Fine Thin Hair Menopause Hair Loss Journey
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Read about my personal journey with fine thin hair, menopause hair struggles, and hormones women hair loss shared from the perspective of a former hair replacement and wig technician. Read the whole series and more, see my Fine Thin Hair page.
UPDATED May 2025
My Fine Thin Hair Dilemma
Before I was a blogger, I was a hairstylist, and not just any hairstylist. My job was pretty unique.
I worked in one of those big hair club type businesses and wig shops. Providing hair loss solutions like hairpieces and wigs to men and women.
I spent 13 years honing my skills, learning the latest in maintaining, cutting, and styling wigs and hairpieces. I even won 3rd place in an international hairpiece cutting contest!
These days, I blog and create printables. But now, I am the one wearing the hair toppers and wigs!
In this post, I am sharing my fine hair tips and tricks that I have learned throughout the years. I wrote this post when my fine thin hair started to shed. The women’s hair loss industry has grown leaps and bounds since I wrote this post. Here is how it all started with me.
This is not a sponsored post, but my true feelings on my own personal hair dilemma and product use. Join me for my story. My fine thin hair dilemma.
First, let me begin with this: I have been a licensed cosmetologist since the late 1980s. I guess you could say I have pretty much seen and tried it all when it comes to coloring, permanent waving, and overstyling my hair.
The Beginning of the Damage
One of the craziest decades was the 1980’s. Being a teenager back then meant having big hairstyles that stood sky-high with many ranges and shades of colors.
Everyone had curls, and perms ruled the era! Male or female, we all had a permanent wave in our hair. Excessive perms and bleaching, unfortunately, damaged my hair and most likely my scalp.
Wait, let’s back up a minute. My whole life, I have had fine hair. I knew from seeing my grandmother’s super baby fine thin hair and my mother’s fine thin hair that I was doomed to inherit their hair loss.
In the back of my mind, I have always known that eventually, I would be sitting in the chair instead of standing behind it. Well, that time is now.
Hopefully, this post may help some of you, who, just like me, have genetically thin hair, and hair that is hormone-ravaged, or maybe a medical situation. Sometimes the best ideas and tricks are shared between friends who are in the same situation.
I am going to let you in on what I have found that works for me, and in that, it will help one of you out there with the very same issues, or maybe we can just cry together, lol.
Ok, now back to the 80s.
The damage to my hair in my teen years from the eighties consists of Sun-in hair lightening spray, painting “on the scalp bleach” on my hair with a toothbrush, excessive highlighting, and double processing with perms.
Double processing is when you have highlights and/or hair color, then you get a permanent wave. That’s a lot of damage, believe me, my hair has felt like mush and broken off more times than I can count from extreme overprocessing.
To top that off, in the 90s, I had hair extensions in the crown and front sections of my hair from the ears forward. The weight of the extension hair alone thinned the hair out around my hairline. Sadly, it has never recovered.
Flash forward to 2105. At this point, I was still highlighting, but I had to color my hair all over every couple of months, then highlight on top of that because of the new grays that were emerging. More double processing.
I could have just stopped highlighting my hair and saved some of the damage, but seeing my natural mousey brown color or a solid color jsut wasn’t me.
To me, having highlights or lowlights makes your hair color look more natural. Like the sun would normally do to your natural hair.
As you age, you start turning grey. Mother Nature adds the lighter grey hair around the face. This naturally softens the wrinkles around your eyes and face. Thanks, lady, but I would like to decide when that should be.
On the other hand, grey hair dyed too dark makes your wrinkles look deeper and more noticeable. I choose not to see any grey. I’d rather color the grey with a semi-permanent color to appear as if it is highlighted instead.
Hair Loss Women Hormones
My next hair dilemma was pre-menopause hormone-thinning hair.
In my mid to late 40s, my hair started changing, and the texture felt and looked different. My hair was getting curly!!! Like a purple rod perm body wave!
WHAT? Now you go curly! After all those years of permanent waves!
It also had a frizzy, dried out, broken, and shredded look to it. The ends constantly break off the hair, making it seem like it’s not growing.
The roots are somewhat normal, but the ends break off at the hair color lines or have dry, brittle ends. Sound familiar?
I know this is due to hormones and the very stupid idea of trying birth control pills in my forties to relieve heavy periods (menorrhagia). My body reacted wonderfully for the first year on the pill, and then boom.
My hair started falling out randomly in droves. Every time I had a fallout, I would be devastated. I immediately stopped taking the pills, but my hair never recovered and still has random “fallouts”.
After quitting the birth control pills, I ditched my Gyno. I decided to take charge of my heavy menorrhagia. I found an amazing Gynecologist whose specialty was in menopause.
She ran tests on my hormones and found out I was estrogen-dominant. She prescribed Testosterone and Progesterone and an IUD to fix my pre-menopause heavy periods (or Menorrhagia).
I decided to go with the testosterone for only a few months. I felt fantastic, my muscles were reacting, and I looked great. But the drawback is that if you take too much, your hair could fall out like male pattern baldness, and your voice gets permanently deeper. Um, hell no!
I was afraid to take the full prescribed amount and just quit it altogether after 1 month. She ran another hormone test, and the little bit of testosterone I took had leveled out my Estrogen.
I took 100 mg of Progesterone for almost two years and had an IUD.
Then I moved across the country and had to find a new doctor. I was back at square one.
The first thing my new doctor did was take me off the progesterone. The IUD eventually expired, and I had it removed a couple of years later. The progesterone/IUD combo fixed my heavy period issue, although my hair is just not the same.
It is now 2020. I am in menopause. What I had not realized was that when I found that first doctor, I was more than likely beginning menopause. Not pre-menopause.
So much is unknown or ignored about women’s health, and I feel like today’s doctors are figuring it out as they go along or don’t want to deal with it at all. They just give you a pill and say, “Here you go, this should fix your hormones!”.
At this point, I was off the hormones, and I wanted to give menopause a go without any meds. See, my mom had breast cancer, and I know it’s a risk to take hormones with that kind of family medical history. Boy, did it get rough.
My joints felt like they were on fire. Night sweats were terrible. I gained 20 lbs overnight and could not get it off, no matter what diet or exercises I tried. My skin was crepey and spotty. I was aging rapidly, and I could see it happening to me in the mirror each day.
Where I Am at Now in 2025!
After much research, consideration of my family history and felling like crap for as long as I could take it, I started with the lowest dose, .0375 Estradiol patch. I know, scary, right?
Let me just tell you, it has been life-changing! I feel 10 years younger!
My joints no longer ache, and my muscle strength has improved. I am sleeping again! No more night sweats, and I lost 12 lbs in the first 6 weeks! I have a new pep in my step!
I literally feel like I am aging in reverse. I feel fantastic! I just wish I had not waited so long to try it. But, starting late means I can stay on it longer, right? Maybe, we’ll see. I’m still a little scared.
How’s my hair in menopause? Well, it’s the same except I no longer color it, so it’s a little bit thicker.
I am in no way a doctor or pretend to be one, nor am I endorsing HRT in any way. This is my own unique situation, and I found that at this time, HRT is right for me. HRT can keep you from getting osteoporosis, maintain muscle strength, along with stopping menopause symptoms. Please do your own research and talk to your doctor about your situation before trying this medication.
Considering HRT?
This book is a great place to start.
There is a lot of the NEWish information regarding HRT and menopause!
2018 to Now: Wearing Hair Toppers + Wigs
At this point, I have accepted the fact that my bio hair would not be like it was in 2015, and no doctor was going to give me a magic pill that would let me grow my hair back to what it once was.
I have faced that fact, and it is time to move on to getting what I really want. The amazing dream hair I have always wanted, and not to look older than I actually am!
I started wearing hair toppers in late 2018, and it has been a learning experience even for me. If wearing Helper Hair is something you would consider, do not miss part 3 in this series! Check out the Fine Thin Hair Dilemma: Halos, Toppers & Wigs.
When you are finished reading this post you must check out Fine Thin Hair Dilemma Part 2 of the 3 part series for more tips. Halos, Wigs and Toppers Part 3 is where I talk about helper hair. I will show you the ins-and-outs of my fav wigs, toppers, extensions, and more.
Originally, this post was super long and full of my thin hair solutions and fine hair products. I moved that content to a new post. That way, my posts are less messy and easier to read.
But first, read the next part of my journey, Tips to Increase Hair Volume for Fine Thin Hair. You will find products I use and some interesting ways to conceal thinning areas, parts, or hairlines.
Now it’s your turn. If you have a great tip, trick, or remedy that works for you. Please post it in the comments below! I’d love to try it and/or hear your story!
Do you have a wig you didn’t wear or just didn’t like the color? Join my FB group and buy, sell, or trade wigs with a wig sister! See ya there!
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I put all my hair on top of my head in a high ponytail then set it with 5 of my large hot rollers let them cool while I apply makeup then remove rollers flip head upside down brush then spray flip head finger smoothie then my hair is perfect and very thick looking ? Can’t wait to try your tips.
Hi Sherrie,
I will try this! Thanks for the tip!
Kim
Where is the best place to buy natural looking wigs, halos, toppers. Can they be colored, highlighted or low lights to blend in with my natural hair. Thank you. I have been cursed with fine hair (it has a habit of curling up at the very end) all my life.
Hi Mary, I mention my favorite online places at the bottom of my Wig, Topper & Halos post. You should check out the wig shops near you if you want to try them before you buy them. Otherwise, I would go through some of the websites I mention and see which wigs or toppers you like and then go to Youtube.com, type in the wig name and color and watch videos about them until you see one you like. They come in synthetic or human hair and the human hair ones can be colored to match your existing hair. They do both come in highlighted and rooted colors these days.
Kim
I just found your blog and I also have fine thin hair. On my own, I began using Biotin (the same one as yours) and the results have been awesome. I also stopped blow drying my hair everyday with a big round brush. I now use a brush similar to the one in your post and blow it to a smooth finish. One tip I can give you if you haven’t already found it for long lasting curls is the Caruso steam rollers. I love the quick easy way they go up and the curl that lasts. Thank you for your blog….sign me up.
Hi Kim,
I’ve found an amazing product line that over time is providing me with new hair growth. It’s called Nourish Beaute. I use their vitamins, shampoo, conditioner, scalp serum, brow and eyelash serums exactly as directed. Fine hair runs in my mothers’ family as well as thinning on top as we age. Nioxin and other products didn’t help and I tried them for years. I don’t expect to ever have that beautiful thick head of hair that those of us with fine thin hair dream about but I hope the Nourish Beaute products I’ve found will help me postpone using wigs or maybe not even need them. I loved your tips and will try some of them. Thanks!
Jan
Question: What type of brush do you use when blow drying? I read a comment but I can’t find where you reference it.
Thanks!
Hi Lisa.
I do not use a brush anymore. It is just too much pulling on the fragile hair. I hold my head upside down to get fullness. I used to use a soft bristle vented brush for height on the top. I hope this helps.
Kim
I am struggling with ultra-thin hair and extremely dry and damaged hair. In the past week, I was tired dermalmd hair growth serum. I usually make about three drops. I massage the serum into the scalp. After using this product, my hair is no longer dry. I think my hair has become healthier.
I would like to point out that the OGX Biotin Shampoo has a lawsuit against them for hair loss. As a matter of fact, many many shampoos have similar reviews of people losing their hair. I know this because my hair started to fall out in clumps from a few different shampoos, then I started researching. What I realized is that when I wash my hands with the shampoo, it makes my skin dry rough and scaly.
So either it’s a coconut allergy, because most non sulfate cleansers are coconut derived. Or it’s something else. Either way, I do believe it’s what I was putting on my scalp. I switched to Dr Eddys Happy Cappy shampoo, and I avoid oils. Check your ingredients, and if in doubt, try your shampoo on your hands. If your hands have a bad reaction , it’s probably gonna do that to your hair.