Treatments before thinning gets out of hand?

[Catnappen]

I have very fine hair. Fine enough that you can barely feel individual stands between your fingers. I *used to* have a lot of it. But lately I've been thinking that I really don't have a lot of it. My daughter (who has the same super fine hair as me) and I braid our hair before bed and I noticed last night that her braid is significantly thicker than mine. And it used to be that her braid was not significantly thicker. I have to use hair ties made for toddlers to hold my braid. I don't know how much of this is taper but even at the top of my braid it is thinner than my daughter's.

So here's the question. If I am starting to thin, I want to get on top of that right away because I've read that the longer you wait the more damage is irreversible. But I don't want to start something like minoxidil and risk side effects of it won't help me. So is it better to start things like peppermint and rosemary essential oil treatments and see if they help? Or should I just go ahead and try the minoxidil? Is there a downside to starting minoxidil if I'm not *actually* thinning?

[Siv]

I think you should see a doctor that can refer you to a dermatologist if you think your hair has significantly thinned. There could be underlying health concerns. It could also be something like female pattern baldness, which should also be looked at by a derm. If it's telogen effluvium, I guess that might be more treatable at home than other thinning concerns but you should really see a doctor with that too. We have a lot of people who are dealing with thinning, so you can head over to The Great Shed -- The Thinning Hair Support Thread (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=134545) or Hairloss Support Thread (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=1124) (I think no 1 is more active?) for both advice and support!

[Zesty]

I agree that seeing a doctor if you think it's significant is a good move.

That being said, have you measured, or noticed more shedding? Are you sure your daughter's hair hasn't thickened, rather than yours thinning (can especially happen if she's younger)? How long is your hair? I use toddler hair ties for the ends of my braid so I don't think that's a sure sign of thin hair.

[Catnappen]

Thanks for the advice! I don't really know how to tell if it's thinning, I guess that's the problem.

[Catnappen]

It very well could be that her hair is getting thicker. She's 10 and we have struggled since birth with overall growth but in the last year or so she's finally started to put on weight. So it very well could be that she is finally getting enough nutrition in her to grow some hair.

My hair is just past bra strap length and the ends are VERY tapered. I have a LOT of breakage because up until a year ago I was using a flat iron at least 3x a week. I can't see my scalp through my hair, but buns are tiny (like SUPER tiny) and braids are less than pinky width wide. I've always had thin hair, but this seems MORE this than in the past.

[Laur]

Hie thee to a doctor! I had a Great Shed that lasted about a year and I lost 2/3 of my hair. And it turned out that it was just a massive stress shed, and it all did grow back in, but I definitely was glad I went and got looked at and knew it wasn't a medical issue.

Also - ASAP get a fabric tape measure and measure your ponytail circumference. The only way I could tell that my hair had thinned that much was I had measurements of my ponytail circumference to go by! It's pretty easy to do, and then you'll be able to help keep an eye on it over time if you think the shedding is getting worse.