Gransnet forums

Style & beauty

Thinning hair

(114 Posts)
Pigma Sat 18-Jun-22 14:04:41

I saw a photograph of me taken from the back yesterday and my hair looked very thin on the crown, to the extent that I could clearly see my scalp through it. I’m in my seventies (just!) with dark hair that I currently colour every 6 weeks or so. Hubby confirmed that I am ‘looking a bit thin on top’. I’ve looked on the internet and there are several products I can try but just wondered, before I go shopping, if anybody has any recommendations for shampoos/treatments that they have had success with? Or is this just another age thing I have to live with? Many thanks.

MissAdventure Tue 16-Apr-24 12:59:14

People say to me "Your hair was always fine, though", as if I should be ok with the frizzy strands I have left, along with the threadbare scalp.

Kate1949 Tue 16-Apr-24 13:03:17

Yes MissA. A woman, who had a thick mop of hair, said to me once 'For goodness sake it's only hair'. I thought 'Tell me that if it happens to you'.

Susan56 Tue 16-Apr-24 13:04:52

Kate thank you.My topper is ready for collection and I have been putting off collecting it.
After reading your post I have just messaged to arrange collection on Thursday.

Whitewavemark2 Tue 16-Apr-24 13:18:53

I do appreciate that losing one’s hair is something that most people would find very difficult.

But what I find difficult to understand is that one’s hair defines one as an individual.

Surely you are so much more than your hair?

Germanshepherdsmum Tue 16-Apr-24 13:19:20

I absolutely get it. I doubt there are many women to whom their hair isn’t important. I remember Kate posting a picture of herself and her hair is really fabulous. Whatever she pays for it, it’s worth every penny.

MissAdventure Tue 16-Apr-24 13:22:49

Yes, I remember it, too.
Plus Kate herself has great skin and looks youthful.

MissAdventure Tue 16-Apr-24 13:25:55

Whitewavemark2

I do appreciate that losing one’s hair is something that most people would find very difficult.

But what I find difficult to understand is that one’s hair defines one as an individual.

Surely you are so much more than your hair?

People are so much more than their legs, their breasts.
They are are a sum of parts, but almost without fail, women, when told they bneed chemo will ask "Will I lose my hair?".

(Cue someone popping up to say they most certainly didn't care about their hair)

MissAdventure Tue 16-Apr-24 13:30:00

Whitewavemark2

I do appreciate that losing one’s hair is something that most people would find very difficult.

But what I find difficult to understand is that one’s hair defines one as an individual.

Surely you are so much more than your hair?

You find it difficult to understand because it hasn't happened to you.

I'm not particularly vain (nothing to be vain about, frankly!) and would have said I would just wear wigs - pink ones, purple bobs, dreadlocks, black, long silken ones.

The reality now is that just some plain old mousey hair would be lovely for me.

Poppyred Tue 16-Apr-24 13:37:48

Kate would you mind posting a picture of your hair again? I haven’t seen it and find it very hard to understand why you still feel the way you do although you now have a ‘system’ which by all accounts works brilliantly (although very expensive, £3000 plus yearly?).

Poppyred Tue 16-Apr-24 13:40:11

Sorry posted too soon. Imagine how you would feel if you couldn’t afford this system. I’m sure there are thousands of women out there who would love to be able to afford it. Me being one of them!

Kate1949 Tue 16-Apr-24 13:47:28

I'll try to post one Poppy. Yes it's expensive. I pay £83 every 6 weeks to have it taken off and conditioned and my scalp conditioned (which is what I would probably pay a hairdresser anyway) and then £1800 every 18 months for replacement systems. I save monthly for it. Yes I'm lucky I can afford it.

Germanshepherdsmum Tue 16-Apr-24 14:06:07

I can understand exactly why Kate feels the way she does despite her wonderful hair system, Poppy. She pays less than I did when I had my highlights done regularly (I have now accepted the grey). I’m sure she knows exactly how she would feel if she couldn’t afford it (I suspect she would no longer be here) so that was rather unnecessary. In her position I have no doubt that I would make huge sacrifices in order to afford it if I had to.

Kate1949 Tue 16-Apr-24 14:20:03

You are spot on GSM. I would have had to find a way as I have a family.

Germanshepherdsmum Tue 16-Apr-24 14:21:33

I’m glad you do. That’s my reason for still being here.

Kate1949 Tue 16-Apr-24 14:21:55

I'm not very good at this but I'll give it a go for anyone who may be interested. This was taken at Christmas.

Kate1949 Tue 16-Apr-24 14:23:15

GSM flowers

crazyH Tue 16-Apr-24 14:29:19

Looks great 👌

Germanshepherdsmum Tue 16-Apr-24 14:30:22

I defy anyone to know it’s not your own hair. Looks lovely.

Kate1949 Tue 16-Apr-24 14:31:45

Thank you. I'll shut up now!

Poppyred Tue 16-Apr-24 14:36:28

Thank you, Kate, it looks lovely! I wasn’t being unkind at all (as GSM seems to think) It seems to have come down in price a lot as well! Hmm something to reconsider, although I would have to factor in travel costs as well as I live 2 hours from nearest salon.

M0nica Tue 16-Apr-24 15:59:14

When my hair started to get thinner, although I did not seem to be losing hair my hairdresser explained that as we get older the, centre part of each hair becomes thinner and what he have is as much haor but each individual hair is thinner.

Absolutely nothing you can do about it, all the thinning products in the world cannot change this. What I and my hair dresser did was discuss changes to my hair style to allow for the change in the mass of my hair and how it fell round my face.

V3ra Tue 16-Apr-24 18:04:00

Kate1949 you pay less for your hair system per year than we spend on holidays.

You get pleasure from it every single day so on a cost per wear calculation it's just over £5 a day. Bargain 🤗

Kate1949 Tue 16-Apr-24 18:06:03

Yes!

Mazgg Tue 16-Apr-24 18:21:21

Ten years ago I lost all my hair. My doctor said it was female pattern baldness and would be down to 'skillful hairdressing and wearing hats'. I was devastated, my hairdresser was furious when she heard what he had said as at within a short space of time I had lost 75% of my hair. I bought the best wig I could afford but saw another GP who referred me to a dermatologist who diagnosed alopecia totalis due to an autoimmune condition. Fortunately the condition repaired itself and my hair grew back.
As my hair grew in the wigs became uncomfortable and prickly so as soon as possible I had a very short pixie style.
It was a hard time but I am fortunate in being a glass half full type of person and thought about those who were suffering not only hair loss but often mastectomy too.

M0nica Tue 16-Apr-24 19:24:24

It is always easy to dismiss other people's problems - of course if this or that happened to me it wouldn't affect me.

This is simply an attitude I do not understand. To be in Kate 1949's situation, where you have, first lost all your teeth and then all your hair. It is bound to affect you, even if the individual, doesn't see their problems as defining themselves, othe people certainly will.

I paid a lot of money for a tooth implant because I didn't want to see people trying carefully not to look at the gap in my teeth, as happened between the oriinal tooth's removal and the replacement.