Signs of Thinning Hair

Men are more likely to experience thinning hair than women. Nearly 25 percent of all males start thinning before the age of 30 according to Medline Plus. For females, thinning occurs less often and much later in life. All people, regardless of underlying condition, will experience some thinning during their lifetime because hair naturally thins with age. However, this type of thinning is normally is not very noticeable.

Excessive Hair Loss

The average person sheds approximately 100 hairs per day. Generally, new hair grows in at about the same rate and remains on the head for 4½ years. Excessive hair loss may result in hair thinning if the amount of hair shed is greater than the amount of new hair growth. Excessive loss--anything over 100 hairs per day--is fairly evident. Hair clogging the drain, cushions of hair stuck in the hairbrush and large amounts of hair on clothing and furniture are telltale signs of thinning hair.

Visual Observations

Most thinning doesn't occur from excess shedding, but rather from dead hair follicles. Once a follicle becomes dead or dormant, it can no longer produce hair. This most commonly occurs in men, but it can affect women, as well. Men will start noticing more scalp and fewer hairs at both corners of the front hairline and at the top of the crown. The thinning areas affect the way the hair sits when you style it, and can also make certain parts of the hair look too thick. This occurs most often in the bang or peak area of the front hairline.
For women, the visual observations are much different. The hairline normally stays intact. Thin spots are not common. Rather, women will see a generalized thinning all over the head. The first signs of this type of thinning are evident during styling. Positioning and styling the hair becomes more difficult as the hair thins. The style may also fall out very easily. Gradually, women will start to see more scalp and fewer hairs all over the head.

Receding Hair Line

Two-thirds of men will notice a thinning hairline before age 60. They will see thin spots first at the top outer corners of the front hairline. The hairline gradually becomes more triangular or peaked in a condition called a widow's peak. Thinning of the crown appears shortly afterward in males experiencing hair loss because of male-pattern baldness.
Female-pattern baldness, like male-pattern baldness, is a hereditary condition. The hair line in women does not recede, but it may become so thin that it resembles the sewn-in hair of a baby doll.