Hair loss

OLD THRESD RESURRECTED BY SPAMMER!

Reported.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Reported.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Ask GP for referral to an NHS dermatologist. This route should mean you get a diagnosis of the problem, which is crucial. Then next steps (if any) can be discussed. Or you could "go private" - but my advice is to see a dermatologist before anyone else! Good luck.

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

I have female pattern baldness - not too bad at the moment but I'm 57 and it will get worse with age. Mum and gran had the same type of hair. It really bothered me at first but on a weekend away to the coast I saw a women who clearly had severe alopecia. She was beautifully dressed and had decided to die it and keep it short. She was with her husband and two other couples and was laughing and enjoying her evening. It seemed to me that she had made the decision to accept it and then I realised how lucky I was and accepted my hair. It's not an easy thing to do especially if women have had fantastic hair and there is the saying that hair is a woman's 'crowning glory' but I hope not to let it get me down.

I would post a link if only i could, not good with that, hope you find them ,there is more than 1 person saying it

Thanks blondenana, I'll have a look.

HazelG I don't think for one minute that anyone who loses their hair and wants it back , does it for anyone else's opinion ,and personalty is often subdued when people have no confidence, surely you would feel better if your hair was back to how it was before you lost any,

Liz46 i read on one of the threads, i think an older one when i searched hair loss,that some people who had hair regrowth said their hair came back curly
If put hair loss in the search bar lots come up, from previous gransnet threads

I had to take some strong pills for a lung condition and my hair went very thin. It has started to grow back but has funny 'lumps' which the hairdresser is trying to tame. She said that when women are ill, their skin, hair and nails are the first to suffer. Some of my hair is growing in the wrong direction now.

valRMN I have not seen the Charles Worthington one, is it less expensive than the Toppix etc, it was £19-99 and i don't like it at all,
My Dr said my hair loss doesn't follow the normal pattern for female pattern hair loss, so i am thinking it might be down to stress, or hormones,it is patchy in different places on mt head, mainly at the back

I sympathise GrannyIris5. I started losing my hair in my 50s after hysterectomy, although I can't be certain there was any connection. After umpteen tests and investigations, seeing an endocrinologist for ages, etc, it was finally, depressingly, labelled as female pattern baldness. I've tried all sorts of lotions and potions since then, including Regaine for women, herbal treatments, oils, you name it. Finally I've decided the best approach is to simply disguise it, and having tried various expensive nano-fibres, sprays etc, my best success is to use Charles Worthington Root Regrowth cover up powder. It comes in several shades, I just dab it on to my scalp after I've washed and dried my hair, rub it in a bit, slight comb-over to complete the disguise, and Voila, job done!
Good luck!

Baldness is devastating to women?

My eldest son was devastated when he began to go bald in his late teens early twenties, my husband embraced it and took it as "Life happens, and for some that means going bald,"
I have been excessively shedding for years now, my hairline has receded but only I notice this as it is uniformly receded. My scalp is very visible, and I no longer have enough hair to have a fringe, which I would like to be able to as I prefer a fringe.
I don't want to be bald, I would rather have a lot more hair than I do, I have had blood tests and treatment for low iron, low B12, there has been no improvement to the thickness of my hair.
I have for many years wished I was brave enough to just shave my hair off completely and either wear wigs, scarves or hats, unfortunately for me I neither have the style to carry that off or the courage to do it, yet, I keep telling myself that one day I will do it. Hahaha.
I know that none of this has answered your question GrannyIris5, mostly because if I knew how to reverse or slow it down I would be doing it myself.
I suppose the point I was trying to make is, why should it matter?
A woman's crowning glory?
Surely that is her personality???!!
Why should we be defined by how we look, how uniform we all are, or how we conform to what is expected of us to look like?
If society as a whole allowed people to be just as they are, would we worry so much about hair loss, widening waists and sagging skin, all of which happen to us in varying degrees as we age.
GI5 I would certainly go speak with your Dr or practice nurse when you are next at the surgery, or make an appointment to discuss your concerns. I truly hope all is well too and if so, try what you can to halt or reverse your hairloss and then come back and tell us all how you got on.
In the meantime though perhaps the rest of us could or should redefine our opinions, and yes by this I am partly referring to how some responded to RobertReny's comment. Is it right to expect men to just accept they are losing their hair or going bald but to be offended if anyone suggest a woman should just deal with it?
I am dealing with mine, and as I said, no real medical reason has been found for mine either, so I am just trying different things but I am not losing sleep over it. I am also suggesting that GI5 follows every possible path but that if she is unsuccessful then just accept it as being a part of her life now and to do just exactly what she wants to about it. x

gillybob I could have written exactly the same .
I've been trying so many things apart from wigs as there do not seem to be any shops within reach (plus I'm not sure as I find hat wearing difficult anyway).
OP sorry I cannot offer any help.

barb6 i have read that new hair often comes back white then returns to its normal colour,

photocrazy yes hair loss can be a side effect of statins, i dont take them

Diggingdoris Regaine apparently can make you lose more hair to start with before it grows more, but i believe you have to use it forever ,as once you stop the hair falls out again

Hetty58 thank you for that link had a quick look last night, just before i went to bed will have a proper look today,
I think my hair loss could well be stress related, using the steroid lotion my Dr gave me, and upping my iron intake,
I have never been a big meat eater, but upping that and green veg too

I forgot to mention earlier that my hairdresser said that those expensive shampoos have caffeine in that stimulates the scalp(a bit itchy I found) therefore bringing blood to the hair follicle. She suggested saving my money and instead to massage my scalp regularly throughout the day. Each time I sat to read the paper or watch TV I would rub the thin patches with finger tips. I has the same effect making scalp tingle as blood comes to the surface.

GrannyIris, do you take statins, if so have a look at the side effects and see if hair loss is one of them. My hairdresser noticed my hair was thinning on one side and said to see if that was the reason. I went to the doctor and he confirmed it was and changed the statin and although it has taken a while new hair is definitely growing, so hope this post helps.

Also thought I would add that I changed my shampoo to one that I thought would be the mildest and that I would be happiest using and that was Johnsons Baby Shampoo, I still use it now 6 yrs later and all is well. I'm not saying that the shampoo cured my hair loss, but that it is a very mild shampoo and simply helped me in thinking that if its ok for babies then it might help me too xx

Sorry to hear of your hair prob GrannyIris5, I had the same problem about 6 years ago and GP advised use of Regaine which you have to rub into the patches to encourage hair growth. I have to say it didn't work for me, just irritated my scalp more. I started to wear a hat whenever I was out, even in the summer because I thought everyone was looking at me, then one day I thought "what the hell" so just decided to totally ignore it therefore less stressful. I started to notice new growth of white hair (totally different colour to my normal colour and eventually went white all over. Then bit by bit it gradually returned to its natural colour and thickened up. All this took a few years in total but have to say that now my hair is looking so much better. I know its a long process and its difficult to get to the stage where you can ignore it but I found it less stressful and it worked for me. I understand its not everyone's way of dealing with it. Also I have a thyroid problem which I have medication for which may have had a lot to do with it, so now have regular 3monthly blood tests to try and monitor levels etc.

I have to admit its very frightening when you do notice your hair disappearing, more so for a woman, and I broke down in tears many, many times. I hope in time your situation improves for you, I understand totally what you're going through. xxxx

My little toddler granddaughter fell down the stairs and fractured her hip (her sister left the stair gate open) and had to spend months in a lower body cast. A couple of months after the accident her hair was falling out in clumps and we were very concerned. She had blood tests etc. and it turned out to be a harmless reaction to the shock and distress. The hair stops growing in it's natural cycle but it's only a temporary thing:
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321590.php

Overthehills i meant to say that the rest of my hair seems better, it is growing very fast, so hopefully it will help mine,it is all trial and error isn't it
Has your hair grown back since? and if so how?
Did you have any other treatment?