Diffusing Hair Loss

I used to have a very thick hair but when I started university, I noticed my hair is thinning at the crown area. Note that my hair doesn’t fall like 100 strands per day. It actually less than 10. While others grow back the hair they shed every day, mine does not.

So it took years for my parting to be more noticeable. (Now it's been almost 10 years) I don’t think it because of stress. Well, of course I’m in stress during exam but not most of the times. I have great job now and happy. I’m a joyful person, I don’t like to stress myself, I always think positive. Now the only thing that stresses me out is my hair. And I never try crash diet or mourning over death of family member.

I surfed internet to find out what is the cause of my gradually thinning hair but I can’t find one. The writer is right, for women, thinning hair is more catastrophic. I hardly go to hair salon to avoid the why-your-hair-is-thinning question by hairstylist. Good thing is I’m good at styling my hair to conceal the thinning part.

However, the look is always the same everyday and I hate other women with thick hair (even though they're frizzy). I read that Minoxidil for women is 2%. But can I use Minoxidil 5%? And those supplements really help?

Editor’s Comments,

Hello there,

It may seem that your hair loss is not really related to sudden hair loss, therefore we moved your thread to the Hair Loss Story section.

We can hardly really count exactly how much hair we lose per day unless we spend the whole week fully observing the hair that falls. We lose hairs during showers, sleep and any activities throughout the day. Therefore, it’s really hard to say how much hair we lose but on average 50-100 are normal for most people.

Most hairs that we lose do grow back after they fell as the hair follicle returns to the ANAGEN phase (see more in Hair Growth Cycle). Of course, over time the hair follicles will become less active in growing strong and healthy hair fibres and may eventually die off but it’s usually more apparent later in life.

There are many reasons for your gradual hair thinning and most common reasons for hair loss in women are often related to stress, diets and lack of proper nutrition. These conditions are often well hidden and often go unnoticed until some more serious symptoms occur.

The best way to know why your hair is thinning is of course to visit a dermatologist and maybe a full body check up including blood tests to make sure everything is fine in the inside. If you don’t know why you hair is thinning, then it’s pretty hard to treat it. It’s just like shooting without aiming.

Minoxidil 2% is recommended for women and it’s available over the counter. You can try the 5% formula too but it’s advised you consult your doctor first as the formula might be a little strong for women. Do bear in mind although rare, minoxidil does carry its side effects as well.

I would say the best route for your hair loss treatment is to see a doctor and ask for his or her opinion on your gradual hair thinning. It might be a nutritional deficiency after all that can be solved with supplementations. All the best to you and good luck.