I don't know whether I'm losing hair, or if I have lost hair or my hair is just thin

Hello, I'm 23 years old. I live in Hong Kong, the medical care here is not really that good, and it seems hair loss in women is less common around here.

I never paid much attention to my hair until I was a teenager. Then I realized I had less hair than most girls my age, but I didn't really care that much about it, I kinda just accepted that I had genetically thin hair. My dad is going bald, my mom has thin hair... and so does my sister. So I thought nothing about it, but lately, it has been bothering me, because I've started noticing just how much hair I shed in the shower or when I comb my hair. Also because I can't really style my hair. So I feel, in a way, unwomanly and cheated by nature :(. Especially because most women around here have really thick hair and they seem to take their hair for granted, and some have commented with surprise at just how thin my hair is. Even my 85 year old grandma has a full, thick head of silvery curls, which I wish I'd inherited.

I guess I've always shed this amount of hair because I don't feel "balder" than I did at 17, which is when I first started noticing how bad my hair is. Now I've realized, though, that I have some sort of sebum build up thing going on in my scalp... I wash daily and still if I scratch my scalp I have this sticky thing that sometimes hardens in little bumpy things that come with tiny baby hairs attached... so maybe this is contributing to my hair loss? I've always had dandruff control problems, but I'd never really paid attention to this "goo".

I only have one bald spot but that's a result of a scar I got after I got chicken pox at 19, I got a really bad clump of "pox" right on my hairline and it left an ugly, big white scar, where I have no hair on, and on the surrounding area I have less hair.

Anyway, I found a picture of when I was like 2 or 3 years old, and maybe it's my imagination, but it seems I had at least normal density. I think I've always had fine hair that tangles really easily, because my mom made me wear my hair short to prevent tangling problems (and the associated crying fits when detangling) when I was a child. I can't really remember how my hair was back then because as I child of course I didn't pay attention to my hair. Here is a comparative picture of when I was 3 y/o, and a current picture.

http://i41.tinypic.com/25h0gp3.jpg
I'm pulling my hair down in the second pic so you can see how wide my natural part is. My hair color also seems to have lightened, or maybe it's because of the light. Anyway my color is about the only thing I like baout my hair.

As far as health is concerned, I've been on the pill since I was 19 and I haven't noticed any good or bad side effects. I never had irregular periods and when I first went to the gynaecologist he said I was really healthy, he actually prescribed my birth control without even doing bloodwork. But... he did diagnose me with insulin resistance. I've heard that insulin resistance can be linked to hair loss, but I've met many women with IR and no hair loss. Even women with thyroid problems and IR and no thin hair! Then again my mom and sister, who have very thin hair too, also have IR (more severe than mine) and they have PCOS. Well, my mom had her uterus and ovaries removed, but my sister struggles with PCOS, and she does have less hair than I do which is understandable because I don't have PCOS.

Aside from my parents and sister, nobody else in the family seems to have alopecia, at least my cousins who are around my age dont. The only relative that I remember had alopecia was my maternal grandad.

I also have quite a tight scalp which I've heard is linked to thin hair, but I don't know whether scalp flexibility is something genetic or it changes with time.

I don't know whether my hair is like this just because I was born with fewer follicles than normal in my scalp, or because I lost hair at an early age and didn't notice. I would like to know, but don't know what to do. I also wish to know if I'm currently losing hair, but I'm scared of going to the dermatologist because I fear they'll either tell me there's no hope for me, or that they won't take me seriously. Sadly in my country women's hair loss is not even discussed so I fear the latter situation may happen to me. I'm obssessing so much about my hair, I'm getting really bitter that I had to be one of the rare females who have such little hair, who can't style it, etc. I mean, now I'm scared og losing hair, because I guess I could live with the amount of hair I currently have (though I'd love to have THICK hair!) as long as I knew it's not falling, but I'm scared that i may be losing hair and that i don't know and that maybe I'll be bald by 30... and I don't want that :(

Sorry this was so long, but I'm really desperate.

There is one hair tablets made in Switzerland and the chain stores sell this product in Manner or Watson's. You may go there and ask them.

It's most likely the water, but also get your thyroid checked as one of the primary symptoms of an underactive thyroid is hair loss and fragile hair.

I used to live in the middle east before, where the water is hard and full of sand and other things, and I do have issues with my thyroid, so I was losing hair a lot! I then found out about my thyroid, so I started taking medication for that, but I also bought an ionized water filter for the shower. The one I used was by a company called Swiss blue. Not only my hair stopped falling so much and started getting healthier, but also, the shower filter uses these filters that have a lemon grass flavor, so everytime we showered there was a great fresh smell in the bathroom.

I don't think they are available in HK, as they as the company distributes in Germany and the Gulf region. I have been here only for a little bit, so I have not checked yet, but I have kept the shower head containing the filtering system. And I will get my friends to post me the filters unless I can find something very similar in HK. I've seen loads of filters in the shops here, but I haven't investigated yet if they use scented filters or not.

I'm sorry you are having this trouble. It's really awful to wonder what's going on with your hair. I had a similar thing happen when I moved to London from the US. I have fine hair anyway, but my hair fell out more than it ever had and wasn't replacing itself. Awful.

Anyway, when I moved here, I read about water filters and decided to get one for my apartment. I did a bunch of research before buying the Renaud Vitamin C showerhead filter online.

I'm really happy with it. It has definitely made a huge difference! I am really thrilled to say that my hair has stopped falling out in such quantities, and the hair I do have feels softer. My husband had been getting rough dry patches on his eyelids and in his scalp, and that has markedly improved since buying the filter.

They sent it to me overnight, and I installed it in just a few seconds. (It was also nice to get a call from the company asking me if I was happy with my purchase.) I'd definitely try it, give it a couple of months and see if that relieves your symptoms. It can't hurt and can only help. Good luck!

Hello dear, I suggest you to do massage with warm cocunut oil one night before doing shampoo. Maximize your protien intake and apply egg on your scalp once in a week.

Hi Michelle,

Very sad to hear your experience.

I have thin hair and loss lots of hair too (mainly at the front hair line). My friend suggested to use a head massage brush (which is available in many local stores) to massage the scalp and use a particular oil blend. I'm still using it after hair wash for few mins and see a bit improvement.

But I saw my friend's father has big improvement after a period of time.

There are lots of reasons to cause hair loss, stress/ Hormones can be the reasons too.

I am happy to share the oil blends & brand to you, you may email me to a97182766@gmail.com.

Cheers,
Chan