Thin hair help!

[serendipity909]

Hi,
I am 29 and since around the age of 18 I have noticed that my hair has been shedding/thinning like mad. Between the ages of 20-24 I took the yasmin birth control pill for hormonal acne and my skin and hair both massively improved.

I found out 3 years ago that I'd been borderline Hypothyroidism since my teens and started taking Levothyroxine 3 years ago which has worked really well for me and my hormonal acne that had come back after coming off yasmin cleared up after maybe 4 months on Levothyroxine. But my hair has never recovered!
I've had plenty of checks in that time including tsh, t3, t4, antibodies. All my results are optimal and tsh sits around 1.2.

I've been taking high dose vitamin D for about 2 years now (4000 iu a day) after a blood test showed my levels were only 18. (I was feeling incredibly tired which is why that was tested). My levels are now good too. I realise 4000iu is quite a lot but my body seems to benefit.

I also started taking a 20mg gentle iron supplement around 7 months ago as I still felt tired and my ferritin was 33, I read low ferritin can affect hair growth and shedding also.

Since taking the iron and vitamin D I feel massively better in myself, but still my hair is incredibly thin compared to what it was.

I also take a general low ish dose multivitamin as I'm vegetarian and I wanted to ensure I was getting enough iodine, but not too much. There's no iron in the multi.

I feel like I've exhausted all possibilities and wondered if anyone else has experienced this and figured out a way to help it?
I've never had really thick hair so I'm not unrealistic but it is really very thin and gets greasy after only a day.
It doesn't look healthy to me generally.

Any ideas? :)

[Imboredinthehouse]

Make sure that you aren’t taking your iron at the same time as your thyroxine as it stops the absorption of the thyroxine.

Have you had your B12/folate checked? A lot of hypothyroidism suffers also have low B12 -as well as low Vit D & low Ferritin- it all seems to go hand in hand. The British Thyroid Foundation do report that some hypothyroidism patients only feel well in the upper range of normal for ferritin.

As for hair, mine is also pretty thin but did thicken up slightly when I got my ferritin up to mid 80 & started B12 injections.

This product works wonders. I wash my hair in the evening, spray this on and leave it to dry naturally because I’m rubbish at blow drying anyway. Looks twice as thick all the next day.
www.boots.com/bumble-and-bumble-thickening-go-big-treatment-10256646

[serendipity909]

Thanks for the suggestions :)

I always take my Thyroxine in the morning and the supplements in the evening, my B12 and folate were both about mid normal range, and I should be getting a little extra now with the multivitamin. I have also read things which do suggest for whatever reason that ferritin plays a big part in Hypothyroidism etc too. It is all very interesting to me (Albeit a bit frustrating too).

Perhaps I need to be more patient with the Iron, I haven't had my levels rechecked so that might be an idea when the worlds gone back to normal a bit xD. Do you have any idea how long it takes to 'build up' iron in the body?
I believe I read that under 70 of ferritin and it still affects hair growth, so I was hopeful to get to 80 or a little more.

I have always been a vegetarian and also have a fairly heavy totm, whilst I feel I eat well most of the time, I could easily see how I perhaps need some extra iron. I certainly felt the benefits after about 6 weeks of taking iron, I feel like a normal 20 something year old again for the first time in a good few years.

I think I will treat myself to that product, it sounds like it could be a good option in the mean time :)

[HundredMilesAnHour]

I've always had fine, thin hair but I had a lost of hair loss due to stress at work. My hair did finally start growing back but it was even more fine than usual and kept breaking.

My hairdresser recommended a new serum by Kerastase. He doesn't normally recommend products so it wasn't a sales tactic. I trust his judgement. This is actually the only product that his salon partner has ever endorsed (they were present at the launch) in over 20 years of hairdressing at award-winning levels.

The serum isn't cheap and you have to use it every day for 6 weeks. I put it on before I go to bed. I didn't see any difference for the first 2 weeks but suddenly, wow! My hair looked much better and felt stronger. It was a visible difference. As I continued, I've even had some more hair growing back. I couldn't be happier.

I've found Lookfantastic is the cheapest place to buy it. They often do 15-20% which they're doing at the moment.

It's easiest to start with the ampoules while you get used to how much serum you should use each day. But after that, I switched to the big bottle as it's slightly cheaper.

www.lookfantastic.com/kerastase-genesis-ampoules-cure-fortifiantes-anti-chute-10-x-60ml/12432684.html

[NoBloodyFighting]

HundredMilesAnHour I'm really intrigued by the kerastase serum and checked the look fantastic link- it seems to show a 90ml bottle or 10x60ml ampoules for the same price. This a typo, right? The ampoules are 6ml?

[HundredMilesAnHour]

@NoBloodyFighting It must be a typo. You're supposed to get more with the bottle than the ampoules but I find it works out about the same so it's more about preference really. The ampoules are handy for travelling. Not that any of us are going anywhere right now.

I was quite sceptical at first. But the difference is really noticeable.

[SparklingLime]

There’s research to suggest ferritin needs to be well over 70 for hair to regrow.

[LoveBeingAMum555]

I am interested in this too, I have been on Levothyroxine for 2 years and my levels have not yet settled down which is really irritating. I am also vegetarian but 20 years older then you OP which doesn't help! A year ago I had my just past shoulder length hair cropped short because it was horrible, and although it's better to style now it is still really thin and I hate using loads of product to give it some oomph.

Also off to look at the serum, thanks.

[Anthilda]

Can I ask a question please because my hair is exactly how you have described yours. In the blood test, how would I know what my ferritin levels are?
I've had bloods done fairly recently and I had various low levels of this and that, which I am now taking various vitamins for including vitamin d.
Does the ferritin level come up as ferritin or does it have a random mix of initials and a number?
Sorry this sounds daft but I have pored over mine and did not see anything about ferritin.
I take b complex, b12, iron, zinc and folic acid. I believe these are essential for hair growth too and have noticed baby hairs coming in at the front but nothing significant yet.
Any advice appreciated.
Ps I like to use tigi bed head shampoo in the red bottle (rescue/3) it is the best shampoo I've used and keeps my hair nice and glossy

[Sunshine1239]

God I could have written your post!

I always had thinning hair but noticed esp in late teens and early twenties - thinning but not thin at time

I was on cilest which is a positive pill

I wa diagnosed hypothyroid at 25 after miscarriage and have been on thyroxine since - I’m 40

My hair is thin but it’s steadily coping! I’m not on pill and I think it’s worse. I should have stayed on

All pills except Yasmin and cilest negatively affect hair due to progesterone which is form of testosterone

These pills have such high oestrogen they help hair

Whatever you do don’t go on mini pill😱

The last thing you need is testosterone only

Get iron sorted. Mine was 5! But after two years of supplements I got it to 70. Not huge improvement but it’s still not noticeable to others

I rarely have hair down as I find it too thin but others wouldn’t notice

[ZoeandChandon]

Have you considered PCOS? There is a connection between the 2.

[SparklingLime]

@Anthilda, ferritin should be listed as just that. If you’re having it tested in the future, it’s recommended to stop iron supplements for a week in advance.

[Anthilda]

Oh ok @sparklinglime, I guess it was not included in the last blood test. Thanks for the advice.

[SparklingLime]

@Anthilda, the units are ug/l (micrograms/litre).

[serendipity909]

It is nice to not be alone! I feel like I spend everyday admiring what seems to be every other woman's amazingly thick and beautiful hair... Then feeling embarrassed of my own

@LoveBeingAMum555 I also got my hair cut to just below chin in January (again) as it gets sooo straggly once it's past my shoulders. I also hate tying my hair up as my ponytails or braids are tiny to the point of looking silly. I can't even use the smallest hair doughnuts as I can't cover them... Sometimes you have to laugh

I will definitely get my ferritin re tested, this is all I can think it could be still. The funny thing is Oestrogen rich foods which contain isoflavones like soya break me out badly.

I did consider Pcos but I don't seem to have any of the symptoms except hair loss.

Does everyone else notice the shedding too? My hairbrush fills up crazy fast, I clog the shower drain most weeks and I'm forever picking hairs off my tops. I also block up the hoover pretty regularly. I am really surprised I'm not bald tbh 😂

[Anthilda]

Yeah I shed a lot of hair, my brush, the shower etc. I feel like I constantly need to hoover my bedroom.