Hello all.
I read the posts on here religiously!! I thought it was time to ask for a little help as you all seem to have beautiful healthy hair.
Im 21 yrs old, have noticed my hair thin (it used to be very thick) over the past 3 years.
I assumed it was due to poor eating (i had anorexia/bulimia between age of 11-17) and poor dye jobs on my hair.
Hair on my temples is def. thin, on the left hand side around my fringe its def thin (and i presume this is due to sufferin a reaction to hair dye 2 years ago?)

I saw a trichologist in london belgravia centre, who informed me i was wrong completely and its purely genetic loss. My mum does have thin hair however it became thin after she hit 30 and after kids etc. Plus the trichologist went on to try n sell me minoxidl. It was odd..
I went home that night and cried my eyes out :(

Ive been researching ALOT and found this place and understand that I can make my scalp healthy and maybe eventually restore some of my hair.

Has anyone got any experience of having poor hair health and making it healthier? If so, how?
Or am i being too optimistic?!

Many thanks for reading!!!

Hi nidsy, I'm glad to see you've finally posted after reading for so long- nice to meet you  :)!  You can never be too optimistic,  the gals here will take you right under their wings and get your hair back to vibrant health!  From my experience, diet DEFINETLY affects the health of your skin and hair.  I'm sorry to hear that you had suffered from anorexia and bulemia, but hopefully you are recovered from that now and moving on with being healthy, we are all here for your support!  You most likely were not getting or keeping in you the vital nutrients that your body needs to be healthy all-around, but you can change that now.  I am very conscious of what I eat because of dealing with acne problems for so many years.  I learned that when I eat healthy foods like raw fruits & veggies and keep away from the junk like the chips, pizza (which i loooooooooove), sweets, etc.  that my skin reacted amazingly.  You almost have to detox your system and start fresh sometimes.  I notice that when I am having skin breakouts, that my hair reacts negatively as well, and the other way around, too.  When my skin is under control, my hair is healthier and shinier, too.  So, with the combination of eating better and using the right hair products (gentle, natural products are best), you can restore the health of your hair.  We'll help however we can!

Hi, Nidsy and welcome!  My intuition is leaning towards hormones as a factor.  Perhaps a chat w/your gynecologist will shed some light on this issue (sorry, no pun intended).
Diet, diet, diet.  We are what we eat, and healthy foods produce healthy being.  The trick is to find the healthy foods that work for you.  I have food sensitivities, healthy foods like wheat, corn and dairy are not so healthy for me and I need to be very careful if I do choose to eat some.  If I eat something from all 3 at one meal I'm in trouble.  It saps my energy and makes me feel terrible.
A visit to a naturalpath or homeopath can help you determine if you have food sensitivites or even allergies.

Good luck, Nidsy.  Take care of yourself.

Welcome Nidsy!

Maggie and Sakina have already given you good advice.  As they said, good health = healthy hair.  Make sure you are eating healthy foods so your body can produce healthy hair. If your doctor says it is OK, you might add MSM, Biotin and Silica as supplements to help with the thinning.

Product build up on the hair and scalp can also cause thinning.  A clarifying shampoo and/or vinegar rinse can help remove any build up that you might have. Gentle scalp massage can also help convince the hair follicles to produce more hair!

Good luck and let us know how things go for you.

Hi and welcome Nidsy! :)

Maggie, Sakina, and BB gave great advise, but I'm just a 16 year old girl who started on the whole healthy body, hair a few month back, so i hope i can help you with what i know, and read.

ok, i know that it has been medicaly proven that basil-either oil massaged into the hair, or as an herbal rinse- helps stimulate hair growth (hope i'm using the right word here :-/)as well as rosemary, and sage.

and maybe if your putting your hair in tight buns or ponytails may also cause the hair thinning.

oh, and i also heard that the stuff (don't know what it's called) that is sprayed on the veggies and fruits, does a lot of harm to your health, so maybe eating, and using (shampoos and soaps)organic products maybe helpful too.

i think i should shut up now, i'm talking too much :-X :-X


Hope This Helps :) :)

Well the easiest way to begin being healthy is to read labels. I find that so many don't do that today, and find it odd. One would be suprised at all the poisons you're putting in your body. Alot of these additives and food colorings are banned in other countries for ther carcinogenic properties.

As for natural hair products I recommend Nature's Gate and Jasons, since both are affordable and I find them in NYC for 5 dollars or six.

Welcome, Nidsy! I don't really have anything to add, but I'm glad you're here and I hope you find information that will help you!  :)

Hi nidsy!
Sorry to hear you are having such trouble.  Certainly getting another opinion, either from a gynocologist as sugggested above or another trichologist might be in order.  Especially if the trichologist you went to see is selling minoxidl as part of their business (I mean from their office so they are making money from the sale).

It does seem exploring other avenues might be in order before starting a drug that, if I understand correctly, must be continued indefinitely. :P  

In any case, patience is needed.  Whatever course you try it will take several months before you know if your hair is improving or not.

In the meantime, glad you've found LL and joined in our discussions.  ((((hugs))))

Yes, I would definately eat healthy and take a good vitamin.  My mother and grandmother have very thin hair but since I have put my hair on a schedual it seems noticably fuller and thicker than theirs.

Chilipepper -
What schedule did u put ur hair under?

Im really curious to know everyones regime is...
when your hair was going through an unhealthy time, what did you do to improve it???

Also thank u to everyone for their advice..
you're all a wise bunch :)

Greetings, Nidsy.

Sorry to hear about your ill-health in the past, but we're all glad that you're on the right track now.

Interestingly enough, no one has yet mentioned stress as a cause of thinning hair, when in fact it is among the leading causes.

Emotionally/psychologically taxing problems at home, work, etc. can have a serious effect on your hair if you encounter them on a daily basis. Even if they don't seem like much at the time, the stress that accumulates over time as a result of having to deal with them every day becomes a veritable force to be reckoned with!

Case in point, my former husband obsessed for years over daily dilemmas that arose from his career as a computer programmer. Now, thanx to a combination of genetics and work-related stress, he is severely balding at only 27years of age. In fact, he has far less hair than my 50-year-old father!

My point is...just as a healthy body is essential to growing long hair, so is a healthy mind. Learn to relax. Share your problems with your friends, your boss, your church officiant, or a therapist. Sometimes all it takes is a different perspective.

If stress is not the problem, then definitely talk to your dermatologist. They specialize in hair problems as well as skin.

Hope that helps, and good luck!  :)

I agree with everyone about diet and moderate exercise.  The healthier you are, the healthier your hair will be.  Also, I just started taking a supplement that was recommended to me by a girl who also had thinning hair, called Ultranourishair.  You can buy it at GNC.  Hope this helps!

Yep, stress is definately something that can promote hair loss. About three summers ago I was under a lot of stress because of my college course load and shed about twice as much hair than was normal for me when I shampooed. At that time I was shampooing everday, so I cut back to every other day and I ended up chopping my hair to a bob because I was paranoid that it looked thinner (not that I'm reccommending doing that). Since that time I've tried to make sure that I'm not under too much stress and my hair is almost as thick as it was before the massive shedding.

The Ultranourishair might work. But, speaking from personal experience, the pills are really easy to choke on; you might want to cut them in half.

Welcome, nidsy!  It looks like everyone covered everything, I don't really have much to add.  

I'm happy to hear that you've been able to determine that you had an eating disorder, and that you are on your way to a healthy lifestyle.  A healthy you will bring healthy hair, I'm sure!  

Cynde

Hi Nidsy
I too went through a bout of anorexia in my early 20s (mid 30s now), and for a while I noticed my hair was thinning and my skin wasn't as healthy. The health of your hair reflects what you were eating (or not) in the months and years prior to now. So don't give up hope that it will improve if you are getting enough protein and nutrients now! If you can eat meat, do it. If you weren't getting enough protein for a while you might be seeing the signs of that, and it will be good for you to get extra protein for a while because eating disorders can cause a lot of stress and strain on your body. Also, take a calcium supplement, because if your hormones were out of whack and you weren't eating enough calcium, it would take a toll on your hair and skin.
I think the hormone suggestion is probably on target, although that is only from my experience, I'm obviously not a doctor. I went on the pill for about a year or so to get my hormones back on track because I was so skinny for a while that I stopped menstruating. Maybe doing some kind of hormone therapy, like the pill, would help out. Definately see a gynecologist to see if this is an option!
As far as things other than diet and hormones, get your hair trimmed regularly for a while until it gets healthier, and try not washing it every day and using a very gently shampoo. My hair recovered dramatically using aveda damage relief shampoo. It's remarkably the most gentle shampoo I have ever used. Maybe also get some deep conditioning treatments once a month or so for a while.
Don't start thinking that it won't improve though, because it will get better!