My hair is fine, but it may be thin, too, at least in places.

My overall ponytail circumference is between 2" and 3"
but the sides of my hair in the temple down to infront of my ears is so thin.  It has always been this way, so it is not a hair-loss situation.

It is so bad that if my hair has not been freshly shampooed and I put it up I can see scalp on the sides.  To combat this, I put it in a low ponytail and then the sides of my hair are better covered.  

I have thought about not growing my hair out because of this, I've thought about cutting the hair in front of my ears into short wispies and let the rest grow, sort of faerie-hair.  But I really don't want to cut it.

I thought of Rogaine but since it has always been thin on the sides, I'm not sure it would work.

Has anyone else had anything similar?  I feel like I'm the only one and that maybe I can't have long hair because of this.

I hope I'm wrong.

strawberryfine :(

I'm thin in my front hairline area.  I don't want to try
Rogaine because once you start that you have to
keep it up-forever, I understand.  I have been using
Nioxin s/c once a week and taking vitamins.  Haven't
seen a huge amount of difference yet.   After Christmas
I want to get the follicle booster.  Too much $$$ for me
now.

NOPE! You're not the only one! Welcome to the club, sister!  ;D

I have the same problem - a bit thin on the sides, and now more recently kinda thin on the front hairline as well. I wouldn't touch Rogaine because I don't want to be stuck using that for life.

So I just rely on good old vitamins and an acceptance of hair thinness. (Or at least I try! It's difficult!)

The follicle booster sounds interesting, Babyfine. What is it?

Thanks, Babyfine and Rua!

You both confirmed what I was thinking about the Rogaine; I'm not ready to make that kind of commitment.

I've seen Nioxin advertised but really don't know what it is.  Any info on that at the booster, Babyfine!

I'm sorry you two have the same problem but it sure is nice to know I'm not the only one.

strawberryfine 8)

the salon in the townI live sells Nioxin products.  I finally
broke down and bought the s/c, but they're EXPENSIVE
and I saw the follicle booster there, but couldn't afford
to buy that, too.  I think its meant for really thinning hair,
like where you can see the scalp through.  If you look
at www.nioxin.com, go to products and then do a search
for follicle booster you can pull up what it is and the
ingredients.  I don't know if you can get it overseas.
I've been wanting to try it for years,  but I didn't want to
spend the money.  I think drugstore.com carries the
shampoo and conditioner.  It has TEA lauryl sulfate in
it, if you're trying to avoid sulfates, but I think thats
a lot milder than SLS

I've wondered if my thinner sides have to do with
chemical processing and manipulation with the curling
iron and blow dryer that I used to do.

wrote on Dec 21^st, 2004 at 3:36pm:

It has TEA lauryl sulfate in it, if you're trying to avoid sulfates, but I think thats a lot milder than SLS

Hey, that just reminded me of a question I've been meaning to post for some time.

What exactly do those Sulphates in shampoos do? Also, does anyone know which ones you are ok with and which ones you should avoid??

OK now I have it www.Nioxin.com, go to products and
clik  on Special needs and that will pull up the follicle
booster.
Sulfates are a cleansing agent in shampoo, a surfectant
that makes lather.   There's SLS or SodiumLaurl Sulfate
and then there's SLES Sodiums Laureth Sulfate which
is milder.  There was a big controversy about them
causing cancer but think that's been discredited.  You
can get shampoos without sulfates but you have to
ususally get them in a health food store or order them
online.

I'm going to nioxin.com to check it out!

I don't have too much of an issue with sulfates.  I think my hair needs some because everything builds up on it so easily.  I do try to stick with the SLES and cocoa? betaine and soaproot? as the cleansing ingredients but will use an all out sulfate if my hair feels real coated with something and nothing else will get it out.

I think it is in the hair recipe section at the top Bikerbraid has compiled a huge list of ingredients and it tells which sulfates are milder.  It's an incredible piece of work!

Off topic: They are predicting snow here over the next few days.  WooHooo ::)

Babyfine,
I would lean toward not thinking you've done anything in the past to cause enough damage to cause thinning.  I'm sure it is possible, but during the 12 years I worked in the salon, I saw some people put their hair and scalps through all sorts of torture, only to have it bounce right back.   If I learned anything at all by doing hair it is that it (our hair) is a lot stronger and more resiliant than we give it credit for.  Think how strong a fine strand of silk is and I think it's made up of proteins as is our hair.  I'm not certain about that though.

HTH,

Actually i was hoping it was something I've been doing,
because then I could just stop doing it and my hair
would get thicker.  Actually my hair has always been very fine, but it thinned out in my mid 20's for some reason, so I started perming it to get volume, did that
for 20 years almost.  It looks limp to me now because
I've never had it this long without a perm.(in my adult
life)

I guess what I was trying to say was that if your treatment of your hair in the past caused any damage that with good care I really believe it can recover.

And fine hair has its own beauty; when well kept it is shiny shiny shiny and silky.  It's not limp; its silky!

But I used to get perms, too and getting used to your own texture can take some adjustments in your thinking.

I bet your hair is very pretty; maybe you just haven't realized it yet.

I mean this as a compliment; I'm tired and not sure if I'm expressing myself very well.

strawberryfine

Thank you Strawberryfine!! I needed to hear that today.
I am particularily disgusted with my hair today, it just
looks ick! I get sick of wearing it up every day, but I just
feel like I've had so many bad hair days.  I really miss
the volume and bounce the perms would give me-several
times in the last week I almost picked up the phone and
made an appointment to get a perm.  I've been feeling
like my hair's been making me look old and tired.  The
only thing that stops me from doing it is that my hair
is already colour treated, if I permed it I might as well forget about my hair length goals.  When we get a digital camera someday I'll post a pic. We're both a
couple of computer klutzs (dh and me.    I'm so glad of
the support on this site from everyone, I would have
probably chopped it off a long time ago otherwise.

NOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!
:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

You used the "P" word!!!

Now, I know you've got enough willpower to avoid doing that to your hair, Babyfine!!

Still, I can empathize with you. I always loved how easy my hair seemed to be when it was permed. But oh-my-word I regretted it every time when I had to deal with the damage.

Don't worry, your bad hair day will pass, and you will like your hair again! Until then, slap some curlers in or do a few pin curls and call it good! (Thats what I'm planning to do for my bro-in-law's wedding this coming Monday!) ;D

Thanks Rua!! I know perming is a bad thing, and I really
don't want to do it again.  I think growing out hair
is sooo frustrating, I just want to wake up and have
long hair that's in good condition.  It takes lots of
patience, which I don't have.  Plus, every time I've felt
a little stressed or down.I always "done" something to
my hair, such as colored, permed ,cut, CHOPPED!
I've been trying to avoid that and stay the course.

I wish you strength! My hair hasn't ever been longer than BSL, and as I'm Scandinavian, I sometimes fear that my terminal length comes extremely early or my hair damages too easily to be able to grow long or something... But really, the only way to find that out is to keep growing and hope for the best, as frustrating as that can be.

Safe way of "changing" your hair would be trying some new hairtoys. Preferably from the expensive end of the price scale so that you can then tell yourself that after investing to all those toys it would be awful waste of money to do anything dramatical for your hair.

why would scandinavians be unable to grow long hair??? i mean, genetically we ALL come from a very tiny gene pool. you don't differ this much from the belgians and belief me: i went shopping yesterday and in the thousands of people i passed i saw at least two with classic length and a few dozen with waist length (now that i found the state fo their hair beyond dreadful is another storie, they for sure don't know this site  ;) . but even then: even damaged hair seems to be able to get down to classic  ::) )

and against the cold weather ... oil oil oil i'd say, i already see the difference between here and where i live at the atlantique ocean: i put about two to three times more oil here!

wrote on Dec 23^rd, 2004 at 6:59am:

I wish you strength! My hair hasn't ever been longer than BSL, and as I'm Scandinavian, I sometimes fear that my terminal length comes extremely early or my hair damages too easily to be able to grow long or something... But really, the only way to find that out is to keep growing and hope for the best, as frustrating as that can be.

My opinion is that for most people, terminal length is greater than waist-length. The challenge is keeping the hair in good condition if your hair damages easily. People who have hair that doesn't seem to grow longer usually have lots of damage, while most women who take good care of their hair end up stopping when they think their hair is "long enough".

My mothers family came from Sweden so I'm 1/2
Scandanavian.   I heard fine hair is common among
Scandanavians (I'm not saying that's true, its what I
heard)  I have very fine hair!! I think fine hair damages
more easily than other types of hair.  I've never had
it  longer than BSL. HOWEVER, I'm taking much better
care of it now.  I'm wondering if my terminal length
is much longer than BSL with lots of TLC.

wrote on Dec 23^rd, 2004 at 11:22am:

why would scandinavians be unable to grow long hair??? i mean, genetically we ALL come from a very tiny gene pool.

I agree, I am half Norwegian on my father's side and his two sisters who were full blood scandinavians had at different times in their lives long long hair. I'm talking about hair that came down to their knees  :o ! I think I get the long hair gene from them even though my hair isn't that long now (it's hip length) I have no doubt I can grow it that long it I can stand it being that long.  ;) ;D

wrote on Dec 23^rd, 2004 at 4:31pm:

I think fine hair damages more easily than other types of hair.

i think that's just bullocks ... i have fairly fine hair, dyed and twice as long as my mother who has thick virgin hair and guess who has a great collection of split ends like every three months i cut her hair?? not me for sure. i think thick hair is a lot more porous and one has to be careful while combing. she only brushes with those plastic things cuze she says she can't go deep enough with a comb (not that she has more voluminous hair than me but well): if that what she likes to believe ... i call that laziness and noone should expect great hair using such tools.

Hi Styg!  I think it probably varies from person to person,
for example, some people's fine hair might be more
resliliant than some peoples course hair.  I agree it
may depend on porosity, curl, ect.  My fine hair seems
to damage much more easily than one of my friends, who
has hair like me.  Hers is bone straight-maybe a 1afi
while mine has wave in it (most of the time)  Maybe
that's the difference.   I've always heard, and had
several stylists tell me, that fine hair is more fragile,
the individual strands being thinner.   However, i was both
perming and colouring my hair at one time, and it didn't
fall out and I was able to get it a little past my shoulders,
so maybe it's more resiliant than I think.

yup...i got the thin sides as well.....it looks like im balding!!!! AHHHHHH i hate it. but owell....theres isnt much we can do so we may aswell accept it  :)

I thought about cutting because my sides are so thin.  But then I'd just have short hair that I would probably hate AND thin sides.

Whatever is there, I'm going to nurture it to as long as it will get.

SF

Me too - thin sides - especially day after washing - the only time my hair looks nice is just after washing it - if I leave it for another day - baldy sides! Genetics hey! Giving my hair 6 months - if not happy with it then chop chop  chop - off it all comes!

i never really responded to the question: yes, i have thin sides too. always had them. i have them from my mother (who has rather coarse hair though apart form the sides). but i don't see why one should chop off their hair cuze it's long hair that covers it the best (in a center part of course).

It's not just the sides... I am reaching the conclusion that my hair is too thin all over to be long - sometimes the dream is better than the reality..... I think I just have to face facts that my hair looks like a dead witch's hair when longer than shoulder length. :(

I don't think my hair is particularly thin on the sides, but you could add kelp supplements to your diet.  In addition to whatever hair vitamins you're taking, kelp helps hair to grow thick and healthy.
If you can get to a bookstore that carrys Linda Page's Heathy Healing you can look up the page on hair growth.  I've lent the book out, so I can't quote more info here.
You'll need to be carefull if you've got thyroid issues-kelp's rich in iodine.

Babyfine, instead of perming maybe you could sleep with a damp loose braid or a bun?  Get some natural wave in there?
Good Luck!

Hi Sakina!  I haven't permed in  almost 4 years.  I don't
want to , either.  I came to the conclusion that it isn't
good for the scalp or hair.  I have tried braiding and
Goody soft rollers and they work good.  Thanks for the
suggestion !

Hi everyone.  I have thin sides, too, and I've always hated it.  I think everyone's sides are thinner than the back, because there just isn't as much area for hair to grow on.  It also depends on your hairline.  Mine is farther back than I would like, so that means less hair on the sides, also.  It also means that I look best from the side with bangs.  

Lisa

Bumping

I deal with this issue, too.  I have a high hairline that leaves my temples looking bare - YUCK!  My hair is basically straight and fine, with just a bit of natural wave, and until recently I've alway worn my hair with my bangs grown out.  My self-consciousness of my bare temples (mostly when my hair was pulled up) got the best of me and I had some bangs cut in.  I had my hairdresser "razor" them in and taper them a bit down around the sides of my face -  so it wasn't so severe.  I didn't want the "straight-across" bangs and then long sides, I wanted it to be softer looking, which it is - so I'm glad for that, but I'm beginning to miss the ease of grown-out bangs.  I like that when I pull my hair up , which is practically every day for work, I feel better and like the look, but it does require more styling than having them grown out, it's not a care-free hair do like I was used to having.  I also don't like that I have to use heat styling on them every day so that they look nice, otherwise they just lay too flat against my forehead, whereas before I always just let my hair air dry.  So, I'm battling with this issue right now, too.  I'm not sure what path to take as my hair grows, because they're at the point where I could either trim them and keep them short, or start to let them grow again.  What to do!!!  One more note- with having such fine hair, I have become a big fan of the razor cut.  At first I just had it done on my bangs, then I had it done instead of a scissor-cut all over the next time, and it really added texture and body to my hair.  Now my last cut I went to a different hairdresser and she just used scissors, and I'm so disappointed, I think I'm going to go back to my regular and get it re-cut (just a teeny bit!) with the razor.  I can't stand the way my hair lays right now!!!

It's not easy being so fine!  ;)

How long is your hair, Maggie?  I wouldn't dare razor-cut mine.  I'd be too afraid of the damage.  

I agree with you about bangs being a pain.  Mine always separate, and never stay where I put them.  I always worry that they are messed up.  And they usually are!

My hair is BSL right now.  Before my "big cut" it extended about 4 inches below BSL, but I had some splits to take care of so I took the plunge and got  a good chop for a healthy re-start.  I really miss the length, though!  I find that by keeping some long layers, it makes a world of difference in the body of my hair - I can almost make my slight natural waves into curls just by scrunching my hair (w/o product - sometimes low or cool heat from a dryer) as it dries & applying a light spray when it does dry.  But right now my layers are hanging "too choppy" and I can't get the look that I'd like with this cut - the razor cut kind of lightens it up.  What she uses looks like a comb, but high up in the teeth there is a sharp razor, so it does make a clean cut, I don't know that it is damaging as long as the razor is sharp as it should be - I am not a 100% on that though - so don't quote me on that!