BLOG

It is completely normal to lose some hair – about 100 strands – every day as a part of the hair growth cycle.

But if you feel your hair is becoming thinner, there are a number of reasons why, including the natural ageing process and hereditary hair loss. Women with thinning hair often think it’s due to something they’ve done. Whereas, in fact, sustained hair thinning in women is usually hereditary, so don’t blame yourself. It is only occasionally that there may be other causes, such as illness, diet and stress, which we’ll go through in this section. The important thing is for you to get a proper diagnosis of your particular thinning hair by seeing your Trichologist (call 0207 976 6868 for free advice).

Thin, fine or thinning hair?
These three terms are often used in the same breath when talking about thinning hair. However, they each mean something different.

Thin hair
If you have thin hair, it means you physically have a small number of hair follicles on your scalp. Blondes normally have the most hairs, around 140,000, with redheads having fewer, around 90,000.

Fine hair
Although blondes have more hair follicles, the actual diameter of their hair strands are normally smaller, making it appear ‘fine’. Hairs that are coarse have wider, ‘thicker’ hairs.
 

Thinning hair
When hair is thinning, it means that the scalp is in the process of losing hair. This can be due to a variety of conditions. The most common cause is androgenetic alopecia (hereditary hair loss). If you are experiencing thinning hair, we can help you pinpoint the cause in our Root of the Problem section.

True or False?
“Women lose around 20% of their hair between 20 and 50 years of age”
 

True. Between 20 and 30 years of age, you have an average of 615 hair follicles per square centimetre but by 50, this number falls to 485 per square centimetre.

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help