OMG am I loosing my hair?! Less dense and texture turning baby fine

[beana]

I am really frustrated and I dont know where to start...

I've always had this loosely curled/fine hair "patch" at my nape that never caused an issue because it was limited to about 15% of my head. That hair grows very slow, breaks easy and the hairs are so thin and limp, they dont curl, hold a style, braid or anything...Now that area has spread to 40% of my head! My hair's density has decreased in those areas dramatically as well.

I'm not sure whats going wrong and to be totally honest I feel like im doing so many things "Wrong" an i'm anxious to start treating the problem.

#1- ive been at a terrible job that stresses me out so much that I developed aggressive cystic acne (thankfully its under control now), bad nausea, insomnia, and migraines. I've been desperately trying to leave for the past 2 years and luckily interviews have started to pick up this past month.

#2- i know i have sensitive skin, and believe I have an extremely sensitive scalp as well.. i'm sure relaxing every 11-13 weeks doesn't help either (furthest i can go without breakage). I use phytorelaxer index 2 bc lye tears my scalp up.

#3- I BKT my hair

#4- I wash, DC, blow-dry and flat iron my hair every week.... I initially retained a lot of growth doing this the first few months, but now im sure its taking a toll

#5- i'm on and off with multi vits, but i have started taking Carlson cod liver oil in the morning, turmeric and drinking green tea every night.

I also think its worth noting that my mom has sooo many issues with her scalp, unlike me, her hair grows to MBL with ease but she's had to TWA twice because her hair fell out in patches. She's been tested for lupus and everything, they cant seem to find out whats wrong. I fear i'm developing the same issues as my mom.

I have a derm appointment scheduled for next Friday, but I dont want to go the prescription route immediately (depending on whats wrong). I know this is a LONG post, but i am open to hearing any suggestions you ladies may have. I'll upload pics when I get home...

 

[brittle_hair]

I know you've mentioned a lot of different things, but it could just be the weekly flat ironing, try air drying for month or two to see if you notice a difference.

 

[JuiceMobsta]

Your mom's hair has fallen out in patches before??Does she relax too? Either its some genetic condition or maybe the relaxer is taking a toll on your scalp, and being stressed out because of your job can't help that situation either, I would suggest maybe relaxing less often or maybe even transitioning to help with the sensitive scalp, and also flat iron alot less so that you wont damage your hair,do you use heat protectant? I'm sorry this is happening to you and hope you can find a solution for your hair and a less stressful job as well.

 

[LovingLady]

#3- I BKT my hair

#4- I wash, DC, blow-dry and flat iron my hair every week.... I initially retained a lot of growth doing this the first few months, but now im sure its taking a toll

Try not to let your job stress you out. Stress affects the growth of your hair in a negative way.

1. If you get a relaxer why do you need to get a BKT?

2. I think that a lot of the damage is coming from blow-drying and flat ironing every week. Have you ever tried to manage your hair without doing this? Over a period of time the cuticle layers are being worn away due to the excessive heat. Do you use heat protection?

 

[beana]

Thanks ladies, I do use heat protectant with every flat iron. I'm nervous because it seems to be more of a scalp issue. I will lay off the blow drying and flat ironing for a while as well.

I am a 4a/b and this patch is like an extremely fine 3c texture. The parts where the texture has changed from 4a/b to 3c are accompanied by thinning hair and looser density. My hair doesnt seem to be damaged overall though, I hope this makes sense.

Depending on what my derm says, im making plans to make a emu oil/sulfur mixture and apply it to my scalp 2x's weekly.

 

[beana]

Try not to let your job stress you out. Stress affects the growth of your hair in a negative way.

1. If you get a relaxer why do you need to get a BKT?

2. I think that a lot of the damage is coming from blow-drying and flat ironing every week. Have you ever tried to manage your hair without doing this? Over a period of time the cuticle layers are being worn away due to the excessive heat. Do you use heat protection?

Thanks I never thought of the excessive heat wearing away at my cuticle, that makes a lot of sense.

The irony is i get the BKT to protectant my hair with the additonal keratin it provides. I will layoff these for a while and focus on protein Dc's instead.

 

[Muse]

I agree with the other post. You relax, BKT, AND flat iron weekly. All of that can surely thin your hair out.

 

[LovingLady]

When you increase the protein start off with something light and use it every other week. Pay close attention to how your hair reacts to it.

 

[beana]

I uploaded pics...

The back has always looked like that more or less, except not that sparse.

 

[LovingLady]

Have tried oiling your scalp with castor oil. It is known for increasing the density of hair. It has a thick consistency but you can thin it out by mixing it with other oils.