Is this thinning or normal? (pic heavy)

**monsterna** · May 24th, 2011, 06:07 PM

Sorry the pics are a little big and there are so many!

I've been shedding a lot and my hair's been breaking a lot easier lately. I think it's due to too much protein (I think my hair hates it), but I also used Monistat anywhere from 2-4 days a week for the past 5 months. I don't recall anyone having this problem though on the Monistat thread.

Anyway, I feel like my hair looks thinner, although I can't be sure if it's always been like that and I'm only noticing it because it's getting longer now. Please let me know if you think it's abnormally thin or if you have ever experienced anything like this. My scalp often hurts now with updos and just feels like it's being pulled on. Even sometimes I feel like that when it's just hanging freely. Is this also a side effect of hair getting longer? It's only APL....

ETA: In these pics I think my hair is a tiny bit greasy looking due to CO almost 24 hours ago with a pretty heavy conditioner. Don't know if that makes a bit of difference.

My natural yet wonky part:

Close to how I part it:

Slightly pulled back right:

Pulled back a bit harsher:

Same for left:

Letting it hang on its own over the side:

Overhead:

Middle part:

**Mesmerise** · May 24th, 2011, 06:19 PM

Honestly, it is sort of hard to tell... and you have to remember that what's normal for one person is different to another.

To me it looks a bit thin... actually it looks like my scalp lol and yes, I spend a bit of time peering at my scalp and trying to work out if my hair is thinning or is it normal too!

I don't see it in your normal part, but when you pull your hair back to the side a bit, it looks somewhat thin...BUT again it's hard to tell properly because a lot of detail is missing from photos that you can see in real life. I often wonder if I only notice my scalp more now because I'm looking for it, and because I'm still paranoid after massive shedding last year (most of the new hair seems to have come back in, but there are areas where the hair DEFINITELY looks thin).

What is your circumference and are you noticing it changing?? Unfortunately I don't know what my circ was before I started measuring this year, so I can only speculate on what it would be if I hadn't suffered any hair loss. However, if you feel you are shedding more than normal, it would probably be a good idea to keep measuring your circumference, as well as looking to see if in the thinner areas there is new regrowth.

Personally, I haven't used monistat (or Daktarin) because I'm a little concerned putting something like that on my scalp, and am worried it could cause further shedding. If I were to use it, I'd definitely do it diluted.

**Venefica** · May 24th, 2011, 06:20 PM

Your hair do not look abnormally thin. One way to measure it to see if it is getting thinner is to do a ponytail and take a measuring ribbon and measure around the ponytail, note your result and then measure again in some weeks or a month. The only think I noticed about your scalp is that it was a bit red, perhaps you should see a doctor and ask about that. I do not think it is anything dangerous, but often doctors can prescribe products that help with a red and sore scalp.

**RocketDog** · May 24th, 2011, 06:21 PM

that's what my hair looks like when held/parted the same way, and it has looked the same as far back as I can remember. Of course, if you are noticing this now and your hair didn't look like that before, I would be suspicious of something going on, but for someone as genetically unlucky as myself, that's just how my hair looks.

**christine1989** · May 24th, 2011, 06:29 PM

That looks normal to me- at least that is how my hair looks when I part it and run my fingers through it. I think the illusion of thinning could be a combination of gaining length as well as CO washing. Personally, I find that CO washing too much weighs my hair down making it look flatter and thinner and since your hair looks quite a bit finer than mine I can see how this could add to the illusion of thinning. I agree with everyone above on using ponytail circumfrence to measure thickness since that is the most reliable. You should probobly do it on freshly shampooed hair too so oil and residue won't throw your measurements off.

**bumblebums** · May 24th, 2011, 06:34 PM

It doesn't look abnormally thin to me, but you have to keep track of it yourself in some objective way. For example, take pictures of your length on the same day of the wash cycle and wearing the same shirt, which will make thinning noticeable. And measure your ponytail circumference if you want to be sure.

**jojo** · May 24th, 2011, 06:38 PM

My hair looks the same but its not got no thinner, its just me!

**monsterna** · May 24th, 2011, 06:51 PM

Thanks for all your comments so far!

I am trying not to freak out. I have OCD too (more mental than physical obsessions), and so once I get an idea in my head, it's hard to let it go on my own.

Going to stop CO. I had been shampooing a bit within these past few weeks, because CO was making my hair look greasier on top, but I think I'm going to go back to shampoo and conditioner and see how it goes.

**Kristamommyx3** · May 24th, 2011, 07:02 PM

That's just our hair! I went through this same thing a few years back. I suddeny took notice that my scalp looked thinner, and obsessed about it to myself for months. Then one day I saw a picture of my hairline up close from high school, and it was exactly the same! Just our fine hair doing what it does best, looking fine.

**happybear** · May 24th, 2011, 07:14 PM

K it is hard to tell, particularly in that lighting. Your hair looks thin to me but not thinning. for thinning I think there would be certain areas that are thinner than others, your hair looks pretty uniform. Though looking in the right light is important, try natural lighting, particularly in full sunlight, that's how I found my thin spots.

But I think you are ok, and the more you obsess about it, the more it will seem like it is thinning, so don't worry