January 14 2009, 12:36 pm PT | Posted in: Hair Loss Causes
Hi doc,
I was wondering if hair ever just gets thinner overall as you age into adulthood. I’m experiencing miniaturized hairs falling out all over my head, and I’m wondering if this is just a normal process heading into adulthood. My hairline is receding, but it is following the same pattern as my grandfather’s whose hairline stopped at a norwood 3 with thick hair all over. My hair is still thick, but the hairs keep falling out. Please help!
We often go through various stages in the thickness of the hair. Many courser haired people will see their hair shafts thin when they leave their teenage years. This also occurs later in life as well. Add to that the different lengths of the telogen cycle of the hair (see Hair Follicle Cells Growth Stages) and most people will see their maximal hair length reduce as they get older. The young girl with 3 foot long hair at age 14 may find that she can not grow it past 18 inches at age 40 and 12 inches at age 60.
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What this person is asking isn’t whether the hair will get finer with age. They are asking whether the hair will get thinner, as in less hair follicles. This person is losing miniaturized hair follicles, and is wondering if these hair follicles just don’t come back instead of coming back finer.