Hair thinning may be something that naturally occurs with age, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t disappointing the first time you notice your scalp peaking through your hair.
Whether you are male or female, hair thinning is something that can happen to anyone. Male pattern baldness can be caused for a multitude of reasons, from something as simple as your genetics to issues with your diet.
General hair thinning across the scalp is common in female pattern baldness as well as stress-related hair loss, but that doesn’t mean that you just have to sit and accept fate.
If you are starting to worry about your visible scalp becoming more and more noticeable, you don’t necessarily have to worry about going completely bald just yet.
Below we’ll take you through some of the reasons why your hair may be thinning and what you can do to slow it down before it turns into more noticeable hair loss.
There are a variety of factors that affect your hair health. Some of these things are internal, like genetics or hormonal imbalances, whereas some are external like the styling methods you use on your hair.
All of these factors could potentially be the cause of hair thinning in women and men, which could be the cause of your scalp becoming more visible:
Potential cause of hair thinning
How to prevent or address
Genetics
Hormonal imbalances
Nutritional deficiencies
Ageing
Stress
Medical conditions
Hair colour
Over styling
Chemical treatments
Environmental factors
The signs of hair thinning are very easy to spot, especially considering the vast majority of us probably spend a lot of time looking in the mirror every day.
Normally hair thinning will be most noticeable around the portion of your scalp where your hairline parts, making it look like your hairline part is starting to get wider.
It also may be that in certain lighting conditions, you notice your scalp being more visible, revealing your hairline and crown more obviously.
It’s normal for us to lose around 100 hairs a day, but it’s normally obvious when you’re losing a significant amount of hair, or if it’s noticeably thinner.
Hair loss can also look different for men and women. Men can often experience other signs of hair loss, in addition to thinning, like a receding or M-shaped hairline. On the other hand, women are more likely to experience hair loss everywhere and the causes can also be a lot more complex, which is why female hair loss diagnosis and finding the right hair loss treatment for women is important.
Hair thinning isn’t ideal, and for many people, it can have a big impact on all areas of their lives.
In one survey, 40% of women with alopecia said that problems in their marriage were caused by hair loss and 63% said that it affected their career [1].
Similarly, in a survey of male and female participants, 60% said that they would rather have their hair back than money or friends [2].
Here are some quick solutions to hide thinning hair:
If your hair starts to thin, you don’t just have to rely on quick fixes. There are other treatments that you can use to prevent further thinning and promote hair thickness and optimal hair growth.
Finasteride is an oral medication that is one of the most commonly prescribed medications for men who are experiencing male pattern baldness. Unfortunately, women are not advised to take this drug.
This medication works by preventing testosterone from converting into DHT, a key cause of hair loss in men. Normally, the results of Finasteride are very positive and can make a big difference in thinning or balding hair.
You can now also use topical Finasteride which, although less commonly used than oral Finasteride, may be just as effective.
Another popular treatment for hair loss is Minoxidil, which is well-tolerated by both men and women.
Minoxidil is believed to work by acting as a vasodilator (a medicine that dilates blood vessels). By widening blood vessels, more blood flow and in turn, more nutrients and oxygen are provided to the hair follicles, promoting hair growth in the process.
It’s available in both topical and oral forms, with the topical version of the treatment most common under the brand name Rogaine or Regaine.
Like Finasteride, the results of using Minoxidil are largely positive and can cause a big improvement in hair density for people suffering from hair thinning.
There are also a number of natural remedies that are thought to help hair thinning, although there is not as much research on these products compared to treatments like Finasteride and Minoxidil.
These include natural DHT blockers like caffeine shampoos as well as natural oils such as:
Another, more permanent, option for those who are experiencing more severe hair thinning is a hair transplant procedure. In this procedure, healthy hair follicles are taken from one part of the scalp and implanted into areas of balding or hair thinning.
This procedure is usually suitable for the following individuals:
However, it will ultimately depend on the extent of your hair loss. If you’re a stage 3 on the Norwood scale (for men) or advanced stage 1 on the Ludwig scale (for women) then you would normally get the most benefits from a hair transplant procedure.
Hair transplants are effective at increasing hair density. Most people only need to create 50% hair density to make the hair appear thicker and reduce scalp visibility [4]. In previous transplant examples, surgeons are able to achieve a density of 50 grafts per cm² with FUE transplantation and 75 grafts per cm² with a direct hair implantation transplant [5].
If you think that getting a hair transplant could be the right solution for your hair thinning, get in touch with us today for a no-obligation consultation call with one of our specialists.
If you are interested in learning more about what we can do for you, take a look at our reviews page and gallery to get an idea of the type of high-quality hair restoration work we provide for our patients.
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