The back of my hair is very very thin!

yuhlovevybz

yuhlovevybz

Well-Known Member
I'm talking about the back of my head, like if I were to place my hands on the back of my head as if doing crutches, this area of my head is very, very thin. I noticed this in november when I flatironed, when I ran my finger through the area I could feel the heat of my scalp while touching the hair. Since then I stretched my hair a month later and it felt a lot better, but I realize it's still very thin; now that my hair is in many braids, the top and sides of my head is very consistant while the back is extremely gappy, kind of like when you are at the outskirts of the woods and the trees are super spread out while the main woods are close together.

I'd post pics but I broke my main cam and my iphone doesn't do a good job...hopefully my description is good. For my regimen I don't really have on...I wash once or twice a week, apply a leave in and put it in whatever type of plaits I feel like. I where braid out throughout the week, redo the plaits before I go to sleep, and wash when I feel the need. I notice the back is thin because I can hardly plait there and have much trouble with french braids cause the hair is so sparse there. The hair back there also has a tighter coil. Idk what I'm doing wrong, I would love some help

TIA
 
The thinning could be caused by friction. If you sleep on the back of your head that can wear the hair down in that area. Buns and ponytails repeatedly placed in the same are can cause thinning too.
 
yuhlovevybz

do you have or take meds for any health issues? any hormonal changes? changes in diet? birth control or fertility treatments? hair is never the same density all over our head. are/have you braided too tight? what products do you use? baby this area as much as you can and maybe Nonie can help. i'm asking health related questions cause hormones,autoimmune diseases, thyroid issues, and even high blood pressure are a few of the things that can cause hair thinning suddenly or slowly over time depending on the person.
 
manter26 I don't bun much these days. I sleep on the back of my head. I think. I move around a lot in my sleep, so I can't really control what I'm sleeping on. I can start on my stomach and end up on my back by the morning. I wear a satin cap to sleep though if that will be any help.

southerncitygirl Let's see, I'm anemic but I try to take iron when I remember. I take birth control. Not much changing in my diet except maybe I eat a lot less since I stopped running track. Also when I ran track I didn't eat red meat, soda or almost any type of desserts and now I don't nitpick. I suck at braiding so I doubt tight braiding is it. I use relatively inexpensive products, ors, v05, ltr for the leave in, cholesterol for deep conditioning, and hollywood beauty tea tree oil or jbco on my scalp. My blood pressure is extremely low I think because of distance running. Maybe it could be stress or an emotional state? I've been down since I stopped going to university but that's about it.
 
yuhlovevybz

ok, do you think that your having a weird reaction to your products? any increased shedding, irritation, itching, or breakage as of late? stress can cause hair loss for some....take time to mediate and do some deep breathing. a yoga class would be great for you at your school. anemia can cause hair loss for folks too. what's your budget like i can point you in the way of soe herbal teas and tincture that are iron rich minus the side effect of constipation you get from prescription stuff. if its anemia that is b vitamin based they have stuff for that too. it's not too expensive and the have sales alot.
 
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@southerncitygirl I don't think so...I've never been very serious to products and I haven't physically noticed hair breaking off. One day I just realized how thin the hair was and wondering what happened. Right now my budget is non-existant because I recently lost my part time job I was holding onto while in d.e.p. Fortunately I go active in the military in about six weeks so if you would give me suggestions I can make a list to save for later. I really appreciate it. :)

EDIT: Ohh I see the links. That you so much for your help!!:)
 
When I used to be relaxed I also noticed that the back of my head had less hair than my sides, and front. I noticed that while applying conditioner, moisturizing and sealing, and applying oil to my scalp, I didn't really focus as much attention in the back as I did the front. I'd apply products to my sides and front meticulously, but when I reached the back (which for me was the hardest to do) I'd get lazy and do 1 or 2 big sections. I started giving the back of my hair some extra TLC (applying product in small sections) and eventually the back of my hair looked and felt thicker. Also using castor oil also helped thicken my hair too.
 
NaturalEnigma I'm not sure, this could be part of it though. I don't use a lot of products but when I do leave ins or deep condition I mainly get the sides and front because they aren't as coarse as the back. Which is weird, because when I was relaxed (before I started jacklaxing) the back of my hair used to eat peoples fingers and the rest was normal. I've started using jbco again but after reading this post I realize I'm probably not even getting it on the back of my head anyways. Next time I'm applying product I'll remember this.
 
yuhlovevybz said:
I don't bun much these days. I sleep on the back of my head. I think. I move around a lot in my sleep, so I can't really control what I'm sleeping on. I can start on my stomach and end up on my back by the morning. I wear a satin cap to sleep though if that will be any help.

@southerncitygirl Let's see, I'm anemic but I try to take iron when I remember. I take birth control. Not much changing in my diet except maybe I eat a lot less since I stopped running track. Also when I ran track I didn't eat red meat, soda or almost any type of desserts and now I don't nitpick. I suck at braiding so I doubt tight braiding is it. I use relatively inexpensive products, ors, v05, ltr for the leave in, cholesterol for deep conditioning, and hollywood beauty tea tree oil or jbco on my scalp. My blood pressure is extremely low I think because of distance running. Maybe it could be stress or an emotional state? I've been down since I stopped going to university but that's about it.
Click to expand...

I see you mention a lot of things that could be the culprits so I think you need to get those in check before looking for other solutions. The best cure for any symptom is getting to the root cause of it, so I suggest you stop being lackadaisical about your health and what you bring into the temple that is your body if you want to at least start to see health in your hair. Some people can get away with being casual about these things. I lost hair because lettuce, bananas, eggs--all very good foods--were not agreeing with me so you do have to look at your own situation uniquely and address your unique issues first before looking for quick fixes or other solutions.

BTW, it's actually people who do not suck at braiding who do not pull hair hard when they braid. Not to toot my horn but my braids are firm and long lasting and I could braid a baby and put it to sleep while I do it. I don't consider stylists who pull out your brains while they braid skilled at all. A good braider does not have to pull hard at the scalp to get a firm braid; it's those who suck who do.
 
Thanks Nonie. I have to get back on my fruit and vegetable intake, back when I ate a lot of fruit, drank water and stuck to turkey instead of beef I didn't have any problems with thinning that weren't chemical inflicted. Then again, at that point me and my family could afford to get those things more than we can now. I've never noticed 'good' foods causing me any bad reactions, though, but it's not like I ever looked for them.

You're right about the bad braiding; when I say I can't really braid I mean I can't get the braid firm at the root, or neat and uniform all the way down. I'm not good with gripping the hair so either way it doesn't end up tight. There's a certain finger dexterity that seems to go into braiding and I'm a huge fumbler. Strange because I used to play violin, plus a lot of drawing, painting, sewing etc etc and braiding is basically a weaving motion. Still, just can't get the hang of it.
 
yuhlovevybz, well, I didn't know any good foods were not agreeing with me until I got a blood test done. There's really no other way to know about food sensitivities coz the reaction isn't sudden but builds up over time. I just happen to be into alternative medicine and naturopathy so I was sensitive to my scalp itching after I ate, but I wasn't eating any bad food so I didn't know why this was so till I got a bloodprint test and after testing 200 foods, they found 5 of my staples were not agreeing with me. southerncitygirl's suggestions to detox are not a bad idea just in case.

As for braiding, bad braiders have a problem getting the braid to be firm at the base which is why they pull and sometimes they may succeed getting it firm but with the scalp strained beyond belief, but other times, they still don't get it firm even after pulling. Different people have different pain threshholds so just coz your braids don't end up tight doesn't mean you may not pull tight while trying to get them firm. So I was just stating that the excuse "I'm a bad braider and can't braid firmly at the base" may actually be a confession that you pull so hard so that even if you don't leave the end result tight, you could still cause damage to your follicles. Traction alopecia isn't just from the fact that the strain is constant. Even sudden yanking can rip hair off.

But it's good you're going back to good health habits. It's a shame that we take our health so much for granted until something of vanity starts to suffer and then we start to get our act together. If we can remember that hair and nails are at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to health showing through, we'd take care of our bodies on the inside so that the health can show on the outside and in things we care about.
 
Nonie, ohhh, that sounds like my sister. She had no idea what was going on with her weight until she got blood tests done, then found out that her body couldn't process half of the foods she was eating. Hopefully I'm not asking something that's already been stated, but how does one detox?

I guess I should clarify that I don't pull at all when I braid. I'm not tenderheaded or the opposite, probably somewhere in the middle, but when I braid my hair there is no pain. Otherwise I wouldn't braid it at all because I couldnt stand to sit down for hours making my own scalp sore.

I feel you on the health thing, but it is a bit different for me. I ran track for maybe three years and was very, very focused on my health and diet, it was my livelihood basically. Things went downhill when I went to run at university and was switched from running the half mile to running 5ks when my core training didn't build me for such extensive running; some people still don't realize that the half mile is a sprint, not a distance race. As a result, I never beat my record times in the half mile, or even came ten seconds of it. After that, I defeated myself and stopped watching my diet, and eventually stopped running as well and neglected my health practices because I wasn't running 2-3 times a day. Although one would think I would have gained weight, I've unitentionally lost and suspect I could afford to gain a few pounds. It isn't just my hair that's suffering, but my overall mood and energy. I believe if I treat my body like I did when I was an 'athlete-student' as they called it, both my health, energy and mood will thrive. I have a hard time because I'm no longer at the university which is part of why I find it hard to commit myself to anything at all, I'm sort of down in spirit being accustomed to 25 hour days, and now I have nothing to do at all.

For me, competing was the best motivation for me to keep myself in the best health possible. I still work out, but the overall training morale I had is just....nonexistent. The thinning of my hair is definitely a warning to me that something must be amiss when I most definitely didn't have a problem with thin hair back in my track days, or even before I did sports and at this age it seems like a red light that thinning should be a problem when I'm not using chemicals that could cause it.
 
Awww (((yuhlovevybz))) I totally understand on the lack of motivation. I must hold the trophy for that but in my case it's just sheer laziness and ability to fake the look of being fit :look: coz I sorta know how to hide the flab and jiggles. But I hope to change all that this year and get real.

Maybe if you join a gym you'll be motivated? When working out with other people or if you can get a goal and workout program designed as some gyms will do for new members that'll help you stay focused? Just think baby steps.

There are threads on detoxing in the health forum. I prefer a fasting detox and I share about it in one of the threads. Here are some links (sorry if they have the same info but if you do a search for "detox" or "colon cleansing" you will find a lot of suggestions):

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=320799
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=345441
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=32913
 
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