Hair loss / extremely thin

[Greenjuicelover]

Hi I wonder if anyone else is in this boat. My hair has always been really thin but I think it may have been getting worse recently. I’ve googled female pattern baldness and think I have this. I take biotin and iron supplements but not sure they are helping. I’ve been considering buying a high quality wig but wondering if anyone has found anything else effective in tackling this? I feel AWFUL. I also hate the colour, horrible greenish tinge like dye gone wrong. Sorry ignore the parting don’t know what is going on.

Your hair looks fine to me, maybe a few well placed extensions but you certainly don't need a wig or hair piece

how old are you? have you been through stress lately? post partum?
I lost a lot of hair due to stress and an autoimmune condition.
I found it helpful to reduce stress, use a caffeine shampoo, take biotin and other supplements, rub castor oil in nightly (wash off in the morning), stimulate scalp with a good brush daily (once the hairloss has stopped), peppermint oil mixed with shampoo is good for waking up the hair follicles. Good luck! It does take a while to come back but it did eventually for me.

I had a small bald patch from tying my hair up too tightly. I used a product called Hairfix Follicle Plus for years, it’s a gel you apply to the affected area overnight, the night before you wash your hair. It made a massive difference but took quite a while for it to work. I’ve stopped using it now and have seen that area get a bit thin again. I bought it from QVC.

@magicmallow thanks I will try peppermint oil as I have some in already. I’m only 26 and I really don’t think it’s stress related, probably genetic.

Have the same problem and also trying to wrk out what to do. Just bought some hair vitamins and castor oil to see if that helps

I have female pattern baldness too, and honestly there isn't really much you can do in terms of vitamins or supplements, it's genetic.

Have you read about Minoxidil? Regaine I think is the brand name. It can help regrowth if you have small areas that are thinning rather than thinning all over, so if it's just your parting that's widening for example. I think it's success depends on how long you've been thinning for. If it's recent, you have more chance of regrowing thicker strands, but if it's been going on for a long time you'll likely just regrow fuzzy, thin strands because the follicle will have shrunk. It's around £30 a bottle too, so not cheap, and can cause an initial purge where a lot of hair will shed.

Also, I went to a hair loss specialist hairdresser in my local town, and she advised me to try thickening fibres before jumping into wigs, if that looks interesting to you? You chose your colour and sprinkle them into your hair and it will bulk it up.

Have you been to the GP at all about this to rule out any other conditions?

Eat more protein.

You’ll notice new hair growth sticking up through your hair in a month or two.

Use my fitness pal to see how much protein you need per day.

Your hair parting may have widened a little but you really don't seem to have female pattern baldness from your photos. I've been through periods where I've lost a lot if hair each day (more than 100 hairs a day) and then it's slowed down. If you dont brush it often, you'll lose hairs in the shower drain. A multi vitamin might be a good idea but I wouldn't worry.

Thanks. I know others have it worse but I am trying to nip it in the bud now before it gets worse. @PennyNotSoWise I will look up minoxidil now, happy to spend the money if there’s a possibility it will work!

What does everyone think of wigs? I feel like there’s judgment still but I’ve been following some women on Instagram who wear them due to hair loss and they look great.

I actually wear wigs now @Greenjuicelover, and I don't think anyone (outside of my family) has noticed. Either that or they're too polite to say anything Even synthetic ones can look amazing these days, they're not the shiny plastic-y things they used to be, and I've had a few compliments on my 'hair'

My advice would be though, if you do decide to go down that road, to go and see someone in person about it. I ordered about 4 online after watching loads of reviews, top name wigs, and they looked absolutely shit and destroyed my last bit of hope of looking 'normal.'

Having an appointment in person and trying on loads of different styles, sizes and colours is really important. I feel like wigs aren't the taboo they once were, even quite fashionable now, so absolutely go for it if that's what you need to feel confident in yourself. They've absolutely changed my life, and I say this as someone who just 2 years ago was saying I'd rather end my life than wear one.

What about trying a hair topper? Your hair doesn't look thin enough to need a wig yet! But I understand where you're coming from it's the worst feeling

Do hair toppers damage your existing hair though and inhibit growth?

A wig? Don't be daft. That would surely be an absolute last resort and you don't need one. Your hair looks normal to me

I’ve had alopecia since I was 19. I’ve spent more money on snake oil/supplements/special shampoo than I care to think. I Sometimes wear a wig, sometimes go bald. I don’t think you look anywhere near wig wearing/topper stage at the moment, unless you want to for fashion reasons. I normally wear a different colour/style every day, but currently I’m just wearing a buff! Regaine does work, but only while you use it. The hair regrowth doesn’t tend to be great quality, and as soon as you stop using it, it will fall out again. It can also give you a lot of peach fuzz on your face. This isn’t a great time to start wig wearing as most suppliers seem to have very low stock and long lead times for imported wigs.

Once this is over, it is worth having your thyroid and iron/ferritin levels checked as well.

If you were to get fitted properly for a topper it wont damage your hair, I only wear one if I am going out and want my hair down, so probably half a dozen times a year! It was quite expensive but has lasted for years since it's not worn daily, has caused no damage and is very natural looking

I lost a lot of hair over a 6-7 year period in my 20s, too. Big bald patches above both my ears and the crown of my head was so thin my scalp regularly got sunburned.

Iron levels and hormones all normal.

Diet made no difference, Harley Street specialists tried to sell me all kinds of eye-wateringly expensive lotions and potions (@ilovecherries I feel you on that one) and I hit the point of looking at wigs and toppers etc. too.

It finally hit me when I started to consider using minoxidil and the woman at the clinic said I had to use it twice a day, every day and if I ever stopped the regrowth would all fall out again. Oh, and if I every fell pregnant I would have to stop, because it's strong enough to kill a cat.

To KILL a CAT. And she wanted me to put it on my head twice a day?

F&^K that.

I didn't think I was stressed either, until I realised that a couple of years before I noticed the hair loss I'd actually been through a very traumatic set of experiences. Maybe that's what triggered it, maybe not.

But my hair has grown back in over time. It's nowhere near the mass of curls it used to be, but it's much better. And not thinking about it helped a LOT.

I've heard many times that the body works in 7-year cycles. Maybe this is one of yours.

Things I found were helpful:

Dying your hair a lighter colour, and with highlights, masks the thin-ness, because your hair colour doesn't show up a big contrast from the colour of your scalp. Thinner patches are less noticeable with highlights because there are already different colours through the hair.

Talk to your hairdresser about cutting it in a style that has texture and movement - again, masking the flat stark hair/no-hair look.

If you want to go for a wig or a topper, go for it –there's absolutely nothing wrong with them. But make sure your relationship with yourself and your self-esteem is where it should be, so you're making that choice from an empowered place rather than a place of shame.

Hippy though it might sound, I really do think that not stressing about my hair loss and choosing to meet it where and how it was, made a huge difference to it growing back.

How are your iron levels? Low iron levels can cause hair loss / thinning. Been through it twice and whenever I see someone (female) mentioning hair loss I always recommend getting your iron levels checked out. NHS website has a list of other symptoms to look out for.

You have a lot of hair still, so wigs are probably not your best option. With the amount of hair you have, you will struggle to get one to stay in place properly as the best adhesion comes if you can tape it directly to the skin on your scalp. You would also probably get very hot, especially with the warmer weather coming because effectively you are giving yourself two sets of hair with the amount you currently have. Wigs are a solution for more extensive hair loss really.

Yours doesn't look that bad OP, certainly not from the top. Ok so you don't have big thick bushy hair, but I can't see any baldness. Hasn't your hair always been similarly thin?

I have always had quite fine hair and it's definitely getting worse. I think it got worse after the birth of both ds's and now that I am perimenopausal it's just getting worse. I've taken some vitamins and I've tried a few other things but nothing seems to be working. so I'm reading with interest.

Hi. I second getting your iron levels checked. I was taking 'normal' iron supplements every day but my hair was falling out.

Blood tests showed low iron and after taking stronger iron tablets my hair has improved significantly. It might be worth getting checked first anyway before spending lots of money on other things.

(P. S.Don't take stronger iron without getting your levels checked though because too much iron can be bad for you).

I have too much iron and my hair was falling out, Dermatyologiost says it is stress related, not the right pattern for female hair loss, he said it will grow back eventually but mine has bald patches
Zinc is good for hair, and strong biotin
I have got some 10000 mg of biotin very reasonable from a place called Troo health ,as was told biotin works but needs to be strong dose, very expensive at H&B
Also Plantur39 hair tonic,expensive from Boots but can be bought on ebay for as little as £6,i am using that too, as reommende by someone it helped

My hair is very thin after having 4 children. I also had alopecia patches for a while, maybe due to stress. I think your hair looks perfectly fine!

Greenmarmalade how long did it take for your hair to grow back? if you don't mind me asking,and did you lose much?
I have quite large patches for over a year and no sign of new growth
Did you use anything to help it?

I had a steroid cream from the docs, but then I got pregnant so stopped using it. I think around a year to grow back over the patches? My hairdresser says I still have lots of new growth and baby hair, so maybe it’s still recovering (2 years later)!