17 Ideas on Thinning Hair: Why it Happens, How to Fix It

Hair loss. It’s definitely a bummer. We’re here to give you all the news on the most common causes of it and a few smart ideas on how to keep more hair on your head than in your brush or down your drain.

Some women are born with the tendency toward it. Some women develop it because of medical issues. Some women face it as they grow older. But all of us can agree that thinning hair is just. not. fun. And the fact is that a majority of women will deal with hair loss at some point in their lives. It can happen when hair follicles decrease in size, leading to the production of thinner and extra-fragile hair strands, or when the hair follicle is destroyed and replaced with scar tissue.

4 SIGNS YOUR HAIR IS THINNING

While it’s normal for some 50 to 100 strands to come out daily while you’re brushing and shampooing, you can tell if your hair is starting to thin abnormally a few different ways:

• If you see your part getting increasingly wider
• If you can see through your hair to the scalp when you put your hair in a ponytail.
• If your hair is coming out in larger clumps than usual when you brush and/or shampoo
• If you start to see a noticeable amount of hair on your pillowcase when you wake up in the mornings

5 REASONS YOUR HAIR COULD BE THINNING

There could be a number of different reasons, some of which may require a trip to the derm or your doctor, some of which you can manage with a tweak to your diet, your styling habits, your chill-out routine. Some of the most common ones include:

• Your hairstyle. Do you pull your locks back into a super-tight bun or ponytail? Pulling harshly on the hair follicles could cause scar tissue to develop. (When you put your hair up, it should feel comfortable. If you want a super-sleek look, use product to get the effect.)
• Your genes. Genetic hair loss is the most common type. Check out your mom’s hairline: Does it thin along the sides around the bangs?
• Your hormones. Thyroid disease, either hyper- (too much of the hormone) or hypo- (too little of the hormone); hormone imbalances from pregnancy, menopause or organic causes, and autoimmune diseases can all lead to hair issues. You’ll likely be feeling not-great in lots of other ways from these conditions so you’ll want to head to your doctor, who might prescribe medications that are proven to help grow back healthy hair or suggest alternative treatments specific to your individual situation.
• Your stress level. A high one can wreak havoc on your entire body. Your hair’s not immune.
• Your diet. A poor one (as in, serious regular doses of sugar! caffeine! alcohol! salt! grease!, processed stuff!), or a super-low calorie crash, can lead to all sorts of nutritional deficiencies that won’t be kind to your hair.

7 HACKS TO HELP YOU DEAL WITH YOUR HAIR LOSS

Watch what you put in your bod

Top of the shopping list should be iron-rich foods (as in, dark leafy greens, nuts, beans, tofu, lentils), veggies full of both vitamins A & C, and cold-water fish packed with Omega 3s. These foods will help restore your healthy hair and can help you to achieve fuller looking locks.

Learn to love water

Everyone knows that drinking lots of water every day is good for you—it helps regulate your body temperature, circulates proper nutrients throughout the body, and balances your bodily fluids—but did you know drinking water benefits your hair as well? Drinking eight to 10 glasses of the stuff everyday can help promote hair growth by flushing toxins out of the body. It doesn’t get any easier than that, ladies.

Be a cool girl

While we are on the topic of water, let’s talk about showering. Although it may seem strange (and not-fun), taking cooler showers doesn’t dehydrate your hair like hot showers can. Dehydrated hair is dry and brittle, causing it to easily break, which results in thinner hair. So try turning the water to as cool as you can take while shampooing and rinsing.

Reduce that unwanted stress

Although stress can never be fully eliminated, there are several things that you can add into your routine to lower it. Exercise is one. Meditation is another. Meditation also helps you learn how to control your breathing, which is crucial to reducing stress in certain situations. But remember, the trick to any of these methods is consistency; sadly, nothing just magically works if you try it only once. See if any of your friends want to start a new workout routine or meditation and try to create a realistic schedule you all can stick with. And hey, even if you don’t end up sweating up a storm or finding your perfect mantra, a hang with friends is always a good way to ditch some stress.

Give in to the magic of coconut oil

You can use it as a wrinkle reducer, skin moisturizer, natural deodorant, even insect repellent—seems like there’s nothing this oil can’t be used for. Including your thin hair. Coconut oil is rich in Vitamin E, Vitamin K and iron, which moisturize the hair follicles, and lauric acid, which helps protect your roots from damage, creating a healthy environment for your hair to grow. Massage the oil directly into your scalp. Score even better results if you put your oiled hair into a shower cap and let it set for at least 30 minutes or even overnight. You can also use coconut oil as both a natural hair conditioner and shampoo.

Try these tricks to make your hair look thicker

Thin hair needs attention at the roots to make it look fuller. One super-simple, super-fast volume builder? Change up your part. That easy move creates noticeable volume where it’s needed most—on the crown of your head.

Another trick? Teasing your hair—gently. You can do it by blowdrying your hair upside down while simultaneously brushing toward the roots. The best way to get this right and to avoid damaging your delicate hair is to divide your hair into three-inch sections from front to back and use a teasing comb or even a small round brush. Be careful to not apply excessive amounts of pressure as you brush toward the scalp and try to avoid teasing the roots at front of head around face because you can’t cover those teased sections. Then, stand up and flip your hair back to its natural place, smoothing over the backcombed hair so the teased parts are covered.

You can even use teasing as a genius way to make a bun that looks like you’ve got majorly thick hair. Check out how to do it here: . And for more help with how to tease your hair, plus some awesome thin-hair styling ideas, click into this super-helpful video:

Finally, talk to your stylist about getting a cut that can play up the hair you have. Since layers are key to giving the illusion of more volume, you can go with a bob, which has volume-adding layers. Or, if you don’t want to lose length, go with a lob (longer bob). We love what this stylist did:

If you’re committed to having longer hair but want ideas on how to add more volume (and see proof of why changing your part makes such a diff), we’ve got some major inspo for you. Love the headband look!

Find your product soulmates

Let’s start with shampoos and conditioners. Sure there are tons of them made with volumizers but how do you know which is right for you? Look for products with these ingredients that will help your hair look thicker without weighing it down like quinoa, panthenol, biotin, avocado, and coconut oil.

Next, let’s talk roots. As in, if you give them a boost it will help your hair look thicker at the crown. As with shampoos, the trick is to find volume-boosters that don’t weigh down your fine locks. Two of our TRUHAIR products handle that challenge in a seriously awesome way (if we have to say so ourselves). One of our newest, Volcanic Volume, is made with volcanic powder, which helps absorb oil and impurities. The paste instantly attaches itself to the individual hair strands, giving you volume and texture from the root out. Just ‘warm’ a small bit of the paste between your fingers and gently massage it into your hair roots. See the magic for yourself here:

If those roots are attached to colored strands, you’re going to want to check out our Color and Lift with Thickening Fibers. It comes with an attached application brush that has added thickening fiber technology to raise your roots and give you the look of fuller hair along your part and hairline.

+1 MORE ESSENTIAL TIP...

Make an appointment with your doc or derm

We said it before, we’ll say it again. All the above are ideas on how to handle your thinning hair issues. But none of them replace heading to your doctor to get to the real lowdown on why you’re shedding your locks. Make the call now.