My teenage daughter recently told me about her dream trip to Europe in the summer of 2022, the one she and her best friend apparently had been “planning” since the 6th grade. They talk about it often, and have been adding new detail as they’ve gotten older and learned more about the world. I was hanging on her every word depicting English castles, canals in Amsterdam, and crusty fresh bread from German bakeries.
And then I had an epiphany: Fantasizing about future travel is so much more enjoyable than actually planning it!
Now that travel to far-flung shores is forbidden, we can all allow ourselves to think about it like a pair of middle school girls would – full of exotic bliss, and at zero cost. It’s the stress-free, window-shopping approach to tourism that is especially kind to your bank account.
But simply saving the money you would otherwise have spent on an experience isn’t very satisfying. The trick is to heighten the anticipation of your future experience by taking steps now that promise to make it even more exciting.
And what could be more exciting than taking the best possible version of yourself on that trip, once it can finally happen?
If you’ve been working from home, chances are that you spend less time commuting, with more free time. And that no one sees you most of the day.
This is the time to work on that new and improved You, the one that’s going to dazzle the world you’ll be re-entering once it’s safe.
You could diet, yes. You could also exercise. Or you could grow a fuller head of hair.
Think about it. If you’ve been working from home, chances are that you spend less time commuting, with more free time. And that no one sees you most of the day. And that you are not expected to look dressy for your Zoom calls.
If you’ve been losing hair and are worried about that growing bald spot in the back or a receding hairline in the front, getting a hair transplant is by far the best solution you can invest in. It’s a one-time procedure, it’s minimally-invasive, and it will permanently give you a younger and fitter look.
The one downside? Hair takes time to grow. Getting the transplant, a matter of a single day, is only the starting point. You sit still for up to 8 hours to let a team of technicians shave down the donor area at the back of your head, extract the number of follicles agreed upon when quoting your procedure, and transplant them into all the donor areas according to plan. Then you go home and wait. It takes 7-10 days for the tiny little red pricks all over your scalp to scab over and fall off, and for the donor hair to grow sufficiently to where it looks no different from before.
Patience is the one thing many of us are exercising right now anyway. We seem to have rather too much time than too little.
The real test comes then: Waiting for the hair to first fall out (yes, it does, but it’s not a cause for alarm!) and then begin its long, slow, growth cycle, stretching all the way to 12 months. To see the typical growth cycle in action, check out this article: The Stages of Hair Growth After NeoGraft.
We know it’s hard to ask for patience. But patience is the one thing the pandemic has forced us to exercise right now anyway. We seem to have rather too much time than too little, with the days running into each other while our old hectic lives are on hold.
Why not take advantage of the unexpected upending of our lives to do something, well, unexpected? Something that might have been a huge inconvenience in your prior life, something you might have put off because it didn’t fit into your schedule or budget?
We are aware that many people’s finances are precarious at the moment. It may seem like a bad time to spend more rather than less. But it’s also a time with fewer opportunities to spend on the things we typically do – eating out, movies, and yes, travel. This may be the perfect time for the remake you never really thought you could afford.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself at the bow of a water taxi in Venice, on top of Table Mountain, or rafting down the Colorado River. Can you see your hair blowing in the wind?
The only thing standing between you and that hair may very well be a hair transplant!
If you’re not sure if a hair transplant is for you, see if you qualify for one by answering a few questions and uploading your picture for a same-day quote. And make sure to evaluate your financing options to check your credit score and learn about payment plans.
