How To Know If Your Hair Is Thinning

Few things in life are more alarming than sudden, unexplained hair loss. However, determining whether it's all in your head can be surprisingly tricky. Want to know once and for all if your hair is thinning? If your answer is yes, just read a little further! In this article, we’ll break down the warning signs of thinning hair and give you a few quick tips on how to prevent it from getting worse. 

Your part is getting wider

Have you noticed that more and more of your scalp shows when you part your hair? According to hair experts, women experience the majority of their hair loss near the crown of their heads. So, if it seems like more of your scalp is visible than usual, there’s a good chance that your hair has started to thin. This thinning can be exacerbated when you part your hair the same way daily. To remedy this, try switching things up and parting your hair on the opposite side. 

Your hair feels lighter

Many times, you’ll feel your thinning hair before you see it. You may notice that your ponytail doesn’t feel as full and lush as it used to. Or, your hair might feel like it's not weighing your head down as much as it should. Hair absorbs water like a sponge, so this effect will likely be most noticeable in the shower when you wash your hair. So, if your hair feels significantly lighter than normal, it might indicate that you have fewer overall strands. 

Your forehead looks like it’s growing

For many people, a rapidly receding hairline is the first clear indicator that their hair is thinning. The strands along your hairline are weaker than the rest of your hair, so they’re usually one of the first areas to show distress. Additionally, tight hairstyles tend to put a lot of tension on your hairline. If you want to find out if your forehead is growing, pull all of your hair back into a ponytail and examine your hairline. If it looks like it's thinning or moving further back, it’s time to reevaluate your hair styling routine. 

Your hair is falling out in clumps

A healthy person sheds an average of 100 hair strands per day. If you feel like you’re losing more than this, there’s a good chance your hair is thinning. Keep in mind that this increased hair fall will show up in a number of ways. You may see an alarming amount of shed hair in your hairbrush or find more strands on your pillow when you wake up. Either way, work on reducing your hair loss by ensuring your hair and scalp are well maintained. 

So, now you have all the tools you need to determine if your hair is thinning. The sooner you start treating your thinning hair, the better your chances are of stopping and even reversing it. Just keep in mind that whether or not you can fix your thinning strands depends entirely on what’s causing them. That said, we hope this article helped bring you some clarity and we wish you the best with your haircare journey! 

Author: Andrea Reyes

Andrea is a mother, wife, writer, and natural hair enthusiast of 15 years. Currently on her natural hair journey, she’s been trying countless products and techniques to understand and embrace her natural hair. She is the creator of NaturallyTextured.com, a new website featuring informative articles that share tips, tricks, and techniques aimed to help others learn to love their hair through proper hair care. She writes with the hope of making hair care easier to understand and implement.