Hair not growing. At wits end.

[SirVixofVixHall]

My hair, always fine and problematic, has now become deranged looking. I don’t want to crop it but I’m in despair as to what to do. The back of my head has hair that seems to grow. The top and sides won’t grown much beyond three inches. I don’t know if it falls out or breaks at that point. There are some longer hairs but the majority stay short. I’ve been trimming the back myself, but I don’t trim the shorter bits, they just don’t grow. Initially I assumed it was breaking as I’d had highlights, so I stopped colouring it. My hair is all my natural colour now but still not growing. I have been on HRT for six or seven months, I think my hair is slightly thicker but still not growing. My gynae thought maybe low iron levels could be to blame ? I have an under active thyroid, I think my levels need improving but it didn’t seem to improve my hair at all anyway . I am so depressed by it, it looks so awful and makes me feel hideous.

Personally I would start by getting it cut/trimmer at a salon (to cut off the dead hair, you say it yourself that you haven’t been cutting the top for example) and then I would try my best for a few months to keep it tied back/in a bun and very rarely out. This is because you want to maintain your hair, and you’ll never be able to do that if it keeps breaking off.

Also you could try hair extensions or wearing wigs for a bit? But I truly believe that you’re better off not styling it, washing it often or wearing it out as you already seem to be prone to breakage, which suggests that your hair is damaged. So continuing to wear it loose and styling it will only add to the damage.

Has your gynae done bloods for thyroiud, vi5amn deficiencies etc?

Definitely need ferritin levels checked and under active thyroid will not help. Once you get these under control you will see your hair recover. I am not good at links but in Trepadora.com blog there is a list of foods to eat which improve hair growth. Hth xx

Try John Freida core restore shampoo and conditioner, bit expensive but they really helped me when I had hair loss following sepsis

It is too short to tie back, sadly . I’ll ask my GP to test my iron levels, as I need my thyroid levels checked anyway.
I think it is too fine and fragile for extensions, it is curly too, which also might be an issue with extensions ?
I’ve been using core restore, but I don’t think it has helped.
I’ll try and take a picture. I’ve been chopping it myself as I feel embarrassed going to the hairdresser, and also have always trimmed the ends myself every now and again, easy to get away with it on curls. There are longer bits but if I cut it all to the shorter hair then it would be about two and a half inches long all over. I could live with that if it was actually growing, it’s the thought of it staying very short for ever that is depressing. The ends are very thin and fluffy though.

Ah okay.

A decent hair dresser won’t judge, just tell them that you’re growing out a short cut but have suffered a lot of breakage whilst growing it out, and that you want to maintain as much length as possible. My hair is fine and curly and breaks a lot too, but getting it professionally trimmed has helped loads as I wasn’t using the right scissors or techniques so I wasn’t really maintaining it appropriately. Also a good hair dresser will be able to maintain as much of your length as possible and blend the different lengths in together.

You can definitely wear extensions with curly hair, you either buy curly extensions that match your natural texture or buy straight extensions and straighten your hair to match (which obviously I wouldn’t recommend as your hair is damaged). Honestly I would look into a decent wig. They’re not as scary as they sound! It will be a good protective style whilst your natural hair regrows, without you feeling uncomfortable with the current level of breakage.

I also agree with PP regarding checking your vitamin etc levels and taking supplements where appropriate

What about trying the upside down head massage, known as the Inversion method?

Inversion method here

I know the utter despair of hair loss and breakage.
You need to see a trichologist who will do a proper analysis and treatment plan.

My hair is very very fine. A while ago I was losing loads of it. I started taking those perfectil vitamin tablets and used the lee Stafford hair growth products. I also started eating more protein. My hair has improved, not sure if it is because of the vitamins and products or if it's just coincidence. Might be worth a try.

I’ve been taking the Imedeen hair and nails tablets. My nails are growing really fast, but not my hair !
I think it is acceptable enough for me not to need a wig. I could live with very short hair, but it is worrying me why this is happening, and I hate the fluffy wispyness of my hair generally and feel embarrassed at the mess of it. I would really like to colour it but obviously don’t dare do that.
I’ve been on a supplement for months so it might have improved, but my vitamin D levels were through the floor when last tested, does that affect hair ? My GP hadn’t flagged it up, but my gynae was shocked at how low it was.

Viviscal professional.

What is that, is it hair care? I know Philip Kingsley have a consultation service, don’t know how much it costs or if it is the thing to do though. I live very far from London.

My Dd has a condition called Short Anagen Syndrome and her hair is exactly as you describe. It’s extremely fine and never gets greasy either- it’s just baby hair, really.
I’ve been advised to get her ferritin levels checked and there is also industrial strength biotin supplements that you can use that may help.
Sleeping on a silk pillow is supposed to help with the breakage. I would also be wary of extensions since they might pull on your own hair and damage it? Good luck OP, I hope you see some growth soon.

That’s interesting, is that something you are born with or do you develop it? Mine did used to grow. It’s never been super long or thick , but it did grow normally. Fell out very badly after the dds, then regrew but not as thickly (as then my thyroid packed up). I’ve had periods of it falling out badly but this not growing is more recent, although it has definitely been weaker for some time.
I will get a silk pillowcase. I do wriggle about a lot at night.

Here are a couple of pics. Not very good but hopefully you can see the longer fluffy hairs with the maximum length hairs underneath, one is of the top of my head the other the side.

Hello again! Dd has always had hair like this- I think it’s just the way she is wired. Apparently it might get better once she hits puberty which suggests it could be a hormonal thing. So it doesn’t sound like what you have if you have previously been able to grow hair. Defo get your ferritin levels checked though- there is a SAS Facebook group (mostly for kids but adults do join too) which has loads of advice and tips. Just to warn you though, some of the mums on there are literally at their wits end and it can get emotional when they are discussing their kids. I wouldn’t start looking at it on days when it’s really getting you down. Good luck with it though- hopefully it’s just a phase and you are back on track soon.

Thank you. I think probably it is the combination of low iron, thyroid levels having dropped, other vitamins low too, and ageing. Too many factors all together. I just don’t know whether there is anything else I should do other than get my iron and thyroid tested. It also means it is a very boring light brown. As it grows it gets lighter and more golden, but the roots are always the darkest bit so it not growing makes it look so drab, but I daren’t throw highlights into the mix at the moment.

2nd pic is the top of my head, with the shorter slightly denser hair , and then the longer thin strands.

Op my hair went very thin before I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and didn't recover until I started taking liothyronine (the active form of levothyroxine). Now it grows like mad. Do get the thyroid stuff sorted as hair is just one of the things that can suffer if you're undertreated. Do you have other symptoms that suggest you need a higher dose of thyroid meds?

My TSH has been going up over the past year. Last tested it was 3.5 I think ? Maybe 3.6. It used to be around 1. I am shattered and have palpitations, but I’ve been tired ever since my thyroid went awry. I am brain foggy. Not cold at the moment but then it has been stupidly hot.
I’ve never heard of liothyronine. Is it usual to be given that ?

Oh and I’m fatter and crave carbs all day long, which doesn’t help with the weight, obv !

My hair is a very good barometer of my body's health. If anything goes out of kilter my hair falls out. I do recommend seeing a trichologist if you can. I saw a wonderful one and she was brilliant. If you're in the northwest PM me.

It sounds to me like it isn't breakage, but is a very short hair growth cycle as another poster says. The baby fine hair sounds like miniaturisation. Hypothyroidism is a classic culprit. Other stuff to check is your iron, your vitamin d and your vitamin b12 because they also can screw up your hair and yet are incredibly easy to fix.

For me one of the biggest causes of hair loss was low oestrogen going through early menopause. I had several episodes of telogen effluvium. When my level plummeted I lost a quarter to a third of my hair one summer. I can track these episodes to the oestrogen deficient episodes that preceded them.

But that was dramatic hair loss and it was completely resolved with HRT.

The baby fine hair which won't grow as long as the other areas is something I still experience, at the sides of my head above my ears and temples. My gut feel is that this type of pattern might be thyroid related.

The other thing is to bear in mind a 2-3 month lag between a hair loss trigger or a remedy like her, and the point at which you can observe it in your hair.

Whatever your hair is doing today was caused by an event maybe 3 months ago.

For me this meant oestrogen plummeted in April/May. Hrt commenced early July. Hair loss started a week later and of course I panicked that the hrt was the cause, but the hair cycle can't work that fast! The hair had shocked out of anagen growth back in April and was only now falling out (telegen effluvium). Hair loss slowed in September, after almost 3 months on hrt.

So try to think in those timescales if you can.

Your hair is lovely and shiny by the way!

*a remedy like HRT.

Thanks Barrack. I have been on HRT since Christmas and initially thought that my hair was starting to thicken up at the roots, my thyroid levels have been dropping though, since then. My vitamin d level was 20 ! I have been taking a supplement, but haven’t been re tested . My iron was pretty low, 17 maybe ? I can’t remember. I was taking iron and it went up to nearly 40, but I haven’t taken any for a couple of months. I take vitamin b12 if I remember, which isn’t often.
Thanks for the shiny comment. I think it was because I’d washed it about an hour before, and I was by a window so the sun was on it. It has always been fine, very curly hair, but has got thinner overall and slightly less curly ,just generally weaker. I have to chop it to a few inches which gives me rather Grannyish hair. This would be ok if I was 20, but as I am at the age where I could feasibly be a Granny it is less cute. At least I have virtually no grey hairs. (Small mercies).