Your Top Hair Thinning Questions, Answered By A Trichologist

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Over half of all women experiencing thinning hair and various stages of their life, pregnancy, post-birth, menopause – SheerLuxe got in contact to get our expert Trichologists help on some common questions that surround hair loss including what causes thinning and what preventative measures are worth trying.

Let’s Start With The Obvious – What Are The Key Causes Of Hair Thinning?

“Hair health and thinning are impacted by a huge number of things, including nutrition, diet, lifestyle, stress and hormones. With men, a combination of genetics and the hormone DHT is usually the cause but, for women, this is much more nuanced and lots of things can affect our hormones and therefore, our whole body. It’s also a fact that all of us are subject to decreasing lengths and thickness of hair as we get older. Hair doesn’t always grow for seven years before shedding – the length of hair growth cycles can change and, as you age, you often get a decline in this length of hair growth cycle. For example, it can decrease to three years, two years or even less. The hair growth cycle is what changes with age, impacted by the fact that hair follicles move up towards the surface of the skin where there are fewer blood vessels.” – Jane Mayhead, trichologist at The Private Clinic in Harley Street

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So, Is It All A Case Of When, Not If, Or Can We Prevent Thinning?

“In terms of prevention and to get ahead of the game, my advice would be to seek help from a qualified expert as soon as you notice thinning. In my clinic, I use prescription combination therapies, which can be either topical or oral; however, topical seems to work more favourably. Topical products such as Minoxidil and Finasteride and anti-androgen therapy are proven ways to help thinning hair. However, Finasteride is not suitable for pre-menopausal women, so treatment is always case by case. The Private Clinic also offers a Calecim Hair Loss Treatment, which is a professional advanced hair serum which contains a combination of key proteins and growth factors. The treatment involves the serum being infused into the scalp with a micro needling device such as Dermaroller or Dermastamp. In other words, help is on hand and there’s plenty you can do to reverse and prevent the issue of hair thinning.” – Jane Mayhead, trichologist at The Private Clinic in Harley Street

We’ve Touched On Treatments, But Are There Any Others Which Stand Out?

“As mentioned, scalp health is important and therapies such as micro needling can help to increase the blood flow here on a cellular level. The result? Better growth, but also the strengthening of your hair’s fibres. PRP can help too – this treatment involves taking a small amount of your blood and separating this blood in a centrifuge. This is then injected into the scalp. The growth factors inside your blood can then stimulate the activity of the hair follicles and promote hair growth in areas of thinning or loss. It sounds intense, but it’s surprisingly swift and efficient – you’ll be evaluated by a professional on a case-by-case basis. Above all though, understanding the cause of your hair loss is essential, as this will determine the right type of treatment for you.” – Jane Mayhead, trichologist at The Private Clinic in Harley Street

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Let’s Chat Stress – How Does This Impact Hair Thinning, If At All?

“Stress itself isn’t a cause of hair loss and thinning – I often tell people, you can’t worry your hair out. However, it can have a knock-on impact on the things that do support healthy hair growth, such as our hormones and diet. Stress and hair thinning is so much more nuanced than people realise. While Alopecia Areta can be triggered by stress, it’s an auto-immune disease which anything can trigger – not just stress. Stress adds to the problem, but it won’t in itself cause thinning.” – Jane Mayhead, trichologist at The Private Clinic in Harley Street

Is It True Certain Vitamins Can Help With Both Hair Thinning And Loss?

“Ensuring that your body is getting all the nutrients and vitamins it needs is essential for healthy hair growth. If you’re lacking in any nutrients, it can have a knock-on effect on the hair. However, taking vitamins if you don’t have a deficiency can also have a negative impact on the body. So, the key is to see a trichologist who will typically carry out a blood test and/or other assessments in order to establish if any vitamin supplements are needed. Vitamins D and iron can help to support hair health but, again, these are only beneficial and worth taking if you are lacking them.” – Jane Mayhead, trichologist at The Private Clinic in Harley Street

What Tests Can Be Done To Check Why Hair Thinning Is Occurring? What Do You Recommend?

“A simple blood test is the first line of assessment if a patient is experiencing hair thinning. That helps to look at anything that could be going on in terms of hormones and deficiencies. I also like to do a hair analysis test at my clinic. This involves the patient not washing their hair for five days and then, on the fifth day, washing their hair and collecting all the hair that they shed in a cloth. I analyse this and can ascertain a great deal from the amount of hairs that have been shed, as well as the length of the hairs and so on. You can also have hair analysed for protein loss and degradation with resolution imaging.” – Jane Mayhead, trichologist at The Private Clinic in Harley Street

There Are Endless Hair Loss Myths – Which Bug You The Most And Why?

“A myth that bugs me is that hair thinning treatments are always expensive. This isn’t true – a lot of the topical treatments that I prescribe can cost around £50 a month. Granted that’s still an investment, but it’s certainly not as eye watering as you may think.” – Jane Mayhead, trichologist at The Private Clinic in Harley Street

Lastly, What Do You Advise For Those Suffering With Thinning And, In Turn, A Lack Of Confidence?

“It’s natural for hair thinning and loss to impact confidence. However, I would say that we are fortunate to live in an age where there is a greater awareness and understanding of this than ever before, so by seeking help with a qualified and experienced practitioner it is possible to address the problem with effective results which don’t necessarily have to be expensive.” – Jane Mayhead, trichologist at The Private Clinic in Harley Street

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Sheerluxe considered The Private Clinic of London Harley Street one of their top 5 London clinics to visit a Trichologist.

Hair Loss Options at The Private Clinic

We also offer a range of hair loss solutions at our clinics including:

To find out more about hair loss treatments at The Private Clinic, and Trichologist consultations please contact 0333 920 2471 or you can use our online contact form to request a callback.