Thinning hair on one side

[Prior22]

Hello, I am a 34 year old male who has been growing my hair for about seven months. The hair on the right of my head has always been thinner and more whispy.

Thickening shampoos and conditioners help make it look thicker though. I'm curious if washing and conditioning more than every three days is bad for hair. And what some good recommendations are for thickening shampoos and conditioners (ideally available via amazon).

Also would a leave in conditioner help make hair look thicker between shampoos as well. Thanks.

[tuanyiji]

If one side of your hair is always thinner than the other half, maybe you can first take a look at your relatives like grandpa, father, brothers, cousins, and uncles, male pattern hair (loss) is very much hereditary and if the same thing happens to your male relatives, there’s really nothing you can do.

But if not, consider your habit or everyday activity, do you tend to fall asleep on one side? Style your hair with hot tools? Too much manipulation like a tight elastic bun? Drive a car constantly without sun protection? Wear a helmet that has little sharp bits inside? Unintentionally sleek your hair back with a certain hand gesture? Experienced some traumatic event that caused stress-shedding balding spots? Lack certain nutrients in your diet? Not exercise enough? etc.

Last week I even saw on the news that someone’s pet snacked on their hair while they were sleeping (hilarious but might be a possibility).

Unfortunately, I don’t think there are such things as real hair-thickening shampoo or conditioner even if they advertise as so. The scalp area needs to be properly clarified for the hair follicles to grow healthily. Clean, puffy hair might look thicker and create a pleasing volume but the amount of hair follicles doesn’t change. Using too much styling products will ultimately cause buildup.

But if you suffer from alarming alopecia like I used to, you might seek medical help with DHT blockers, minoxidil or Finasteride (not really advised at your stage).

Nowadays I just try to eat more healthy, be gentle with my hair and practice benign negligence.

[Angelica]

Hiya. Your sleeping pattern could be causing it as well, perhaps you are favouring that one side. You say that your hair has always been thinner on that one side so perhaps it is just natural and not down to male pattern hair loss. I don't know where you are from but in the UK there is a product called "Regaine" for male pattern hair loss. This can help if it is your problem, but it has to be used forever or any growth you gain from using the product will be gradually lost again. Scalp massages and caffeine products are supposed to be good. I

[Shorty89]

If one side of your hair is always thinner than the other half, maybe you can first take a look at your relatives like grandpa, father, brothers, cousins, and uncles, male pattern hair (loss) is very much hereditary and if the same thing happens to your male relatives, there’s really nothing you can do.

But if not, consider your habit or everyday activity, do you tend to fall asleep on one side? Style your hair with hot tools? Too much manipulation like a tight elastic bun? Drive a car constantly without sun protection? Wear a helmet that has little sharp bits inside? Unintentionally sleek your hair back with a certain hand gesture? Experienced some traumatic event that caused stress-shedding balding spots? Lack certain nutrients in your diet? Not exercise enough? etc.

Last week I even saw on the news that someone’s pet snacked on their hair while they were sleeping (hilarious but might be a possibility).

Unfortunately, I don’t think there are such things as real hair-thickening shampoo or conditioner even if they advertise as so. The scalp area needs to be properly clarified for the hair follicles to grow healthily. Clean, puffy hair might look thicker and create a pleasing volume but the amount of hair follicles doesn’t change. Using too much styling products will ultimately cause buildup.

But if you suffer from alarming alopecia like I used to, you might seek medical help with DHT blockers, minoxidil or Finasteride (not really advised at your stage).

Nowadays I just try to eat more healthy, be gentle with my hair and practice benign negligence.

This is good advice. Most people's hair is thicker on one side. My left side is naturally thicker. I don't think it even has to do with my sleep habits since I often sleep on my left side.

[shelomit]

There are several possibilities here:

1. One part of your head is getting more wear and tear than the others;
2. It's the start of balding;
3. You have always had less or thinner hair on that side and just didn't notice before you started growing your hair out.

As Shorty89 mentioned above, having "uneven" hair is extremely common. My hairline is much further back on the right side of my scalp than on the left side and has been for as long as I can remember. I can draw attention away from that by parting my hair in the center rather than brushing it straight back from the hairline. Perhaps there is some kind of styling convention that you could adopt to make your hair look a little more even as well.

When it comes to "thickening" or "volumizing" products, I think it would be difficult to apply them with sufficient accuracy to only make a difference on the thinner portion of your hair. But if you do, I would recommend also using a moisturizing product regularly. If something is advertised as thickening, that usually means it is going to be very protein-heavy, and you may have trouble with your hair becoming brittle if you use only those kinds of products without also adding some humectant/moisturizing elements. As to frequency of washing, that really depends entirely on the individual scalp and what it will tolerate. If your hair feels like it needs to be washed every three days, then wash it every three days. You will find people on this site who wash daily and who wash once a year and both parties get good results according to what their own heads like ( ;