Please help with my straw-like hair!

[FishOnPillows]

Please help with my hair!
Over the last 18 months my hair has thinned noticeably. I’m now getting bald patches in addition to overall thinning. Went to my GP last year, he ran bloods, all normal, that was the end of that.
But in addition, what hair I do have is so ridiculously dry. It’s like straw, and the static is unreal at times.

I’ve tried a lot of different shampoos and conditioners, but nothing’s helped either the hair loss or the dryness. I take biotin and other supplements, and get a decent amount of protein every day. Tbh I’m getting fed up of wasting money on things that say they’ll help but don’t.

I’m now trying to accept that the hair loss is not going away, so want to concentrate on helping what hair I do have.

I’ve never dyed my hair or used heat on it (don’t blow dry, never straightened etc). Now I’m getting more & more greys, I’d love to dye it, but I’m terrified it’d cause me to lose even more hair, so won’t! It’s mid-back length at the moment - used to be longer but I had to cut it last year. I really, really don’t want to cut it any more, even though the ends are very straggly.

I’m pretty clueless with haircare - until last year I largely ignored my hair and it was great - long, smooth, soft. I’ve been trying to research, but there’s so much out there it’s hard to differentiate truth from marketing.

Can anyone help with recommendations for how to help my straw-dry hair?

Do you brush it wet? Do you tie it when you sleep? Have you tried oiling it and used shea butter products?

I never brush it wet, and usually sleep with it tied very loosely in a silk scrunchie. I found I was losing more if it was totally loose at night, I guess because I was rolling around and lying on it.
I have to wear my hair up & out of the way for work though, so tend to put it in a loose-ish bun. It’s the best idea I could think of, although I’m not sure bending the hair is great.

I’ve tried Shea butter, coconut oil, and Argan oil based shampoo & conditioner, and the odd hair mask. Some don’t make a difference, some have weirdly made it worse. Maybe I just picked the wrong brands.

Oiling is something I’m very unsure of how to do. I don’t want to end up with greasy hair! My hair’s so fine and so thin that it clumps easily and therefore looks greasy easily.
I guess it’s the only option left though, but I wouldn’t know where to begin.

I'm not sure what would help with the hair loss, but for the straw texture problem I would recommend Philip Kingsley Elasticizer - I'm a recent convert and keep preaching about it on here. It's made a huge difference to my dry, straw-like hair. It's a deep conditioning treatment that you put on before washing. It's not cheap but it does work.

I have very fine hair and find that the Avon shampoo and conditioner work well for me. I have no idea why, it's not expensive or anything but my hair loves it. I have used mythic oil in the past which is also great. When my hair feels really dry I chuck a load of whatever hair conditioner i have on, put a plastic bag over my hair and pop a thick hat on over the top. Leave for an hour or 2 and wash out. It really locks the moisture in. What was the GPs conclusion regarding your hair loss? Did he talk about hormones or stress if your blood test was normal?

I've got an underactive thyroid and am on Thyroxine, my hair always gets really thin if I need an increase in dosage.
Maybe go back to your G.P. and ask for test for that. Obviously I'm no medical expert but that was also the first sign I had a problem.
My hair is in great condition apart from that!

How are your iron levels? The ‘normal’ range is huge and you could be low whilst still being within normal. A dermatologist told me that around 70 is optimal for hair growth. Also olaplex 3 might help. It repairs the bonds apparently. It’s expensive but I get 5 treatments out of the small bottle by applying to the mid lengths and ends once a week.

I’m not sure which test is iron levels. I’m looking now at my last FBC results, and the only ‘abnormal’ is that my mean corpuscular haemoglobin is a bit high, everything else is normal. Thyroid tests were normal too. I take iron, zinc, vitamin D, and magnesium supplements as well.

My GP just said my hair issues aren’t a medical problem, that’s just life. I have a host of other odd & random medical issues, so I’m just trying to accept that at the age of 34 I’m going bald too. I’m incredibly sad about it - the rest of my body is wrecked after losing 10 stone in weight, my hair was the only thing I actually liked.

I will try that Philip Kingsley elasticizer thank you! I’ve not tried that one yet, so will see how it goes.

If you can afford it (and when you’re able) you could make an appointment with a tricologist like the Phillip Kingsley clinic.

Or, make another GP appointment (with a different GP). Substantial hair loss for a woman of 34 is not normal and shouldn’t be accepted.

How have you lost your weight? Slow and steady or very low cal diet? VLCD can make you shed. The total amount of weight loss might be a factor.
Could the loss be connected to your other medical issues? Doctors do miss things.

The loss and dryness are separate issues.

For the condition use moisturising masks and serums, not PK elasticiser - which is NOT “a deep conditioning treatment”. It’s the opposite as it’s a protein based treatment. It’s not conditioner; if you use it too frequently you’ll actually dry your hair out and cause breakage as you’ll overload your hair with protein. If you’ve never coloured your hair and barely heat style it, you don’t need that much protein so just stick to moisturising masks.

For the loss:
You need to see a trichologist. The NHS doesn’t treat cosmetic issues and your GP has ran bloods and ruled out obvious medical causes so has attributed it to an ageing/cosmetic problem that they cannot help with. You could ask them to refer you to a trichologist but chances are you’ll have to privately pay for a consultation & treatment. Regaine is probably the best treatment on the market as it has the highest success rate, but it’s expensive and only lasts for however long you use the product for, you’ll continue to lose the new hair if you stop.

I think your GP is being really unhelpful. Until I saw your age I was going to ask about menopause, but it still could be hormonal.

I would second the rec to see a trichologist.

Is it just the hair on your head that’s reducing?

Maybe if it is tied up in the day as well as tied back at night, that isn't helping? Perhaps try a silk bonnet or cap at night so it gets a rest from being tied up/back?

www.jasminesilk.com/silk-sleeping-caps/c69

My hair is thin. As previous poster stated the ‘normaj’ iron range is huge. My iron level was 14; barely scraping over the minimum level. But because it was over the minimum (of 12 I think) the GP didn’t consider it a medical problem. But for optimum hair growth the levels need to be near 70.
Worth looking at the figure.
If that’s ok then maybe get thyroid levels checked?

Your hair doesn’t fall out for no reason. I’d look up the NICE guidelines on hair loss.

Well done on your weight loss! That’s a lot of stones you lost. Could it be a temporary side effect of losing so much weight, it might get back to normal now?
Shame your GP hasn’t been more helpful.
Castor oil could work quite well, diluted with something else as it is a very heavy oil. Now we’re in lockdown you don’t have to worry so much about hair looking greasy and can give it lots of TLC. Together with the oil, head massage is always a good thing because it stimulates the scalp and the blood flow.
You may have to cut the ends a little bit, I know you don’t want it shorter, but it would probably feel a bit less dry if you did.

Have you moved to a new house with harder water? And did you see changes in your skin - is it also getting drier, or is it just the hair?

I like the silk bonnet idea for night! I’ll definitely give that a go.

It’s interesting about too much protein might make it worse - everything I’d been reading said I needed protein, so I’ve been using things with lots of protein, but it really does seem to be getting worse. I even drink a protein shake before bed. Maybe that’s actually part of the problem! It’s been a struggle finding recommendations/advice for hair that is just dry, everything’s about heat/styling/bleach damage. I’m just dry in general though - my skin & nails are dry, even my eyes. 😅 I drink a tonne of water though.

It does just seem to be the hair on my head, although I don’t have much hair elsewhere so it may be hard to tell. Hormonal is a possibility perhaps - I had a nightmare with the Mirena a couple of years ago, and an endometrial ablation a year ago. Waiting for a hysterectomy now, but I’m reluctant because again, I’m terrified I’ll lose the remainder of my hair if I have one!

My weight loss was over a few years, and fairly steady. The hair loss started after I’d already lost the majority of the weight, a couple of years in.

I will look into a trichologist though. I’m torn between “well this is my life now, I just have to accept it” and “I will grab any chance to stop this”. But maybe seeing a trichologist could help me see if there’s actually anything I can do or not, and therefore sway me one way or the other. Just have to see if I can find one (after lockdown, I’m guessing!)

I agree with going back to your gp.
Did they test for B vitamin deficiency? That happened to friend of mine. Her hair got back to normal after supplements.
Or it could be hormonal.

Are you losing so much blood that your body has no energy for growing hair?.

I have an allergy to Salicylates and discovered a link to hair loss and me using shampoo with salicylates in (most of them). I now check each time as they change their ingredients. I also sleep with my hair in a body shop strawberry towel thing.

Definitely stop with the protein and look for things that are hydration rather than strengthening. Your hair is dry, not damaged so it needs hydration not protein strengthening.

They didn’t test for any deficiencies, just FBC and thyroid.

I don’t lose all that much blood since the ablation, it improved that part a bit (but oh my gosh, the pain!).
But it’s just occurred to me that because of gynae issues, I’ve been reliant on extreme laxatives for the last 18 months. I’m wondering if I’m just not absorbing nutrients. If that’s the case, I’m not sure there’s anything I can do.

I would also warn against PK elasticizer- it made mine drier. Red ken Extreme is a good range for moisturising and deep conditioning I found.

It sounds like your body is under a lot of stress. I am really sorry to hear what you’ve been through. I wonder if you had a hysterectomy they might give you HRT?

Olaplex, definitely and the protein treatment and then Tigi rescue for moisture