Why Some Hair Loss With The Curly Girl Method Is Normal
Often times people will experience a transitioning phase when they start following the curly girl method.
This is caused by switching to clean products.
Depending on what products youve used in the past and if they contained silicones, you may have a good bit of buildup.
When you switch to clean products and start incorporating a monthly clarifying wash, it can cause old hair that is being held in by build up on your scalp to come out causing more shedding than usual.
This perfectly normal and not cause for alarm.
Transitioning can last between 1-6 months but should stop and you should start seeing new regrowth.
Your Mom Lost Her Hair Too
“If you come from a family where women started to have hair loss at a certain age, then you might be more prone to it,” says Dr. Glashofer. Unlike men, women don’t tend to have a receding hairline, instead their part may widen and they may have noticeable thinning of hair. This is also known as femalepattern baldness.
Women may benefit from minoxidil to help grow hair, or at least, maintain the hair you have, Dr. Glashofer says. Rogaine is available over-the-counter and is approved for women with this type of hair loss.
Hair Loss In Women Can Be Triggered By Multiple Causes And Some Are Treatable
You look in the mirror and you notice it: your part looks wider than before, and there seems to be more scalp peeking through the strands of hair. While hair loss is often thought of as a man’s problem, at least a third of women will experience thinning hair at some point in their lives.
“There are many different causes of hair loss in women. Some are associated with inflammation in the body. Some are female-pattern hair loss,” says Dr. Deborah Scott, assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Hair Loss Clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Unlike men, women typically experience thinning hair without going bald. In many cases this hair loss can be stabilized with treatment, and it may be reversible. When it’s not, there are a number of new cosmetic approaches that can help.
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Why Your Natural Hair Is Thinning And How To Stop It
February 04, 2019
It started with noticing more shedding than usual while you were washing your hair in the shower. You shrugged it off as excessive shedding from wearing your natural curls in a protective style like Bantu knots for too long. You realized it was serious when you noticed balding on your edges and noticeable thin spots in your hair while styling. Your thick, natural hair has transformed into thin, fragile hair. These are all signs there may be something wrong with your hair care routine or signs of a deeper health issue. While making this realization can be depressing and intimidating, there is no time to stress yourself out. Acting fast to figure out the problem and addressing any underlining health issues is where your focus should be. For those that need help figuring out where to start, this blog is specifically tailored to guide you through this problem. Here are some reasons why your natural hair is thinning and some ways to help stop it and restore your natural hair.
You’ve Changed Your Contraception
Seeing as pregnancy hormones cause changes in your hair, it kinda makes perfect sense that changing or stopping your contraceptive pill can have a similar effect, no? Women who are susceptible to hormonal hair loss often see that their hair is thinning when taking a variety of pill with high progesterone levels, or in the weeks after they decide to come off the Pill altogether. The good news is that contraceptive-related hair usually reverses itself once your body has become used to the make-up of the new tablets , but see your sexual health nurse or other prescriber if you’re worried for any reason that your birth control might not be right for you.
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Is My Hair Thinning Or Just Fine
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 you can easily see your scalp through the hair, its thin. If you cant, its medium or thick.
Cosmetic Options For Hair Loss
When medical treatments fall short, women can also consider cosmetic options to make up for lost hair, such as wearing a wig. At the other end of the spectrum is hair transplantation, a surgical procedure that moves active follicles from the back of the scalp to areas where the hair is thinning. Once transplanted, the hair grows normally.
Hair transplantation is typically performed as an outpatient surgical procedure. In appropriate patients, it can be extremely successful, but it wont work for everyone, says Dr. Scott. One drawback is the expense: it can cost thousands of dollars and is not covered by insurance. The procedure also requires recovery time. And it may not be appropriate for women who have diffuse thinning across the whole scalp. Its more effective in treating smaller, more defined areas of balding.
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What Is The Relationship Between Hair Loss In Women And Menopause
During menopause, you might see one of two things happen with your hair. You might start growing hair where you didnt before. Or, you might see the hair you have start to thin. One cause may be changing levels of hormones during menopause. Estrogen and progesterone levels fall, meaning that the effects of the androgens, male hormones, are increased.
During and after menopause, hair might become finer because hair follicles shrink. Hair grows more slowly and falls out more easily in these cases.
Your healthcare provider will do a thorough examination and take a detailed history to help you deal with changes in hair growth. You may be directed to have your iron levels or thyroid hormone levels tested. Your medications might be changed if what you take is found to affect hair loss or growth.
Why Is My Hair Falling Out
How can I stop my hair from falling out?
Why is my hair falling? It is a question that bothers almost every woman at least once in a lifetime. However, the situation is not worth the panic. The reasons for hair loss can be different, and not all of them require immediate reaction. Find out the triggers of hair loss. Read how you can get your perfect hair back!
The Signs of Hair Thinning
We lose from 80 to 100 strands each day, but they are replaced by new ones. This process is normal. There is also no reason to worry even if your hair is falling out so much and even above this number, yet the hair density stays steady and you do not see your scalp in patches.
However, the signs of abnormal hair loss include:
Sudden hair shedding without new strands.
Itching and brittle hair.
Why Is My Hair Thinning: The Most Common Reasons for Hair Loss
First of all, lets discuss the reasons of hair thinning in teenagers. The primary triggers for hair loss in young people under 14 are:
Severe stress. Strong feelings cause a spasm of the capillaries that feed the hair follicles. Hair dies due to the lack of oxygen and nutrients, causing more or less significant hair loss.
Flues, stresses, insomnia are the most common issues that cause declines in the immune system. As a result, its cells begin to attack the hair follicles and cause the alopecia, i.e. bald spots on the head or body.
The other reasons for hair loss in later adulthood are:
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Youre Hard On Your Hair
Sometimes itâs your styling routine thatâs to blame when your hair starts to break or fall out. Using too much shampoo, brushing or combing your hair when itâs wet, rubbing hair dry with a towel, or brushing too hard or too often can all strain your strands and make them break. Two big cause of breakage include braids that are too tight and weaves that weight down the hair.
Treatment For Hair Loss Is Out There
Most cases of increased shedding will gradually resolve on their own without treatment, Dr. Schlosser says. But if your hair doesn’t return to its normal fullness within nine months, see a doctor for an evaluation to find out whether something else is going on. And if you have other worrying symptoms, like itching, pain, burning, flaking, or redness, you should seek help sooner.
See your primary care provider or go directly to a dermatologist who specializes in treating hair loss. They can determine what type it is and what the right treatment approach is for you based on which therapies are currently available for your specific issue.
In addition to changes in products and hairstyling habits, your doctor may prescribe topical treatments to treat hair loss, like minoxidil, or direct you to an over-the-counter version, like Rogaine . They might also recommend treatments like platelet-rich plasma injections , which can be helpful for some patients, SELF explained previously. If youre curious about your options, check in with your doctor or dermatologist.
All products featured on SELF are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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Can Hair Grow Back After Thinning
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, youll need to take action, and that involves reviewing different hair loss options.
Sunburn On Your Scalp
The benefit of having a thick head of hair is that the top of your head stays protected from UV rays.
But once your hair starts thinning and you begin to lose that protection, youll find that your scalp is more susceptible to sunburn.
If youre not spending more time outdoors than usual and your scalp is becoming more sensitive to the sun, you could be losing some of your hair.
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How Can I Treat It
Baldness is a natural process. Firstly you need to ask yourself whether you really want to treat it or if you can find a way to accept it rather than try to camouflage bald spots or regain your hair completely.
If you do want treatment, there are two drugs that can help.
Minoxidil lotion is applied twice daily to the scalp. Not available on NHS prescription, but can be purchased over-the-counter. About 60 per cent of patients benefit from it to varying degrees. Its effects start to wear off as soon as it is stopped.
Finasteride is a medicine taken in tablet form that partially blocks the effects of the male hormones . Propecia has been shown to halt further hair loss and promote re-growth of scalp hair in approximately 80 per cent of patients after three to six months. The treatment benefits also stop when you stop taking the medication. Only available on prescription and is available on some NHS primary care trust lists for certain conditions.
You might also consider cosmetic surgery, which is a reliable way to replace lost hair. Methods include transplants, scalp reductions and flap surgery although all are expensive long-term solutions.
How To Make Hair Grow Thicker Again
Avoid getting sucked into claims of miracle cures and instead follow our trichologist-approved advice for growing thicker, stronger hair. Remember your lifestyle plays a bigger factor than your hair products. However, it’s worth considering the products that you use and making thoughtful switches, for instance, make sure your shampoo is geared towards finer hair.
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Hair Treatment Coloring And Styling
Regularly coloring your hair or getting chemical hair treatments can damage your hair, and potentially lead to an increase in hair breakage. These treatments dont usually affect your hair root, and your hair will likely grow back once you stop treatment.
Chlorine found in swimming pools, bleaching your hair, and exposing your hair to excessive heat are also all potential causes of hair damage.
Hair Loss Vs Shedding: How To Tell Whats Normal
Shedding refers to the natural process your hair goes through to get rid of old hair and grow new.
Its perfectly normal to shed 50-100 strands per day. Fist fulls, not so much.
Unless your hair is curly.
For curly hair its common to shed a bit more in the shower because our hair strands arent able to shed since they are held in by our curls.
Once you detangle and wash your curls, it allows shedding to happen which is why we typically shed a bit more in the shower than people with straight hair.
Hair loss is a different story.
If your hair is coming out in fistfulls in the shower or if you are noticing bald patches that werent there in the past, then you are probably experiencing hair loss.
In this instance, ask yourself if youve experienced stress or an illness of any kind in the past six months.
If so, then that is probably the cause of hairless.
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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.
Male Pattern Hair Loss
In men, hair loss can begin any time after puberty and progress over the course of years or decades. It starts above the temples and continues around the perimeter and the top of the head, often leaving a ring of hair along the bottom of the scalp. Many men with male pattern hair loss eventually become bald.
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