Risking getting yelled at by some of ya, but just curious!

[mamaherrera]

I have asked this question before, and I've heard from some,but I' have to throw it out there again. what I've heard from people about AGA is that people grow in finer scalp hair, which causes more scalp to show. It's made me very paranoid because when I collect my sheds or come through my hair, these super duper thin short hairs 2-3 inches come out. Like in a shed of 100 hairs (guesstimate) I'll lose 4-5 of these hairs. They are pigmented but very thin and don't grow. Now at first I thought they came from my temples/edges/nape, but looking there, I don't have "areas" of fine baby hairs as some of you have. I have M/C hair, so at my temples, I have M/C hair pretty much right away. But. . . . I kept investigating and found that I have these hairs all over my scalp and some fairly close together. So now I'm really freaking out, wondering if this is balding. My part is wide-er than my daughters, but I haven't noticed it widening, but I do have a ii density with M/C hair, so obviously my pores are more spaced out that you F's who are ii.'s. So I was hoping to hear from more, to know if it's normal to have some of these sickly hairs that grow on the head, some are super thin, some are a bit thicker, but still way thinner than my normal hairs. My husband says, that my son has them, and he does, but I dont know if he just has normal thin hairs that grow long (since he cuts his hair always), but the ones I have aren't just fine, they also don't grow. Hoping others can share. Also, I don't know if I have hypo thyroid, and was wondering if maybe it's a symptom of that, where these hairs just don't grow normally. I'd rather think it's something like this and not AGA. . . . hope to hear from someone, feeling a bit down. Just for reference, I can make a part, and see one of these fly-away stick straight hairs sticking up, super thin.

[CopperSilver]

My hair is fine so I wouldn't notice the different hairs like you, but I just wanted to say that I understand the paranoia of thinning hair and worrying about it. Ive lost at least half an inch off my ponytail circumference in the last couple of years, not through a dramatic shed, just slowly over time, so I dont think it will be coming back. I think most of it has gone from the top and I hate it when I stand under a light and see it bouncing off my scalp. Sometimes dry shampoo can help it look thicker. It's probably not as bad as I think (or is it? Gaaah!!! :rolleyes: ) but sometimes I think if it gets any worse I'm going to buzz the lot off and head down to the wig shop. I'd like classic length red curls, please!

Hang in there. I'm sure its not as bad as you think either.

[darklyndsea]

Yes, I have short thin hairs all over my head too. Seriously, don't worry about it unless you notice a change in your hair.

[GetMeToWaist]

Yes, I have short thin hairs all over my head too. Seriously, don't worry about it unless you notice a change in your hair.

Yep this ^^

[ChloeDharma]

What is AGA? I saw it mentioned in another thread and assumed maybe it meant androgenic alopecia but now I'm not sure.

[DarleneH]

What is AGA? I saw it mentioned in another thread and assumed maybe it meant androgenic alopecia but now I'm not sure.

I'm trying to figure this out too.

[Wildcat Diva]

I'm trying to figure out what on earth I might be yelling about in here. I came in all prepared to use my yelling voice... And now I feel kinda let down.

Seriously, though. It might be nothing? I'm not sure there is anything you could do about this, unless seek treatment for any areas you feel are thinning?

[mamaherrera]

Thanks, thanks and thanks, and sorry for confusion, now yell at me, for not being more clear. First of all,. . .. AGA is Androgenetic alopecia, Second of all, I put that title, because some folks on here have seen this question put out before, and they get bothered that it's repeated, (although I've seen many repeatedly ask about "pubic hairs" or something like that and no one gets upset about that. And finally, it has made my day and the heavens to hear even just the two of you all confirm that YES, you have short thin hairs all over your scalp that NEVER grow past being short and thin. Thanks so much. That's what I was wondering, is if people have these SHORT and THIN hairs in various places that NEVER EVER GROW, but rather shed out short. And no, they're not from the temples, they're from everywhere!! Thanks!

[lapushka]

I honestly think you're exaggerating, a lot. I've seen your hair before, and it's a thick full head of hear. I really don't know what you're so worried about all the time. Do you suffer from anxiety in any way shape or form?

[ChloeDharma]

You might find this useful http://www.sundrops.com/2012/rosemary-extract-new-research-says-it-might-regrow-hair also this one might be of interest http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=8939&highlight=bhringraj. It would seem odd that people get bothered about this question, something like this would be very worrying formany people but particularly if you suffer from AGA (learnt something new there thanks). I hope you manage to find a way to get it under control. The essential oils thread might be useful too, I know in the Aberdeen study one of the volunteers had AGA and saw regrowth.

[spidermom]

It's just part of the package. Don't obsess over it.

I regularly shed short hairs. I have no idea why some hairs have such a short growth cycle. I also have all the hairs - very fine, fine, medium, coarse, and HOLEY MOLEY is that quilting thread growing out of my head. The really coarse ones have weird kinks and bends in them, too.

It's all good.

[DreadfulWoman]

A little over a year ago I was put on a medication that has a possible side effect of hair loss. Needless to say I was freaking out about it. The thing that really helped me deal with my anxiety over it was keeping a record of my ponytail circumference before, during, and for a few weeks after. It stayed exactly the same. If you're worried about balding, counting shed hairs and obsessing over the wideness of your part is only going to freak you out more. Pay attention to the circumference of your ponytail and you will get a clear picture of what's going on. Most likely you will be reassured by it like I was, but if you are losing hair, at least you will find out for sure, and be able to decide what to do from there.

As far as short fine shed hairs, I don't think that's anything to worry about in and of itself. I get shed hairs that are only an inch or two long every day. That's just how long some of them grow.

ETA: Oh, I almost forgot. When you get short shed hairs, you may also want to examine the end of them (the non-follicle end I mean). If they are pointed, they are indeed at their terminal length, but if they are broken or blunt at the end, it could be that you are damaging your finer hairs somehow. If the rest of your hair is fairly coarse, it could be that you are handling it in ways that the coarse hairs can handle but your finer hairs can not, and consequently your finer hairs are being broken at a short length. Just something to consider.

[swearnsue]

I always check my shed hairs and have found some that are tapered at the end with a root bulb and are only 2 or 3 inches long! A terminal little scrawny hair! Then I find some like spidermom that are coarse and wild and these are the gray ones. I think it is a prediction of my senior years, coarse and wild!

All hairs a different and I'd rather shed the little scrawny ones than the long and normal hairs. That's one way you can look at it?

[Catatafish]

I wouldn't worry about it. I have plenty of those hairs you're describing. I think that they are called baby hairs, but on me they never grow more than a hands length then fall out. I could probably make the shape of a pencil with all the ones I have around my face alone. I've always had them, and I've always had thick hair. I have a pony tail circumference of 4.25, and this is what my individual hairs are like from my hair analysis.

'Hair strand thickness: Medium-Coarse
Of the hairs measured from this hair sample, 52% are medium and 48% are slightly to
moderately coarse. The range for your hairsʼ width is between 76 and 104 microns. The average
width for your hair is 86 microns. The “typical” adult hair is thought to be around 80 microns.
Key for strand thickness:
Very fine hair: Less than or equal to 40 microns
Fine hair: 40-60 microns
Medium hair: 60-80 microns
Coarse hair: Greater than 80 microns (80-95: slightly coarse, 95-110: moderately coarse, 110+: very
coarse)
1 micron = 0.001 millimeters'

You can see even my 'normal' hairs vary quite a bit in thickness. I'm just sure that none of my baby hairs happened to shed when I sent off the sample. Or more likely I didn't find them when I was picking hairs up because they are so thin. I think it is completely normal to have a variety of different hair thickness and textures on the scalp. Try not to worry about it unless you notice change. And only monitor you hair like this once a month at the very most. You will make yourself stressed out, and it is completely normal in my opinion.

[mamaherrera]

Thanks for understanding! Why people get bothered, I don't know, they always have the option of ignoring and not reading/responding to my posts. But thanks to those who take their time and are patient with others.




You might find this useful http://www.sundrops.com/2012/rosemary-extract-new-research-says-it-might-regrow-hair also this one might be of interest http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=8939&highlight=bhringraj. It would seem odd that people get bothered about this question, something like this would be very worrying formany people but particularly if you suffer from AGA (learnt something new there thanks). I hope you manage to find a way to get it under control. The essential oils thread might be useful too, I know in the Aberdeen study one of the volunteers had AGA and saw regrowth.

[ZeppHead]

If my overall hair is full and thick I would have no concerns. If I noticed over time my hair circumference was lessening I would investigate. Just because you were on a med doesn't mean you will get a side effect. You could and so they list it but it could be you being paranoid about it because you love your hair.

[mamaherrera]

I will try and focus for a while on the way my hair looks. But you are right about watching circumference. Right now it has gone down, but it went up right after i Had my baby. ANd then two months later, it went down, and then up, and then now it's stayed down, where it was PRE-baby, so I guess I should be happy with that, as long as it doesn't go down anymore. Now the big question, and only time will tell,did it go down because of baby or these "thin" hairs, so that's why i was asking others if they have these types of hairs, they are thinner than my newborn baby's hairs, that's how thin they are just so you realize I"'m NOT exaggerating, when I say they are super fine/thin. THey are very thin.

[Elysium]

I've always had quite thick, coarse hair and I've always had tons of short fine hairs that stick out all around like a halo. These do shed naturally too. My circumference also fluctuates quite a bit, which could be due to any number of things (not measuring at the exact same place every single time, whether or not I've hennaed/shampooed recently,etc). I wouldn't worry too much about it to be honest, it sounds normal.

Please don't obsess over it, you'll only stress yourself out :flower:

[jeanniet]

What kind of circumference changes are you talking about? Measuring isn't an exact science, and you can have some variation just because it's really not possible to measure exactly the same way every single time. If the changes are very small, I would consider those normal variations and not even worry about it. 1/2" changes are (maybe) more significant.

You won't be able to enjoy your hair if you worry about this stuff too much. Your hair looks fine.

[mamaherrera]

I appreciate everyone's sharing, especially those who have noticed and have taken the time to let me know I'm not the only one. You are right, in the variations of measuring, even on the same day, it depends on how you tighten that string around the pony too. I can get it to change .25" just from doing it perfectly imitating the ponytail holder to if I tighten to where it is damaging the hair, so it's super hard, you are right, about "how to do it perfectly the same" every time. So no, you can't freak out about a little change. My only consolation is that after pregnancy (no shedding) it went up ALMOST .25" and stayed that way until about 2 months after I began shedding normally again. So I"m just crossing fingers and praying that it's from the pregnancy growth, and now it's almost back to my normal measurement. As long as it doesn't go down more. One gets paranoid after having years of a ponytail circum, that never changed, but my husband says, "I told you. When it got bigger, it's just fantasy, from the baby, it will have to go back down." Thanks again!

[chen bao jun]

I don't think anybody yells at you, mamaherrera. You just have a lot of posts worrying about various things about your hair and people would like you to feel more comfortable about yourself and your hair. You seem to focus on some little thing a lot and start worrying and worrying--am I too grey, am I going bald, etc. etc. round and round in circles. When you show photos you always look fine. It's totally not my business but from reading many of your threads, I also would like to see you get the point where you were enjoying your hair more and showing less anxiety (and yes, it does seem as if its to the point where its clinical anxiety sometimes, I think that because I've had it and was miserable with it and feel so much since I got some medical help.)
Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not writing it to be hurtful, but because I would like to see you happier. :)

[lapushka]

I don't think anybody yells at you, mamaherrera. You just have a lot of posts worrying about various things about your hair and people would like you to feel more comfortable about yourself and your hair. You seem to focus on some little thing a lot and start worrying and worrying--am I too grey, am I going bald, etc. etc. round and round in circles. When you show photos you always look fine. It's totally not my business but from reading many of your threads, I also would like to see you get the point where you were enjoying your hair more and showing less anxiety (and yes, it does seem as if its to the point where its clinical anxiety sometimes, I think that because I've had it and was miserable with it and feel so much since I got some medical help.)
Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not writing it to be hurtful, but because I would like to see you happier. :)

Good post. It's how I felt a lot of times when you posted a new thread OP. You have absolutely nothing to worry about, you have a thick head of hair. It's a shame not to acknowledge and most of all ENJOY that!