To think more women losing their hair these days?

[adrianmolesmole]

I know this is a weird question..!

I'm noticing it everywhere, small balding spots on tops of women's hair, or their crowns or partings, is this a covid thing or something? I've been experiencing hair loss myself so it could be me reading too much into things, being as paranoid as I am! Is it just me of us this actually happening?

I've jokingly said recently I feel like I'm moulting as I'm losing so much hair. However I've got a history of anaemia so I suspect that I'm iron deficient again. I didn't know they were linked but I have been beyond tired of late and was just putting it down to work

Mine’s thinned, but I have PCOS and Hashimoto’s. Still no bald spots, but dry shampoo and its thickening effects are my friend.

Weirdly, I have noticed something interesting, in that the women in my area tend to have very thick hair. I’m in the US, and locally we have women predominantly from Jewish, Italian, Greek and Chinese backgrounds, and they seem to retain very thick hair into menopause.

Taking a spoonful of cod liver oil a day does wonders for my skin and hair. It stops my scalp itching and makes my hair shiny and it feels thicker.

Mine has been thinning for a while, and the menopause accelerated it. I had a bad experience with the minoxidil, but find that Batiste dry shampoo is a lifesaver!

Mine thinned in the first lockdown when I turned 49. Been meaning to ask the GP about it

I had some hair loss, mainly noticeable at the front sides but also in general mass when I was going through the perimenopause. Friends of the same age/stage had the same .

The good news is that it did come back for me and, as the grey hair that followed was coarser , it looked like greater volume overall and my fine hair became much more manageable .

It’s hormone related alas.

People reporting they have tons of hair are deeply unhelpful - would you post on a thread about poverty “oh I have plenty of money”? No you wouldn’t. Please bugger off with your “oh I have so much hair” stories, you are tedious.

OP, I fear the only thing that will really help is HRT, no use to the many women who are unable to access this treatment due to complicating factors (eg hormone receptive breast cancer). The majority of women who are affected are impacted by hormones and androgenetic aolpecia and guess what? There is no money to be made from this AND it’s a women’s health issue = result, even if you are prepared to go private, there is fuck all support, fuck all research, and fuck all care. Sorry it’s shit.

Compare this with say breast augmentation (something that men have a vested interest in) and the huge amount of money that pours in for research, info, advice, Providers, pfffft.

Bottom line, once you’ve reached the point of major hair thinnning, the medical industry is just not interested in you. Depressing but you neeec to find your own care pathway and fund it. It is shit.

NB: a small exception I found was a fabulous dermatologist (a fabulous black woman) who prescribed finasteride for a few years which was very effective). She was hard to find via a cosmetic doctor and has stopped working in England alas but continues to practice in Wales. She was great and one of the VERY few women doctors working in this field. Most are men and (a) unsympathetic and (b) charge 5 times as much as this excellent woman doctor. I can dig out he details if you wish.

Btw, FORGET asking the NHS on any help with this. Ten years ago they were so bad as to be comical. Only not funny, just atrocious. Now, ha! No way to get an appointment for anything, unless you open a vein prior to bring triaged. Not to jib at the healthcare workers who are trying so hard, but the NHS is fucked beyond recignition.

I have trichotillomania so have bald spots i try to hide because of that.

I lost loads of hair when my dog died. I didn't make a connection until I found out there was a condition caused by stress that creates hair loss. Can't remember the name off the top of my head, but under times of stress the folicules shut down because the body is diverting its energy elsewhere. In the future, as long as the hair folicules are functioning, the hair will regrow.

I'm afraid I have and have always had the opposite problem - massive thick unruly hair.

That’s nice, dear. Now get off this thread.

@AnyFucker

I'm afraid I have and have always had the opposite problem - massive thick unruly hair.

That’s nice, dear. Now get off this thread.

Totally agree, just why do people do this! Ffs

@MonkeyPuddle

I notice, but only because I have androgenic alopecia and I’m usually eyeing up people hair in a jealous fog.

👆This is me!

My hair is thicker at 59 than 19. I had a b12 deficiency. Since treatment my hair improved. I tell you this as it’s worth a try.

I have had a similar experience to @Bootikin and had to go private. I've been taking spironolactone for a few months but haven't noticed any improvement, and I've completely lost my sex drive. The one saving grace is that the dermatologist does my follow up appointments (by phone) on the NHS so it's not costing me a fortune.

The lack of support for this is shocking, the only licensed treatment is even marketed for men, not women! And like @Jaxhog I had a bad experience with it (minoxidil) made my scalp red raw

I’m losing more, not noticeable yet as I have thick, long hair. But even if I run my fingers through it, lots comes out, a lot when I wash it too, makes me so upset. I have long covid, never suffered any hair loss before it

@kleew1

I have trichotillomania so have bald spots i try to hide because of that.

I've had the eyelash version of that since I was 9. I can't resist

Mine started thinning when I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and they seem to be on the rise so it's possible

I think three things are happening.

1. You are noticing it more
2. Stress can cause hair to thin and this has been a stressful time
3. Age causes hair to thin. Older women used to get their hair "set" which helps to hide thinness. Our more natural hairstyles these days don't do that.

In terms of your own hair, I would ask the GP for blood tests to rule out issues such as thyroid and anaemia that can cause this. If it is stress related it will naturally come back.

I have lots of hair but v fine and have noticed I'm losing more. I'm on a drug that causes hair loss though and also have hashimotos

I lost huge amounts after each baby that never grew back. That together with Tamoxifen as a pp mentioned, has left me with thin wisps pretty much. Gutted.

It could be a long-term sympton of Covid.

Mine is very thin, it’s terrible. However, I think possibly you’re noticing it because it’s on your mind - like when I was a teen I had terrible acne and I was hypersensitive to other peoples skin, always thinking x has lovely skin, y has acne as well etc. I thought everyone must be obsessed until a friend said one day to me ‘you have great teeth, I wish mine were straight.’ I never even noticed hers were crooked!

I think we all notice what we’re looking for basically. No tips on how to thicken it though I’m afraid. Nothing I’ve tried really works. Could you stop styling/heat tools etc?

Androgenic Alopecia or PCOS are more common than people think - I unfortunately have both, so my hair loss is worse than my Mothers and Grandmothers and I started thinning at 18 (rather than it only becoming obvious a few years before the menopause as theirs did).

Imo if thyroid and iron blood tests have come back as normal, it's always worth checking hormone levels for possible PCOS in case Spironolactone or Metformin could help - although neither of them personally helped my hair much (although I did have the best/clearest skin of my life on Spiro!).

The only "proven" treatments for Androgenic Alopecia is Finasteride and Minoxidil - and Finasteride is difficult to get prescribed for women (and it personally didn't help me much anyway). I heard the liquid version of Minoxidil can be irritating but I used the unfragranced foam for several years without any issue (the mens is often cheaper and has the same % active ingredient as the womens - you just use it once a day instead of twice like it says on the bottle). As well as acting like a volumising mousse and keeping my hair in place, it did seem to reduce my fallout and help me keep what I've got left - although I was too late for hair to grow back (apparently the follicles die after a few years and I didn't know about Minoxidil when my loss started )

It's not tested for pregnancy and breastfeeding but I plan to go back on it when I've finished, as the Minoxidil plus a very short haircut, side parting and blond highlights/early greys are the only thing saving me from looking balder than most of the blokes I know . Though I must admit if I was wealthy I'd love a hair transplant, as while it's thin all over, it's worst at the very front (most visible area!), especially if my side parting moves.

I hope this (essay! ) helps others. I've had hair loss for 20 years now so I've tried all the "proven" and non -proven treatments out there - loads of supplements, regular castor oil and essential oil scalp massages, scalp exfolation, various "anti- hair loss" shampoos and sprays... but Minoxidil and the cosmetic disguising treatments (hair dye and coloured scalp powder) are the only things that "worked" for me.

Covid caused a lot of my hair to fall out, but it wasn’t too noticeable as it was thick to start with. But I’ve heard many other women say it happened to them after covid too, some reporting bald patches and thinning.

Now I’m pregnant my hair is thick and unmanageable as ever. But I remember it thins in the post partum phase. Maybe it’s the lockdown baby boom that’s caused a lot of women to have post partum hair loss at the same time?

I didnt know about scalp powders.

This is very interesting, thanks for posting.
I went through a very stressful time recently and my hair just fell out. I was crushed as I have had this happen before at times of extreme stress.
I have a 2 sections of hair missing from my crown 2 x 50p sizes. If the wind blows my hair it can been seen. The bald patch is a constant burning feel. Did anyone feel a constant pin prick feeling all over the scalp? Is there any point mentioning this to the doctors? Anyone else noticed they have kidney pain too?
I am heart broken this has happened again. I so would like thick shiny hair- but my hair is thin and flyway- i will have that over none.
When my husband complains about having so much thick hair, I tell him to shut the f up!

Op thanks for starting this thread.