 device,' Segal says. 'Girl math!' And the girl math can add up: There are myriad supplements and hair products boasting ingredients like biotin, collagen, and zinc on the market, and they're not all bogus. Oral biotin, for example, is quite safe to ingest and studies show it could help prevent hair loss — though there's not enough research to show that it encourages growth. When I first saw my dermatologist, she first had me do a ton of bloodwork, to try to identify any other root causes of both hair loss and slow regrowth (aside from, you know, 12 infusions of the most toxic substances on Earth.) I was very low in zinc and vitamin B6, both of which are important for hair growth, so she prescribed me supplements for those, along with all the other pills and potions we tried. 'I think what's really important in the whole conversation of hair loss is a root cause approach,' Berry says. 'Figuring out, is the hair loss hormonal? Is there a nutritional component? Stress-induced? Getting a comprehensive evaluation by a dermatologist can really help with avoiding wasted time, money, or even hope on the wrong path.' Frustratingly, hair loss is also something that some doctors outside dermatology are quick to dismiss, regarding it as a problem of vanity. After giving birth to her 2-year-old son, my friend Alicia, a 35-year-old in North Carolina, watched in dismay as much of her hair came out (Vox is only using Alicia's first name so she can freely discuss a sensitive medical issue). When she brought the shedding up to her primary care physician, the doctor said, 'Oh, it looks fine to me!' and failed to refer her to a dermatologist. That's the big problem in the wild world of hair regrowth: Most stuff can't hurt. But most probably can't help. 'It was just a constant self-esteem bummer,' Alicia told me via text message. 'I just felt like no matter how I tied it back or what I did, I couldn't get it to look good. And there's no makeup or anything you can do for your hair.' The regrowth process was long, demoralizing, and expensive. 'I gave a lot of my money to Vegamour,' Alicia says. She thinks the Insta-friendly hair serum that contains turmeric, caffeine, and biotin helped, to some extent. Other well-advertised solutions that she bought seemed less effective for her hair, including growth supplements that contained biotin and acerola extract — a Brazilian fruit containing vitamin C that is supposed to help boost collagen production. That's the big problem in the wild world of hair regrowth: Most stuff can't hurt. But most probably can't help. One website selling Acelora as a hair supplement cites a 1954 study on scurvy, the vitamin C deficiency that can cause hair loss. I'm assuming, today, most people's hair loss is no longer scurvy-induced. An uptick in hair noise Like mine, Alicia's algorithm is plastered with hair growth ads boasting dubious claims. Indeed, it seems we are living in a time of unprecedented claims about hair. 'There's a lot of noise out there and people market in ways that are really psychologically triggering,' Berry says. Segal has also observed a distinct uptick in the noise. 'I've definitely noticed more products, brands, and general coverage targeted to hair growth for women in the last few years,' she says. She suspects some of it is related to the pandemic. Indeed, studies have indicated that roughly 20 percent of people who had Covid-19 later developed temporary hair shedding, usually starting a few months after recovering. It's best to be wary of any product that claims to regrow your hair 'instantly' or 'quickly.' Not to mention viral over-the-counter products can't help you with potential side effects: Nutrofol, for example, can perpetuate liver injury. I'll admit that, out of desperation, I've tried well-marketed hair regrowth products that aren't what you might call 'vetted.' Herbal oils, turmeric scalp elixirs, collagen powders, 'density' shampoos and conditioners, serums. I've lived in constant fear of more hair falling out, so I carefully ration hair brushing and washing, terrified to detach any more strands than inevitable. My first post-chemo blowout. Courtesy of Maria Yagoda A year and a half after finishing treatment, I worked up the courage to get my first blowout, which would involve brushing, washing, scrubbing, and hair blowing. The stylist showed me her comb and her hands after massaging my head. 'See? Only a couple hairs came out, which is normal,' she said. I'd expected a wig's worth. The blowout looked pretty, if thin. The varying lengths, caused by uneven regrowth, looked like cool, choppy layers. Patrice Grell Yursik, creator of the hair and beauty blog Afrobella, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in January 2024. After bone marrow biopsies and weeks of hospitalization, she had a stem cell transplant, followed by chemotherapy, and she lost all her hair. Yursik is also in the regrowth phase. I asked her if she'd tried anything to encourage the process. 'My oncologist is very wary of the wellness industry and doesn't recommend any additional supplements or hair growth medicines for me at this time,' she wrote in a message, adding that she couldn't cold cap because her type of cancer is located in the bone marrow, 'so we didn't want to basically refrigerate my skull while I was trying to heal.' 'I've tried a few topical products, specifically scalp oils intended to stimulate growth,' she says. 'My hair is growing back super thick and coily at the roots, and it is absolutely fascinating. For someone who made so much of her name and identity around hair, it has been an unexpected education in learning to love myself at every stage of my new journey.'
New York Times
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Japanese Breakfast's Shimmering Sadness, and 8 More New Songs
Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week's most notable new tracks. Listen to the Playlist on Spotify here (or find our profile: nytimes) and at Apple Music here, and sign up for The Amplifier, a twice-weekly guide to new and old songs. Plucked string tones from all directions create a magical, shimmering cascade around Michelle Zauner's voice in 'Here Is Someone' from the new album by Japanese Breakfast, 'For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women).' The lyrics hint at tensions and anxieties, but the track radiates anticipation: 'Life is sad, but here is someone,' Zauner concludes. JON PARELES Marianne Faithfull, who died in January at 78, kept recording almost to the end. She brought every bit of her scratchy, ravaged, tenacious voice to 'Burning Moonlight,' a song she co-wrote that holds one of her last manifestoes: 'Burning moonlight to survive / Walking in fire is my life.' Acoustic guitars and tambourine connect the music to the 1960s, when she got her start; her singing holds all the decades of experience that followed. PARELES 'Letter From an Unknown Girlfriend' is from the Waterboys album due April 4, 'Life, Death and Dennis Hopper,' and was written by Mike Scott. But it is sung and played by Fiona Apple, alone at the piano, delivering a remembrance of an abusive boyfriend: 'I used to say no man would ever strike me,' it begins, 'And no man ever did 'til I met you.' She admits to the charm of the 'satyr running wild in you,' but her voice rises to a bitter, primal rasp as she recalls the worst. It's a stark, harrowing performance. PARELES Diffidence turns into resolve in the course of 'Sanctuary,' a waltzing duet from 'Every Dawn's a Mountain,' the new album by the Belgian songwriter Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad. In separate verses, Tamino and Mitski sound fragile, contemplating uncertainty and loss; 'I reside in the ruins of the sanctuary,' Mitski sings. But when they connect — asking 'Is it late where you are?' — and harmonize, an orchestra rises behind them to offer hope. PARELES 'I'm a little crazy, but the world's insane,' the disturbed narrator of Morgan Wallen's new single contends. His character is a drug dealer who keeps a loaded gun nearby. He's sustaining himself 'on antidepressants and lukewarm beers' and yelling at his TV, 'but the news don't change.' Over steadfast acoustic guitar picking and lightly brushed drums, Wallen sings with chilling, sociopathic calm. PARELES The rhythm section from the African rock band Mdou Moctar — Ahmoudou Madassane, Mikey Coltun and Souleymane Ibrahim — has been recording on its own as Takaat, which means 'noise' in Tuareg; an EP is due in April. Takaat's first single, 'Amidinin' ('Friend'), keeps the modal riffing and six-beat propulsion of Mdou Moctar, but cranks up the guitar distortion, slathers on echo and unleashes the drums to sound even more ferocious. PARELES The Toronto-based vocalist and producer Debby Friday won the Polaris Music Prize for her sharp 2023 debut album, 'Good Luck.' She returns with the euphoric electro-pop single '1/17,' a dance-floor confessional that shows off yet another side of her multifaceted talent. 'I swear you're a sign,' Friday sings in an airy atmosphere punctured by percolating synths. The track builds layer atop gauzy layer until it explodes in a burst of club-ready catharsis. LINDSAY ZOLADZ The legacy of 1970s Stevie Wonder suffuses 'Crash,' with cushy chromatic chord changes and a loping synthesizer bass line supplied by the keyboard master (and co-producer) Greg Phillinganes. Saba raps a no-pressure come-on: 'Together we can make time go fast / And if it's late, I hope you might just crash.' And Kelly Rowland, joining in on choruses, sounds perfectly amenable. PARELES Jack Harlow and Doja Cat exchange flirty verses on 'Just Us,' a fast-paced track that forgoes catchy pop choruses and focuses instead on dexterous flows and winking wordplay. 'I know it sounds like Zack and Cody, this life's sweet,' Harlow raps, showing his age with a reference to a mid-2000s Disney Channel show. Corny? Maybe, but Doja's into it: 'You a softy, marshmallows and black coffee,' she counters affectionately. The video is full of celebrity cameos that prove how many people will pick up the phone when Harlow calls: Matt Damon, PinkPantheress, John Mayer and Nicholas Braun. Zack and Cody, alas, are nowhere to be found. ZOLADZ The long-running indie-rock band Deerhoof can be coy or oblique, but it's neither in 'Immigrant Songs,' a response to America's sudden, brutal xenophobia. Satomi Matsuzaki gives voice to unrecognized immigrant labor — drivers, cooks, entertainers — over guitars and drums that lilt and intertwine behind her. But for the second half of this seven-minute track, the instruments just scream. There's no more arguing or persuasion left. PARELES
Wall Street Journal
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
‘Blood on the Silver Screen' Review: Sasami's Winding Path to Pop
It's not unusual for artists who come from the indie-rock sphere to try their hand at mainstream pop. There has to be a certain amount of curiosity involved, where they wonder how far a career in music might take them, and artists from Mitski, who worked with hired-gun hitmaker Dan Wilson on a song from her album 'Laurel Hell,' to St. Vincent, who collaborated at length with Jack Antonoff, have explored musical approaches that would have seemed foreign to the fans who followed them from the beginning. At first glance, Sasami Ashworth, who performs under her first name, seems like the latest artist to travel the indie-goes-pop route. After a stint playing with the rock band Cherry Glazerr, she released a self-titled debut record in 2019 that was firmly in the realm of confessional singer-songwriters like Phoebe Bridgers—intimate, jangly and dreamy. Her second album, 'Squeeze,' was a sharp left turn, leaning on her guitar playing, which imbued heavy metal and pop-punk with an industrial sheen. In interviews leading up to her third LP, 'Blood on the Silver Screen' (Domino), out Friday, Ms. Ashworth spoke of inspirations including Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, which might suggest a naked bid for the mainstream.
