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8 Ways to Treat Thinning Hair

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Thin or balding hair can be psychologically depressing, embarrassing and can definitely take a toll on your self esteem.  If you’re suffering from hair loss—and many women are—it’s important that you know that there are ways to treat thinning hair.  Be proactive and to get your hair growing again!

 

8 Ways to Treat Thinning Hair

There are many different causes of alopecia, and no hair growth treatment is guaranteed to work for everyone.  However, the following 8 methods are popular ways for treating thinning hair:

 

1. Eat healthy.

A well balanced diet, full of fresh fruit and vegetables and lean meats and protein is ideal for balancing your metabolism, regulating your weight, and giving your body the healthiest environment possible to grow out healthy, thick hair.  Shop the perimeter of the grocery store, avoid the processed package stuff (at least most of the time), and be intentional in what you choose to eat.  Issues like low biotin, low iron and low vitamin D (which is common in black women) can all cause hair loss.  If you have a restricted diet, make sure that you check with your doctor to make sure that your vitamin and nutrient levels are where they should be.  Your doctor might even recommend a daily vitamin if your diet is lacking.

 

 

2. Avoid tight hairstyles.

No matter how good your braids or weave might look, it’s not worth losing your hair over.  If a hairstyle is hurting you, you must change it.  Black women often deal with traction alopecia from our hairstyles, and thinning edges can be prevented and treated!  If you’re thinning out on the edges, evaluate how much stress your hairstyle could be causing.  Sometimes the easiest fix for treating thinning hair is just a change in how we take care of our hair.

 

 

3. Limit Heat (Use a heat protectant!)

Heat is not the enemy! But, if you’re having hair loss or thinning hair, limiting heat may be a way of treating thinning hair.  Heat damage can definitely cause breakage and thinning.  Generally speaking, it’s fine to straighten your hair and stretch it out.  The key is to do it safely.  Use a flat iron with dialed heat control.  Use the lowest level heat that you need (try not to go above 350º if you can!), and don’t always aim for bone straight.  Try not to use heat on your hair more than once a week.  Heat, used carefully (and with a good heat protectant) shouldn’t be a problem if your hair is healthy.

 

 

4. Try Minoxidil or a hair growth serum.

Minoxidil (the active ingredient in Rogaine®) is clinically proven to grow hair.  Dermatologists often use minoxidil to treat female and male pattern hair loss, and for other types of hair loss like CCCA and traction alopecia.   There are also other hair growth serums such as Redensyl®, with less clinical evidence indicating that they work, though many women swear that they help grow hair. These serums are generally safe, and may help!

 

 

5. Use a hair supplement.

Hair supplements and vitamins are some of the most popular ways of treating thinning hair. The scientific evidence that they really help is not robust.  Still, hair growth supplements are generally considered safe, and many women feel that they’re helpful in treating thinning hair.  Nutrafol®, a popular hair growth supplement, and for many one of the more popular ways for treating thinning hair.  It contains biotin, vitamin D, and horsetail extract, among many other ingredients, is said by many, including some dermatologists, to be helpful for hair growth.  If you do decide to start a supplement,  always check with your personal physician before starting it.

 

 

6. Moisturize regularly.

If you’ve got high porosity, your hair loses moisture at the drop of a hat. If you’re a low porosity gal, your hair is also prone to dryness!  Nothing moisturizes your hair like water. The trick is to seal that moisture in (shea butter, olive oil, castor oil—you pick your poison!) so that your hair stays pliable and elastic.  Stepping up your moisture game  is one of the important ways to treat thinning hair and can be key in decreasing breakage and for treating your thinning hair.  Check out this post on night-time hair spritzing to increase your hair’s moisture level.

 

 

7. Fake it till you make it.

If you’ve got thinning hair, you probably want a solution quickly, so that you can get out the door looking good and feeling confident. For thin edges, you can try a colored gel like this one.  Another option for concealing thin areas, especially at the crown and at the part, are light spray on hair building fibers like Toppik. Toppik fibers look very natural and do a great job of concealing thinning hair.

 

 

8. See a professional.

The number one step in treating your thinning hair is to find out what the issue is! Remember, hair loss can be caused by many things.  Some types of hair loss can even be permanent, or associated with an underlying health condition.    This is why it’s crucial that you have your hair loss evaluated by a dermatologist.  Your dermatologist may recommend one or more of the products on this list.  But it’s always wise to check with them first!

Featured Image Credit: courtesy Prince Campbell

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