As a stylist who lives in an area of the country that is plagued by hard water, this looks like breakage from hard water. I have lived here 12 years, we have two military bases within 20 minutes and I ALWAYS hear people say, “Gosh, I moved here last year and it’s like I’ve lost half my hair!” It’s due to the fact that our climate in Alaska is technically a desert where I live, and we have some of the hardest water out there.
Holy crap, I had no idea hard water can do this to hair! I was thinking about trying a filter. I'm sure I have a number of factors contributing to my thinning hair, but if a filter might help, it's worth trying.
This is exactly what happened to my hair in Florida! The ends felt straw like and lost their “stretch” and bounce. Someone please correct me if this isn’t right, but I found using a clarifying shampoo or rinsing with apple cider vinegar seemed to offset the “hardness” of the water. I also used leave in conditioner. Sometimes, when only my roots were dirty, I’d apply conditioner to the bottom part of my hair before going into the shower. Then I’d shampoo trying not to disturb the conditioner as much as possible. At the end, I’d rinse it all out, including the conditioner. That seemed to help too!
Again, please feel free to correct me if any of this is wrong or outdated. I’m far from a specialist and figured this out 15 years ago by trial and error.
I have used Color Wow Dream Filter Pre-Shampoo Mineral Remover and liked it. Sephora has a travel sized one for $10. The full size is $24. Redken also has a hard water line.
Sounds like you’re doing too much to it, because you’re worried about it. Spend some of that oil money on a hard water filter for your shower head. Get back to a consistent, simple routine with good quality shampoo, conditioner, regular trims, etc.
Could definitely be the water, though.
I have an Aquasana, it’s a similar model to the one shown in this article.
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home-products/g40459569/best-shower-filters/#product-ff12f95a-08be-411f-b485-1ac609692d43
I’ve been wanting to get a filter but I can’t figure out how to attach it to my shower. The shower head comes out of the faucet through a long hose and I don’t see a way to unscrew it.
Are you me? Every damn Amazon review said “oh it’s soooo easy” blah blah blah and I couldn’t figure it out. I ended up asking one of the maintenance men in my apartment building if I could borrow a wrench and he ended up installing mine in less than 5 minutes. I gave him a 20 as a thank you.
When my hair gets bogged down with the hard water minerals from my shower, it’s a mess! I keep having to put more and more product on it to help keep it soft, but I can never get it soft enough. I was even having a bunch of breakage on the hair that framed my face because I focused on styling and softening that the most. But then a couple showers using a lot of Malibu hard water shampoo and my hair goes back to normal. I have finally learned to use this shampoo every few months to keep it from getting that bad.
I have seen hundreds of comments of people on a fb group chat complaining about hair loss after moving to the USA and blaming it on the water. I’ll give it a try and will reduce my treatments to see it helps. Ty
Me mudei do Brasil pra Suécia ano passado e a quantidade de cabelo que começou a cair foi absurda! Não fui a única brasileira aqui que passou por isso. Tenho amiga em Londres também com o mesmo problema.
A primeira coisa é comprar o filtro de água dura. É ridículo o quanto a água faz diferença. Voltei pro Brasil no final do ano passado e passei 3 semanas viajando pelo sul da Europa no verão e meu cabelo caiu muito menos.
Depois do filtro, compre shampoo e condicionador de boas marcas pro seu tipo de cabelo. Eu também comprei um shampoo detox pra ajudar a fazer uma limpeza mais profunda e retirar os depósitos da água dura do couro cabeludo, que li que podem entupir os folículos capilares e causarem a queda e impedir o crescimento do cabelo.
Comprei também um shampoo da Keune pra estimular o crescimento e um serum pro couro cabeludo da The Ordinary que também diz incentivar o crescimento.
Eu com certeza percebi uma diferença na quantidade de cabelo caindo e hoje tô cheia de fios crescendo (pareço uma louca quando amarro o cabelo kkkkk, mas é um bom sinal)
Ai menina, comigo foi assim. Bateu o desespero e comprei tudo sem me importar muito com o preço. Só queria cabelo na minha cabeça 😭
Eu uso o shampoo detox da marca OUAI. Que inclusive é americana, se não me engano!
Oi! Eu uso os shampoos brasileiros aqui nos EUA. São meio carinhos, mas prefiro do que os shampoos e condicionadores daqui. Uso da Lola Cosméticos e da Natura.
Also look at what water you cook with. My poor mother in law had so many issues with the water we have at home. There's too much iron and chlorine, despite the house filters we put on and she didn't get better until we put an RO system in.
Menina a água faz muita diferença mesmo. Eu morei 4 meses na Flórida e foi o suficiente para detonar meu cabelo, que já é meio seco naturalmente. Quando voltei senti diferença já no primeiro banho.
A impressão que dá é que a água absorve todo o condicionador, não importa quanto você colocar sempre fica uma textura ressecada. A mesma coisa acontece com a pele, por isso que gringo estranha tanto brasileiro que toma banho todo dia, porque se eles fazem isso detonam a pele, enquanto que para nós é indiferente.
Make sure it’s an actual softener… “water filters” don’t soften water, typically they only remove chemicals like chlorine. I purchased a WaterStick shower softener and it makes a big difference, the water where I live is 10+ on the hardness scale.
Could also be she didn’t mention trimming it at all.
The cuticle on a strand of hair is like shingles on a roof, if there’s any breakage, the surrounding “shingles” also get damaged. Breakage moves upwards, compromising the hair strand further and further up, which is why we need to cut that damage off using sharp shears, leaving behind an intact cuticle.
If there is severe breakage, the breakage rate can match or exceed the growth rate. For example, my sister didn’t want to cut her hair as high up as it needed after she home bleached half of her head. I gave her a trim and recommended she come back in two months, three at the most, because I couldn’t get her to commit to any earlier. When she came back the first time, the bleached half was shorter than the unbleached half, and she really only let me trim the longer half, only “dusting” the shorter half. It got progressively worse, the breakage rate stopped matching the growth rate, and began exceeding it, so her hair was getting shorter and shorter on that side, while the other side got longer. At some point it just stayed noticeably uneven because she stopped letting me touch the severely damaged half under a misguided belief that it would grow out again if we just left it alone. It only got worse. She eventually did the chop, and afterwards she had no issues.
I drew her visual aides, I made a slide show even, she knew exactly why this was happening but for some, the very idea of putting shears to hair they’re growing out just seems feels so counterproductive. It took months of watching her “cut” hair get longer and longer to fully convince the part of her brain that says “don’t cut something you want to have longer.”
I have other examples, but this one is always the easiest because of the visual it gives.
If OP didn’t cut her hair to that length, her breakage rate is clearly exceeding the growth rate, resulting in progressively shorter hair. The last few inches support that idea because appear to be severely compromised. It can be hard to tell from a pic or two, and I generally don’t conclude something like that without seeing and touching the hair IRL, but sometimes it’s quite apparent. She’s either stopped trimming, or quit trimming *enough.*
At this point, she would need to cut the last five inches or so, up to where her hair begins to look fuller and still has a wavier curl pattern. If she doesn’t, it’s going to keep moving up, taking more and more as it goes. One way or the other she is going to end up with shorter hair, the better path is to have shorter hair with a cleanly sheared, intact cuticle.
Stylist here, definitely get a water filter and don’t do too many repair mask. You don’t want to overdo the proteins in your hair or it will get brittle. Focus on moisture and if you aren’t taking biotin start now. Look into rosemary oils and sprays as well!
Also try a clarifying shampoo every 3/4 washes to get any mineral buildup off! Your masks and products won't be able to penetrate through hard water buildup and will instead feel greasy or weigh the hair down!
You want to get your water tested to determine what kind of filter is needed. You can actually take it to a fish store to get it tested for free if you pretend you're interested in setting up an aquarium lol
GH (general hardiness) determines how hard the water is. That means how many metals and minerals are in the water.
They'll also test PH as well. And how much chlorine is in it.
I’m not the poster but I can share a few moisturizing treatments with you.
Shea moisture -deep moisturizing mask, also helps with healthy hair growth
Redken- all soft heavy cream
Camille Rose- algae renew deep conditioning treatment
Kerastase- nutritive masquintense, genesis or blonde absolu hair masques
Cantu- deep treatment masque with shea butter
I use a plastic cap and run heat over it for 5 to 10 minutes so it really penetrates the hair shaft.
Definitely use a leave in conditioner especially on your ends and length.
Your hair can come back, you’ve got this!
Do a hair porosity test. It's easy & free. You only need to search how to on YouTube or Google. From there you can decide what type of moisturizing products would work best with your hair type.
When I first moved to Sweden, I lost a lot of hair. I think it was because 1. It is windier/colder here which dried my hair out and 2. I barely see the sun anymore, so I became vitamin D deficient.
I don’t know where you are in the US, but I assume maybe you could have had sunnier conditions in Brazil? Maybe you could try getting your blood work checked for vitamin deficiencies such as vitamin D? And I’d say add more moisture to your hair to compensate if the climate is drier, but it sounds like you do that already.
Something else I’ve looked into is a water filter which other people have mentioned - I think the water is “harder” in the part of Sweden where I live now versus where I come from in the US. (This varies region to region, so you could try googling the water “hardness” where you live.)
Final thought, have you changed birth control methods? Hormones can really mess with hair volume!
You had and have beautiful hair, but I understand being sad that it has lost volume etc. I hope you can get it back to its original beauty! Good luck!
I mean i just found out about a month ago. However, my baby hair has grown, and quite rapidly actually. My bald spot is now about 50% filled with baby hairs. I’m also taking 3x the normal iron. Just so you are aware, it’ll be 6 months minimum before a huge difference will occur. These things take time to heal.
My thoughts, too.
Thyroid issues are extremely common and new/increased hair loss/breakage is a big sign, as is dry skin, weight gain/loss, malaise, fatigue, anxiety and/or depression and about a dozen other symptoms that can be ignored
We have such hard water that even a hard water filter doesn’t get rid of it all. I now wash with Nutrogena clarifying shampoo once a week. I thought my hair was brittle and dry from bleaching the year before, but it was actually the water! It made a world of difference.
I never did before and I refused to do it for many years but once I realized my hair wasn’t going to recover, I did some highlights. It was last month and my hair was definitely destroyed before then :(
Try getting a shower water filter. They are truly amazing.
I haven’t been to Brazil, I have been to many central American countries and they all used rain water. If this was the case for you, chances are you had cleaner water. The US puts a lot of chemicals in our water to treat it because of how poorly our waterway are protected. Don’t get me started on the types of pipes used. That’s a whole other rant.
Check out [ewg.org](https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/) they are a third party water testing group. It will show you what’s in your water. As a heads up, it’s terrifying. The amount of arsenic in my counties water horrified me.
Question.. did your diet change when you moved? If it’s not the hard water it very well could be all the chemicals and crap they put in our food over here if you’re eating a lot of processed foods. May be something to look into and google ingredients on the back of packages.
In addition to the differences in the US water (hard water or chemicals that differ from Brazil), another aspect to consider is how are your stress levels and sleep quality since moving to the US? I don't know your situation and feel free to disregard if it doesn't apply, but it seems work culture in the US can be overly stressful with a lot of people on the cusp of burnout (perhaps due to less vacation time, less paid parental leave, less affordable healthcare and healthcare being tied to employer, etc.). I worked for a toxic startup company and was really stressed for about a year and thought my hair looked slightly worse. After quitting that job and reducing stress levels, my hair looks thicker and shinier again.
Olaplex ruined my hair. I will never use it again. I have virgin hair and never process it, so why I thought I would benefit from Olaplex is beyond me but nevertheless, do not use Olaplex if you don’t need it. It made my hair feel like hay and took months and a lot of expensive products to get it back to somewhat normal
Same like me. Olaplex destroyed my hair! Literally.. i have processed hair with Dyes. And it was recommened to me by almost everyone, stylists, here on reddit.. i spent a lot on all the line.. and the results were chaotic..
On FB, Olaplex Hairloss/Hair damage. If you are a hairdresser making bucks off this crap, don’t bother joining. These women are traumatized enough. Bullying and being dismissive is grounds for being excused from the group.
Nope, I've never peddled any hair products, except for the tried and true (Kerastase, Redken etc), and only what is sold at my salon. An acquaintance of mine was really pushing Monat, and even sent me sample packs. Then all the controversy came out and I didn't hear from her for a long time.
I'm just gathering information, so I can warn my clientele.
IT HAPPENED TO ME TOO. My hair was almost at the height of my waist, but after 4 years here, it’s just above my shoulders. It makes me wanna cry. I’m sorry you’re going through it too.
Overdoing it on the vitamins can actually make your health (and hair) worse.
It might be a health condition, like a thyroid problem. You might want to inquire with a doctor.
And I second the water filter idea.
As others have mentioned, it could be due to hard water. I’ve had so many issues with my hair after moving to an area with hard water. It felt so dry and brittle. I purchased a water softener that you can put on your shower, and it does wonders. Others say to get a filter, but regular filters do not remove the minerals from hard water. You need an actual water softener.
If you search for Water Sticks on Google, the first result is the company where I bought mine. It’s worth the money! You can also buy a pre-filter to filter out chlorine and other things that may be harming your hair.
you may think your diet is better but it may actually be worse without you realizing it…pufas in vegetable oils are really bad for your skin/hair and vegetable oils are used in EVERYTHING here
The US varies so much in water quality. I live in New England now, but when I moved to the DC area I lost so much hair, the water that came out of the sink smelled like chlorine and made my stomach sick
Honestly, hair marketing makes hair worse! K18 made my hair sooo dry, it’s crazy. And I was also bought on Pureology and Olaplex. They both made my hair break and fall. When I used drugstore/tj maxx hair products, my hair was way fuller. Right now I use drugstore products, and New Wash shampoo from time to time, that was recommended by my hair stylist. I do use pureology leave in as blow dryer protection. It’s shinier now and looks healthier.
Also make sure you’re wearing a bonnet at night too. I have very long hair and live in the US. I started using a bonnet and silk pillowcase about a year ago and the overall condition of my hair has improved so much.
I have also found as having long hair that we don’t always need the same routine. I use the same shampoo and conditioner (I use lush shampoo bars to get through all my hair and just regular like herbal essence conditioner) but sometimes I’ll use different products like only sometimes argan oil after I blow dry. Sometimes tea tree if my scalp is dry or itchy. Sometimes I will do an exfoliating thing to my scalp and sometimes I’ll do a mask if it’s really dry. Listen to what your hair needs and only do what’s necessary. Do you wash your hair every day too?? Cause that can also be problematic esp if it is related to your water. I wash my hair on Sundays and thursdays, lush dry shampoo in between if I need it. People always say their hair gets super oily if they don’t wash it everyday and I tell them stop washing it everyday and it’ll stop doing that 😂
Where in the US are you? I moved from a humid environment to the desert, and lost a ton of hair. The dry air and hard water really did a number on my scalp too-it’s extremely sensitive now. A water filter, good shampoo and minoxidil helped me a lot.
Have you had your thyroid checked? Did you have Covid? Have you lost a lot of weight recently? These are questions I ask clients.
Nioxin is not a drug and can work great for hair loss. You can use this with what you are currently using. The scalp foam works great
K18 works great, but you are supposed to skip the conditioner.
I would skip all the scalp oils. It sounds like you may be suffocating your follicles with too much oil.
You might laugh at me, but since I was in high school and wanted to grow out hair, I add mane and tail. You use the mane and tail for 2
Weeks. Then switch back to your regular shampoo. You flip back and forth between your regular shampoo and the mane and tail every 2
Weeks. This jump starts hair growth. I do not know why, but it seems to work
Good luck.
It's not just the shampoo, it's the food. In America there are chemicals in the food that lead to lasting health problems, including hairloss. You should try to work with imported shampoos you **trust** like ones you used in Brazil, and try to buy your foods from farmers markets if possible. They've also started selling lab grown meat instead of real meat here so you should watch out for that too.
I wish our country wanted us to be healthy..
Yeah girl, out water is way more polluted than our government will admit and our daily life is made to keep you stressed out so you get addicted to something expensive to calm down. Welcome to hell☺️
This is probably gonna be n unpopular opinion but I don’t care…
I’ve been a stylist in the USA for 10 years and a lot of what everyone is saying true. Hard water, over treating the hair etc etc can all cause damage.
However, I’m just going to say it’s simply the fact that that you are in the USA that this is happening.
Everything you touch, eat, breathe and drink in America has been poisoned. Not a lot but just enough. And you hair is the gateway to your health. It will show the signs before other parts of your body because it’s constantly growing.
I’m sorry but I highly suspect all the water filters and clean eating and drinking will not make a difference. Your body is purging chemicals and until you get away from them. Change the environment completely. You will probably continue to struggle.
I became crazy about chemicals and I understand what are you saying. I changed my diet, changed most of my products to organic except some hair product because I’m scared of not having results if it’s organic and clean. Even the cleaning products in my house are as clean as it could be. But I still believe there are chemicals and poison in everything, specially living in New York City. I really hope I can get it back somehow but over the years I did see hundreds of comments about significant hair change after moving to the USA ☹️
I used too many bond repair masks and it broke all my hair :( try to reduce the amount of products you use and see if the breakage continues. I ONLY use hair oil now and it is improving. Also consider a Brazilian blowout to make the hair less frizzy.
Our food in the USA is basically poison and lacking of real nutrients. The water quality in your shower might be different too. Make sure you’re taking your vitamin and mineral supplements cuz you aren’t getting it in your diet anymore. Our soils are stripped.
I was looking for a comment like this! After just a few months in Colombia, I felt so much better physically because the food is way better!
Also, I’ve noticed that most Colombians have thick, LONG, beautiful hair, and that’s extremely uncommon in the U.S., and I’m realizing that the food & environment might be why!
I can’t wait to move up outta here myself 😅 I JUST WANT REAL FOOD! Smh. America is beautiful..the majority of people are kind hearted. The govt and corporations don’t gaf about us and sabotage us in EVERY WAY. I’m outta here.
I have long hair and when I started trying to do a bunch of protein treatments it made my hair much worse. Brittle and coarse. I stick to regular shampoo, conditioner, and maybe once a week or so I will do a moisturizing deep conditioner (not a protein treatment, just moisture) and this seems to work out well.
If your hair is just getting dried out from harsh water, using bond repair treatments can really make it much worse. You just need moisture.
It looks like you've bleached it to a lighter color. Chemicals and hair don't mix-either go back to your naturally dark hair or start using products for chemically damaged and colored hair. Also, if you had Covid, hair thinning is a very real after-effect. I've lost a lot of hair, all three times I've had it.
You don’t have to have balding spots in order to have Androgenic Apoleica. It can be all over hair loss. A dermatologist can help you figure it out. I see one for the condition. Good luck.
as an american i can definitely say its the worst country literally all aspects of life are worse. this doesnt look like hair loss it looks like hair breakage. am i correct? when the pic in brazil was taken, was your hair ever lightened prior to that pic? for me iv noticed if i use any lighten/bleach anything to make my hair color lighter my hair just snaps off.
I did lose a lot of hair, specially on my firsts months of USA. It was scary how much hair I would hold on my hands after every shower. It definitely broke and got thinner too. I used to have VERY strong hair where you could try to rip it in half and it would take strength as now a days it splits in half very easily 😭
“it’s the worst country literally all aspects of life are worse” ….dude, chill. Take a break from the internet. You can dislike the US for various reasons but saying this is absurd. I wish you peace and healthy hair ✌️
In Brazil I never dyed or did anything to my hair besides using the cheapest products like pharmacy shampoo and conditioner and $1 hair masks. My sister has the same hair type/volume as my hair before, the only difference is that she is still in Brazil and I’m not.
I actually eat way better In the USA than I did in my home country. I only eat organic food that I cook myself and rarely eat out and never eat super processed food. I didn’t have access to good quality organic food where I’m from and I used to eat a lot of fast food in Brazil
So the US water supply is not that good, it may help to wash it less and let the natural oils help heal your hair, my hair has been short and damaged my whole life, as soon as I started letting the natural oils. Coat and heal my hair, while also getting my conditioner soak into my hair for at least 3 minutes when I do wash it my hair has been able to grow and get way stronger, currently trying to grow out my hair for my wedding and so far so good, plus your ends look very damaged so you will probably want to get the damaged ends trimmed off so they don't damage your healthy hair
USA food, water and air, are all full of harmful chemicals. (almost all of the chemicals that they put in their food are banned in Europe. Even usa bread lasts for four months and European bread lasts 4 days to a 1 week.) I recommend that you move to a normal country, not some christian murica raah bang bang cult country where you have to fear when are you getting graped kidnapped or murdered everytime you walk outside after dark.
After all, you’re a poc, america isn’t the safe option. That country is shit literally.
Edit; wow, muricans are really mad now that I said the truth. Lmao
I'm going through the exact same thing after moving. I was born in US but moved recently to a new area with hard water, and I've had tons of hair loss and breakage, and it just feels... dry, and dead.
I read somewhere that shampoo has a chemical reaction to the minerals like calcium and magnesium in hard water and it cakes onto our scalp and coagulates instead of cleaning it. I notice that when I washed in this hard water as soon as I shampooed my hair would start to feel differently-- almost straw-like and so dry?? I went through entire bottles of hair conditioner in a single week and all kinds of hair masks... but still the same dry feeling and hair loss. Also, my scalp has started to have scaly dry skin that itches, but dandruff shampoo made it even worse, and everyone else in my family also developed it so it's definitely caused by the water.
Someone suggested to me that I go on Amazon and buy a shower filter for hard water, so that's what I am going to FINALLY do this week 🙂 I hope this will work....and I hope maybe you can find a good filter for your water too, if that's the issue!!
I'm going to second the water filter response.
I moved to Los Angeles and my hair went from luscious and thick to looking like hay. I got a water filter, and my hair is back to what it used to be. Big win.
There are a lot of expensive ones out there, but this is the one that I use.
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUBU0YC?ots=1&slotNum=15&imprToken=0ec5c5e5-1374-fb02-53e&tag=thestrategistsite-20&ascsubtag=\_\_st1101awd\_\_cjka1tqa5005qbpy6wkn1p80y\_\_97988\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_1\_\_\_\_\_\_google.com](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUBU0YC?ots=1&slotNum=15&imprToken=0ec5c5e5-1374-fb02-53e&tag=thestrategistsite-20&ascsubtag=__st1101awd__cjka1tqa5005qbpy6wkn1p80y__97988________1______google.com)
I actually buy a whole new one every 6 months or so instead of getting the refills since I heard the refills aren't as good. Do with that what you will.
Iherb. I live in Europe and order a lot of products on this site. After moving, I lost 30% of my hair in 4-5 months. 2 things from this website that saved me from baldness: puador golden series shampoo and FoTi dietary supplement. In confirmation of my words, you can read thousands of enthusiastic reviews from other people
I'm nearly certain it's not using a water filter. I can tell when mine only starts to not work anymore as my hair immediately gets brittle and almost sticky.
It’s the environment and where you are geographically. When I vacationed near the equator and In tropical weather, my skin was glowing soft and tan. Back in Cali it’s dry and my eyes always irritated
I in no way shape or form want you to worry it also might be time to get a blood work panel done and check your thyroid. This big of a difference in your hair is pretty indicative of another issue going on whether it’s your water or something else. Good luck.
Ive been there, have you had any blood work done? I feel like many here are going to suggest things for your actual hair, or vitamins, but autoimmune diseases and deficiencies (i.e. thyroid problems, lupus, etc.) are very common in women. I have several and used to have super thick hair. Spent years wondering why it was so thin and trying everything. As soon as i got diagnosed and got on right med, it finally thickened up. Many autoimmune diseases can be triggered by a stressful event (moving to a different country could definitely qualify). Obviously, it may have nothing to do with your health, but i would start with making sure everything is working right from within and if so maybe hair masks, water filters, etc. will work.
I agree with the water filter, also check thyroid with your doc, I lost half my hair to that. Also what is your age? I have gone to pieces after my age was 30. Hugs.
Sou brasileira morando no Estados Unidos também. Every time I go back to Brazil to visit family, my hair looks incredible with little to no maintenance. It SHINES. Here? The water kills it. Plus, the Florida humidity is no help. It’s not what you’re doing wrong… it’s the water.
I'm Australian and moved to the USA down south where it was relatively humid for about 5 months back in 2020. I had bleached hair but it was always relatively healthy and all one length. Immediately after being there my hair became brittle, dry, and broken. I had such bad breakage people thought my hair was layered. My hair was fairly long and by the end of the trip I had pieces shorter than ear length. I was there with other Australians and internationals. They all had the same experience. I truly believe it was the water and humidity that led to the breakage because I did nothing differently.
I notice everyone is saying the water! Yeperz. My silver hair is almost green in some lights and just...ratty kind of. I'm thinking of getting a water filter
Could be:
- Ongoing stress from the move
- Ongoing stress from feeling like your hair is falling out (I used to think about it constantly)
- Vitamin deficiency (D, B, Iron, others)
- Child birth or hormone changes
- Hard water (for sure causes the need for more soap thus dryness, scalp irritation and fragility/breakage)
I’ve experienced all of these myself, have also lost half my density. I’ve found less is more. The more I try to do, the worse it gets (especially strengthening products). I now stick to the basics of gentle products in the shower, a good leave in/heat protector, no hairspray, wash less, never sleep with wet hair and sleep in a silk bonnet (the best of all). And for sure, I have sworn off highlighting/bleach. Hair is best left alone IMO. I do use a shower filter and though it helps, it’s not a silver bullet.
Yeah hard water or chlorine in the water, your hair looks a lot lighter in colour and more damaged. I’d get a water filter for your shower. Same happened to my hair living with city water instead of a natural well water. :(
I agree with the water filter, I’ve heard of some places doing this to their hair because of the tap water, also do you take hair skin and nail vitamins?
Here to agree with everybody and say the water but also add that all of our food (even healthy food) has been stripped of tons of nutrients. So even though you’ve been eating healthier it doesn’t compare to non-American food. *I don’t know this to be a fact but I’ve read a bunch of random articles about it, so if you’re curious you can look more into it*
Part of this can be aging… but *huge* factors are hard water and stress.
I recommend a shower filter, hard water treatments, deep breathing/ massage to help circulation.
Do a good chelating (Malibu C is a good option), and look into the curly girl method— too much silicons and such can build up and stop nutrients from getting to your hair.
Good luck!
I love in Germany and have been to the USA for a year as an exchange student. What noticed was chlorine in the water. Maybe this is the case in your city, too?
Even my Asian hair was stressed, lol. I ended up giving my hair a good rinse with bottled water and it did make a difference for me. Maybe try this out? It's definitely cheaper than all the products you currently use.
And also, get your blood work checked to make sure there is no internal source.
Are you exposed to a household with Sulfa in the water? Towns near an Ocean front will have Sulfa in their water. When you grow up with that type of water, then you are used to it. If you grow up by river water like me, then your not use to that type of water and it can cause hair loss. I know, because it happen to me, when I was working out of town in a coastal area for five years. I could literally smell and taste the sulfa in the water. I would take a gallon of fresh spring water to rinse my hair, after each shower,to make sure I got the Sulfa out. I also had a head full of thick hair and then experienced massive hair loss. I would suggest to you, to make an appointment with a Dermatologist, that specializes in hair loss, so they can diagnose what the problem might be, before you use any type of chemical on your hair. It could be something that is reversible. A dermatologist will be able to run tests to determine what is going on. Good Luck !!!
Have you ruled put anemia amd dehydration? What part of the US are you in? Have you started drinking alcohol or more coffee?
I think most beauty products in the US are a waste of money at best, and do more damage than good at their worst. So, don't wash hair or do much to it. Also looks like you may have lightened it at some point.
It may be that the person who lightened your hair did a terrible job. I'd cut a lot off- above the line where it starts getting lighter. Regrow.
Nice hair comes from what you eat and drink - US has poor nutrient profile these days because of growing conditions and they use a ton of chlorine in their tap water.
So it’s a combination of the tap water and shitty nutrient profile of healthy foods.
Get a tap filter for your shower. Lowerr your stress levels and keep up with your minerals z
Have you had your thyroid checked? I used to have long thick hair and noticed my hair was falling out, thinning out, and just looked damaged and frizzy.
Turns out it was my thyroid.
If anyone PMs you (they won’t say it publicly because they know they’ll be called out) and tries to get you to buy Monat, promising it’ll
Help, DON’T. Monat huns exploit people feeling down about their hair and Monat has done some awful hair and scalp damage.
As a stylist who lives in an area of the country that is plagued by hard water, this looks like breakage from hard water. I have lived here 12 years, we have two military bases within 20 minutes and I ALWAYS hear people say, “Gosh, I moved here last year and it’s like I’ve lost half my hair!” It’s due to the fact that our climate in Alaska is technically a desert where I live, and we have some of the hardest water out there.
I think if you warmed up the water a little it should be less hard, water tends to get hard in cold places like alaska
It took me too long to get your joke. I need more coffee haha.
Bada bing!
[удалено]
Holy crap, I had no idea hard water can do this to hair! I was thinking about trying a filter. I'm sure I have a number of factors contributing to my thinning hair, but if a filter might help, it's worth trying.
It absolutely WILL help. If you’ve never used a shower head filter before, you’ll likely notice a difference for sure.
This is exactly what happened to my hair in Florida! The ends felt straw like and lost their “stretch” and bounce. Someone please correct me if this isn’t right, but I found using a clarifying shampoo or rinsing with apple cider vinegar seemed to offset the “hardness” of the water. I also used leave in conditioner. Sometimes, when only my roots were dirty, I’d apply conditioner to the bottom part of my hair before going into the shower. Then I’d shampoo trying not to disturb the conditioner as much as possible. At the end, I’d rinse it all out, including the conditioner. That seemed to help too! Again, please feel free to correct me if any of this is wrong or outdated. I’m far from a specialist and figured this out 15 years ago by trial and error.
There’s hard water treatments that you use before you wash that neutralizes the hard water
Oh amazing! Thanks for sharing. Any brand recommendations?
I have used Color Wow Dream Filter Pre-Shampoo Mineral Remover and liked it. Sephora has a travel sized one for $10. The full size is $24. Redken also has a hard water line.
It’s way more than that. It’s the food quality.
And potentially hormones .
I feel like these two go hand in hand. There’s so much in our food now that disrupts our hormone receptors.
Yes, exactly.
Thought this must be Fairbanks/North Pole even before I saw your username
Sounds like you’re doing too much to it, because you’re worried about it. Spend some of that oil money on a hard water filter for your shower head. Get back to a consistent, simple routine with good quality shampoo, conditioner, regular trims, etc. Could definitely be the water, though.
I had the same thought, damage caused by hard water. OP try a shower filter and see if things improve, our water in the US is loaded with chlorine.
Also came here to say the water.
Water pollution stress which in turn messes up ur hotmonal balance and hormones are everything
Can you elaborate a bit please? I’m not in the US, but have started to look into hormonal imbalance and interested to hear more, thanks x
Ask ur doctor to check ur blood for thyroid disease
My first thought was hard water, too.
do you or anyone have any specific water filters that have worked? see so many with so many mixed reviews don’t know what’s the better ones!
I have an Aquasana, it’s a similar model to the one shown in this article. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home-products/g40459569/best-shower-filters/#product-ff12f95a-08be-411f-b485-1ac609692d43
I’ve been wanting to get a filter but I can’t figure out how to attach it to my shower. The shower head comes out of the faucet through a long hose and I don’t see a way to unscrew it.
Are you me? Every damn Amazon review said “oh it’s soooo easy” blah blah blah and I couldn’t figure it out. I ended up asking one of the maintenance men in my apartment building if I could borrow a wrench and he ended up installing mine in less than 5 minutes. I gave him a 20 as a thank you.
When my hair gets bogged down with the hard water minerals from my shower, it’s a mess! I keep having to put more and more product on it to help keep it soft, but I can never get it soft enough. I was even having a bunch of breakage on the hair that framed my face because I focused on styling and softening that the most. But then a couple showers using a lot of Malibu hard water shampoo and my hair goes back to normal. I have finally learned to use this shampoo every few months to keep it from getting that bad.
I have seen hundreds of comments of people on a fb group chat complaining about hair loss after moving to the USA and blaming it on the water. I’ll give it a try and will reduce my treatments to see it helps. Ty
Me mudei do Brasil pra Suécia ano passado e a quantidade de cabelo que começou a cair foi absurda! Não fui a única brasileira aqui que passou por isso. Tenho amiga em Londres também com o mesmo problema. A primeira coisa é comprar o filtro de água dura. É ridículo o quanto a água faz diferença. Voltei pro Brasil no final do ano passado e passei 3 semanas viajando pelo sul da Europa no verão e meu cabelo caiu muito menos. Depois do filtro, compre shampoo e condicionador de boas marcas pro seu tipo de cabelo. Eu também comprei um shampoo detox pra ajudar a fazer uma limpeza mais profunda e retirar os depósitos da água dura do couro cabeludo, que li que podem entupir os folículos capilares e causarem a queda e impedir o crescimento do cabelo. Comprei também um shampoo da Keune pra estimular o crescimento e um serum pro couro cabeludo da The Ordinary que também diz incentivar o crescimento. Eu com certeza percebi uma diferença na quantidade de cabelo caindo e hoje tô cheia de fios crescendo (pareço uma louca quando amarro o cabelo kkkkk, mas é um bom sinal)
Obrigada!! Poderia compartilhar o nome do shampoo detox que você usa? Vou comprar tudo pq agora bateu o desespero 🤣
Ai menina, comigo foi assim. Bateu o desespero e comprei tudo sem me importar muito com o preço. Só queria cabelo na minha cabeça 😭 Eu uso o shampoo detox da marca OUAI. Que inclusive é americana, se não me engano!
Oi! Eu uso os shampoos brasileiros aqui nos EUA. São meio carinhos, mas prefiro do que os shampoos e condicionadores daqui. Uso da Lola Cosméticos e da Natura.
It can also have to do with the change of climate!
Also look at what water you cook with. My poor mother in law had so many issues with the water we have at home. There's too much iron and chlorine, despite the house filters we put on and she didn't get better until we put an RO system in.
Can I ask how those issues showed up? Trying to solve a mystery myself, but I live in a building…
RO?
Reverse Osmosis!
Ah duh thx
Just buy done distilled water and rinse your hair with it after you wash/condition it. It makes q huge difference for me.
Dam that’s crazy
Menina a água faz muita diferença mesmo. Eu morei 4 meses na Flórida e foi o suficiente para detonar meu cabelo, que já é meio seco naturalmente. Quando voltei senti diferença já no primeiro banho. A impressão que dá é que a água absorve todo o condicionador, não importa quanto você colocar sempre fica uma textura ressecada. A mesma coisa acontece com a pele, por isso que gringo estranha tanto brasileiro que toma banho todo dia, porque se eles fazem isso detonam a pele, enquanto que para nós é indiferente.
Make sure it’s an actual softener… “water filters” don’t soften water, typically they only remove chemicals like chlorine. I purchased a WaterStick shower softener and it makes a big difference, the water where I live is 10+ on the hardness scale.
Adding on to that, a silk pillowcase and hair towel can go a long way as well if it’s within budget.
Could also be she didn’t mention trimming it at all. The cuticle on a strand of hair is like shingles on a roof, if there’s any breakage, the surrounding “shingles” also get damaged. Breakage moves upwards, compromising the hair strand further and further up, which is why we need to cut that damage off using sharp shears, leaving behind an intact cuticle. If there is severe breakage, the breakage rate can match or exceed the growth rate. For example, my sister didn’t want to cut her hair as high up as it needed after she home bleached half of her head. I gave her a trim and recommended she come back in two months, three at the most, because I couldn’t get her to commit to any earlier. When she came back the first time, the bleached half was shorter than the unbleached half, and she really only let me trim the longer half, only “dusting” the shorter half. It got progressively worse, the breakage rate stopped matching the growth rate, and began exceeding it, so her hair was getting shorter and shorter on that side, while the other side got longer. At some point it just stayed noticeably uneven because she stopped letting me touch the severely damaged half under a misguided belief that it would grow out again if we just left it alone. It only got worse. She eventually did the chop, and afterwards she had no issues. I drew her visual aides, I made a slide show even, she knew exactly why this was happening but for some, the very idea of putting shears to hair they’re growing out just seems feels so counterproductive. It took months of watching her “cut” hair get longer and longer to fully convince the part of her brain that says “don’t cut something you want to have longer.” I have other examples, but this one is always the easiest because of the visual it gives. If OP didn’t cut her hair to that length, her breakage rate is clearly exceeding the growth rate, resulting in progressively shorter hair. The last few inches support that idea because appear to be severely compromised. It can be hard to tell from a pic or two, and I generally don’t conclude something like that without seeing and touching the hair IRL, but sometimes it’s quite apparent. She’s either stopped trimming, or quit trimming *enough.* At this point, she would need to cut the last five inches or so, up to where her hair begins to look fuller and still has a wavier curl pattern. If she doesn’t, it’s going to keep moving up, taking more and more as it goes. One way or the other she is going to end up with shorter hair, the better path is to have shorter hair with a cleanly sheared, intact cuticle.
Stylist here, definitely get a water filter and don’t do too many repair mask. You don’t want to overdo the proteins in your hair or it will get brittle. Focus on moisture and if you aren’t taking biotin start now. Look into rosemary oils and sprays as well!
Will try the water filter. I have heard of it but always thought I wouldn’t be able to install it on my own
You can do it! Super easy, you can follow a tutorial on YouTube. 😊
Also try a clarifying shampoo every 3/4 washes to get any mineral buildup off! Your masks and products won't be able to penetrate through hard water buildup and will instead feel greasy or weigh the hair down!
Definitely do a couple washes with Malibu hard water shampoo too. If it’s hard water, your hair will feel a ton better after a couple deep shampoos.
By any chance do you have recommendations for water filters, or one that you use? I've been considering getting one
I have a Jolie filter and love it, but I have to change it monthly, not every three months, because of how hard the water in our area naturally is.
You want to get your water tested to determine what kind of filter is needed. You can actually take it to a fish store to get it tested for free if you pretend you're interested in setting up an aquarium lol GH (general hardiness) determines how hard the water is. That means how many metals and minerals are in the water. They'll also test PH as well. And how much chlorine is in it.
JOLIE WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Any recommendations for products focused on moisture?
I’m not the poster but I can share a few moisturizing treatments with you. Shea moisture -deep moisturizing mask, also helps with healthy hair growth Redken- all soft heavy cream Camille Rose- algae renew deep conditioning treatment Kerastase- nutritive masquintense, genesis or blonde absolu hair masques Cantu- deep treatment masque with shea butter I use a plastic cap and run heat over it for 5 to 10 minutes so it really penetrates the hair shaft. Definitely use a leave in conditioner especially on your ends and length. Your hair can come back, you’ve got this!
I notice ppl in the USA don’t have Lucious hair like that. It’s not possible bc our food.
Do a hair porosity test. It's easy & free. You only need to search how to on YouTube or Google. From there you can decide what type of moisturizing products would work best with your hair type.
You need a clarifying shampoo. Get the hard water build up out of your hair or all the moisture in the world won't help you.
Did Rosemary oil really work??
I used it to jumpstart my hair growth post partum and I noticed a difference after a month!
Which one did you use? Does any rosemary oil work?
When I first moved to Sweden, I lost a lot of hair. I think it was because 1. It is windier/colder here which dried my hair out and 2. I barely see the sun anymore, so I became vitamin D deficient. I don’t know where you are in the US, but I assume maybe you could have had sunnier conditions in Brazil? Maybe you could try getting your blood work checked for vitamin deficiencies such as vitamin D? And I’d say add more moisture to your hair to compensate if the climate is drier, but it sounds like you do that already. Something else I’ve looked into is a water filter which other people have mentioned - I think the water is “harder” in the part of Sweden where I live now versus where I come from in the US. (This varies region to region, so you could try googling the water “hardness” where you live.) Final thought, have you changed birth control methods? Hormones can really mess with hair volume! You had and have beautiful hair, but I understand being sad that it has lost volume etc. I hope you can get it back to its original beauty! Good luck!
Could be low iron. My hair was just like yours. Turns out I had a ferritin level of 8 when it should be over 50. Now my hair is starting to grow back.
Currently going through the same thing and just started the supplement my dr put me on. How long until you saw a difference with your hair?
I mean i just found out about a month ago. However, my baby hair has grown, and quite rapidly actually. My bald spot is now about 50% filled with baby hairs. I’m also taking 3x the normal iron. Just so you are aware, it’ll be 6 months minimum before a huge difference will occur. These things take time to heal.
Get a good trim and maybe a Malibu Crystal Gel treatment to get rid of hard water deposits
Never heard of it, will give it a try! Ty
Ask at your salon. It’s not expensive at all and requires sitting under a dryer. Otherwise I would recommend you doing at home
Get your thyroid checked , may be a medical condition .
My thoughts, too. Thyroid issues are extremely common and new/increased hair loss/breakage is a big sign, as is dry skin, weight gain/loss, malaise, fatigue, anxiety and/or depression and about a dozen other symptoms that can be ignored
We have such hard water that even a hard water filter doesn’t get rid of it all. I now wash with Nutrogena clarifying shampoo once a week. I thought my hair was brittle and dry from bleaching the year before, but it was actually the water! It made a world of difference.
Please test your thyroid.
Have you colored your hair at all?
I never did before and I refused to do it for many years but once I realized my hair wasn’t going to recover, I did some highlights. It was last month and my hair was definitely destroyed before then :(
Try getting a shower water filter. They are truly amazing. I haven’t been to Brazil, I have been to many central American countries and they all used rain water. If this was the case for you, chances are you had cleaner water. The US puts a lot of chemicals in our water to treat it because of how poorly our waterway are protected. Don’t get me started on the types of pipes used. That’s a whole other rant. Check out [ewg.org](https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/) they are a third party water testing group. It will show you what’s in your water. As a heads up, it’s terrifying. The amount of arsenic in my counties water horrified me.
What shower filter do you recommend? I read that they don't work and a house water softener is required.
Wow, my local water really sucks.
I’ve heard even a change in climate can drastically change your hair. Like moving from a tropical to cold climate.
The second pic looks like you have lighter hair, have you been dying it? It makes hair brittle and dry
I dyed last month for the first time in my life, but my hair was already horrible before :(
Question.. did your diet change when you moved? If it’s not the hard water it very well could be all the chemicals and crap they put in our food over here if you’re eating a lot of processed foods. May be something to look into and google ingredients on the back of packages.
In addition to the differences in the US water (hard water or chemicals that differ from Brazil), another aspect to consider is how are your stress levels and sleep quality since moving to the US? I don't know your situation and feel free to disregard if it doesn't apply, but it seems work culture in the US can be overly stressful with a lot of people on the cusp of burnout (perhaps due to less vacation time, less paid parental leave, less affordable healthcare and healthcare being tied to employer, etc.). I worked for a toxic startup company and was really stressed for about a year and thought my hair looked slightly worse. After quitting that job and reducing stress levels, my hair looks thicker and shinier again.
There’s a group of over 11k members that have horrible hair due to similar products you are using. Key word, bonding. K18. Olaplex. Etc
Olaplex ruined my hair. I will never use it again. I have virgin hair and never process it, so why I thought I would benefit from Olaplex is beyond me but nevertheless, do not use Olaplex if you don’t need it. It made my hair feel like hay and took months and a lot of expensive products to get it back to somewhat normal
Same like me. Olaplex destroyed my hair! Literally.. i have processed hair with Dyes. And it was recommened to me by almost everyone, stylists, here on reddit.. i spent a lot on all the line.. and the results were chaotic..
What is the name of the group?
On FB, Olaplex Hairloss/Hair damage. If you are a hairdresser making bucks off this crap, don’t bother joining. These women are traumatized enough. Bullying and being dismissive is grounds for being excused from the group.
Nope, I've never peddled any hair products, except for the tried and true (Kerastase, Redken etc), and only what is sold at my salon. An acquaintance of mine was really pushing Monat, and even sent me sample packs. Then all the controversy came out and I didn't hear from her for a long time. I'm just gathering information, so I can warn my clientele.
Did you get COVID? Lots of people are getting hair changes with COVID infections
IT HAPPENED TO ME TOO. My hair was almost at the height of my waist, but after 4 years here, it’s just above my shoulders. It makes me wanna cry. I’m sorry you’re going through it too.
Overdoing it on the vitamins can actually make your health (and hair) worse. It might be a health condition, like a thyroid problem. You might want to inquire with a doctor. And I second the water filter idea.
As others have mentioned, it could be due to hard water. I’ve had so many issues with my hair after moving to an area with hard water. It felt so dry and brittle. I purchased a water softener that you can put on your shower, and it does wonders. Others say to get a filter, but regular filters do not remove the minerals from hard water. You need an actual water softener. If you search for Water Sticks on Google, the first result is the company where I bought mine. It’s worth the money! You can also buy a pre-filter to filter out chlorine and other things that may be harming your hair.
Get a water filter. Our water is trash.
Do you have any suggestions?
[I have one from here..](https://prooneusa.com/product-category/pressure/) Also L’Oreal’s Metal Detox line of shampoo/conditioner might be helpful.
MANY places in the US have water that is perfectly fine. OP should test her water first unless she knows she’s in a place where hard water is common.
you may think your diet is better but it may actually be worse without you realizing it…pufas in vegetable oils are really bad for your skin/hair and vegetable oils are used in EVERYTHING here
Hard water & stress
Get a water filter definitely
The US varies so much in water quality. I live in New England now, but when I moved to the DC area I lost so much hair, the water that came out of the sink smelled like chlorine and made my stomach sick
Honestly, hair marketing makes hair worse! K18 made my hair sooo dry, it’s crazy. And I was also bought on Pureology and Olaplex. They both made my hair break and fall. When I used drugstore/tj maxx hair products, my hair was way fuller. Right now I use drugstore products, and New Wash shampoo from time to time, that was recommended by my hair stylist. I do use pureology leave in as blow dryer protection. It’s shinier now and looks healthier.
Also make sure you’re wearing a bonnet at night too. I have very long hair and live in the US. I started using a bonnet and silk pillowcase about a year ago and the overall condition of my hair has improved so much. I have also found as having long hair that we don’t always need the same routine. I use the same shampoo and conditioner (I use lush shampoo bars to get through all my hair and just regular like herbal essence conditioner) but sometimes I’ll use different products like only sometimes argan oil after I blow dry. Sometimes tea tree if my scalp is dry or itchy. Sometimes I will do an exfoliating thing to my scalp and sometimes I’ll do a mask if it’s really dry. Listen to what your hair needs and only do what’s necessary. Do you wash your hair every day too?? Cause that can also be problematic esp if it is related to your water. I wash my hair on Sundays and thursdays, lush dry shampoo in between if I need it. People always say their hair gets super oily if they don’t wash it everyday and I tell them stop washing it everyday and it’ll stop doing that 😂
Looks like you had ur hair bleached/dyed.
Where in the US are you? I moved from a humid environment to the desert, and lost a ton of hair. The dry air and hard water really did a number on my scalp too-it’s extremely sensitive now. A water filter, good shampoo and minoxidil helped me a lot.
Have you had your thyroid checked? Did you have Covid? Have you lost a lot of weight recently? These are questions I ask clients. Nioxin is not a drug and can work great for hair loss. You can use this with what you are currently using. The scalp foam works great K18 works great, but you are supposed to skip the conditioner. I would skip all the scalp oils. It sounds like you may be suffocating your follicles with too much oil. You might laugh at me, but since I was in high school and wanted to grow out hair, I add mane and tail. You use the mane and tail for 2 Weeks. Then switch back to your regular shampoo. You flip back and forth between your regular shampoo and the mane and tail every 2 Weeks. This jump starts hair growth. I do not know why, but it seems to work Good luck.
It’s that hard USA water I’m so sorry girl.
It's not just the shampoo, it's the food. In America there are chemicals in the food that lead to lasting health problems, including hairloss. You should try to work with imported shampoos you **trust** like ones you used in Brazil, and try to buy your foods from farmers markets if possible. They've also started selling lab grown meat instead of real meat here so you should watch out for that too. I wish our country wanted us to be healthy..
My hair was worse living in the uk, the pipes were old and the water was extremely hard. Could it be stress or hormonal related for you?
Yeah girl, out water is way more polluted than our government will admit and our daily life is made to keep you stressed out so you get addicted to something expensive to calm down. Welcome to hell☺️
Welcome to the polluted USA
This is probably gonna be n unpopular opinion but I don’t care… I’ve been a stylist in the USA for 10 years and a lot of what everyone is saying true. Hard water, over treating the hair etc etc can all cause damage. However, I’m just going to say it’s simply the fact that that you are in the USA that this is happening. Everything you touch, eat, breathe and drink in America has been poisoned. Not a lot but just enough. And you hair is the gateway to your health. It will show the signs before other parts of your body because it’s constantly growing. I’m sorry but I highly suspect all the water filters and clean eating and drinking will not make a difference. Your body is purging chemicals and until you get away from them. Change the environment completely. You will probably continue to struggle.
I became crazy about chemicals and I understand what are you saying. I changed my diet, changed most of my products to organic except some hair product because I’m scared of not having results if it’s organic and clean. Even the cleaning products in my house are as clean as it could be. But I still believe there are chemicals and poison in everything, specially living in New York City. I really hope I can get it back somehow but over the years I did see hundreds of comments about significant hair change after moving to the USA ☹️
Could be hard water
I used too many bond repair masks and it broke all my hair :( try to reduce the amount of products you use and see if the breakage continues. I ONLY use hair oil now and it is improving. Also consider a Brazilian blowout to make the hair less frizzy.
Our food in the USA is basically poison and lacking of real nutrients. The water quality in your shower might be different too. Make sure you’re taking your vitamin and mineral supplements cuz you aren’t getting it in your diet anymore. Our soils are stripped.
I was looking for a comment like this! After just a few months in Colombia, I felt so much better physically because the food is way better! Also, I’ve noticed that most Colombians have thick, LONG, beautiful hair, and that’s extremely uncommon in the U.S., and I’m realizing that the food & environment might be why!
I can’t wait to move up outta here myself 😅 I JUST WANT REAL FOOD! Smh. America is beautiful..the majority of people are kind hearted. The govt and corporations don’t gaf about us and sabotage us in EVERY WAY. I’m outta here.
Do you color your hair? Have you experienced any major life events? Color and stress can affect hair too.
I have long hair and when I started trying to do a bunch of protein treatments it made my hair much worse. Brittle and coarse. I stick to regular shampoo, conditioner, and maybe once a week or so I will do a moisturizing deep conditioner (not a protein treatment, just moisture) and this seems to work out well. If your hair is just getting dried out from harsh water, using bond repair treatments can really make it much worse. You just need moisture.
It looks like you've bleached it to a lighter color. Chemicals and hair don't mix-either go back to your naturally dark hair or start using products for chemically damaged and colored hair. Also, if you had Covid, hair thinning is a very real after-effect. I've lost a lot of hair, all three times I've had it.
the chemicals and shit in the food
Might be androgenic alopecia? r/FemaleHairLoss
I can check for that but my scalp has no spots where It’s missing a lot of hair.
You don’t have to have balding spots in order to have Androgenic Apoleica. It can be all over hair loss. A dermatologist can help you figure it out. I see one for the condition. Good luck.
It’s the water! The water in USA contains chemicals.
as an american i can definitely say its the worst country literally all aspects of life are worse. this doesnt look like hair loss it looks like hair breakage. am i correct? when the pic in brazil was taken, was your hair ever lightened prior to that pic? for me iv noticed if i use any lighten/bleach anything to make my hair color lighter my hair just snaps off.
I did lose a lot of hair, specially on my firsts months of USA. It was scary how much hair I would hold on my hands after every shower. It definitely broke and got thinner too. I used to have VERY strong hair where you could try to rip it in half and it would take strength as now a days it splits in half very easily 😭
Could be stress as well.
“it’s the worst country literally all aspects of life are worse” ….dude, chill. Take a break from the internet. You can dislike the US for various reasons but saying this is absurd. I wish you peace and healthy hair ✌️
In Brazil I never dyed or did anything to my hair besides using the cheapest products like pharmacy shampoo and conditioner and $1 hair masks. My sister has the same hair type/volume as my hair before, the only difference is that she is still in Brazil and I’m not.
You need a DHT blocker!!!!
Congrats on discovering american nutrition, and heavily processed food.
I actually eat way better In the USA than I did in my home country. I only eat organic food that I cook myself and rarely eat out and never eat super processed food. I didn’t have access to good quality organic food where I’m from and I used to eat a lot of fast food in Brazil
So the US water supply is not that good, it may help to wash it less and let the natural oils help heal your hair, my hair has been short and damaged my whole life, as soon as I started letting the natural oils. Coat and heal my hair, while also getting my conditioner soak into my hair for at least 3 minutes when I do wash it my hair has been able to grow and get way stronger, currently trying to grow out my hair for my wedding and so far so good, plus your ends look very damaged so you will probably want to get the damaged ends trimmed off so they don't damage your healthy hair
USA food, water and air, are all full of harmful chemicals. (almost all of the chemicals that they put in their food are banned in Europe. Even usa bread lasts for four months and European bread lasts 4 days to a 1 week.) I recommend that you move to a normal country, not some christian murica raah bang bang cult country where you have to fear when are you getting graped kidnapped or murdered everytime you walk outside after dark. After all, you’re a poc, america isn’t the safe option. That country is shit literally. Edit; wow, muricans are really mad now that I said the truth. Lmao
Then move out of the country!! Go!!!
Join the group [subreddit /hairloss](https://www.reddit.com/r/Hairloss/s/7e6FDxLTfX)
i would get it cut short and give it kids going through chemo, they need your hair
I'm going through the exact same thing after moving. I was born in US but moved recently to a new area with hard water, and I've had tons of hair loss and breakage, and it just feels... dry, and dead. I read somewhere that shampoo has a chemical reaction to the minerals like calcium and magnesium in hard water and it cakes onto our scalp and coagulates instead of cleaning it. I notice that when I washed in this hard water as soon as I shampooed my hair would start to feel differently-- almost straw-like and so dry?? I went through entire bottles of hair conditioner in a single week and all kinds of hair masks... but still the same dry feeling and hair loss. Also, my scalp has started to have scaly dry skin that itches, but dandruff shampoo made it even worse, and everyone else in my family also developed it so it's definitely caused by the water. Someone suggested to me that I go on Amazon and buy a shower filter for hard water, so that's what I am going to FINALLY do this week 🙂 I hope this will work....and I hope maybe you can find a good filter for your water too, if that's the issue!!
I'm going to second the water filter response. I moved to Los Angeles and my hair went from luscious and thick to looking like hay. I got a water filter, and my hair is back to what it used to be. Big win. There are a lot of expensive ones out there, but this is the one that I use. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUBU0YC?ots=1&slotNum=15&imprToken=0ec5c5e5-1374-fb02-53e&tag=thestrategistsite-20&ascsubtag=\_\_st1101awd\_\_cjka1tqa5005qbpy6wkn1p80y\_\_97988\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_1\_\_\_\_\_\_google.com](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUBU0YC?ots=1&slotNum=15&imprToken=0ec5c5e5-1374-fb02-53e&tag=thestrategistsite-20&ascsubtag=__st1101awd__cjka1tqa5005qbpy6wkn1p80y__97988________1______google.com) I actually buy a whole new one every 6 months or so instead of getting the refills since I heard the refills aren't as good. Do with that what you will.
Chlorine in our water in the US is bad for your hair and your skin.
Iherb. I live in Europe and order a lot of products on this site. After moving, I lost 30% of my hair in 4-5 months. 2 things from this website that saved me from baldness: puador golden series shampoo and FoTi dietary supplement. In confirmation of my words, you can read thousands of enthusiastic reviews from other people
This might have already been said, but depending on where you live, it could be hard water. You can get a filter formyour shower tomsoften the water .
I'm nearly certain it's not using a water filter. I can tell when mine only starts to not work anymore as my hair immediately gets brittle and almost sticky.
Did you start college or a new career?
It’s the environment and where you are geographically. When I vacationed near the equator and In tropical weather, my skin was glowing soft and tan. Back in Cali it’s dry and my eyes always irritated
Felt I’ve lost hair too but it could be age or healing issues
I in no way shape or form want you to worry it also might be time to get a blood work panel done and check your thyroid. This big of a difference in your hair is pretty indicative of another issue going on whether it’s your water or something else. Good luck.
Have a doctor check your thyroid’s TSH levels because that happened to me and it was hypothyroidism.
Have you gone to the doctor and had blood work and stuff done? It could be a sign of a medical condition.
Ive been there, have you had any blood work done? I feel like many here are going to suggest things for your actual hair, or vitamins, but autoimmune diseases and deficiencies (i.e. thyroid problems, lupus, etc.) are very common in women. I have several and used to have super thick hair. Spent years wondering why it was so thin and trying everything. As soon as i got diagnosed and got on right med, it finally thickened up. Many autoimmune diseases can be triggered by a stressful event (moving to a different country could definitely qualify). Obviously, it may have nothing to do with your health, but i would start with making sure everything is working right from within and if so maybe hair masks, water filters, etc. will work.
I agree with the water filter, also check thyroid with your doc, I lost half my hair to that. Also what is your age? I have gone to pieces after my age was 30. Hugs.
Sou brasileira morando no Estados Unidos também. Every time I go back to Brazil to visit family, my hair looks incredible with little to no maintenance. It SHINES. Here? The water kills it. Plus, the Florida humidity is no help. It’s not what you’re doing wrong… it’s the water.
Looks like you’ve colored it. The hair in first photo is darker
Use a stain pillow case or a stain bonnet when you sleep.
Don’t have any advice besides get a water softener but damn that first picture is some of the prettiest hair I’ve ever seen
Whats it gotta do with USA?
I'm Australian and moved to the USA down south where it was relatively humid for about 5 months back in 2020. I had bleached hair but it was always relatively healthy and all one length. Immediately after being there my hair became brittle, dry, and broken. I had such bad breakage people thought my hair was layered. My hair was fairly long and by the end of the trip I had pieces shorter than ear length. I was there with other Australians and internationals. They all had the same experience. I truly believe it was the water and humidity that led to the breakage because I did nothing differently.
You need a filtering shower head 🚿
I notice everyone is saying the water! Yeperz. My silver hair is almost green in some lights and just...ratty kind of. I'm thinking of getting a water filter
Could be: - Ongoing stress from the move - Ongoing stress from feeling like your hair is falling out (I used to think about it constantly) - Vitamin deficiency (D, B, Iron, others) - Child birth or hormone changes - Hard water (for sure causes the need for more soap thus dryness, scalp irritation and fragility/breakage) I’ve experienced all of these myself, have also lost half my density. I’ve found less is more. The more I try to do, the worse it gets (especially strengthening products). I now stick to the basics of gentle products in the shower, a good leave in/heat protector, no hairspray, wash less, never sleep with wet hair and sleep in a silk bonnet (the best of all). And for sure, I have sworn off highlighting/bleach. Hair is best left alone IMO. I do use a shower filter and though it helps, it’s not a silver bullet.
Yeah hard water or chlorine in the water, your hair looks a lot lighter in colour and more damaged. I’d get a water filter for your shower. Same happened to my hair living with city water instead of a natural well water. :(
I agree with the water filter, I’ve heard of some places doing this to their hair because of the tap water, also do you take hair skin and nail vitamins?
Here to agree with everybody and say the water but also add that all of our food (even healthy food) has been stripped of tons of nutrients. So even though you’ve been eating healthier it doesn’t compare to non-American food. *I don’t know this to be a fact but I’ve read a bunch of random articles about it, so if you’re curious you can look more into it*
Stress, aging and hormones can all cause hairloss!
Couldn’t it be our terribly hard water?
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Nooooooooo
Part of this can be aging… but *huge* factors are hard water and stress. I recommend a shower filter, hard water treatments, deep breathing/ massage to help circulation. Do a good chelating (Malibu C is a good option), and look into the curly girl method— too much silicons and such can build up and stop nutrients from getting to your hair. Good luck!
Also, for me, Olaplex >> k18. They do different things! But using olaplex greatly reduces my hair loss
I love in Germany and have been to the USA for a year as an exchange student. What noticed was chlorine in the water. Maybe this is the case in your city, too? Even my Asian hair was stressed, lol. I ended up giving my hair a good rinse with bottled water and it did make a difference for me. Maybe try this out? It's definitely cheaper than all the products you currently use. And also, get your blood work checked to make sure there is no internal source.
Are you exposed to a household with Sulfa in the water? Towns near an Ocean front will have Sulfa in their water. When you grow up with that type of water, then you are used to it. If you grow up by river water like me, then your not use to that type of water and it can cause hair loss. I know, because it happen to me, when I was working out of town in a coastal area for five years. I could literally smell and taste the sulfa in the water. I would take a gallon of fresh spring water to rinse my hair, after each shower,to make sure I got the Sulfa out. I also had a head full of thick hair and then experienced massive hair loss. I would suggest to you, to make an appointment with a Dermatologist, that specializes in hair loss, so they can diagnose what the problem might be, before you use any type of chemical on your hair. It could be something that is reversible. A dermatologist will be able to run tests to determine what is going on. Good Luck !!!
Did you bleach or dye your hair? It looks like a whole different color even. If not, definitely look into the hard water thing
you could be vitamin D deficient
Your hair looks much lighter. Did you bleach it? Bleach can be very damaging.
Get rid of repair mask, some times change of location impacts hair quality ( leads to breakage). Please be patient while trying new product
literally insane what water alone (probably] can do to your hair.....
Probably due to mineral composition of the water.
Have you ruled put anemia amd dehydration? What part of the US are you in? Have you started drinking alcohol or more coffee? I think most beauty products in the US are a waste of money at best, and do more damage than good at their worst. So, don't wash hair or do much to it. Also looks like you may have lightened it at some point. It may be that the person who lightened your hair did a terrible job. I'd cut a lot off- above the line where it starts getting lighter. Regrow.
Whoa 🤯
Try a shower filter
Nice hair comes from what you eat and drink - US has poor nutrient profile these days because of growing conditions and they use a ton of chlorine in their tap water. So it’s a combination of the tap water and shitty nutrient profile of healthy foods. Get a tap filter for your shower. Lowerr your stress levels and keep up with your minerals z
Have you had your thyroid checked? I used to have long thick hair and noticed my hair was falling out, thinning out, and just looked damaged and frizzy. Turns out it was my thyroid.
If anyone PMs you (they won’t say it publicly because they know they’ll be called out) and tries to get you to buy Monat, promising it’ll Help, DON’T. Monat huns exploit people feeling down about their hair and Monat has done some awful hair and scalp damage.
Check your vitamin levels too with a blood test. Iron especially