Why is the hair on my scalp so thin? Please help!

[ByGrace90]

Hi everyone! I really need some help with my hair journey. I was APL on Jan. and now I'm MBL. Things are going great, but my darn hair has always been so thin! I only see it on my scalp. I have black hair so its always noticeable when I wear my hair up and even when its down. This morning, for example, I had to brush my hair back, wait for it to dry a little, see where my 3A/B curls shifted, brush again to cover my scalp, and repeat until its dry. And even when I come home from work, I can see parts of my scalp!

About 6-7 years ago I treated my hair bad. I ironed it everyday. My hair fell out around my scalp but when I gave up heat it sort of recovered, but not fully.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? What can I do to thicken the hair on my scalp?

Thanks guys!

[akilina]

It sounds like it is genetic if you have always had this issue :/
Maybe castor oil, or Monistat is an option for you? Many users speak of new growth and less shedding :)
I use castor oil and have been for 2 or 3 months on and off and just started monistat. Today I just realized I have a lot of new growth in the back/underneath of my hair.

[lmfbs]

It seems you have ii hair, which is pretty decent thickness, so I'm not really sure what to suggest other than taking care of your hair and styling in a way that it's not noticable. Do you have any pics that might show what you mean?

EDIT - also, with M strands...I don't know. It seems to me like it might be a clumping issue from your curls - where they clump and separate, is that where you see the scalp?

[ByGrace90]

Actually, my hair was pretty thick before I damaged it. But I will definitely try something.

[lilliemer]

My hair type is pretty close to yours, and I have very dark hair as well. I can see my scalp particularly in half ups and it drives me CRAZY. It's much worse on non-freshly-washed hair too, I think because the hair clumps up more. I have trichotillomania, variant where I pull my split ends apart. I also used to heat straighten. I think this did a lot of damage to my hair, particularly at the crown, due to pulling the back hairs around to the front to inspect for split ends. Since I stopped heat straightening (over a year ago) and pulling (4 months ago -- well I had a lapse a few days ago but I'm getting better) I have noticed lots of baby hairs. I still get paranoid that i'm balding and I freak about every single hair that's coming out in the comb. I googled around a good bit, and most sources say that hair that's fallen out from damage will grow back unless the damage is really, really severe and right at the scalp (think multiple perms on top of multiple bleaches etc.) I think I need to stop S&D'ing too, so that I stop exerting traction on my crown hairs but that's a different thread.

There is a thread around here that you can find if you search for "scalp cleavage" and it made me feel better that I'm not balding but that this is a normal phenomenon that lots of folks with really pretty hair also have.

[jeanniet]

One thought I have is that you're damaging your hair by brushing. Generally speaking, curlies shouldn't brush because their hair is fragile and brushing is too hard on it. Using a wide-toothed comb to detangle in the shower while hair is full of conditioner is better, and then you can finger-comb as needed.

If your scalp is light, your hair may not be as thin as you think it is, but rather your scalp is more obvious. Post some pics when you can and we can let you know what we think. Sometimes we think things look worse than they are. :)