Thinner on one side! *Freaking out!*

[Lucy_in_the_sky]

Hello all. So I know I'm a relative n00b and have been sticking mostly to lurking but today something very upsetting happened. I was performing my "repair" styling, which is basically me combing out my wettened hair, spraying a product called Aphogee Green Tee restoring treatment and combing again (something I kind of have to do to "stretch out the curls" because of a perm catastrophe) and noticed that one side of my hair is significantly thinner than the other.

I never noticed any serious breakage or significant hair loss (except for when the orignal perm happened... which lead to protien treatments and tears) but now I'm looking at it and it looks like it's much thinner than the other. Has this happened to anyone else after a major hair treatment? Is there anything you can do to correct the damage? Obviously I don't mean magic hair-growing treatments that will work overnight, but is there a treatment I can use that will help re-grow or strengthen what's left? Any advice would be greatly apprieciated, because I'm pretty much freaking out over it.

Also, if anyone has any less-damaging ideas of how to relax a too-tight perm (it isn't even too tight all over, it's just in the front) without using any more chemicals (like an herbal/oil treamtent or something) I'd love some suggestions. I've tried olive oil + heat, I've had the Aphogee kerotine treatment, and I use Kerosilk shampoo and conditioner, so I figured my hair was in good shape. Now I'm freaking out because of this possible bald patch right next to my face. Please advice!

Thanks so much!

Regards,
Lucy

[camara]

Is it possible that your hair has been thinner on that side since ever, only you never noticed it before? And the perm only worsened the thinness, so it is more obvious now?

I´m asking because there are quite a lot of people with hair that is thinner on one side, for example myself.

Have you tried scalp massages? There is a thread about it here, and some people like the results. Maybe that will help with the thinned out spot.

Good luck!

[embee]

One side of my hair is thinner. I think it's always been this way, at least as long as I can remember, short or long. Some folks hair grows faster on one side too.

[Merewen]

My hair is untreated and it is definitely thinner on one side than the other. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless one side is REALLY thin. If it's because of the treatment, it'll grow back as you leave it untreated. Otherwise, just work around it. I only notice when I do something that involves me splitting my hair down the middle which I don't do very often.

[ChloeDharma]

I'm wondering if the thinner side is also the side that you sleep on? Or mabe you run your hand through that side more often.....or can pinpoint some other mechanical damage that could be causing this.
A perm tends to seriously weaken hair so things that wouldn't have snapped it before could now be having that effect.
As for treatments, protein is a good idea, just be sure to balance it with moisture treatments like an SMT, in case you haven't learnt what that is yet.....it's 1 part honey, 1 part aloe gel and 2 parts conditioner.....though i like substituting yogurt for the conditioner.
Aloe as a leave in, especially mixed with a little oil i find very helpfull. Glycerin added to deep treatments or mister mixes can help to add moisture to the hair......though you only need literally a drop in a DT or mister as in high concentrations it can actually suck water OUT of the hair.
Oiling tends to be very helpfull.....coconut is probably the most popular oil used for hair, but jojoba, camellia, olive, emu, monoi (which is basically coconut with flower extracts), dabur vatika coconut oil is popular too, again it's coconut but with growth promoting and conditioning herbs added, many people (myself included) find herb washing improves the condition of the hair.....i find it strengthens it too which is important for me as my hair is fine so snaps very easily, henna is strengthening as well or you can use cassia for a non colouring version.
Yogurt i find a wonder product, even when my hair was very damaged from chemical colouring it made it feel silky and stronger.....the only thing is you have to rinse REALLY well otherwise you can end up smelling like baby vomit.
I would also suggest keeping your hair up as much as possible, i wouldn't be concerned with straightening your hair at the moment as you want it put through the least stress you can.

Hopefully something there might be of use, good luck :)

[Lucy_in_the_sky]

Oh, thank you all for your advice and suggestions. I have noticed that my hair has always been a little finer on one side than the other, and have since switched from sleeping on my right (where the thinness is) to my left.

I've also taken to sleeping in a satin sleeping cap... though I don't really notice anything useful coming from it. The hair looks like its broken off (I have those itsy bitsy little hairs where the thinness is) though it seems to be growing in, it just feels... a lot thinner. My sister had a situation similar, where she had very fine little hairs growing in and her hair was falling out a lot. She used to lose loads of hair in the shower, and even more shedding over the course of the day. It got so bad that she had to cut her hair really short, and its taken her years to get it longer again. I've never had a problem with breakage, and in fact have never lost more than 50(or so hairs) in a single day. The day after my perm fiasco I saw loads of breakage, which lead to the protien/moisturizing treatment. (I forgot to mention that after the protien mask, my styalist did a moisturizing treatment.) So the whole affair has made me really scared -- I don't want to cut my hair!

One suggestion my stylist gave me was a combination of Lanolin and Shea Butter on the ends of my hair, but I remember reading somewhere that Lanolin is really bad for the hair, I don't know why. When you say Aloe, are we talking about the aloe gel you can get at a drugstore? Is there an alternative? I've been thinking about doing an Aloe/Shea cream treatment... I know Shea is supposed to be very good for the hair, but I wasn't sure about the Lanolin.

Thank you all again, I was really freaking out...

[HairColoredHair]

My hair's a little thinner on the side I tend to sleep on. I don't worry about it.

Sorry to hear about your perm issues... I had a perm once and I will never again!

[GlennaGirl]

I have a thinner, LONGER side. How's that for bizarre? It's as if someone has been pulling on it over and over again. It's the left side.

It typically grows faster than the right side, but there is less hair. Just...odd. I don't mind. ;) I figure nobody else on the planet would notice it but me. I'm sure nobody notices it on you, either. :)

[jera]

I have a thinner, LONGER side. How's that for bizarre? It's as if someone has been pulling on it over and over again. It's the left side.

It typically grows faster than the right side, but there is less hair. Just...odd. I don't mind. ;) I figure nobody else on the planet would notice it but me. I'm sure nobody notices it on you, either. :)

Funny, my hair is thinner but longer on the right side as well. :) I'm also right handed. Could this be a genetic thing? Intersting thread, BTW.

[Flynn]

I don't have a clue whether mine's thinner on one side. (other than "It's thinner on the side with the part"). Considering I don't know, how could anyone else?

I wouldn't worry about it.

[LiraelQ]

You have nothing to worry about! I definitely have thinner hair on my right side...I didn't notice until once in college someone was french braiding my hair and had to finagle a bit to keep it even. I didn't believe her at first! It's natural and has nothing to do with my sleeping patterns, since I toss and turn quite a bit.

We assume our hair is symmetrical and ordinarily it's not. My natural part begins in the back right of my scalp, curves around, and then straightens down the center of my head. I think it's all just part of that. I realized after that how important it is to get a hair stylist who understands how these patterns work. They've given me the only haircuts I've been happy with!

[Anje]

Mine's a bit thinner on the right side. Sometimes I wonder if I end up combing it more on that side because I'm right-handed. But most people are a little uneven. It seems pretty normal.