When To See A Doctor For Thinning Hair
Although its common to lose hair throughout the day, its a good idea to speak with your doctor if youre losing more than 100 hairs per day.
You should also talk with your doctor if youre worried about persistent hair loss or a receding hairline, or if you notice sudden patchy hair loss. Patches of hair loss could signify an underlying medical condition.
Thinning Hair: Styling Hair To Look Thicker
Switching up your haircare routine can make a big difference to hair health. Most experts agree that heated styling tools are a no-no for fragile hair, so cut down your use or cut them out altogether. Avoid products with silicones, too recommended hairdresser Paul Windle. “Silicones are sealants,” he explained, “They are what gives you that fake ‘plastic’ shine. You think your hair is healthy, however, the silicone merely masks the problem.” They can also weigh down fine hair.
Keeping the scalp clear of build-up can help those ever more delicate menopausal hairs push through. Try Briogeo Scalp Revival, which is silicone-free with detoxing charcoal to clear the scalp from dead skin, pollution and product build-up, or Kerastase Soothing Scrub Apaisant , which is designed for sensitive scalps with an uplifting citrussy scent. Beware of scalp oils however, Dr Wade cautioned that they can have a toxic effect on the follicle.
Hairstyles For Fine Vs Coarse Hair
If you have fine hair, a cut with lots of layers may not be your best look. âAvoid cutting layers into fine hair because this will decrease the volume even more,â says Kari Williams, a board-certified trichologist, licensed cosmetologist, and member of DevaCurls Expert Curl Council.
Fine hair benefits from âblunt haircuts to create clean lines and the illusion of thickness,â Josh says.
If you have coarse hairespecially curly, coarse hairJosh recommends avoiding single-length cuts. âLayers and added texture will take the bulk out and give hair more natural movement,â he suggests.
Recommended Reading: How To Cure Hair Loss
Can Female Hair Thinning Be Reversed
Yesbut theres a catch.
Hair and scalp education have come a long way, making it much easier to deal with hair woes like thinning. While Johnson insists shes never seen a case of hair loss she has not been able to treat, that doesnt always mean your hair will return to 100 percent of its former glory. Luckily, the most important thing you can do to stop or reverse hair loss potentially is very easy.
The number one thing I make sure of is that the scalp is clean. A clean environment promotes hair growthany buildup is only going to deter any new growth further, she explains.
If youre not sure your regular shampoo is doing the job, there are plenty of products on the market that are formulated to maintain a healthy scalp.
Mizani has a professional scalp care range that includes an exfoliating product. I use this on my clients to cleanse their scalp of any dirt, dead skin cells, dandruff and product buildup, Johnson says. Think of it like exfoliating your skinexfoliating your scalp is also an important ritual that will create the best environment for healthy hair growth.
If youve dealt with hair loss for more than 15 years and are just seeking treatment, the chances of reversing the thinning are much slimmer. So dont wait to find help when dealing with hair losstime is of the essence when it comes to saving your precious locks.
What Is The Prognosis/outlook For Women With Hair Loss
Your diagnosis determines the prognosis:
- Anagen and telogen shedding may stop with time.
- Treat any diseases associated with hair loss.
- Disguise or cover your hair loss using a wig or hat.
- Early treatment of alopecia may reduce the speed of thinning and may promote regrowth.
While hair loss is not itself dangerous, women with hair loss tend to be very upset by the changes to their appearance. These negative feelings can affect self-esteem and social lives. Recent studies suggest that FPHL can be associated with conditions that include metabolic syndrome, endocrine disorders and diabetes.
Recommended Reading: Does Copaxone Cause Hair Loss
You May Like: How To Prevent Hair Loss For Teenage Guys Naturally
What Are The Myths About Hair Loss
Myths about hair loss are widespread. Nothing in the following list is true:
- Youre losing hair because you shampoo it too much, or because youve colored it or gotten a perm.
- Dandruff causes permanent hair loss in women.
- Stress causes permanent hair loss in women.
- If you shave your head, your hair will grow back twice as thick.
- If you stand on your head youll increase circulation, stimulating hair growth.
- If you brush your hair 100 strokes a day that will make your hair healthier.
- Hats and wigs cause hair loss in women.
- Hair loss only affects intellectual women.
Signs Of Balding: How To Stop Hair Loss
Medically reviewed by Kristin Hall, FNP
Like most signs of aging, androgenetic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness, doesnt happen overnight. In fact, for most men, going bald is a gradual process.
If youre wondering how to avoid hair loss, one of the keys is learning about the common signs of baldness and taking action as early as possible. Simply put, the earlier you take action to prevent hair loss, the more hair youll be able to save.
Unfortunately, identifying hair loss isnt always easy. With many myths about balding circling the internet, it is easy to mistake normal hair loss for male pattern baldness.
Luckily, there are some real signs of male pattern hair loss that you can use to identify and deal with hair loss.
You May Like: How To Avoid Hair Loss After Birth
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.
How Is Hair Loss Diagnosed
Because so many things can cause hair loss, its best to schedule an appointment with a medical professional if you notice any changes in your hair.
Theyll likely use a combination of your health history and a physical exam to help narrow down the causes.
If they suspect an autoimmune or skin condition, they might take a biopsy of the skin on your scalp. This involves carefully removing a small section of skin for laboratory testing. Its important to keep in mind that hair growth is a complex process.
They may also order blood tests to check for any nutrient deficiencies or signs of an underlying condition.
Theres a range of treatment options for hair loss, but the best option for you will depend on whats causing your hair loss.
Medications will likely be the first course of treatment.
Over-the-counter medications generally consist of topical creams, gels, solutions, or foams that you apply directly to the scalp. The most common products contain an ingredient called minoxidil.
Prescription medications, like finasteride , may help, especially for male pattern baldness. You take this medication daily to slow hair loss, though some experience new hair growth when taking finasteride.
Your clinician might prescribe anti-inflammatory medications, like corticosteroids, if hair loss seems related to an autoimmune condition.
You May Like: Does Fluticasone Cause Hair Loss
When To Talk With A Doctor
If youre looking to slow hair loss, its best to speak with a doctor as soon as you see signs of hair thinning. You have a better chance of slowing hair loss if you begin treatment before you lose the hair.
Its much easier to hold onto hair before its gone than to regrow hair thats already been lost.
You should also see a doctor if your hair loss seems drastic and sudden, as this could indicate a more serious medical condition.
Thinning Hair: Changing Hormones And Your Hair
As we move towards menopause and oestrogen levels drop, theres less of a buffer against the effect of male hormones on our follicles. As we know from female pattern baldness, a sensitivity to androgens causes the follicles to miniaturise and die over time.
There are products to tackle this topically: Plantur 39 Shampoo and Tonic have a phyto-caffeine complex to fight the effects of testosterone on the hair root, while Tricho 7 Step 2 scalp drops by Philip Kingsley contains zinc sulphate, azelaic acid and vitamin B6 to reduce the conversion of testosterone.
Its important to support the adrenal glands too, says nutritional therapist Eve Kalinik, not only because they are overworked at this often stressful life stage, but because they step in to produce sex hormones as the ovaries retire. “This causes a knock-on effect on hormonal balance, which can manifest as hair loss or thinning,” she explained.
Supporting the adrenal glands with anti-inflammatory healthy fats, B vitamins and anti-oxidant vitamins is vital to make us more stress resilient.
Read Also: Can Too Much Vitamin D Cause Female Hair Loss
Restore Your Hair: Restore Your Confidence
Many men wonder whether they need to pursue treatment to reverse the effects or if they can grow the hair back on their own. Although hair re-growth may be possible, you should also know when to seek professional help.
If the reason for thinning hair is genetics, it will not grow back on its own. To grow back a healthy, full head of hair, you’ll need to take action, and that involves reviewing different hair loss options.
We recommend seeking out proven, FDA-approved treatments to remedy the situation, instead of looking at shortcuts. Propecia, which is a prescription medication that restores hair follicles to their former glory, is a popular option.
At the Helendale Hair Center, we offer a line of topical solutions that can regrow hair with continuous use for a less invasive approach to hair revival. We also offer treatment options such as light therapy, prescription medication, injections, and follicle transplants.
Other options include light therapy that stimulates hair thickening, platelet-rich plasma treatments that promote hair regrowth, and in advanced cases hair transplants that will restore your hair. 75 percent of men in the United States suffer from hair loss to some extent. You can reverse the effects by scheduling a consultation at The Hair Center at Helendale.
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.
Also Check: Why Is My Hair Thinning So Bad
Can You Stop Balding
There are various companies promising miracle cures to stop your hair loss journey, but are they scams?Whilst some may have worked for some people, its not going to work for everyone. Moreover, you do have to get on top of it quite early to make sure you make the most out of the treatment, because hair cannot grow back where it has completely disappeared.
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.
Recommended Reading: Does Biosilk Cause Hair Loss
Hair Loss Trigger: Childbirth
You might notice your hair seems fuller during pregnancy. Thatâs because high hormone levels keep resting hairs from falling out. But after the baby comes, things go back to normal and those strands will fall out quickly. You could lose a lot of hair at once. It could take up to 2 years for your locks to return to normal.
Is Fine Hair Bad
No type of hair is inherently bad, but they all come with their own issues. Fine hair is no exception. The biggest misconception is that fine hair doesnt require a lot of conditioning, says Hall. Since fine hair can seem naturally soft and silky, its easy to think you can skip conditioning, but it still requires the balance of moisture, lipids, and protein like every other hair type and texture, she advises. Without proper conditioning, fine hair can easily become dry and brittle and break easily. Heavy products can make fine hair look greasy and weigh the strands down easily, so use a lightweight conditioner regularly and look for water-based styling products.
More From Men’s Health
The other thing with fine hair is that the natural oils from the scalp are able to get to the hair fiber more rapidly, warns Hall. This can lead to buildup on the scalp and make fine hair look greasy and oily faster. It can also create some scalp issues, because the oil sits on the scalp and the hair doesnt have the weight to absorb it, she says. She recommends using a hair rinse or gentle scalp scrub to help remove built-up oil and keep the scalp fresh.
Also Check: Is Keratin Good For Thin Hair
Medications To Treat Hair Loss
Treatment depends on the underlying cause, says Dr. Scott. Sometimes simply addressing a medical condition prompting hair loss will be enough for the hair to regrow. In other instances, a woman might consider a medication like minoxidil , which helps with certain types of hair loss, or another treatment to replace or regrow lost hair.
A newer option being used to treat hair loss is platelet-rich plasma injections. For this treatment, the doctor draws your blood, divides it into its separate components, recombines the blood fluid with a high concentration of platelets , and introduces the resulting preparation back into the scalp.
The science on this isnt totally worked out. We still dont completely understand the mechanism behind PRP, but growth factors contained in platelets can stimulate regeneration of hair follicles and other tissues as well, says Dr. Scott.
In addition, low-level LED laser lights have been found to be helpful in regrowing hair in some cases. Its likely that even more treatments will be developed in the near future.
Hair Loss Trigger: Thyroid Problems
This butterfly-shaped gland at the front of your neck pumps out chemicals that keep your body humming along. If it makes too much or too little thyroid hormone, your hair growth cycle might take a hit. But thinner locks are rarely the only sign of a thyroid problem. You might lose or gain weight, become sensitive to cold or heat, or notice changes in your heart rate.
You May Like: What Vitamins To Stop Hair Loss
Noticeable Thinning Of Your Hair
Not all people experience hairline hair loss. Some men experience whats called diffuse thinning a type of hair loss that either affects the entire scalp or specific areas like the top of the head resulting in baldness that starts from the back or top, rather than from the hairline.
Just like a receding hairline, the easiest way to spot diffuse thinning is to compare photos from different time periods.
If you notice that your hair looks thinner now than it does in photos taken several years ago, theres a chance that its the result of male pattern baldness.
Since you dont normally take photos from behind you, the easiest way to compare the level of thickness in your hair over time is to take photos every two to three months in your bathroom mirror.
If you notice crown hair loss, its worth taking action to prevent hair loss further.
Pull Test And Tug Test
This simple test measures the severity of hair loss. During a pull test, a dermatologist grasps small sections of hair, about 40 strands, from different parts of the scalp and gently tugs. If six or more strands fall out, you have whats known as active hair loss.
This may mean you have one of the following types of hair loss: telogen effluvium, in which hair falls out all over the scalp due to an interruption in the bodys cycle of hair production anagen effluvium, or rapid hair loss resulting from medical treatment loose anagen syndrome, which most commonly develops in young children and occurs when hair that is not firmly rooted in the follicle early androgenetic alopecia, better known as male pattern hair loss or female pattern hair loss or advanced alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease in which the bodys immune system attacks healthy tissues, including the hair follicles.
During a tug test, the doctor grasps a section of hair and holds it with two hands, one near the root and one near the tip, then tugs to see if any of the strands break in the middle. This test gives the dermatologist information about the brittleness or fragility of your hair strands.
A doctor may use the tug test when he or she suspects a hair shaft abnormality, which causes hair strands to thin, weaken, and possibly break.
Also Check: Does Vaping Cause Hair Loss