6 Tips for Thinning Hair

6 Tips for Thinning Hair

I’ve never had thick hair.  It wasn’t exactly thin, but in the days when we used to wash it once a week, by the 5th day it was so greasy my ears would be poking through!  But recently I started to notice rather a large amount of hair was collecting in the shower tray and also in my hands when I ran my fingers through it after applying conditioner. And when I started to notice what looked like bald patches at my hairline, I thought it might be time to consult the GP.  More on that later.

 

But before I decided to see the GP, my reticence mostly due to Covid and not wanting to bother her with such a trivial matter at a time like this, I hunted around for ways to cope with what I perceived to be bald patches and weak, breakable hair. So here are my 6 my tips for looking after your thinning tresses, making them look thicker and fuller.

 

  1. Use a rubber bristle brush. I recommend the Manta, by Tim Binnington, which I mentioned in my Summer Faves post.  This brush is really gentle on both wet and dry hair and doesn’t tug or pull, so you get very little fall out. It is expensive at £25 but so worth it.

  1. Try Wonder Water instead of your usual conditioner. 

I talked about this in my May Faves video  and it’s been a gamechanger for me.  It’s a conditioner, but not as we know it, Jim.  You wash your hair, rinse, then apply the product onto your hair straight from the nozzle – don’t put it into your hands first like you would with conditioner – and leave it on for eight seconds – yes, really!  It’s been developed for long hair – so shoulder length and beyond – as an alternative to conditioner, using something called lamellar water.

When you start to apply it you can feel your scalp warming, and once the eight seconds are up, you can rinse it off and your hair should feel silky smooth, and if you run your fingers through it, there shouldn’t be much fall out. Just be careful not to get it in your eyes – it will sting – so I put my hand across my scalp as I apply it, or use a towelling headband. 

plastic bottle of Elvive hair conditioner

 

  1. Give it a rest – go au naturel – no combing or brushing, or using hot styling tools means less hair loss, as no tugging, pulling, or fiddling. I know, I know, it’s hard to do when the whole reason for styling your hair is because you don’t like it as is – or at that’s how it was in my case. But actually, I’ve learned to live with it, at least for a couple of days or so, and particularly over the last eighteen months. My hair is quite curly, as you can see below, but I forgot that over the years, and used to perm the hell out of it, but if I’d just let it dry naturally and put it behind my ears, as per the below, it would have been fine.  Ok, it’s not stylish and can look a bit rat’s tail-ish, but no one is going to look askance, trust me!  So whatever length or texture your hair is, try letting it dry without using heat or product – you might find you kinda like it!

    1. Apply Root touch up powder – makes hairline appear thicker/fuller. Another gamechanger! I’ve been using root touch up powder for a few years, but never thought of it as a hairline improver, so to speak, until I saw an Instagram post by Emma Gunawardana of the Emma Guns Show. She has thinning hair and used root touch up powder at her hairline.  It can work particularly well in the areas where women tend to experience female pattern baldness, at the higher parts of the temples.  

    1. Check whether you are deficient in Zinc and/or consider taking a Biotin supplement. I was actually slightly dismayed when the GP said she could indeed see that I had hair loss, as it brought into stark relief something I hoped I’d been imagining, but she seemed hopeful that there were ways to treat it.  She said she’d send me for a blood test to see if I was deficient in Zinc , which could cause hair loss, and also suggested that I take Biotin

    So I toddled off to have a blood test, and sure enough, the results showed that I was deficient in zinc, so the doctor suggested I take a zinc supplement, and I’ve added biotin too, for a belt and braces approach. as the GP suggested this too.

    This all took place just over a year ago, and I have seen a definite improvement in my hair loss. I’m no longer pulling out strands of hair when I run my fingers through it post conditioner — nor finding quite as much in my hairbrush – so do think the zinc/biotin combo is helping. And I can’t see the bald patches at my hairline anymore.  My hair isn’t any thicker, but it’s no thinner either.

    Now over 50% of women will experience some form of female pattern baldness in their lifetime so if you do find you have thinning hair, it may be genetics rather than a vitamin deficiency, so if you can, get a blood test first to check whether this is indeed the case. 

    In case you’re wondering what Biotin is – and I certainly was, as it was new to me,  it is also known as vitamin B7 or Vitamin H.  The recommended dosage in the USA is 30 IU (international unit) – the UK doesn’t seem to have a similar recommendation that I could find, and there is limited research available and so no conclusive proof that it makes a difference, as is the case with many supplements.

    In the case of Zinc, there is more information available on deficiency.  Zinc affects so many parts of our body and there are no distinct symptoms of zinc deficiency,  but hair loss is one of the reported ones. I buy my supplements from Zipvit – they are high quality and cheaper than the more well known brands. 

     

     

    6. Use a dry shampoo – specifically Batiste XXL Plumping Powder. This stuff is the business! It comes in a little tin, and is basically a talcum-like white powder which you shake onto your head, then zhuzh it up with your fingers, thereby volumizing it. You can of course use the spray version, which is better for the sides – lift up a section of hair, spray underneath, then massage in for a few seconds. Works particularly well on newly washed hair.

     

     

     

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