Why is my hair like this?

[Vapeaddict]

And what do I do to fix it?!

I'm not actually sure it is fixable- I started with the fluffy "halo" after having DD 8 years ago and over time it seems to have worked it's way back, the whole of the top layer of my hair seems to have broken off (or stopped growing?) at about 3". (If the picture takes a while to be approved, it shows me holding the hair on the top of my head up vertically. The hair starts off thickish, then ends with just a few strands).

I've recently learned it's bad to sleep on wet hair so I'm trying to remember to wash it in the day and dry it on cool setting hairdryer. I've also stopped tying it high up/in a bun/remotely tight and only use satin bobbles at the nape of my neck (both of these with the last 3 months).

I don't use any heat styling or products on it at all- the very occasional bit of hairspray/dry shampoo.

I sleep on a silk pillowcase. My diet isn't terrible but there is probably room for improvement. My bloods are fine (actually fine not just NHS fine)- slightly low calcium but I've been on a supplement.

The worst thing I probably do is dye my roots- I try to stretch it so it's only maybe 5 times a year? I'm only mid-30's, not ready to go grey yet. Any thoughts pleeeease 🙏

Have you spoken to your hairdresser ??

Yes I did @Neveranynamesleft she said the hair I do have is is good condition it's just really fine. She said the short bits on top looked like new growth rather than broken hair but it just doesn't grow any further! Maybe worth a second opinion?

She also recommended a marine collagen supplement which I tried for 6wks but it gave me a really upset stomach. I don't know if it would/did anything but I couldn't tolerate it.

I tried biotin as well now I think about it, but that didn't do anything either. Apparently it's quite rare to have a biotin deficiency!

I was thinking about my diet a bit more though and I'm rubbish with oily fish and protein in general. I used to be much better- when I said diet has room for improvement, that was probably an understatement!

You need to see a dermatologist. It has something to do with 3 phases of hair cycle. The hair is not spending as much time as it should in growth phase. I have had the same problem, dr advised Minoxidil but I don’t like it, so over the years my hair have naturally decreased in length.

Thanks @Trendyname I've been recommended a trichologist nearish, would a dermatologist be better do you think?
I imagine minoxodil is the only real solution if there's nothing medically wrong.
I was wishful thinking that someone might say "oh mine was like this, it's because I was doing/missing X, now it's fixed!" 😭

I would get your thyroid checked out x

Mine is exactly the same so following..

Mine is also exactly like this and it causes me major stress which is a vicious cycle as stress probably doesn't help

no advice to offer but I'm following with interest

Get some blood test to check for viamins, thyroid, minerals, etc?

Do you take vitamin D, magnesium? Apparently everyone should take them.

I lost an awful lot of hair a few months after having Covid and the hair loss lasted about 9 months. It did grow back and looked like yours for a while. I’ve been losing a lot of hair over the last 9 months for a different reason and again it’s thicker at the crown than the ends. Is it falling out from the root or breaking? I don’t know if this will make any difference but what peroxide strength are you using to do your roots? It needs to be as low as possible as that can be really damaging especially if there’s been overlap. Agree with other posters re having your bloods checked. To minimize further damage I wonder if it’s worth you checking out some videos on YouTube or similar as to how to wash your hair in a way that doesn’t promote breakage. I’ve learned that there isn’t one fix to help me but doing lots of little tweaks seems to help

Thanks all and sorry to read some of you have the same! It's been going on such a long time but the combination of the lack of growth beyond this point, on top of some shedding, is bringing it to the forefront of my mind. I'm getting a real bald spot at my crown and feeling really self conscious, especially after seeing a picture from the back of my head.

I've had my bloods done a few times over the years and everything is fine. Genuinely fine as well, not just NHS fine. I've always suspected my thyroid doesn't function as it should because I have a lot of the symptoms but it always comes back normal. After a messy divorce I was diagnosed with PTSD and another chronic health condition that shares symptoms with low thyroid- stressful ofc- and all in the middle of COVID, which I had quite badly twice. Who knows how much impact all of these things have/had?!

@AlexandraJJ both tbh. When I wash it, most of the hair fall is short and therefore broken as my hair is way past my shoulders. But when I brush, it's long hairs coming out- so both. I have no idea on peroxide strength actually, I'd need to look at the box! I do chop and change dye quite a bit but only do my roots after learning about buildup=bad. I'm going for little tweaks too, would you mind sharing yours?!

My hair was doing similar, it was fine at shoulder length but past that was thinning out. I had it cut to shoulder length so it was all the same thickness. I had bloods done and needed iron, high strength vit d, and folic acid. I use a silk pillow, only put it up for work, I wash it 3x a week and dye my roots once every 6 weeks. I'm in my 30s too and lost a lot of hair after each child and it just hasn't been the same since dd2 was born 4 years ago. I am considering minoxidil. I do take collagen too. It is slow to grow but my fall out has improved.

Yes of course. I stopped using box dye years ago and I’ve stopped bleaching and stopped using permanent colour. I use wella colour touch and the colour touch emulsion peroxide 1.9% to colour my roots. It’s a Demi but provides good coverage and no damage. If you have to use permanent wella illumina and 6% welloxen peroxide (box dyes use 40%). I was a massive advocate of kerastase products but since my hair loss I found raking my fingers through wet hair after shampooing and applying conditioner it was coming out in clumps from the root. 6-8 weeks ago I switched to Ouai products for fine hair (I’ve never had fine hair 😢) and this has been so much better. After shampoo and conditioner I don’t towel dry, just wrap hair in a towel and blot gently and then apply Ouai spray in conditioner and their hair oil. Not loads but enough. I wash my hair every other day and on day 2 apply a bit of oil. It isn’t greasy and prevents knotting. I’ve found brushing knots causes more hair to come out. When washing I focus on scalp and very gentle with hair length. I don’t use styling products other than what I’ve mentioned. Biotin tablets or gummies were recommended holland and Barrett own brand. Apparently biotin tablets aren’t made equal and take at least 3 months to work. Not sure if this helps to be honest but maybe worth a try. Increase lean protein. Flat iron steak and chicken and also poached salmon 4 times a week. Portions don’t need to be massive. A palm size piece is enough. Changed hairbrush to tangleteezer long handle brush. It’s much better. I did notice hair everywhere. When I hoovered it kept clogging, after I’d been in the car, when I moved my head. This is much much less now. On a purely cosmetic point of view I use straighters to curl my hair on 150 degrees or less and of course never without heat protectant. The hairstyle usually lasts until the next wash but if it doesn’t I tie hair up in gentle bands and either use a hair piece pony tail (not a long one as it pulls on the hair as it’s heavy) or in a bun with a hair piece scrunchy. If you get the colour match right no one will know. If you have thinning around your face some eyeshadow blended will make your hairline look thicker. The bottom of my hair was really straggly at one point so I had a few inches off the length to make it look thicker. I didn’t have split ends so couldn’t understand why it went the way it did there. I’ve also noticed the hair loss can be cyclical and there are some times worse than others but I’ve learned not to panic now. My hair definitely looks healthier after all these little changes and it also stays cleaner for some reason. I could stretch to 3 days before washing sometimes which never used to happen, whether that’s the changes I’ve made or would’ve happened anyway I don’t know. If it’s windy and I have to go outside I also make sure I have a hat or a hood to prevent knotting hair to avoid brushing as this encourages breakage down the shaft or from the root, that’s one of the reasons why the oil is good too. I also brush gently before washing to make washing easier given hair is more elastic when wet. If you try any of these I hope some may help. One last thing which I haven’t tried but I have accompanied someone to a hairdresser for a fitting is you can buy toppers. I’d never heard of them. If things get really bad it might be an option for when you go out to improve your confidence. The hairdresser will color match and trim/style it to your liking x

@Vapeaddict hiya I’ve responded and it might be quite lengthy. It’s saying it’s hidden and needs reviewing for some reason

@Evergreen21 mine seemed to get so much worse after having a baby too but I thought it was just regular post partum.shedding.. it just never really recovered! My hairdresser says my hair grows quickly and I'm inclined to agree- it just either breaks idle doesn't grow fully!
I've been considering minoxodil for a while too. I don't like the sound of the possible side effects. I'm trying some less extreme tweaks for a bit first!

Thanks @AlexandraJJ for taking the time to post all that! What you said about the dye makes a lot of sense- really it's the only 'bad' thing I do with my hair. I'll definitely look into this a bit more. I looked on my box and couldn't see the %. I wondered about using semi permanent/more often but I don't think it'd make much difference?

It sounds like we're doing fairly similar tweaks to be honest, with slightly different products! Except I can't use oils/leave ins as the residue is always awful on me.

I fell down a TikTok rabbit hole of trichologists and went on a spree in Boots. I switched to OGX bond repair range- shampoo/conditioner/mask. Alternating with head & shoulders dermaX (caffeine shampoo/DHT blocker) and using elvive growth boost serum (aminexil, and a good dupe of the kerastase). Also taking a good multivitamin and really trying to increase my protein. My diet is/was actually shit when I looked at it properly! I do use a tangle teezer.

Brushing before washing, I can't believe I didn't think of that before! And using a hood/hat as well, the wind makes my hair so knotty. Thank you.

So many agree with @Evergreen21 and say get it cut to the length of the breakage/start afresh but it'd basically be a very very short pixie and I've never had my hair that short 😬 I'm not brave enough. I do have some clip in pieces but haven't quite mastered wearing them- I want them to thicken up the top bit but that means I don't have enough hair to cover the clip! Topper is next on my list tbh- you can get some beautiful ones and most wouldn't notice/know, I don't think.

My hair is the same, I have PCOS. The only thing that helped it was using Dianette (a version of the pill that reduces testosterone). Sadly it’s not a long term solution and I had to come off it.

I've wondered for ages if it's hormonal @BatOrange but I've swapped and stopped contraception so much over the years I'm not sure it's made any difference. Is Dianette a combined pill? I'm coming up to a year on minipill/progesterone only after getting migraines on the combined and was worried about more hair loss but I don't think it's any better or worse for it. The bloody migraines have gone though thank god!
Was yours thicker at the very root then wispy as it grew out?

I've been convinced it's breakage all this time and now I'm just not sure (and eyeing up the hair trimmers a la Britney)

Look up Glowwa a family member of mine recommended it to me and her results have been great. The before and after photos seem really good too

Thanks @JaggyJumper I've looked at those before (and the Stacey Solomon one that I can't remember the name of) and the results some people post look incredible ! From what I can see they're basically a good blend of vitamins: Biotin, collagen etc- I can't tolerate collagen for some reason and hopefully getting everything else I need from the multivitamin 🤞

Forgot to add previously esp to @Evergreen21 that you can get tablet minoxodil now not just topical. Skin&Me have brought out Hair&Me and will prescribe it

Try pumpkin seed oil?

@Squirrelsnut I've read about pumpkin seed oil! And saw palmetto- aren't they both natural DHT blockers? I don't seem to do well with taking tablet supplements- I have a bit of a dodgy stomach, magnesium wiped me out for ages!- but I have included a portion of pumpkin seeds in my new protein-rich brunch that's part of my diet overhaul.. and the DHT blocking shampoo!

I have just discovered that you don't have to consume the pumpkin seed oil, but can put it on your actual scalp.. i might add this in weekly!

Also massage your scalp with rosemary oil (not undiluted rosemary essential!) and leave it on for a while. It's very good for healthy growth.

I would ask for thyroid antibodies test ! If this is abnormal and bloods are fine it’s because the antibodies are attacking thyroid and it won’t actually change bloods initially but I will get symptoms like hair loss ! I’m sorry to burst anyone bubble but rosemary oil on scalp or taking biotin does not help hair growth (hairdresser here ) x