DD, 13yrs, thinning hair

[youvegottobekidding]

I was trying to do DD's hair tonight as she asked me to to try and do a top not for her (she usually wears her hair straight down).

She has really thick hair. As I was brushing it (she was sat on the floor & I was sat on the edge of the bed so I had a good view of the top of her head) I could see that her hair was thinning quite a lot around the top at both sides. I was quite taken aback by it, dd was chatting along, but I was silent & she asked me what's wrong, of course I said nothing & said I just had headache.

The easiest way I can describe it and it could just be, that her dad has the same shape hairline - he has a 'm' shape receding hairline, it kind of looks like that, iykwim?

Dd is so self conscious right now, about her body, her face, everything. I couldn't possibly say anything atm, but I don't know how to go about it. I need to keep an eye on it. Could be hormones I guess, she's not on any medications. She has a varied diet I don't believe she's lacking in anything. How do I go about it, if the time comes that I need to take her to our GP? If I was to say anything to her about it now, she'd freak out & think all her hair is going to fall out.

Certain conditions can cause receding hairlines in young females OP. conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome, thyroid disease or uncontrolled diabetes.

These conditions cause a hormone imbalance.

How are her periods?

You may not believe she is lacking in any nutrients but as she is growing she may be.

Go to the GP and get them to rule out problems with iron levels and the thyroid to begin with. These tests are some of the cheapest to do and conditions that are most common so don't allow the GP to fob you off without doing them.

Make sure you get the results with ranges for any tests as if they are near the borders of ranges they can cause problems in some people.

Once you have done this other problems should then be ruled out systemically and based on other signs and symptoms.

I should add I had iron deficiency anaemia as a teen and hair loss where your daughter has it was my first sign. It took until I slept for 16-17 hours before I was taken seriously.

I'd get her bloods tested, specifically for iron, ferritin, vitamin d, b12. Ask for thrroid ...tsh is the one they'll do and should be under one, ideally close to zero. The NHS says different though and won't treat until it's about 3.

But if those are normal, she might just be having an unusually heavy shed when lots of hairs are in the same phase at the same time, In which case it will grow back. I have thick hair and had a heavy shed a year or so ago and now have regained that thickness. The little halo of new hair was very nice to see!
Jamaican black castor oil ( Amazon) was recommended to me. One drop warmed in palms then gently massaged into scalp when hair is freshly washed and very damp helped. So much. Guess the reason was twofold, massage increased blood flow and may have unblocked follicles and also the oil is specifically reported to stimulate growth.

Thank you all for your replies.

Her periods are pretty much regular & haven't given us any cause for concern.

I told DH about it last night & he tried to have a look whilst she was asleep without waking her & he seems to think it doesn't look that bad, but then again he was trying to see in a darkened room.

I will certainly keep an eye on it as no doubt she'll be asking me to be doing her hair again (I'm rubbish at top knots!) & will definitely take note of everything mentioned here when we see our gp.

She might wear it down a lot, but does she scrape it back into a ponytail very often? Too tight a pull could be damaging the follicles over time, or so I've been lead to believe.

Visit to gp definitely. My daughter has a borderline eating disorder and her hair is thin. I was mortified , thought we ate well and plenty, but was alerted when DD friends mum phoned to say her DD was worried that my daughter throws away her lunch every day. I didn't see that coming.
Camhs have been great and gp too. Situation improving.
Sure it's not likely to be this but it's worth investigating especially as you say DD is very self conscious. Could be hormonal, or anxiety related.
Sorry didn't mean to make this thread about us, just wanted to alert to possibilities.
Good luck. Xx

I had the same type of hair loss as a teen, regular periods, but have recently been disgnosed with severe pcos - docs think I must have had it from puberty which is why it’s so bad. Get her a gaenocologist appointment, go private if you have to, because the earlier you can spot it and treat it the better it’s managed in the long term.

I her last two years at primary school she used to have her hair scraped back in very low tight pony tail, wouldn't have it any other way. It was only when she started secondary school that she began to wear her hair loose.

My parents believed my hair was thinning when I was around 10 - it was actually trichotillomania. I was pulling my own hair out, we went through tests and everything and I never told them.