Have you ever stepped out of the shower and noticed that your hair seems thinner when wet?
The culprit is water! Hair, like its skin, appears to lose volume and wilt when wet. It is especially the case if you have curly or thick hair.
The moisture from the water also weighs the hair down, giving wet hair the appearance of having less volume than dry hair. When it becomes saturated with water and dries, the hair can appear thin on top of being frizzy.
Reasons Your Hair Looks Thinner When Wet
So, why does your hair look thinner when it’s wet? Here are some reasons why this happens:
Water Seeps Inside Hair
When you soak your hair with water, thinning wet hair, water from the inside of your hair will seep to the outside. The more you saturate your hair with water, the more water seepage. It makes your hair appear thinner and less thick.
Water Thins Hair
Water molecules are heavier than air molecules, which gives a sense of clumping together. This makes the strands more prominent when standing upright rather than lying flat on your head, which happens when wet.
Dry Hair Appears Thicker
You can store water in your hair when it is dry. It means that if you wait until your hair is dry before styling it, it will appear thicker.
Hair stylists such as Victoria Beckham and Jeremy Scott recognize the extra weight of wet hair and how it makes your hair look thinner when it is at rest. Many female singers also admit how this happens to them.
Hair Style Needs to Be Slicked
When your hair is wet, it takes the form of a ribbon, meaning that hair on a top-knot is much thicker than those on an updo or ponytail. It can give your hair the appearance of being thicker even though it is thinned out when wet.
The Hair That Remains is Thinner
The strands of hair that remain are much thinner, making the hair look thinner when it’s at rest, even though it’s thick when wet.
Is Thinning Wet Hair a Sign of Hair loss?
It can signify hair loss if you notice your hair looks thinner when wet.
When hair is wet, it clumps together, and moisture weighs it down, making it appear flat and more compact. Without the usual volume, you can better understand how far hair loss has gone.
Reasons You May Be Experiencing Hair Loss
Here are common reasons why hair loss occurs:
Aging
Hair thins naturally with age. When aging, hair becomes thinner, but this doesn’t mean that you will lose your hair entirely because there is still plenty of hair on your scalp. Men and women are not exempt from this phenomenon.
Stress
Although stress can make your hair thin, it doesn’t mean that there is a natural hair loss problem. Instead, there is a mental stress problem that causes hair loss to occur.
Genetics
Hair loss is genetic. Genetics, along with the other factors mentioned above, can play a significant factor in your hair loss.
How to Treat Hair Loss
Are there ways to stop hair loss? If you’ve noticed your hair is thinning when wet, here are some habits you can try to incorporate to reverse hair loss.
Massage Your Scalp
When you massage your scalp, the blood flow to the skin increases, promoting hair growth. Massaging also allows more oxygen to reach your hair follicles, making them healthier and thicker.
Eat Fatty Fish
Including certain foods in your diet can help promote hair growth. Fatty fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon, and trout contain omega-3 fatty acids. It makes your hair healthier than before because it is rich in protein and vitamins, which explains why it can make it thick and strong.
Give Your Hair Protein
Your hair grows when it has protein. If you give your hair protein, it will become thicker, and the strands will be much stronger. So, you can get some protein from eggs and meat, for example, chicken breast and beef steak. The best sources are fish because they are rich in proteins such as tuna, mackerel, sardines, and trout.
Is a Hair Transplant Right for You?
If your hair looks noticeably thinner, a hair transplant is a possible long-term solution to restoring your hair.
The doctors at Natural Transplants are here to help you answer any questions or concerns you have about hair loss. Our hair transplant clinic will provide an honest assessment of your hair loss and recommended next steps. We have clinics in Fort Lauderdale, FL and Bethesda, MD.