Let’s face it, aging brings wisdom. Do I wish at 18 that I had the brainpower I earned from a lifetime of lessons? Absolutely! But, wisdom doesn’t help when I look in the mirror and every year after 45 seems to be a struggle. Looking my best has taken a whole new regime of beauty treatments to feel comfortable in my skin and not throw in the towel. Thinning hair with age may be at the top of my list of pet peeves!
Oddly, during this search for self at 55, I find myself advising others who are reaching for that glimmer of reassurance that sexy can happen at every age for every person. And if it takes a little longer to get there, well we’ve earned the points to keep our partners waiting till we can look in the mirror and chant my favorite mantra…voila!
As a hairstylist, I guess the greatest complaint I get from my female clients approaching or in menopause is, “Yikes! My hair is thinning!” For many women, yes thinning hair with age is a fact. Being a stylist for over 30 years, I have seen a rise in hair thinning during menopause. Not being a doctor, but understanding the changes of time, I find there is a direct link to the fact that hormone replacement is a thing of the past for many women.
Yes, 30 years ago at the first sighting of water on the brow, estrogen replacement was prescribed. And just like that, the tidings of menopause seemed to reduce quite rapidly. In those thirty years, estrogen has been linked to many women’s reproductive cancers. Prescriptions took an immediate decline and just like natural childbirth, your doctor, your friend, left you unprepared with only this advice. Thinning hair with age was a “thing” again. It’s time to take a breath girl!
In extreme cases where the scalp begins to show, I roll up my sleeves and say it’s time to visit your dermatologist. Blood injections help the scalp by using your own bodies stem cells as a defense mechanism. It has shown vast promise to not only decline hair loss, but yes, reverse it. For even the most vulnerable female who’s scalp is showing, there is hope!
The Correct Haircut Can Help Minimize the Look of Thinning Hair
For the rest of us, thinning hair with aging, medication, and genetics have taken their toll, and I am here to tell you I can give you the tricks of illusion. Girls, it all starts with the cut. Your voices echo in my ear. “I love my long hair!” My job is to let you come to the realization that in the mist of a thinning cycle, you like the memory of long hair. However, maybe your long hair is aiding in exasperating the fallout.
Sure, the longer our hair is the more we pull, the more we style with heat. I often suggest:
1. Layers: If you don’t want to cut too much of the length, layers are a great way of adding lightness to attract movement. Hair that moves looks thicker than hair that hangs.
2. “My bottom is so thin, it’s see-through.” Then a bob is a perfect solution. To add weight and make the hair thicker, bobs are classic. Adding a few long layers can be whimsical and fun.
Best Approach to Coloring Thinning Hair
Next on the list is color.
“Well, I’ve always been a brunette!” Wrong answer even if it is true. When you were a young brunette, your hair had shadings from the sun, thus giving it hues of different colors. Years of dying has made your brunette hair darker and more even, thus making the white of your scalp more pronounced. My suggestion: get a little balayage. Ombré those ends because it will add the subtle shading that the sun just doesn’t have the time to do in a four-week stint. Variation equals movement, and suddenly your eye is pulled away from how white your scalp is.
Blonds and redheads all know that shades of color always mean more lift, more fullness, and the illusion of density. So brunette girls, hop on the bus! It will serve you well. Once your color and cut is achieved, the next step is preparation.
Other Solutions for Thinning Hair with Age?
There are a few must-have products to enhance the thickness of your hair. Once a day every day, the Regenesis Micro Targeting Spray by Revitalash uses the same bio-peptin technology that speeds up growth. This gives the scalp the perfect environment for health and elasticity for hair to thrive in. You can find them here. We also sell them at Paul Labrecque salons.
Use volumizers in the root area while using leave-in conditioners on the ends. This reduces frizz and promotes healthy elasticity of the hair making the hair swing. Paul Labrecque Volume Style uses hops as a hair swelling agent while the Repair Style uses Aloe Vera to soothe thirsty dry hair ends. Together, they get the job done. What not to use to combat thinning hair with age is heaps of hairspray that just stick the hair up, causing further thinness when they have to be aggressively brushed out.
Now it’s time for picking the right styling tools.
Ionic hair dryers like the Tempo that Paul Labrecque salons sell are amazing at drying hair without burning hair. Use with a boar bristle brush that gently lifts your root and spreads your body’s own sebaceous oils is a must.
Now that your hair is heated just enough, take each section and let it cool on a large Velcro roller. For straight hair, use a medium-sized Velcro roller. For wavy hair, use a smaller roller. It is the perfect way to lock in the movement you want for an all-day hold.
One trick of the trade to remember…unwind a Velcro Roller carefully. Their catchy fibers can pull hair out if you try to pull them out too quickly, reversing everything we have learned thus far about correcting thinning hair with age.
Say bye-bye to straightening and curling iron. Too much heat equals added thinness. So even if you are tempted don’t do it.
“Should this be my daily regime?”
Stop right there! Only with the most excessively greasy heads are daily shampoos required. For the rest of my ladies, how we sleep and how we work our hair on day two and often even day 3, will result in thickening up your hair more quickly because you are not constantly pulling at your hair.
A trick for sleeping is to take a large section of hair, roll it under, and – using a little piece of tissue on either side of your clip so not to mark the hair – clip the hair at the root. This will keep your hair lifted in your sleep. Illustrated below.
For more wavy hair, a few jumbo stand-up pinches on your top are all you need to keep your look looking great. OK, sometimes we have to wait for our lover to retire first, but the results of tomorrow’s good hair day are worth it in the end.
Once you are up for the day, I recommend L’Oreal texture powder and dry shampoo. Spray only into the root area to limit the oil to the root area only so your hair looks fresh and thick longer. Yes, Paul Labrecque salons carry it, as well as your local drugstore. So just add it to your new beauty bag of tools and products to fight thinning hair with age.
Now there are some of you who have tried it all. You’ve even seen your dermatologist and the results you hoped for are less than satisfactory. Don’t think I haven’t thought of you for remember my opening line. It’s all an illusion.
Today we have a vast array of human hairpieces and extensions that would work for you. I am here daily to receive your pictures to advise you what to look for that will appear 100% natural and make you feel your sexiest ever. And guess what? There are tricks we use where you can swim and be as athletic as you want. Thinning hair with age does not have to stop you from living life to the fullest.
No woman is left behind because our hair is our greatest accessory. It’s the one thing we wear every day and it must be right. We are in our PRiME, girls, we are not yet in the agony of defeat. I welcome all your questions and if I don’t know the answer I promise I will find it. Please feel free to email me with your questions at Paul@primewomen.com.
From all of us at PRiME Women, have a beautiful fall.
