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[Caz]

Zarfeen.......Unless you are losing 'significantly' more than 40 hairs a day, pleeeeese stop worrying about it! This happens to 'everyone', whether they notice it or not! Men lose around 100 per day! Anyway......the hair isn't really lost.....As it falls out, a new hair grows in to replace it! When I was about your age, I was given some tips by someone on how to keep my scalp and hair healthy and they have stood me in good stead all my life! Here they are.......1) Don't shampoo your hair more than twice a week, as this strips away the 'natural' oils from your hair.  2) When you are shampooing your hair, using only the tips of you fingers, 'gently' massage your scalp all over, using little circular motions. This increases the blood flow through your scalp and that helps to 'feed' your hair!      3)  After rinsing your hair in warm water, use 'cold' water for the last rinse!  4) 'Never' brush your hair while it's wet! If you want to detangle it, do it gently, using a 'wide tooth' comb. We used to call them 'Afro combs'......Do you know the kind I mean? If you brush your hair while it's wet, the hair will stretch! This weakens the hair and can cause it to break! Lastly Zarfeen, if you are feeling well in yourself and are now happy that you are 'not' going bald, do 'not' subject yourself to any medical procedures that you do not need. You are only 14 years old, and by the time you are 64, you'll be sick of medical procedures..... and anyway......sitting in a surgery waiting room surrounded by sick people, all suffering from who knows what, isn't a healthy thing to do, at least it isn't, here in the UK! 

[tomthoms]

Hey Caz,
where were you when I was 17? !

Auld baldy heeded, Tam.

[Emma Jean]

Would be interested to get some views on this...

About 18 months ago, I got one of those new-fangled fancy UK passports which should be able to scan through automatic gates when re-entering the UK as it recognises your face. I've tried this a few times but it's never worked, but I didn't think much of it as plenty of others seem to have the same problem and I just put it down to faulty contraptions.

However, I went to Australia over Christmas and when I returned via Heathrow, I tried my passport in the E-gate and it again failed to let me through. I went to the desk with the immigration official checking passports manually and said that I'd tried the gates 3 or 4 times since I'd received the passport and it had never worked. The young lady on the desk started to say that some of the newer passports can be faulty (pretty shoddy if true given what you have to pay for them), but stopped after looking at her computer screen and said:

"Ah right - you won't ever be able to use those automatic gates and will have to come to the manned desk every time you re-enter the UK from abroad. There's a security reason but you haven't done anything wrong and it doesn't affect your ability to travel smoothly. I can't tell you any more than that I'm afraid."

I was a bit taken aback and asked if it was because I have dual British/Australian nationality. That seemed to be news to her so I assume it hadn't flashed up on her screen. She said that wasn't the reason and repeated that she couldn't tell me any more. I was tired from a 24 hour journey with little sleep, so I let it go and moved on, but I still don't know what the hell it was about.

A quick search around the internet hasn't turned up others with similar experiences. I assume that she told me too much just by mentioning that there was a security issue, as I tried to ask an official at Gatwick last week after coming back from Barcelona why my passport wouldn't scan in the E-gates - all he said was that it worked on his computer and that the chip must be faulty.

My previous passport had several visas and stamps for the likes of Russia, China and Venezuela in it from my travels over the last few years. Are they perhaps countries that you end up on a watch-list for visiting? The UK doesn't exactly look on them very well diplomatically, even if it sucks up to China for economic reasons. It's fairly absurd if this is the reason, but that's all I can think of.

In reality, it's not a big deal, but a bit bloody annoying to be told that there is a security issue surrounding me and to have to use the manual desks each time when the E-gates are so much faster. What's the silly secrecy about too? "There's a security issue but I can't tell you what it is."

I have a feeling it has everything to do with the countries you've visited in the past especially those you've mentioned. You might just be on their ‘watch’ list as you have generated some curiosity with the authority by visiting those countries. They haven't found anything suspicious yet but the easy access back to country is denied just in case. Won’t surprise me much if your whereabouts are being tracked as well when you are out of country. But if you are not doing anything wrong then you have nothing to worry about I suppose. It's annoying but they'll probably say its' the protocol they are following. I highly doubt they will give you the true answer even if you do intend to write them. Perhaps an answer that won't raise any more questions/suspicions on your part.

[Aileen]

^ It seems your doc was right.  Losing between 40-120 hairs a day isn't a cause for concern -

Everyone loses between 40 and 120 strands a day, depending on how much hair you have, your age and your hair's growth cycle. People with fine hair tend to have more of it and therefore will lose more of it than their thicker-haired sisters and brothers. Your hair also thins as you get older, particularly after menopause for women. But unlike aging men, the thinning tends to stop after awhile.

http://beauty.about.com/od/hairbasics/f/hairloss.htm

I'm just relieved to know that hair-thinning usually stops in older women.

[Aileen]

Is the entirety of these four pages about hair loss?

Nope - there's a query from Joe about problems with his passport.  See p.1.

[scotnadian]

Would be interested to get some views on this...

About 18 months ago, I got one of those new-fangled fancy UK passports which should be able to scan through automatic gates when re-entering the UK as it recognises your face. I've tried this a few times but it's never worked, but I didn't think much of it as plenty of others seem to have the same problem and I just put it down to faulty contraptions.

However, I went to Australia over Christmas and when I returned via Heathrow, I tried my passport in the E-gate and it again failed to let me through. I went to the desk with the immigration official checking passports manually and said that I'd tried the gates 3 or 4 times since I'd received the passport and it had never worked. The young lady on the desk started to say that some of the newer passports can be faulty (pretty shoddy if true given what you have to pay for them), but stopped after looking at her computer screen and said:

"Ah right - you won't ever be able to use those automatic gates and will have to come to the manned desk every time you re-enter the UK from abroad. There's a security reason but you haven't done anything wrong and it doesn't affect your ability to travel smoothly. I can't tell you any more than that I'm afraid."

I was a bit taken aback and asked if it was because I have dual British/Australian nationality. That seemed to be news to her so I assume it hadn't flashed up on her screen. She said that wasn't the reason and repeated that she couldn't tell me any more. I was tired from a 24 hour journey with little sleep, so I let it go and moved on, but I still don't know what the hell it was about.

A quick search around the internet hasn't turned up others with similar experiences. I assume that she told me too much just by mentioning that there was a security issue, as I tried to ask an official at Gatwick last week after coming back from Barcelona why my passport wouldn't scan in the E-gates - all he said was that it worked on his computer and that the chip must be faulty.

My previous passport had several visas and stamps for the likes of Russia, China and Venezuela in it from my travels over the last few years. Are they perhaps countries that you end up on a watch-list for visiting? The UK doesn't exactly look on them very well diplomatically, even if it sucks up to China for economic reasons. It's fairly absurd if this is the reason, but that's all I can think of.

In reality, it's not a big deal, but a bit bloody annoying to be told that there is a security issue surrounding me and to have to use the manual desks each time when the E-gates are so much faster. What's the silly secrecy about too? "There's a security issue but I can't tell you what it is."

Toronto airport just had these installed a few weeks ago, and I used my 4 year old Canadian passport yesterday with no problems. I haven't updated my UK passport, so assume I will have to pay extra now?

A few years ago I entered the UK using my UK passport, and re-entered Toronto using my Canadian passport. I used both passports just for the kick of being able to do so, and for no other reason. Not sure if you can still do that.
A few weeks later I received a threatening letter from the Canadian Gov't saying I had frauduently claimed a benefit whilst out of the country. This was true, but was a genuine oversight on my part, and I immediately contacted them and repaid the money, then followed it up with a letter of explanation. They wrote back saying they had removed this charge. I'm paraphrasing, but still got the letter somewhere.

The point is, they obviously tracked my passport activity.

Would be interested to hear if you follow up on your issue, Joe.

[GangstaMurray]

Is the entirety of these four pages about hair loss?

We could discuss your woeful RTR record