How Do I Know My Hair Is Thinning

How To Identify Your Hair Type

Weve established that fine hair is often smooth and silky, but also lays flat pretty easily. Thin hair can have a similar look, but has to do more with the density of the hair than the actual diameter of the strands. If youre having a hard time understanding whether you have fine or thin hair , the best thing to grab a handful of hair in your fist, if its long enough. Then looking in the mirror, look at the roots. If you can easily see your scalp through the hair, its thin. If you cant, its medium or thick.

Hair At The Crown Of Your Head Is Thinning

This is another one of the common early signs of male pattern balding. Hair at the crown becomes sparser until the classic bald spot is evident. Because you dont have eyes in the back of your head, you might want to use a hand mirror and the bathroom mirror to examine the area or proceed to #7 on this list.

What Causes Hair To Thin

Any number of lifestyle factors, genetics, recent life events , or medical conditions can cause your hair to thin.

Lifestyle factors could include using certain hair products, wearing your hair up too tightly, experiencing high stress levels, or not getting enough of certain vitamins and minerals in your diet.

People who have immune system deficiencies could also have thinning hair.

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Why Am I Going Bald

Hair loss can occur for a range of reasons. However, for men, the most common reason for hair loss is androgenetic alopecia, or male pattern baldness.

Male pattern baldness is caused by a combination of your genes and the effects of an androgen hormone called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT.

In men genetically prone to hair loss, the male hormone, DHT, can bind to receptors in the scalp and miniaturize, or shrink, the hair follicles.

This prevents your hair follicles from producing new hairs and results in the gradual loss of hair that many men experience during their 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond.

Our complete guide to DHT and male hair loss explains this process and its hormonal origins in more detail.

In some cases, other factors, such as medication, rapid weight loss, tight hairstyles , certain medical conditions , stress or skin infections could cause you to shed hair. Weve discussed these in more detail in our guide to the causes of hair loss.

Can Thinning Hair Grow Back

Thinning hair can grow back depending on what caused it to thin in the first place. Individuals who experience thinning hair due to nutrient deficiencies, stress, pregnancy, and other non-genetic reasons could experience regrowth.

If youre experiencing new hair loss or hair thinning, its best to consult your doctor. Some medical conditions can be associated with thinning hair.

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Is My Hair Thick Or Dense

An easy way is to measure your ponytail to check the density

You can work out yourself whether your hair is actually thick or simply dense.

To check the density

One method is to measure the circumference of your ponytail. If the result is less than two inches, you have low density, two to three inches is medium density, and anything above that is high density.

If your hair is too short to be pulled into a ponytail, try this: Take a look in the mirror with your hair down and if you can see patches of your scalp through your hair without parting it, then its likely that your hair has low density.

To check the thickness

Pluck a strand of hair from the middle of your head and compare it with a sewing thread. If the strand is just as wide, then you have thick hair, but if its much narrower then you have thin hair.

If you dont want to pull strands out of your scalp, then take a single strand and roll it between your fingers. If you cant really feel anything, this means the strands are fine.

What Questions Might Your Healthcare Provider Ask To Diagnose And Categorize Your Hair Loss

Your healthcare provider might ask about your habits:

• What kinds of hair products do you use?
• What kinds of hair styles do you wear?
• What types of food do you eat ?
• Do you have a habit of pulling your hair out ?

They might ask about your history:

• Has anyone in your immediate family experienced hair loss?
• Is there anything stressful going on in your life?
• What medications and supplements do you take every day?
• Has hair loss ever happened to you before?
• What foods are in your diet?

And, they might ask about your observations:

• How long have you been losing hair?
• Have you been shedding more?
• Have you noticed hair loss in places other than your scalp, like your eyebrows? Leg and arm hair?
• Does anything worsen your hair loss?
• Does anything improve your hair loss?
• Have you noticed hair loss occasionally or has it been going on continuously?
• Have you noticed if your hair growth has changed?
• Has your hair been breaking more often?

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How To Care For Your Hair Type

For the most part, hair thickness and density are genetically predetermined. “Statistically, individuals of Hispanic and African descent have lower hair density than their Caucasian counterparts,” Williams says. Caucasians tend to have fine hair thickness, Josh adds.

“But, while density and thickness can vary from person to person, how you take care of your hair can lead to changes in thickness and density,” Josh cautions.

No matter your hair type, treating damage can make the most of fine or thin hair and lend smoothness to coarse hair that has become wiry or unmanageable. Try a weekly repairing treatment like Amika The Kure Multi-Task Repair Treatment , which promises to restore the bonds in damaged hair with vegan proteins, castor oil, and sea buckthorn oil.

Likewise, people of all hair types can benefit from lightweight, nourishing oils to moisturize the hair without weighing it down. We like Captain Blankenship Mermaid Hair Oil , made with argan, jojoba, and sunflower oils and scented with cedar and rosemary.

For folks with coarse hair or medium-to-thick density, Spengler recommends cocktailing oil with a leave-in conditioner to tame frizz and increase manageability. Living Proof No Frizz Leave-In Conditioner is a Byrdie fave that smoothes hair with glycerin, vitamin B5, and glycolic acid.

Hair Loss Trigger: Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata causes hair to fall out in big patches. The culprit is your own immune system, which attacks healthy hair follicles by mistake. In most cases, the damage isnât permanent. The missing locks should grow back in 6 months to a year. Some people lose all the hair on their scalp and body, but thatâs rare.

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Make Sure Your Thyroid Labs Are Optimal

My first recommendation if you are dealing with thyroid hair loss is to have your doctor run a full thyroid panel to make sure your TSH, Free T4 , Free T3 , and Reverse T3 levels are all optimal1. In my article, What Your Thyroid Lab Results Really Mean, I explain what each of these blood tests measures, why your doctor needs to order all of them , and why they should use optimal rather than normal reference ranges. Its important to understand that you can still have thyroid dysfunction and symptoms, including thyroid hair loss, even if your TSH and T4 are normal, and the first step in optimizing all of your levels is to have them tested.

Eat A Balanced Diet And Consider Supplements

According to stylist at Bumble and bumble Erickson Arrunategui, if you are struggling with thinning hair and its mostly stress-related or due to a hormone change, you can use vitamins such as biotin to help with hair growth and also strengthen your existing hair. Studies have shown that biotin helps promote healthy hair growth and is a great option if you want thicker hair. Other vitamins you can take include vitamin A and vitamin D, where studies show that a deficiency in both is linked to hair loss.

Hendricks explains diet and hair loss could be tied. To counter this potential source, Syfu recommends staying hydrated, making sure to get your omega fatty acids and greens, and also taking a multi-vitamin or biotin supplement.

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What Is Hair Porosity

Essentially, porosity determines how your hair can retain and absorb moisture. “Porosity can be broken down into three categories: low, normal, and high,” says Groover. “Low porosity hair has cuticles that are bound very close together, normal porosity hair has cuticles that are slightly less bound, and high porosity hair has cuticles that are more widely spread out.”

Use A Scalp Serum Or Hair Oil

Fonte recommends using a scalp serum to help encourage the ideal environment to promote the appearance of less hair fall and more hair growth.

Bumble and bumble stylist Reanne Mistretta agrees and says that different types of oils are known to make a significant improvement in hair thickness by preventing breakage. Adding an oil to your routine, like Bumble and bumble Hairdressers Invisible Oil, can help moisturize hair strands and keep them healthy, says Mistretta.

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How Can I Prevent Hair Loss

There are a few things you can do to minimize hair loss:

• Keep hairstyles loose. If you regularly style your hair into braids, buns, or ponytails, try to keep them loose so they dont put too much pressure on your hair.
• Avoid touching your hair. As much as possible, try not to pull, twist, or rub your hair.
• Pat hair dry. After washing, use a towel to gently pat your hair dry. Avoid rubbing your hair with the towel or twisting it within the towel.
• Aim for a nutrient-rich balanced diet. Try to incorporate plenty of iron and protein into snacks and meals.

Styling products and tools are also common culprits in hair loss. Examples of products or tools that can affect hair loss include:

• blow dryers

What Are The Types Of Hair Loss

There are three: anagen effluvium, telogen effluvium and FPHL.

• Anagen effluvium: This is caused by medications that poison a growing hair follicle .
• Telogen effluvium: This is caused by an increased number of hair follicles reaching the telogen phase, which is the stage where hair falls out.
• Androgenetic alopecia/female pattern alopecia/female pattern hair loss /baldness: This type is the most common. Hair thins over the top of the head and on the sides.

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Whats Hair Loss In Women

Hair loss in women is just that when a woman experiences unexpected, heavy loss of hair. Generally, humans shed between 50 and 100 single hairs per day. Hair shedding is part of a natural balance some hairs fall out while others grow in. When the balance is interrupted when hair falls out and less hair grows in hair loss happens. Hair loss is different than hair shedding. The medical term for hair loss is alopecia.

Hair grows on almost all of your skin surfaces not the palms of your hands, soles of your feet, lips or eyelids. Light, fine, short hair is called vellus hair. Terminal/androgenic hair is thicker, darker and longer.

What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider Before Taking Finasteride

Before taking finasteride, tell your healthcare provider if you:

• have any other medical conditions, including problems with your prostate or liver
• Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

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Is Thin Hair The Same As Thinning Hair

Its easy to confuse naturally thin hair with thinning hair, especially if youre a man who is especially concerned with losing his hair. Having thin hair does not necessarily mean youre losing it, though. All types and textures of hair can become thinner and having thin hair to begin with doesnt mean youre more prone to hair loss.

Hair Loss Could Indicate A Protein Deficiency

Protein is essential for hair health and growth . Protein deficiency isn’t a problem for most Americans, says Mirmirani most adults need 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Good include nonfat Greek yogurt, tilapia, chickpeas, and chicken breast.

People who have gastrointestinal difficulties or who just had gastric bypass surgery may have problems digesting protein. These specialized situations will have to be managed with your doctor’s help. But most hair thinning, even in women, is likely due to genetics.

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How To Test Your Hair Porosity At Home

There is a simple way you can test your hair’s porosity at home. You just need two things: a glass of water and a strand of hair. It is recommended that you try this after washing the product and build-up from your strands to get the most accurate reading. “Start by combing your hair to release strands that are shedding, and then take those stands and drop them into your glass of water,” says Groover. “Hair that is low porosity will float. Hair that is ‘normal’ porosity will float and then begin to sink slowly. Hair that is high porosity will sink immediately.”

You Wake Up With More Hair On Your Pillow

Hair shedding is a completely normal phenomenon that happens to everyone. when it becomes a sign of hair loss is when you notice an increase in shedding. one place to look for an increase is your pillow. If you wake up in the morning and notice that there is a lot more hair on your pillow, this could indicate you are experiencing hair thinning.

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Youre Noticing Random Bald Spots

As we mentioned above, male pattern baldness can cause a bald patch to develop around the top of the head — an area thats often referred to as your crown.

The bad news is bald is still bald. But the good news is if youre going bald with long hair, it may be easier to catch before things get too out of hand.

In addition to male pattern baldness, other forms of hair loss may cause you to develop patchy areas or random bald spots on your scalp.

One potential cause of bald spots is alopecia areata — a form of autoimmune hair loss that can cause your hair to fall out in round or oval-shaped bald patches.

In addition to bald spots, this type of hair loss could also cause you to shed hair in a band-like pattern that straps around certain parts of your scalp. It can also affect your facial hair growth, resulting in small patches of missing hair in your beard area.

Other forms of hair loss, such as telogen effluvium, can occur after traumatic events or during periods of severe stress.

The good news, however, is that these forms of hair loss are usually temporary, meaning your hair should eventually grow back and fill in any bald spots or patchy areas. So, if youre worried youll go bald entirely, dont freak out.

What Are The Roots Of Hair Loss

Thereâs no single cause. Triggers range from medical conditions — as many as 30 — to stress and lifestyle factors, like what you eat. Your genes play a role, too. Sometimes doctors canât find a specific reason. As a starting point, hair loss experts suggest you get tested for thyroid problems and hormone imbalances. Hair often grows back once the cause is addressed.

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Early Signs Of Balding: What Are They

There are several different signs that you might be starting to experience hair loss . Signs of balding include:

Recognizing the signs of male pattern baldness is an important part of the treatment or prevention process.

Because male pattern baldness occurs in stages, it may be possible to recognize the signs early enough to reverse hair loss or prevent any further damage to your hairline. The stages of balding are relatively universal, so learning how to recognize them is crucial.

Below, weve listed three warning signs that you should be aware of, as well as simple but effective ways that you can take action to prevent your hair loss from getting worse.

Hairstyles For Fine Vs Coarse Hair

If you have fine hair, a cut with lots of layers may not be your best look. “Avoid cutting layers into fine hair because this will decrease the volume even more,” says Kari Williams, a board-certified trichologist, licensed cosmetologist, and member of DevaCurls Expert Curl Council.

Fine hair benefits from “blunt haircuts to create clean lines and the illusion of thickness,” Josh says.

If you have coarse hairespecially curly, coarse hairJosh recommends avoiding single-length cuts. “Layers and added texture will take the bulk out and give hair more natural movement,” he suggests.

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