Hair Loss/Thinning

[Perriwinkles]

Hello wise ones. I'd love some advice on this.

I, like everyone in my family, was born with extraordinarily thick hair. From a young age, my hair was the first thing everyone commented on and I got lots of compliments on it. I was never thin so it was nice to have something that people admired. When I was sixteen, I took progesterone for depression and I noticed a lot of hair started falling out and for the first time ever, I'd see hair on the pillow etc. I told the doctor at the time and she said it was most likely stress. I came off the progesterone after a year or so I think and I still had thick hair.

I was then on the pill for about twenty years but I've no idea if that was a factor.

I was ill with gastro-intestinal issues in my 20s and had diarrhoea regularly. My hair thinned considerably to the point that people described it as 'thin' which I found upsetting as I had always had such thick hair and it was my best feature. The gut doctor suggested a strong multi-vitamin (as an aside - I was seeing him for gut issues). I took it and cut my hair shorter and its fullness seemed to return when my digestive health improved.

Anyway, I'm in my early 40s now, not taking any hormones whatsoever but I'm taking an anti-depressant. Even before the anti-depressant, my hair has been shedding so much: hair on the hairbrush, hair all over my bedroom floor, when I run my hands through my hair, strands come out. A friend described it as 'light' recently and I found it quite triggering.

Does anyone have any tips? What bothers me the most is that I don't have naturally thin hair. If I did, I wouldn't mind, the same way I have naturally chunky legs and I have made my peace with that as I was born that way. But I was born with great hair and it upsets me when people describe it as thin and I see it come out in my hand.

I took Viviscal for a while, I've taken lots of multi-vitamins and my diet is reasonably healthy at the moment - it's not amazing but better than when I was younger. I also tried the Nioxin number 1 shampoo. Should I move on to number 2? I don't colour my hair and it's in good condition.

Thanks so much in advance.

Any tips from any of you?

Any of you go through anything similar?

Thyroid issues
Low iron
Low vitamin D
Low b12
Peri menopause

All the abouve are causes of thinning hair. Have you had any blood test recently?

I’ve also found my hair has recovered some fullness after using paraben & SLS free shampoo & conditioner. It did take several months but people then started commenting on how good my hair was looking.
I had previously tried that hair loss shampoo that’s always advertised, never tried nioxin though.

I use noughty shampoo or faith in nature shampoo & the faith in nature conditioners.

Thanks. I haven’t had bloods done in a little while but they’ve always been normal — they don’t check B12 and vitamin D levels. I think I’m in perimenopause all right but this intermittent hair loss has been going in for 20+ years so I think there’s more to it than that.

I’ll check out those Faith in Nature shampoos.

*going on

I’ve been and currently going through this as I have been dealing with iron deficiency anaemia undiagnosed for far too long. My hair was falling out so badly and my nails constantly peel and break. I couldn’t get enough sleep and my bones and muscles ache all the time!

What helped my hair was no heat, Dove intensive repair shampoo, castor oil from Superdrug and a much shorter hair style with layers! I have a wet detangler Tangle Teezer brush and used John Frieda Frizz Eaze in the red bottle, stops hair breakage! I also use scrunches to tie my hair up and have satin pillow cases as they are much less damaging on your hair than cotton and hair bands.

I’ve been taking multi vitamins, eating much more and eating a more varied diet. I oil my hair and scalp every Sunday including my eyelashes too which have grown. I was on iron tablets for a couple months which I think stopped the big shed.

Prenatal vitamins (think Pregnacare) help me. I’m like you - thick hair when I was young and it only ever becomes thin when my thyroid or vit d levels are out of whack

Thanks @Wintercoffee My iron levels have never come back low (that I know of) but my nails are weak and brittle too … I have sleep issues too and muscle pain. I think my first port of call will be blood tests as it could well be iron deficiency.

Thanks for the other tips. I never thought of using Frizz Ease as my hair is straight but if it helps strengthen hair, it’s worth a shot. The hair that comes out often has a foot so the whole hair is falling out rather than breaking … there is breakage too though.

A ROOT not a foot If the shed hair often had a foot, I’d have much bigger problems!

Thanks @Ozanj Have you had any treatment for your thyroid?

Pregnacare…wow … interesting tip thanks.

@Perriwinkles

Thanks *@Ozanj* Have you had any treatment for your thyroid?

Pregnacare…wow … interesting tip thanks.

Yep. But my levels have to be between some really specific amounts for my hair to look great.

It comes with other symptoms one of which can be depression but have you considered pcos polycystic ovarian syndrome? That can cause hair loss

Thanks. I didn’t know that PCOS caused hair loss & I think I may have it as I had severe adult acne until I started treating it. I’m not sure how PCOS can be treated to help with hair loss though … I’ll mention it to the GP the next time I’m there …

@Perriwinkles

Thanks. I didn’t know that PCOS caused hair loss & I think I may have it as I had severe adult acne until I started treating it. I’m not sure how PCOS can be treated to help with hair loss though … I’ll mention it to the GP the next time I’m there …

Lol I have pcos too. It can cause hair loss for a whole lot of different reasons but generally if you limit your carbs and lose weight they will go away. I would think treatable adult acne wouldn’t be your only PCOS symptom if you had hair loss. You would probably have others too. But yeah it’s best to get to a doctor - any of those conditions can be diagnosed via a simple test now.

@Ozanj

The cysts go away by limiting carbs & losing weight? Wow - I didn’t know that. That’s hopeful.

Well I have other menstruation related symptoms & the acne only cleared with prescription strength treatment. Nothing worked before that & boy did I try everything under the sun.

[quote Perriwinkles]@Ozanj

The cysts go away by limiting carbs & losing weight? Wow - I didn’t know that. That’s hopeful.

Well I have other menstruation related symptoms & the acne only cleared with prescription strength treatment. Nothing worked before that & boy did I try everything under the sun.[/quote]
Yes. The cysts are a pain too as they are hormonal related so if diet / weight loss changes aren’t possible then only the pill is guaranteed to clear them up, but depending on what other conditions you have it isn’t always suitable. Definitely speak to a GP if you have other symptoms though

Thanks. It’s hard to know what’s causing the hair loss. It could be PCOS or something else. I’m beginning to think it’s very difficult to find causes & easier to find treatments.

I have PCOS-induced hair loss and I am about to start taking a medicine called spironolactone for it, it takes quite a long time to show an effect though. A friend has also had good results from minoxidil.
There is no evidence that avoiding carbs will heal PCO - PCOS is a lifelong illness. Some women with PCOS have insulin resistance but by no means all do, it’s not a diagnostic criterion and avoiding carbs is completely pointless if you have no blood sugar issues. If you do your doctor can put you on metformin which will improve your insulin sensitivity and is more likely to recommend a low glycemic index diet than a low carb one. It’s true that weight loss is recommended to improve symptoms though - as little as 5% of body weight is thought to help.

Thanks @PattyPan
I love carbs more than any other food, so it'd be hard to imagine a life without them but making cutting down is a good idea...I just feel like I'd be hungry all the time (even though I know apparently protein is what keeps us full).

I can relate @Perriwinkles! I’ve just lost 6kg and my diet is almost entirely carbs. I just go for the lower GI ones so wholewheat pasta, brown rice, wholemeal bread, proper oats instead of instant etc. I tried low carb a few years ago and was starving!

Ha! Yeah! I think it's a myth that carbs=bad for weight loss. It's true though. The healthier carbs are better.

I have been using minoxidil for 9 months and not seen any difference yet
I'm sure i should have by now, but still got bald patches,
Although i know it can take a long time feel like giving up

Hope it or something else works for you. It must be hard having bald patches.

Thank you,i am able to cover them to a certain extent as the patches are mainly at the back below the crown,and some hair above that is longer and can wrap it over them, if you know what i mean