fine hair

A friend of mine recently went to a hair salon where they told her that a microorganism is responsible for causing fine hair. They said this was based on a study. They also sold her some serum to fix this problem. Is this possible. I have baby fine hair and would appreciate any comments or other suggstions with dealing with my hair.

> There has been a considerable fuss over this organisim "Demodex" Demodex Follicurum has been around for ever. Nioxin would have you believe that this bug is a cause of hair loss because it is found on all people that have thinning hair. What is very interesting however is that the bug is found on everyone past peuberty.

>> check out this site http://www.hairsite.com/late-Demodex.htm for more info

Nancy--I'm not a professional, but I spend a lot of time on my hair and do a LOT of reading on it. My hair is fine too.I think your friend got taken. Your natural hair texture/thickness is genetically determined. Nothing you ingest or apply will change the way it grows. (Unless you get sick or suffer from malnutrition, in which case you might thin it out or weaken it.)A lot of products can add bulk and dimension to fine hair--temporarily. Probably what they gave her is one of the many volumizers/thickeners that can do this. (Some contain wheat protein.)But fine hair should not be thought of as "problem hair." My mother always told me when I was little that I'd inherited her "lousy hair," and it gave me a complex. I believed it until I learned how to work with it. Fine hair has special qualities--like softness and shine--that make it stand out. And it can be beautiful.If you don't think so, look at Uma Thurman, Kate Moss, Kate Winslet, Michelle Pfieffer, and Calista Flockheart. They all have very fine hair.Ally

I want to heartily second the opinions expressed by Valentine and Ally here. I couldn't have a ponytail the thickness of Karens or Noreens if my very life depended on it and no topically applied hair product is going to change that, you get what God gave you, nothing more or less. However, considering the posts I've often read on this and other boards I grown into a new appreciation for my hair. It weighs nothing, floats like air, and certainly never gives me headaches when I put it up on top of my head or bothers my neck from to much strain. Yes, the hairtie at the bottom is wrapped around more times than the one at the top, but hey, that's the way it goes. I still haven't gone out in public in many many years when some complete stranger hasn't walked up to me and gushed over my hair, thin or not.So don't fight it Nancy. And I would definitely agree that longer is better with fine hair. Short it can look quite limp and lifeless and refuse to respond to even the most intensive styling, but long it takes on a new life and volume that would surprise you. Tough it out through the awkward middle stages and you'll never be sorry that you did. Its way easier to care for when its long too,just wash and go, always a good hair day!

Hi Cher!Isn't it funny how we sometimes don't appreciate what we've got? Curly haired women fight to straighten their hair, straight haired women perm and curl and battle to get some wave in theirs. Each has its own up and down sides and I don't know whether its old age making me more mellow or just learning to accept things for what they are but I've come to believe that its all beautiful in its own way, unique to every individual. I'd always envied women with that thick shank of hair but I've learned to accept mine now and take pride in it despite its shortcomings. Thanks for your input!Anyway, my hair story, ok, you asked for it. I was 17 going on 18 (how does one remember back that far?!!;) and I had a special event coming up so I allowed a beautician in training, a relative, who SWORE she would only trim a little bit off the ends (B**CH!)give me what was supposed to be a little touch up. Well for all my life my mother had dragged me,(and I mean that quite literally, dragged me crying and screaming 'cos she said my face was too round for long hair and I would always have to wear it short, but actually she just hated its reddish blond color because she really hated her brown color, oh NO, that's a whole other therapy session!!)anyway, dragged me to the hairdresser for those hideous and humiliating pixie cuts that look so limp and horrid with very fine hair like mine and caused me an entire childhood of self loathing, anyway, I had managed to put that behind me and by that fateful trim day so many years ago my hair had finally after much careful care, reached a bit past bra strap length and had become a central source of self esteem and personal image to me. I LOVED my hair. I considered it my best feature of my insecure teenage body. My hair was very important to me. The beautician in training KNEW this and before cutting acknowledged that she KNEW this but she still cut it nearly above my shoulders. I'll never forget the horror of looking in the mirror and seeing my hair just barely past my shoulders, not quite even able to stay pushed back behind them, running the brush through it and feeling that lack of length, feeling like I had been ROBBED, violated. I cried out loud, I cried in private. I cried for several days at the years lost to me. I know it was stupid, it was only hair everyone said, they could not understand the depth of my anger and frustration. It was a bad scene. Since then I have never allowed anyone near my hair. I don't go to salons, I don't get trims. Its not really as neurotic as is sounds, I just don't do it, don't cut it in any way. I'm not advocating such extremes for others because I know the advice is regular trims will help it grow but mine grows VERY slowly and I'm not giving up any of that hard won time to a pair of scissors again. Besides, I haven't gone out to a public place in I can't remember how many years when at least one person and usually more has walked right up and told me how lovely my hair is. Now that's not the reason I wear it so long. Its to heal and soothe my own heart, not garner attention, but I figure hey, if it ain't broke, right?!! So that's it, shoulder length to knee length in about 21 years. Not a very good growth rate, but its all the good Lord deemed my due. I'll let it grow as long as it wants, though I'm not sure what I'll do when it reaches the floor since I do like to wear it in a long loose braid and even now I have to grab that and hold it when bending over and at other times. Who knows in another 5 or 6 years I may actually HAVE to trim it! ; )End of manuscript! Cher have I ever told you how much I like you? I know we're about the same age and I've gotten to feel quite close to you on these boards over the months!That goes for all you gals out there too! I love reading about your lives, your dreams, your triumphs, et.al.!! Thank you! Enjoy what you have, long or short, full or fine, every shape, color and kind is special!Very best wishes,Dawn

Dawn--Just wanted to tell you that reading this account was like reading my /own/ life story.My mother made me wear my hair either in a boyishly short pixie or a tightly permed bob all my life. Until I hit puberty, I was often mistaken for a boy, and it caused me no end of grief and humiliation. All I /ever/ wanted was long hair, like in the storybooks!But my mother always insisted that I didn't have "good hair," that short was the only way I could wear it, etc. If it started to get longer than my jaw, she'd drag me--sometimes crying and pleading!--to the salon to get it chopped off again. The worst part was that short hair REALLY didn't flatter me. My fine, wavy hair looked perpetually ugly and messy, and she would bring me in for perms so it would "do something." I grew up hating the way I looked. Whenever I saw a girl or woman hair past her shoulders, I'd ache with jealous longing.As farfetched as it sounds, I attribute my shaky self-esteem to this one "issue." It gave me a complex, and I think long hair will always be, to me, the height of beauty. Now I'm growing my hair out for the first time. Once it got past my shoulders, my mother stopped glowering and sighing. She has to admit it suits me a million times more.So I don't think you're being silly or vain. Women identify very strongly with their hair, and any time we get pushed into a cut we don't want, our self-image is changed against our will. We don't feel like the same person. In a way, we've been victimized.Thanks for your story.'Nuff said, Ally

I would like to say that it feels good and is helpful to hear all of you fine ladies talk about your fine hair,and what you have gone through. I can really relate. When I was 16, my mom talked me into one those "wedge cuts", except this person did not really do a good wedge cut; it was way too short and pixieish. I proceeded that afternoon to have my junior yearbook picture taken, so I have a eternal reminder. Later on that fall I was working concessions at Texas stadium, and this guy thought I was a boy. That happened other times too. I had a sister in law who had the thick silky waist lenght hair, but she would be mean to me about mine. She would put it in hot rollers and say things like, "your hair is so thin." And its not even that thin, its just fine. I was telling my mom about that and her reply was, "When you have good hair you don't know what its like to have bad hair." Of course, my mom is in the "good hair" category. I had a mother in law who would grab my hair and pull it up to see how it would look and say, "You need to cut your hair short. Your face is too long for long hair." and other things. (My hair was barely shoulder length at the time.) Now, at 36, I don't care what anyone thinks. I am working hard to like my hair. I still find myself lusting after other kinds of hair, but not as often, and I feel more accepting of my own. I saw a questionaire in Self mag about a year ago that asked "Are you your hair?" The answer for me has been "yes." I can totally understand this one aspect of physical appearance having such an effect on a person's self esteem, either postively or negatively. For instance, there was a girl in High School voted most beautiful mainly because of the beautiful hair she had. I don't think anyone ever mistook her for a boy.Regards, Clare> I want to heartily second the opinions expressed> by Valentine and Ally here. I couldn't have a> ponytail the thickness of Karens or Noreens if> my very life depended on it and no topically applied> hair product is going to change that, you get> what God gave you, nothing more or less. However,> considering the posts I've often read on this> and other boards I grown into a new appreciation> for my hair. It weighs nothing, floats like air,> and certainly never gives me headaches when I> put it up on top of my head or bothers my neck> from to much strain. Yes, the hairtie at the bottom> is wrapped around more times than the one at the> top, but hey, that's the way it goes. I still> haven't gone out in public in many many years> when some complete stranger hasn't walked up to> me and gushed over my hair, thin or not.> So don't fight it Nancy. And I would definitely> agree that longer is better with fine hair. Short> it can look quite limp and lifeless and refuse> to respond to even the most intensive styling,> but long it takes on a new life and volume that> would surprise you. Tough it out through the awkward> middle stages and you'll never be sorry that you> did. Its way easier to care for when its long> too,just wash and go, always a good hair day!>

Hi Dawn,First let me say that I think your hair is just lovely. You are very right that we should all be happy with and appreciate what God has given us. I used to hate that my hair was so thick. But that is due to the fact that my mom always kept my hair cut short because she said it was too hard to take care of because it was so thick. When I was very young, my dad wanted me to have long hair, but it never got past my shoulders. He would sit me in his lap every morning and slowly comb out my hair strand by strand. I used to cry when my mother did it. She was not very gentle and used to rip the tangles out. When he changed jobs, he could no longer take the time with me every morning, and my mother won out. Only she would never take me to a salon. She cut it herself. It was always uneven or looked like she used a bowl for a guide. Then when I was about 5 she started in with the home perms. I either ended up looking like a blonde bozo or my hair would be pin straight to my ears and have this big curl around the bottom. It looked like I had a tube from one ear to the other. When I was about 9 my sister talked my mother into letting her take me to the salon she worked at (she was an apprentice)to have my hair cut and styled professionally. My sister paid for this out of her own pocket. I think this was the first time that I realized that I was a girl and could look feminine. I really loved my sister for that. Anyway, she helped me to learn how to take care of it and once my mom didn't need to be involved with my hair care anymore, she just let me do what I wanted. So between the ages of 10 and 17 I would let my hair grow to my shoulders and then cut it off. For a while I even had a twiggy cut, but it was what I wanted at the time and was happy with it. The last time I got a major cut was when I was 16. I got it cut into a short shag. I have been growing out my hair since then. It has taken 26 years to grow my hair to my knees, and though I do get trims, I only let my husband do them. He's the only person I trust. So though our hair may differ in thickness we do have much in common.Take care, Noreen

I guess its hard for me to say. I would suppose that as your daughter gets older and she wants short hair, I would think that that would be her right. Being that she is 7 now, I know for myself it would be nice to look back on those childhood pictures and not see those pixie cuts, so I have a feeling she'll appreciate it in the long run. She won't be mistaken for a boy, which I felt bad about. Also, I had this feeling that my mom was trying to keep us "ugly" for some reason, who knows why. I think that made everything worse. Maybe you might try talking to your daughter, and also listen to your instincts. Good Luck.> Ok, now you all have me wondering--- my daughter> is 7, she has beautiful dark brown hair half way> down her back. I won't let her cut it any shorter> than that because it is so beautiful. Does this> give her a complex to not let her have shorter> hair??? or is that only short hair when one wants> long?> My thing is, same as you all, I had aweful> bowl cuts. My mom made me let my sister only 2> years older than me cut my hair when I was about> 13 and she messed it up so bad. She said "watch,> I can stand on one foot and do this!". And> it showed on my hair. So now, I like long hair> too. I love my daughers long hair, and she only> wants it cut because it hurts to comb through> sometimes. I just don't think it is as devasting> to have to have long hair instead of short as> the reverse. Do you?> Connie

Wow, this can get tricky can't it? I recently met a women who told me that she was raised by folks who wouldn't LET her cut her hair when she was a kid and when she turned 18 she chopped it all off just for spite. Quite the opposite of some of our experiences! (BTW she said she missed it and seeing mine decided to grow it back! She had a ton of questions about hair care and such which I happily offered advice on!) But Connie, I think the real issue here is SELF DETERMINATION. Even a little kid wants to feel like they have some input into their own lives, like their opinions and feelings matter, especially regarding issue of their own body. I can relate to Clare about the mom seeming to WANT you to look as geeky and stupid as possible. It can devaste your self image. Find out WHY your daughter wants to cut her hair. When he was about 4 my littlest guy wanted his ponytail cut, so I chopped it off and about a week later he said he missed it and wanted to look like his brothers again. Sometimes its just a matter of wanting a change, who knows? Express to your daughter your own feelings about how beautiful her hair is, how cute you think it makes her look. Be open, be honest, she's old enough to get it. If she still wants to do it maybe go for just a little cut so she can see how she'll miss it. Thorny! Good Luck!!Best wishes to all!Dawn