PDA

View Full Version : My hair looks like I have extension



Soulina
March 23rd, 2018, 02:20 AM
I had a horrible hair accident with dye year ago.

https://aijaa.com/img/b/00423/14540893.jpg

My whole head was covered on those red spots, it itched and burned. And I lost a lot of my hair. I have not dyed my hair since, and most likely will never dye again. My ponytail circumference was barely 5 cm after the incident, now it is 7 cm, but the thinness is in the length. I can feel half of my hair just disappear after 15-20 cm running my hand through my hair, it looks like I have hair extension. My hair is at hip length and I do not want to just cut it to shoulder length.

At least my hair will grow now thicker with time, I plan to maintain at TBL when I get there till my thickness catches up. I try to get picture of my lengths, the ends are in good condition, the extra thickness now visible till my shoulders just makes it look like I have extension. What would you do? I have just resulted to keeping my hair in a bun all the time.

Reyesuela
March 23rd, 2018, 02:34 AM
Look at my taper. I didn’t have an accident—I have pattern baldness that is now being treated. I could chop everything off to the grow-out thickness...but I don’t want to. Even my insane taper isn’t noticeable when my hair is up (as it usually is) or loose. Why sacrifice the length? It serves a good purpose, anyway. It forms sacrificial ends that I trim as the rest grows out. I plan to grow my hair like this to my knees, at least, if it makes it. I will only lose about 4” more of the thin bits as it grows out, but that’s fine. I trim when there is damage and when it’s intolerably thin at the ends, and that’s it.

If I cut it off to the thicker part, I wouldn’t even be able to bun it at all. The thinner bits help contain it.

https://preview.ibb.co/cAP90H/C66_CD9_CC_36_A7_4_DA5_9_F60_7_DB1_E8258155.jpg (https://ibb.co/m3pbfH)

In a bun:

https://preview.ibb.co/ef4OAH/A4810_FBC_24_A3_47_B2_9746_3_C62_F4313595.jpg (https://ibb.co/mO2AqH)

Soulina
March 23rd, 2018, 02:44 AM
Reyesuela: My hair in braid looks pretty much the same, ofc my taper is not that extreme because I don´t have such gorgeous thickness. I agree that buns hide the taper well. My buns look also tiny considered how long my hair is .

https://aijaa.com/img/b/00515/14521645.jpg

Sorry for the giant pic :doh:

Reyesuela
March 23rd, 2018, 02:51 AM
There is NOTHING wrong with your bun! It looks fine! My hip-length bun wasn’t much larger than that before my hair loss. My hair was never in my life thick before this. My bun when my hair was fingertip length used to be smaller than my bun now...and that was BEFORE I lost half my hair! (My hair was apparently super stunted for hormonal sensitivity reasons back when I thought it was what it was supposed to be. I’ve had more miscarriages than fingers, so my hormone levels have been checked every which way and are fine and totally normal, but apparently my hair thinks that healthy, normal androgen levels are toxic death.)

I also have closer to 18 months grow-out since I began treatment rather than just 12. Every month it will get better!!!

lapushka
March 23rd, 2018, 05:52 AM
That is nasty on your scalp (I really feel for you). I'm glad it got better. I had something similar happen. I had a burn on my scalp (all over), no sores though. Due to the dye being too much after bleach on bleach trying to get henna out. Yeah, never again. The doctor then prescribed me a cortisone lotion and that felt *so* much better on my head! It chafed like crazy.

I think you have a neat goal; grow to TBL and then maintain to get the rest of the thickness down. I'd say that's a great plan! And don't worry the thickness will travel down with time. :flower: Just give it that time.

And I have taper too, even by choice, because I have layers in my hair (about from BSL down).

Reyesuela
March 23rd, 2018, 06:15 AM
To be clear—your plan is totally fine! Just don’t think that you HAVE to maintain (or cut it off) if you don’t want to.

zanelle
March 23rd, 2018, 06:33 AM
Oh boy, do I feel for you!
My hair is all taper...
So, you say this is called pattern baldness? I had it stronger in 2014.
Here's 2 pics, from 2014 and from yesterday.
You'll see those layers I am talking about.
By the way, how do you treat pattern baldness? Need to read more on this. Also , I will definitely need to check my thyroid too.
Let's just grow it.
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab211/Snakecharmer7/back_zpsce60fe5f.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab211/Snakecharmer7/WhatsApp%20Image%202018-03-22%20at%2018.06.39.jpeg

Soulina
March 23rd, 2018, 06:35 AM
Lapushka: Doctor also gave me some liquid stuff to put on my head and told me to never dye again as the reaction normally gets worse each time you try. This was just regular black box dye, no bleach etc. Now I just decided to grow out my natural color. My ultimate goal is to get FTL or maybe knee if I have to ability to grow that long. TBL is first length that feels long to me (or maybe not anymore once I get there thanks to severe case of LHC-itis) I just might stay there for a year, or maybe micro trim 0,5 cm montly to still to get a little growth.

Reyesuela
March 23rd, 2018, 06:55 AM
My taper is caused by my hair growing back in. Before I started treatment, it went from just over 2” at the base of my neck the wisps by waist (which is why I maintained at BSL!). You can tell that it’s hair loss, not processing, breakage, etc, when you are pulling out huge rats nests of lost hair with every brushing for months, or when your part gets wide or your temples thin over years. Most women over 55 have age-related hair loss that’s related to pattern balding, but it’s self-limiting enough that a lot of women can ignore it. I was going to be virtually bald by 60 given what was happening. :)

Most younger women have taper for other reasons. Especially most women who are premenopausal! If you truly have an unusually short terminal length, that can be an early sign of pattern baldness, but most women have severe hair tapers due to how they treat their hair, and most of the rest under 50 have other health issues.

My thyroid, insulin resistance, ferritin, and hormone levels were checked before a diagnosis of pattern baldness was given!

My hair looked a lot like hers at the worst: https://www.belgraviacentre.com/blog/success-story-alert-new-female-pattern-hair-loss-treatment-entry/

More severe looks like this: https://www.belgraviacentre.com/blog/the-difference-between-male-female-pattern-hair-loss-419/

lapushka
March 23rd, 2018, 07:18 AM
Lapushka: Doctor also gave me some liquid stuff to put on my head and told me to never dye again as the reaction normally gets worse each time you try. This was just regular black box dye, no bleach etc. Now I just decided to grow out my natural color. My ultimate goal is to get FTL or maybe knee if I have to ability to grow that long. TBL is first length that feels long to me (or maybe not anymore once I get there thanks to severe case of LHC-itis) I just might stay there for a year, or maybe micro trim 0,5 cm montly to still to get a little growth.

I had a light brown box dye after having had henna bleached out 2x in a row. The second box of light brown dye (to do my roots) got me and I got a burn on my head, my hair melted off from BSL to chin (kind of crooked, so I had to have a hair cut). Yeah. And my hair turned out soot black instead of light brown. I guess it was too porous from all the previous futzing with it!

I'm going for thigh. I recovered after this, but swore to never again dye my hair - ever. And so far I am sticking to my resolution.

Good luck on your journey!!! :D
You'll make it, I'm sure!

zanelle
March 23rd, 2018, 09:23 AM
You girls got me worrying now.Measured my ponytail's circumference , it's at 3.31.
And it decreases consistently to the ends.
I'm losing hair every time I brush.
Officially worried.

Reyesuela
March 23rd, 2018, 09:29 AM
You girls got me worrying now.Measured my ponytail's circumference , it's at 3.31.
And it decreases consistently to the ends.
I'm losing hair every time I brush.
Officially worried.

If you shed 50 strands or less per day across many months, that’s normal. Shedding 100 to 150 strands fr a short time is also normal.

Everyone’s hair tapers. Both of us had a massive hair loss followed by a massive regrowth. That just causes more taper—really drastic taper. It’s far from idea, but it is what it is.

Your hair will taper much more if you have layers, you’re damaging it or are growing out damage, or you’re not trimming it, because different parts of the scalp grow at different rates.

I don’t see anything worrying in your pictures, though it’s hard to see fine detail.

3.31” is larger than average. Why do you think your hair is thinning?

zanelle
March 23rd, 2018, 09:44 AM
Pfew :)
Don't know, it just feels thin. When I look at other girls pictures I see hair 5 times thicker. My ponytail compares to one part of their braid :)
For me being vegetarian for 16 years was the devil.
This plus treating it like it was my enemy that had to die.
Never again vegetarian, never again chemicals.
I'll stick to good habits and take care of it and myself.

Reyesuela
March 23rd, 2018, 09:47 AM
Your hair can’t get thicker at the bottom, only at the top. If it improves because you’re treating it better, you’ll get more taper before you get less! :)

zanelle
March 23rd, 2018, 10:03 AM
Got it. Here, just took pics for the first time. Thought the patches were gone, but they are still there...
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab211/Snakecharmer7/IMG_20180323_175544.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab211/Snakecharmer7/IMG_20180323_174847-01.jpeg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab211/Snakecharmer7/IMG_20180323_174819-01.jpeg

Reyesuela
March 23rd, 2018, 10:19 AM
You have a somewhat overly wide part, so something probably is up. I’d see a doctor who specializes in hair treatment to get a run down on the possible causes. It can be a number of things, and those should be checked out first—could be as simple as iron deficiency from your diet.

lapushka
March 23rd, 2018, 10:28 AM
You have a somewhat overly wide part, so something probably is up. I’d see a doctor who specializes in hair treatment to get a run down on the possible causes. It can be a number of things, and those should be checked out first—could be as simple as iron deficiency from your diet.

I second getting to the doctor and getting some bloodwork done - it isn't a luxury, especially not if you have had issues with your diet before.

zanelle
March 23rd, 2018, 10:29 AM
Yes. Can wearing your hair in a single same style over the years do that?
I wore it exclusively in a ponytail. and when I had it down, the part was always the same.
But yes, I intend to see a doctor and also check my thyroid. Never checked it.

zanelle
March 23rd, 2018, 10:30 AM
Lapushka, not familiar with bloodwork. Will Google it.

zanelle
March 23rd, 2018, 10:34 AM
Ah, tests , ok, yes will do some soon.

Reyesuela
March 23rd, 2018, 10:39 AM
Yes. Can wearing your hair in a single same style over the years do that?
I wore it exclusively in a ponytail. and when I had it down, the part was always the same.
But yes, I intend to see a doctor and also check my thyroid. Never checked it.

A ponytail can make your forehead wider but not your part thinner.

I wouldn’t go to a GP if you can help it. He is less likely to check everything. Generally speaking, it’s thyroid, insulin resistance, iron, hormones. And a hair specialist will better recognize the pattern of true pattern baldness vs other issues.

zanelle
March 23rd, 2018, 10:51 AM
Searching online, hope I find someone in the area.

Reyesuela
March 23rd, 2018, 10:57 AM
Dermatologist is the second choice. Trichologist is a dermatologist who specializes in hair.

zanelle
March 23rd, 2018, 11:05 AM
Yes, found a trichologist at 4 hours drive.
Have to make an appointment soon.

Reyesuela
March 23rd, 2018, 11:14 AM
Good luck!

zanelle
March 23rd, 2018, 11:41 AM
Thank you, read about the doctor, he seems very good. His doctorate was in hair pathology, in 1998.

Reyesuela
March 23rd, 2018, 12:00 PM
Sound perfect!!!

lapushka
March 24th, 2018, 11:01 AM
In the mean time I would get to a GP (if you have one) to get a regular blood test done; at least you can bring these results to the trichologist - a 4H drive is a lot to me. I don't think I could take it, but all the more power to you!

Rebeccalaurenxx
March 24th, 2018, 11:37 AM
Got it. Here, just took pics for the first time. Thought the patches were gone, but they are still there...
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab211/Snakecharmer7/IMG_20180323_175544.jpg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab211/Snakecharmer7/IMG_20180323_174847-01.jpeg
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab211/Snakecharmer7/IMG_20180323_174819-01.jpeg


Your hair part looks a lot like mine.
I wouldn’t make the 4 hr drive to that doctor.

I would see a GP and get blood work done.
But that’s just me. I personally don’t have issues.
It’s just the way my hair is. Personally I don’t think you have that bad of taper.
You could probably use a year of micro trimming but I don’t think your hair looks bad.

Reyesuela
March 24th, 2018, 01:18 PM
A GP will order thyroid and maaaybe ferritin and throw up his hands. A trichologist can see at a glance whether it’s going to be thyroid (pattern baldness vs diffuse thinning) and will address androgen excess and insulin resistance.

zanelle
March 24th, 2018, 01:47 PM
Thank you girls, will have blood checks and will see the hair doctor this spring, just to make sure everything is fine.

lapushka
March 24th, 2018, 01:57 PM
A GP will order thyroid and maaaybe ferritin and throw up his hands. A trichologist can see at a glance whether it’s going to be thyroid (pattern baldness vs diffuse thinning) and will address androgen excess and insulin resistance.

With all due respect, you don't know what her GP will or won't do. :flower:

Mine ordered a full panel once for me; it can be done, they just have to fill out the form.

Reyesuela
March 24th, 2018, 01:59 PM
Most of my family is in medicine, so I’m a cynic. :). Most doctors aren’t terribly bright. A “full panel” does not test androgens or insulin resistance. After thyroid comes back normal and Vit D a bit low, that’s what most will order, and that wouldn’t even catch low ferritin. You’ll know your cholesterol though, yay.

lapushka
March 24th, 2018, 06:00 PM
Most of my family is in medicine, so I’m a cynic. :). Most doctors aren’t terribly bright. A “full panel” does not test androgens or insulin resistance. After thyroid comes back normal and Vit D a bit low, that’s what most will order, and that wouldn’t even catch low ferritin. You’ll know your cholesterol though, yay.

Somehow I don't think you can know or judge what my doctor did for my health. Just sayin'. A full panel meant just that, and I'm not going to defend myself over it. :flower:

Reyesuela
March 24th, 2018, 06:10 PM
Somehow I don't think you can know or judge what my doctor did for my health. Just sayin'. A full panel meant just that, and I'm not going to defend myself over it. :flower:

I’m not saying that your doctor didn’t help you. There is no such thing as “every blood test ever.” I have heath issues. My most substantial blood test required 23 vials. Another required 17. Many of the tests were not the same!!! My reproductive endocrinologist didn’t check anti-CCP antibodies. My neurologist didn’t care about the MTHFR mutations. AND YET when my cousin nearly died from a genetic blood clotting disorder, I had to run out and get that test, too, because no one had ever tested for it—it wasn’t in the list of clotting disorders that account for 90%+ of instances that had already been tested for. A “full blood panel” is a very specific set of typical tests. It does not and cannot test for everything.

Her GP might find something. That something might be helpful. A thrichologist will know to test for much more.

Rebeccalaurenxx
March 25th, 2018, 02:40 AM
..I am suggesting the GP because it could be something as simple as iron.
I just think it’s importabt to rule out the smaller variables first before heading 4 hours out to see a specialist.
Which for me - would also be expensive to do. Drive 4 hours + insurance for a specialist which you’ll need a referral for usually from a GP. Least with my health insurance. I can’t even see a dermatologist without one. I have to see a GP BEFORE they even let me schedule with a specialist.
So at the end of the day, a visit to the GP will more than likely be needed.
I think a visit to the GP is also less stressful, when I think about it. Getting your blood checked can’t hurt.
That’s all I’m saying.


But personally.. humbly... I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this lovely ladies hair.
Sure, she’s got some taper in some areas that could be fixed with micro trimming.
But thinning hair? I don’t know. I can’t base it off photos. Her overall circumference is actually bigger than mine.
But if you compared our hair photos, would you be able to really tell? Probably not.
I overall try to not offer medical advice on forums like these.
So I mostly think, hey, your hair doesn’t look bad. That’s it. Because that’s really as far as I think I should go as a stranger on the internet. ^_^

Reyesuela
March 25th, 2018, 02:52 AM
She has a wide part that is not in the normal healthy range. Overall hair ponytail circumference is not a correct way to diagnose thinning. You can be completely bald on top with hair follicles that have permanently died and still have a really fat ponytail due to the hair behind the ears.

If you make a sharp part, you should look like 1a. 1b is possibly normal. By 1c,that is pathologically thin hair. To try to tell people it’s “fine” isn’t helpful. It’s cruel because it discourages them from getting help while they still have follicles to save. Then they’re another little old lady with poofed up hair that is still totally see-through. http://www.americanhairloss.org/women_hair_loss/degree_of_hair_loss.asp

A pretty substantial number of American women have mild iron deficiency. It very rarely causes hair loss. So there’s a good chance that she will go to her GP, find out that she’s borderline anemic and has low Vit D (because everyone has low Vit D), she will take supplements for 6 months, her hair will get worse, she’ll return to her doctor with normal iron and Vit D, and then she’ll have lost time, lost hair, and made two visits to a GP for nothing.

I’ve lost a lot of time with GPs. They’re good for strep throat and sprains and monitoring blood pressure. Sometimes the blind pig gets an acorn. But I prefer specialists who can give you a complete answer if there’s one to give.

Rebeccalaurenxx
March 25th, 2018, 11:24 AM
She has a wide part that is not in the normal healthy range. Overall hair ponytail circumference is not a correct way to diagnose thinning. You can be completely bald on top with hair follicles that have permanently died and still have a really fat ponytail due to the hair behind the ears.

If you make a sharp part, you should look like 1a. 1b is possibly normal. By 1c,that is pathologically thin hair. To try to tell people it’s “fine” isn’t helpful. It’s cruel because it discourages them from getting help while they still have follicles to save. Then they’re another little old lady with poofed up hair that is still totally see-through. http://www.americanhairloss.org/women_hair_loss/degree_of_hair_loss.asp

A pretty substantial number of American women have mild iron deficiency. It very rarely causes hair loss. So there’s a good chance that she will go to her GP, find out that she’s borderline anemic and has low Vit D (because everyone has low Vit D), she will take supplements for 6 months, her hair will get worse, she’ll return to her doctor with normal iron and Vit D, and then she’ll have lost time, lost hair, and made two visits to a GP for nothing.

I’ve lost a lot of time with GPs. They’re good for strep throat and sprains and monitoring blood pressure. Sometimes the blind pig gets an acorn. But I prefer specialists who can give you a complete answer if there’s one to give.


That’s your opinion from looking at images through a computer screen.
Do you know how terrible my part looks on camera? Or my acne! I had a photographer once tell me that my skin looks worse on camera than it did in real life, and it has everything to do with pixels.
It’s hard to tell through pictures on a screen, it’s better to see in person... That’s why I don’t give medical advice through a computer screen or act like I have any sort of made up medical background simply based on experience. Her photos were VERY washed out, her hair line might not actually be as wide as we are perceiving. That’s all I’m getting at.
She’s free to make her own choices at this point, I’m just saying that personally, I would rather see a GP, rule out something small than spend loads of money and time outright. But I’m also 24 and currently already paying off 2,200$ in medical bills at the moment. So. My opinion might be biased.

The link you added doesn’t work.

nycelle
March 25th, 2018, 11:42 AM
Dermatologist is the second choice. Trichologist is a dermatologist who specializes in hair.

Wait what? Dermatologists are medical doctors, Trichologists are not. Their expertise may be the hair and scalp, but they are not medical doctors. So please don't say they're dermatologists who specialize in hair, that can't be further from the truth.

Rebeccalaurenxx
March 25th, 2018, 12:05 PM
Quoted from the website for the “institute of trichologists”
“As already mentioned, trichologists are not medically qualified, but are specialists in the scalp and hair, just like chiropodists are not medically qualified and specialise in the feet. A dermatologist is a medical doctor who has specialised in skin - all over the body, not just the scalp.”

*shrug*

I want to end this by saying, I understand your passion.
This is clearly a subject very dear to you because you have felt with it yourself.
But I do think it’s odd to give medical advice online when you yourself don’t really “trust” or believe medical doctors.
And reference people that are “specialists” with no true medical wualitifications.
And. I just know my insurance wouldn’t cover someone that wasn’t a medical doctor!
Sounds like another 2500$ medical bill my insurance won’t cover!

Good luck in your endeavors. I hope your comments don’t hurt the feelings of the girl that posted about her hairline.

lucid
April 6th, 2018, 05:34 AM
Good luck in your endeavors. I hope your comments don’t hurt the feelings of the girl that posted about her hairline.

Why would it? She posted clearly asking for advice, because she had felt her hair getting thinner. Her part looks somewhat wide in the picture, I think so too. If the picture isn't representative, I don't see the point in posting it in the first place. And if you can't handle honest and constructive feedback, you shouldn't ask in the first place.

Now she has the opportunity to check out if her hair is infact thinning, and if so, do something about it before it actually gets to the point where it doesn't look good. Some people have a naturally wider part, and if that's the case for her, she don't have to worry :)

Wendyp
April 6th, 2018, 12:57 PM
Well and I would like to add this, although I see this is a heated topic. I have little to no faith in medicine or doctors in the USA. It has taken me years to find someone who thinks outside the box and treats my symptoms. We have a real problem with lobbyist in this country and big pharma. There’s a lot more to this topic. Y’all know that the food we eat in this country isn’t even tolerated in Europe. So I think a lot of Americans are having big health issues that aren’t being treated right.