Thinning Hair on Top? Find Out Why Your Hair Is Thinning
We get it. You’d probably rather be reading about something other than why your hair is thinning right now.
But if you’ve noticed that your hair is thinning out, it’s natural to want to know what’s going on.
Nearly everyone’s hair thins out as they age. Your strands become smaller and finer. They lose some of their pigment. Some follicles stop producing new hairs and for those that keep going, the rate of hair growth slows down.
Thinning hair happens to women just as much as it happens to men, although the symptoms and causes of such hair loss for men and women might be different. And while it’s more likely to happen in your 40s and 50s, it can just as easily start when you’re young.
Luckily, there’s something you can do about it — especially if you start early. So let’s look at the common signs, causes, and treatments for thinning hair.
What Is Thinning Hair and What Does It Look Like?
Let’s start with the fact that everybody sheds hair — anywhere between 50 and 100 hairs per day in fact. So there’s a high chance that the hair clogging your shower drain is part of the natural hair shedding process.
Big clumps in the drain and on the brush? Then there might be more to it. When your head starts shedding more than 100 strands a day, your hair becomes noticeably less… hairy.
Does that mean you’re on the path to baldness? Not necessarily. Although it may present as a receding hairline or balding crown, thinning hair generally occurs more evenly across your head. But you could end up with thinner patches here and there.
To learn more, read our guide to what thinning hair looks like.
Thinning Hair at a Young Age? Do You Need to Worry?
It’s more common than you might think. Some people will start to notice thinning hair or even hair loss as early as their teens.
Around 20% of Aussie men will become bald in their 20s and about 12% of women develop signs of female pattern hair loss before they’re 30.
Your thinning hair might be genetic. Or something else might be behind it. So what causes thinning hair at a young age? It might be:
- Hormonal changes
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Stress
- A medical condition (or the result of medication)
- Stress on the hair and hair follicles caused by excessive hair styling
Let’s take a look at each of these causes in turn.
What Causes Hair to Thin?
It depends. While most cases of hair thinning can be put down to ageing and genetics, other causes may include hormonal changes, poor diet, a stressful event, or a medical condition or treatment.
Family Hair Loss History (AKA Hereditary Hair Loss)
The leading cause of hair thinning is androgenetic alopecia, a hereditary hair loss condition that starts with thinning on top.
This type of hair loss happens so gradually that it may take years to become noticeable but it typically starts anywhere between the ages of 12 and 40.
Nutritional Deficiencies
If you have an iron, zinc, or B vitamin deficiency, you may experience some degree of hair thinning. It can be easy to find out if this is the case: Just visit a doctor and get a blood test.
Medical Conditions
Your hair might be thinning out as a result of a medical condition that disrupts your hormones (such as pregnancy or menopause) or scars the scalp — or where your body attacks itself.
Medical conditions that may lead to hair thinning and loss include:
- Diabetes
- Lupus
- Hypothyroidism or Hyperthyroidism
- Hodgkin’s Disease
- Hashimoto’s Disease
- Hypopituitarism
- Coeliac Disease
- Ringworm
- Trichorrhexis Invaginata
- Addison’s Disease
- Lichen Planus
- Scleroderma
Medications
This one might be more familiar to you. The treatment we most commonly associate with hair loss is chemotherapy but there are other treatments and medications that include hair loss in their list of side effects. These include:
- Retinoids
- Beta-blockers
- Calcium channel blockers
- Antidepressants
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
High Stress
Hair loss from intense and sudden stress is a thing. It’s called telogen effluvium. To cope with the stressful event, your body shuts down hair production, among other processes.
You’ll start noticing thinning hair about 3 months after the stressful event — but it’s typically temporary and resolves itself over time.
Hairstyles
That tight braid you love so much could be damaging your hair. This type of hair loss is called traction alopecia and happens around the frontotemporal area when your hair experiences sustained tight or excessive styling.
High-risk styles include:
- Tight buns or ponytails
- Weaves
- Hair extensions
- Cornrows
- Dreadlocks
- Tight braids
- Using curling irons
- Using wigs
- Bleaching
- Colouring
Your FAQs on Thinning Hair
It can be a hairy subject so we get that you might have questions.
Can thinned hair become thick again?
Time for some good news! In most cases, we can restore your barely-there hair to a crowning glory as long as you take early action.
The Hairy Pill® provides a personalised treatment for hair loss with a simple one-pill-a-day solution.
Through a scientifically and clinically backed treatment, we take the hassle out of “going thin” so that you don’t have to worry.
Is hair thinning the same as hair loss?
You’ll often find the terms “hair thinning” and “hair loss” used interchangeably, although there are subtle differences between the two.
Hair thinning tends to be more gradual and occurs more evenly over the head. Thinning hair is sometimes a precursor to a hair loss condition, like female or male pattern baldness.
On the other hand, hair loss can sometimes have a sudden onset or be more pronounced and may lead to baldness.
What can a woman do with thinning hair?
Hair becoming noticeably thinner? It’s possible to turn that around — without the help of gimmicky hair growth shampoos and oils.
The best treatment places an emphasis on the causes of your female hair thinning — nutritional deficiencies or the onset of menopause, for example — so that you can tackle your hair loss at its roots (so to speak!).
The Hairy Pill® has a special personalised hair loss treatment for women, packed with ingredients specific to your needs.
Enquire About Hair Loss Medication Today
No need to tear your hair out looking for the right solution to your thinning hair (that would be counterproductive).
Get your personalised hair loss treatment with The Hairy Pill® and start taking one pill daily for a thicker head of hair. Fill out our online form to get started now.
