At my wits end with hair loss.

[dontgetscarednow]

36 year old female, youngest child is 2.

I had no hair loss problems until my eldest (7) was a year old. I lost a lot of weight around the same time as stopping the pill and my hair came out in huge clumps.

Since then I'll go through periods of intense shedding and my hair is a shadow of what it once was. My fringe has fallen out and I can see my scalp. I just have to run my fingers through my hair and can easily get 20-30 strands.

Had blood tests which showed low iron but that has now been rectified, although I'm still taking it anyway.

I have had the minena coil for a year. The only time my hair doesn't shed seems to be when I'm on the combined pill!?

I've spent hundreds on vitamins and various lotions and potions.

Anyone? Help.

What's your ferritin? Over 75 is needed for hair growth

I had post Covid hair loss.
Id say make sure GP did full battery of tests for hair loss to include thyroid, vitamin d etc.
other things that worked for me are scalp brush for hair washing and separate for scalp massage, rosemary oil pre shampoo left for a few hours on scalp, breastfeeding vitamins. No tight hairstyles.
not sure which of those worked!

Oh also- I avoid dry shampoo and absolutely convinced this makes my hair fall out!

Merina coil can cause hair shedding for some. I saw a tricologist for my hair loss. I’m older and on hrt and was given a list of hrt that can contribute to hair loss. That include merina coil.

Sorry also to add - vitamin D, B12 and B3 and ferritin (iron stores) also need to be at good levels. As others have said get your GP to do bloods and maybe consider going back on the pill.

With severe anaemia and low ferritin my hair just faded away. Very distressing, anyway with iron supplementation (prescribed), followed eventually by an iron infusion, hair is back to normal. Took a year or so though, so it won't be immediate. Energy back to normal too.

Get Ferritin checked as well as Haemoglobin levels. Good luck, it is an awful thing to have and really dents confidence.

Weekly b12 injections.... happened to my friend age 30.. saw a difference in 3 weeks.

@PawsisShady my most recent ferritin was 66. Can under 70 cause excessive shedding?

@KatzP I've been wondering if it's the Mirena too but I had the copper coil prior to that and had shedding too, I blamed the heavy periods causing low iron but I don't know if it was or not

Hmm I would be tempted to get it up a bit further... will see if I can find the article
Mine is 60 and I'm trying to increase it

Its hormones. Go to your GP.

Some good advice on here. If no joy consult a dermatologist who specializes in hair loss. It might be a sensitivity to dht and you need minoxidil & maybe spirolactone.

Following with interest too

Here

And I've seen stuff about olaplex and hair loss. Unsure if its scaremongering.

@PawsisShady that's interesting! I wonder if I do just need to get my iron levels up consistently to stop it happening 🤔

My ferritin is now 141 from a low of 45. Haemoglobin is now 13.9 from a low of 6.1

Sometimes the levels seen as OK by NHS guidelines are just not good enough for most of us, but my case was extreme and caused by an illness. All good now though and my hair is great too. Wishing you well.

Does my parting look super wide? Honestly I could cry, this is really affecting my mental health now.

Perimenopause?

This happened to me last year.
Iron was low in blood test. I take supplements now and it's stopped shedding!

i’m also struggling with hair shedding atm and have just discovered I’m low in iron. While I try and grow my hair back I am using a hair powder (Color Wow) which helps to hide the thin areas while I try and sort the problem. I definitely recommend a hair colour powder while you treat the issue. It has helped my self esteem.

I lost loads of hair and the cause was under active thyroid.

That looks like possible androgenetic alopecia or telogum effluvium but consider Covid loss & stress. My neighbour has AA & her hair became so thin. She regained half back with topical 5% minoxidil mens strength. US people can get tablets prescribed. I have AA too but a less aggressive type but also an autoimmune condition. I use rosemary oil & it's halted the loss somewhat. As I said before, get a proper dx from a dermatologist specialist in hair loss. There are also laser helmets and derma rollers that help. Look on Reddit hair loss forums. It's very informative. Also get blood work done, thyroids, autoimmune stuff, ferritin. Use hair fibers and change up your partings to lessen the thinning. It's not so bad visually but to you it's upsetting. Act now and you can save your hair! I've seen some fantastic real results with minoxidil.