|
 |
Hair Breakage and Loss
Q: I am 21 years old, and have always had pretty thick hair and straight hair, with or without blow drying. My two sisters
have unimaginably thick, thick, thick hair! Like wow!
My hair is now very thin, wavy, coarse and brassy! On the top front of my head, my hair looks very
thin, as if I am going bald! If I do not dry my hair, it looks very frizzy, coarse, brassy and wavy. When I do dry my hair, it looks
the same but extremely frizzy, dry and puffy! I am only 21 years old, and the only one with hair like this in my family.
For a couple years I died my hair often. And for at least 2 years, I blow-dried AND straightened
my hair with a straight iron on high heat pretty much every single day! Even though I have not died my hair in almost two years, there
is still color in it from dying it.
I believe I may have broken a lot of hair, fried and burned my hair. My hair is the thinnest at
the top! My hair looks horrible now if I do not straighten it. But for a couple weeks, I have just been wearing my hair in a clip,
wet, and not blow-drying or straightening it. I am willing to do this if it means saving my hair.
Help me, I feel so stuck, embarrassed, and ugly of my self. What do you suggest? And about how
long before I can see progress? EVEN IF, my hair loss (maybe breakage) was hereditary, is it possible to occur as early as 21 for a
female? If my hair has only breakage, is it possible to give me a slight balding look?
Does it seem most possible that I just may need to take vitamins? And even if it was due to lack
of nutrition, would it cause this much hair loss/breakage? What do you suggest for the breakage/hair loss? And what do you suggest
entirely for the condition of my hair? Please. I’m desperate! Give me advice!
A: Given what you are saying, it sounds as though you may be dealing with multiple problems here. First there is the issue of your
hair’s condition. This is something on which I can advise you. Second, it sounds as though you are experiencing either breakage or
hair loss at the top of your head. If it is breakage, again, I can advise you. If it is hair loss, I suggest you visit a doctor and
discuss the matter with him or her.
Let’s look at the second issue first. In the area where your hair is “very thin, as if I am going
bald” do you see broken stubs of hair at the scalp? Or is the hair just thin there? If there are no “stubs” then you don’t have
breakage, but most likely some form of hair loss. While it is possible that the loss could be hereditary, it would be unusual. I am
not licensed or qualified to diagnose or recommend treatment for such conditions, so if you are concerned about the possible cause,
please visit your doctor or dermatologist.
As for the possibility that it is breakage, this would be handled the same way the rest of your
hair should be dealt with given the condition you state that your hair is in. You have obviously over-stressed your hair with heat
styling on top of frequent color processes. The first thing I suggest is to begin with weekly deep-conditioning treatments. Apply your
favorite conditioner to your hair, comb it through with a wide tooth comb, cover it with a plastic cap and wrap a hot towel (from the
dryer) around the hair and leave it for twenty minutes. Rinse the conditioner from the hair with cool water.
Avoid heat styling whenever possible, and do not use ponytail elastics or barrettes. If you wear
your hair up, be sure to do so loosely. Don’t do anything to add stress or tension to the hair if it can be at all avoided.
Be sure to use protein-rich shampoos and conditioners to help strengthen the hair. Also, using
extra conditioning products like leave-in conditioner sprays and anti-frizz serums to smooth the cuticle layer are great to prevent
further damage. As for the suggestion of taking vitamins: this is not a bad idea. Vitamins will rarely do anything to correct hair
loss (if you are losing hair due to vitamin deficiency, you will have other serious symptoms that would alert you to the problem
faster than hair loss), but good nutrition is key to growing healthy hair.
The best way to determine what the problem most likely is would be to compare the way you style
and treat your hair with the ways in which your sisters treat and style their hair. Look for things you do differently. I’m sure if
you sit down and make a list of what you and your sisters do differently, you will soon discover where your styling habits may have
led you wrong.
The average person’s hair grows at a rate of ½ inch per month. This being the case, you could see
healthy, shoulder-length hair in as little as 16-18 months with regular trimming.
©Hairfinder.com
Hair Products
|
|
