Hit me with hairstyle ideas for my sad, thin hair

[Bunnyhair]

My hair has always been very thin and very fine, and got worse with pregnancies and perimenopause. Then I went ultra low carb for three months and suddenly half of it fell out! 😱 I was clearing fistfuls of hair the size of guinea pigs off my hairbrush every morning.

When I put it in a ponytail now it’s not even as thick as my pinky finger. It makes me look like a sad old ageing roadie. I got one of those Pony-o things to make it look thicker, but my hair is so thin it just slides straight out.

Please help me find a non-frumpy shorter hairstyle that will give the illusion of more volume! My hair is poker straight and blond, with a fringe.

Any suggestions of products, colours that might add the look of thickness, etc also welcome!

My friend had v thin hair and always has it up in a twist with a nice clip, it works

Short bob. No longer than chin length. Mousse before blowdrying for volume. Dry hair upside down. A Fringe can emphasise thin hair. If you must have one get your hairdresser to take the hair for the Fringe from further back on your head

@meatbaseddessert that style looks beautiful. You may have inspired me to go shorter!

I completely agree with the suggestions about getting your full blood test results. If you have the NHS app, you might be able to find them in there. There's a Test Result Section.

My ferritin got down to 35 and my hair was falling out, but I still had to BEG my GP for iron tablets. The NHS healthy levels are sooo low.

If you have low iron you'd have other symptoms too: tiredness and fatigue, breathlessness, occasional palpitations, light-headedness, sometimes wobbly on your feet. Do you have any of those?

I also tried the Florisene tablets and they were BRILLIANT. My hair grew back, and it didn't take ages. Maybe 3 months?

Maybe try asking a pharmacist about iron tablets. The ones you'd be prescribed by a doctor (ferrous fumerate or ferrous sulphate) are available over the counter and they're really cheap, cheaper than Florisene.

I have fine thin straight hair sadly I dont suit short or chin length hair. I have a rugby players neck and a bit of a chin 😭.
So have to have it longer, also to make it worse I have to tie up my hair for work so either short or long enough to tie up.
Its an absolute nightmare

Spatone got my iron levels up really quickly and has fewer side effects than pills. Highly recommend.

Thanks, everyone, for all these suggestions! Sorry, just checking back in!

@Itsalwaysthelasttime this is my situation exactly!! I have a really long neck and very short styles make me look like I have a shrunken head.

I will try highlights and growing my fringe out, I think -
a sparse fringe just looks so sad.

Nioxin shampoo and volume spray together with J Frieda Profiller heat protector spray and JF mousse - is the only way I can get a little volume (and it's still thin).

Dried with a hot air brush rather than a hairdryer, at the roots and underneath mainly, not brushing it a lot, just gently.

It's lovely and shiny when I come out of the hairdresser but very flat. I prefer volume at the expense of shine/smoothness.

My hair is basically more product than hair.

My fine blond, now mostly white hair is such a PITA that when we moved to a city where nobody knows me I seriously considered shaving it all off and getting a “better version of me” wig.
But I’m pretty sure I’d get fed up with that, too.
So I do a side swept fringe and a bun, sometimes a clip or a banana clip to give the impression of a long ponytail.
But I caught myself in a mirror the other day and my scalp is clearly visible at the sides…
55 and post meno.

My hairdresser is in her 50s and has hair extensions to make her hair look thicker, I would never have known, they look really natural.

I'm the same, and why oh why do hairdressers always blow dry straight and flat. So I have something similar to that posted by @meatbaseddessert with more of a fringe, BUT I also have it messy, not neat. I put some VO5 cheap as chips volumiser powder in, and give it a good mess about. Looks so much better! Oh, and you can have very fine layers, I now have a friend who comes to the house to do my hair, and she always gives me very, very, fine layers, takes her an hour of cutting. In the salon they were done in 20 mins, o but you don't have much hair to cut, no extra care or time taken BECAUSE it was fine, and four times the price too. Pissed me off.

TomatoSoup describes my experience exactly. Exact issues as you have. My GP referred me to a dermatologist who said although I wasn’t anaemic, Ferritin needs to be at least 70 for hair health. She also found my Vit D was low. I was prescribed ferrous fumerate and high dose vit D. I also added biotin. It took 18 months to see a proper improvement but the hair loss improved after about 4 months. My hair has always been thin and fine but after divorce of hell, perimenopause, low carb and generally not a great diet, it was dreadful. I find a blunt bob with a fringe looks the best on me.

Hi @Bunnyhair
Eating seeds and nuts, almonds, cashew nuts, walnuts, really helps with hair. My midwife had beautiful hair and said she only ever washes it once a week with any random shampoo available, so i started doing this too! Also, try applying shampoo to dry hair then wash out with water xx

It depends on your doctor and symptoms. The NHS used parameter for abnormal is also too low. You can also pay privately. Of course there are non-hormonal reasons for thin hair.

It doesn’t. I’m a GP. I have no control over what the lab will process. They set the rules.

Interesting. I wonder if my GP (eventually) ‘broke the rules. I’m glad they did, as levothyroxine alone left me feeling as though I were untreated. I don’t know how they got the lab to run them. Different areas?

Caffeine shampoo has been the best thing for adding a little thickness or body... Grey bottle with a red lid. Noticed a difference after about 3-4 weeks daily washing

Get it cut very blunt

Makes it look thicker