Hair Loss - hold my hand please

[ladyofpern]

This is my first time posting, but have been a lurker for quite a while.

I've been on HRT for the last few years. However in the last year I noticed my hair was thinning and after various trips to the GP, I saw a dermatologist yesterday. He confirmed that I have female androgenetic alopecia (ludwig pattern).

I'm feeling very down about the hair loss so would love some words of encouragement and ideas for products to use to help me keep the hair I still have. My hair is blonde and curly, and at the moment I can style it a bit to help cover the 'bald' patch.

The dermatologist suggested Regaine for Women, which I have now started using.

I'm trying some different shampoos and conditioners to see if they help but so far I haven't seen an improvement. Also I use the hair product Redken Frizz Dismiss after washing (to prevent frizz) and Bedhead After Party to smooth after drying.

Can anyone recommend any hair products that might help?

Thank you for reading.

I use Redken Extreme. The bottle is blue. It is anti-snap and helped some with my post-covid hair loss. It took time, though. Good luck. I have a lot of sympathy.

@whitewineandsun Thank you for the info & sympathy. I'm feeling quite down about it all. However my DS (18) & DH have said they will love me even if I am bald 😂Not sure if I should laugh or cry.

That's good 😀But yes, try that one. It did help. I really do understand, though. I actually did cry at first. It's a huge thing to deal with, I think. Kind of shocking. I also take hair vitamins. Something like these, although I'm not in the UK so not the same https://www.boots.com/hairburst-strawberry-chewable-vits

I suffered all over thinking, but also receding in perimenopause (hair coming out in handfuls). I tried Champo, The Cornwall seaweed Company and a million other shampoos, the only thing that has worked is minoxidil in tablet form. I get mine from Hair & Me. I also take collagen and biotin

Plantur helped my hair loss (due to stress.) Takes a couple of months to see new hair growth.

You also need your thyroid testing and for anaemia.

And enough protein every day- at least 0.75gms per kilo body weight.

And...depending on what HRT you're on, might be worth upping the estrogen a bit to a higher dose? ie patch to 75mcg, gel to 3 pumps, etc.

You already have the most useful thing, Regaine. The Tigi small talk cream (round bottle) is great for adding volume, dunno if it works for curls though.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Just to answer a few questions:
My HRT dosage has already been increased - now 3 pumps of the gel
I've had all the blood tests including iron, thyroid and Vit D. They are all normal.

I'm definitely going to look into collagen supplements. I will see if Regaine works for 6 months (as suggested by the dermatologist), but if not then I will look at taking the oral version.

Just to add I take Vit C & D, and evening primrose oil daily too.

Is Regaine for women the weaker one? If so I would just use the men’s version at double the strength instead. I’ve been using a generic version of the men’s minoxidil liquid for a couple of years and it’s working for me. Also would try Hair and Me as suggested by another poster. It’s a brilliant service.

I was told to use the Women's one for 6 months. If I saw no improvement then I was told to try the men's one or go the oral equivalent.

Oh god I wouldn’t waste any time on the women’s! Go straight for the strong stuff.

I use the tablet form of minoxidil from Hair & Me too and find it really helps. I’ve been taking it about six months. My hairdresser pointed out lots of new growth last time I had my hair cut.

With Hair & Me I had to answer some questions and send photos and they prescribed the tablets straight away.

I had hair loss after starting hormone treatment for breast cancer, which suppresses oestrogen production. I found that vitamin D and Biotin supplements really helped. The hair loss slowed down and eventually stopped, and I’ve now got tufts where it’s growing back.

There is also a really good shampoo available from Amazon called Bare Anatomy Anti Hair Fall Shampoo. Link is below. It’s pricey - around £11 for a bottle, but you only use a tiny bit for each wash so it lasts ages. I found the combination of all of these really helpful.

Some other tips I was given were to use a bristle brush and don’t brush all the way down the hair shaft in one go - do it in sections. The other thing was washing. Don’t scrub, massage, and don’t have the water anything more than mildly warm. Hair washing should be no more than twice a week and no less than once every ten days.

I’ve also been told that a good brand of marine collagen helps but I was unable to take it because it contains oestrogen.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BJ32VKB2?ref=ppxyo2ovdtbfedasintitle

This is really helpful for me, thank you all! I'm waaayyy past menopause, as my username suggests, so will these suggestions work for me? I'm going to look at the Hair and Me site now.

DM uses plantur she’s 83 so it’s thinning but she’s likes this. She lost it all through stress once, always had lovely, thick blonde hair. It’s devastating. There are some great human hair wig companies if you have photos of your hair before OP.
Definitely get bloods and remember it’s 3-6 months minimum before you see results.