By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-12 21:56:23 | Updated at 2025-01-13 01:39:01
3 hours ago
It may be your ponytail doesn’t feel as full as it used to, or you’ve noticed more hair on your hairbrush or on the shower floor.
Whatever the signs, realising your hair is thinning can be distressing. For me, now aged 53, it was a bit like finding the first grey hair – a horrible shock. Immediately, I wanted to do something about it.
The first thing to know is that it’s completely normal. ‘Eighty per cent of women will start to experience some form of hair loss by the time they’re 50,’ says consultant dermatologist Dr Ophelia Veraitch, one of the UK’s leading hair-loss experts.
But why does it happen? ‘Fluctuating hormone levels, stress, using too much heat when styling, over-colouring the hair or having low iron levels,’ she says.
The good news is there are ways to slow loss down and even restore thickness and volume…
The dermatologist
‘Book to see a dermatologist rather than a trichologist if you are concerned,’ says Dr Veraitch.
‘Dermatologists have a minimum 12 years of medical training and specialise in scalp and hair as well as skin, which not everyone realises.
According to dermatologist Dr Ophelia Veraitch, eighty per cent of women will start to experience some form of hair loss by the time they’re 50 (stock image)
‘A trichologist, meanwhile, is someone who has studied a short course on the scalp and hair and hasn’t necessarily had any medical training.’
For an accurate diagnosis, prescription medication and help with lifestyle changes, a dermatologist is your best bet.
The lifestyle changes
‘The first thing to check is your thyroid function,’ says Dr Veraitch. ‘An underactive or overactive thyroid can cause hair loss, which will usually be all over the scalp as opposed to just in one area. Your doctor can prescribe medication if needed.’
Stress makes hair shedding worse, too. It’s easier said than done to ditch sources of stress, but a yoga class or a luxurious evening bath can at least help to relieve it.
Other lifestyle changes which worked for me include swapping tight elastic hair ties for silk or velvet hair scrunchies, and being much less rough with my hair when washing it.
Stylist Zoe Irwin says that shampoo is primarily for cleansing the scalp and that rubbing the hair with it is really not necessary.
The OTC solution
‘Regaine with minoxidil for women or for men (from £25.95, boots.com), works,’ says Dr Veraitch.
The downside is that it can initially cause more hair shedding before it starts to improve things because it essentially pushes out dormant hair to encourage new, stronger hair to grow.
Typically, you need to use it for four to eight months to see results.
For those who don’t want to experience any more hair loss, even if it’s temporary, Dr Veraitch has a range of Hair Growth Tonics (from £260, drophelia.com).
These contain melatonin and finasteride instead of minoxidil, which can be just as effective and won’t cause further shedding.
The supplements
‘There is evidence to suggest that iron, zinc and vitamins D and B can make a difference to hair loss. But they are needed in high doses,’ says Dr Veraitch.
If your iron levels are low, you can ask your GP to begin iron medication.
You could also try an over-the-counter high-dose zinc tablet such as Viridian Balanced Zinc Complex (from £9, viridian-nutrition.com) – but take it at a different time of day to the iron: they lose effectiveness if taken together.
Better You Vitamin D Oral Spray (from £9.45, betteryou.com) is a good over-the-counter option for vitamin D.
The tweakments
Two successful clinic treatments for hair growth are polynucleotide injections – a form of DNA sourced from fish which can stimulate hair growth – and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) therapy.
PRF hair restoration uses growth factors from the patient’s own blood to encourage hair regeneration.
Prices for polynucleotides start from £400 per treatment, while PRF therapy starts from £900 (drjoneydesouza.com).
The hair-styling tips
The key is to be gentle with all hair styling. Celebrity hair stylist Luke Hersheson says: ‘If a client has thinning hair, I suggest keeping hair-dryer use to a minimum. Let it 80 per cent air-dry and then blow-dry to style at the end.’
Hersheson’s new Multitasker styler (£195, hershesons.com) looks like a hot brush but uses thermal heat which is kinder to the hair than a hairdryer.
Hairdresser to the Princess of Wales, Richard Ward, advised me that ‘long, heavy fringes work really well for fine hair and suit most people’.
‘Long layers can also give body and bounce to thinning hair,’ he says.
Hair by Sam McKnight’s Cool Girl Superlift Volumising Spray (£26, sephora.co.uk)
The thickening spray
Investing in the right products can make all the difference. Hair by Sam McKnight’s Cool Girl Superlift Volumising Spray (£26, sephora.co.uk), is one of the best products I’ve tried for giving fine, thinning hair a boost. Used before a blow-dry, hair looks thicker and the blow-dry lasts longer.
Or try Absolute Collagen Hair Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner (£28 for both, absolutecollagen.com).
It made a difference to my thinning midlife hair after one wash, making it appear thicker, sleeker and really glossy. I highly recommend it.
