Thinning hair: care routine and when to see a dermatologist
10 min read Hair concerns Updated 5 October 2026 By Anna Sophie Schulenburg
To care for thinning hair, use a light routine that keeps the scalp clean, protects every strand you still have from breakage and lifts the roots. First work out whether hairs are falling out at the root or snapping along the length, and if the loss is sudden, comes out in clumps or leaves patches, your first stop is a dermatologist. Photos of your parting and your ponytail, taken every four weeks in the same light, show you whether anything is changing.
Less fullness: what is actually happening in the mirror
How full hair looks depends on two things: how many hairs grow and how thick each one is. Every hair grows for several years, then rests for about three months and falls out while the next one pushes through in the same spot. Hair can start to look sparse in three ways. If a trigger sends many hairs into the resting phase at once, they fall out together two to three months later. If the hair follicles shrink over many cycles, each new hair grows back a little thinner, and the parting widens over the years. If the hair snaps along its length, the root is fine; the hairs simply no longer reach the ends.
Fine hair belongs to none of these groups. Each strand is naturally thin, the number of hairs is normal, and your ponytail has never been any thicker than it is today. If what you mostly lack is lift at the roots, you want more volume for fine hair. Thinning hair means low density that keeps getting lower: your hair tie needs one more twist than a year ago, or your parting shows more scalp under bright light.
Self-check: thinning hair, breakage or fine hair?
Look at a few hairs that have come out. A small pale bulb at one end is the root, so that hair has fallen out; a blunt or frayed end means it snapped. Length also helps with telling hair breakage from hair loss: hairs that fell out are usually full length, while broken pieces are shorter and vary in length.
The pull test shows whether more hair is coming out than usual. On hair you have not washed for a day, take a section of about 50 hairs between your thumb and index finger and pull it slowly outwards. If more than five or six hairs stay in your hand, a larger share is currently in the resting phase. Repeat this in three places: at the parting, at the temple and at the back of your head.
| What you notice | What is usually behind it | What you do now |
|---|---|---|
| Your ponytail has always been slim, your hair feels soft and thin | Fine hair, meaning a thin strand | Volume care and a cut that shows off fullness |
| Short broken hairs at the parting, hairs without a bulb in your brush | Breakage from friction, heat or colouring | Cut back on friction and heat, care for the lengths |
| More hair in your brush everywhere for a few weeks, the pull test is positive | A temporary increase in shedding after a trigger | Think back over the last three months, start taking photos |
| Your parting widens over months, your front hairline stays put | Inherited loss of density | Talk to a dermatologist early, use care for fullness |
| Sparse patches at the temples or forehead, you often wear tight braids or ponytails | Tension on the hair follicles | Loosen your hairstyle, change the position |
| A round, smooth bald patch or a red, flaking scalp | Alopecia areata or a scalp condition | See a dermatologist without waiting |
Does one of the first three rows sound like you? The free hair analysis asks about your hair, scalp and habits one by one.
Where thinning hair comes from
The most common reason for density that eases off slowly is an inherited predisposition. In women, the parting typically widens while the hairline at the forehead stays where it is. Hair care cannot change that. Medical treatments do exist, and the best time to discuss which one might suit you with a dermatologist is early on.
Just as common is a wave of shedding after a trigger: giving birth, an infection with a high fever, an operation, a crash diet, stopping the pill, severe stress or a new medication. Because two to three months pass in between, the link often goes unnoticed. In most cases the shedding settles after a few months. Hair loss after pregnancy usually starts two to four months after the birth and generally calms down within a year. During the menopause, the strand itself changes along with your hormones, and many women find their hair during the menopause grows back finer and drier.
Breakage and tension are in your own hands. Bleached lengths, hair you straighten often or brush while wet snap more easily. A tight ponytail in the same spot, extensions or tightly woven braids pull on the hairs at the edges for months until sparse patches appear at the temples and forehead. Less often, iron deficiency, a thyroid disorder or a scalp condition is behind it, and only a doctor can establish that.
The complete care routine for thinning hair
The routine has four steps and protects the hair you have. The amounts are for shoulder-length hair; for chin-length hair use about half, for chest-length hair double.
Step 1 — Wash your scalp. Wash as often as your roots need it, which for many women is every two to three days. A hazelnut-sized amount of shampoo goes only on your wet scalp and is worked in with your fingertips; the lengths get clean as you rinse. If you used a lot of styling product the day before, wash twice. One option is the IR Clinical™ Thickening Shampoo from MONAT.
Step 2 — Condition the lengths. Apply a hazelnut-sized amount of conditioner from ear level down, leave it for two minutes and use that time to detangle with a wide-tooth comb, working up from the ends. Then rinse with cool water. From the same line, the IR Clinical™ Thickening Conditioner fits here. If your roots lie flat once dry, the conditioner went too high.
Step 3 — Apply a scalp serum. On towel-dried hair, use a tail comb to draw partings about two centimetres apart. Apply the serum straight onto the exposed scalp, in the amount given on the pack, and massage it in with your fingertips for a minute. Leave it in. The IR Clinical™ Hair Thinning Defense is designed as cosmetic scalp care for fuller-looking hair. It does not make new hair grow.
Step 4 — Blow-dry the roots first. Dry your roots upside down or against the direction of growth, on a medium setting and 15 cm away, and only then the lengths. If you like, work a walnut-sized amount of volumising mousse into the roots only beforehand. Oil belongs on the ends alone, and one or two drops are enough.
You can disguise a sparse spot at the parting with powder or hair fibres in the shade of your roots. Dab them onto dry, finished hair, and your next wash takes them out again.
If you use MONAT: The IR Clinical™ system is meant for hair whose density is going down. If your hair is fine but dense, the Revive™ line suits you better: it gives your roots volume and leaves the number of hairs as it is. Whether you need Revive or IR Clinical comes down to that distinction. If your scalp feels tight and dry, the MONAT Scalp Comfort™ Rebalancing Serum adds to the routine. It does not treat dandruff or eczema.
Five habits cost thinning hair more strands than necessary:
- A tight ponytail every day in the same spot → loose at the nape, with a spiral hair tie, at a different height each day.
- Brushing wet hair → a wide-tooth comb, from the ends upwards.
- Rubbing with a towel → squeeze the water out, use a microfibre towel or an old T-shirt.
- Oil or a mask right up to the roots → lengths and ends only.
- Straighteners on the highest setting → 160 to 180 °C and heat protection before every pass.
Home remedies and myths about thinning hair
| Remedy or belief | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Rosemary oil | Worth a try, diluted only | The research on rosemary oil is thin, and neat oil irritates the scalp. |
| Caffeine shampoo | Fine as a shampoo | It stays on the scalp for only a minute or two; an effect on density has not been shown. |
| Biotin and hair vitamins | Only for a proven deficiency | Biotin deficiency is rare, and high-dose biotin skews some lab results. |
| Washing less often to save hairs | Does nothing | Washing only loosens hairs that were going to fall out anyway. |
| Scalp massage | Feels good, barely studied for density | It spreads the serum evenly and relaxes you; solid studies on hair density are missing. |
| Cutting it so it grows back thicker | Myth | A cut never reaches the root. A blunt line at chin to shoulder length does look fuller, though. |
Photos in the same light: what you see after four weeks and three months
How things look in the mirror changes with your mood and the light, and a photo log makes the progress comparable. On day one and then every four weeks, photograph your parting from above and your ponytail from behind, always at the same window in daylight, from the same distance and with dry hair combed the same way. Note down how many times you wrap your hair tie.
After the first wash with the new routine you can judge whether your roots stand higher and your hair has more grip. After four weeks, repeat the pull test in the same three places and count whether fewer short broken hairs stick up at the parting. After three months, put the first and the last photo side by side. Hair grows about one centimetre a month; if little hairs are growing back at the parting, they will be about three centimetres long by then and show up in the photo as short, upright fuzz. If your parting has widened after three months, or more hair keeps falling out all over, take it to a doctor before you try the next product.
When to see a dermatologist and which blood tests to ask about
Hair care can neither find a cause nor treat one. Have your hair looked at by a doctor if any of these apply:
- Your hair falls out suddenly or in clumps, clearly more than usual within a few weeks.
- Round, smooth bald patches appear. Alopecia areata belongs with a dermatologist because it can be treated and can spread without treatment.
- The shedding started two to three months after giving birth, an infection with fever, an operation or a new medication and has lasted longer than three months. Do not stop a medication on your own; talk to the doctor who prescribed it first.
- Your scalp is red, burns, hurts, has scaly crusts or pustules, or there are shiny areas with no visible hair openings. Some kinds of inflammation destroy hair follicles permanently if they are not treated early.
- Your parting keeps getting wider over months.
At your GP or dermatologist you can ask about ferritin, your iron store, about the thyroid value TSH and about a full blood count. An empty iron store does not always show up in a blood count on its own, which is why asking about ferritin is worthwhile. If irregular periods, new acne or more body hair have come along too, mention that as well. The doctor decides which tests make sense and what a result means. If you take biotin, say so beforehand, because it skews some lab results. Bring your photos and a list of everything that has changed in the last six months.
What care can do
Support cleansing, conditioning, manageability, shine, frizz control, protection from avoidable breakage and a fuller-looking appearance, depending on the product and its substantiated claims.
What it cannot do
Diagnose disease, correct hormonal causes, create new follicles or permanently fuse fully split hair ends.
Cosmetic support for thinning-looking hair
Core routine
- IR CLINICAL™ SYSTEM
Optional
- MONAT SCALP COMFORT™ REBALANCING SERUM
A cosmetic routine for fuller-looking hair; not a substitute for medical assessment. Track progress fairly over 30/60/90 days with photos.
Right away
Right after styling, existing hair can look fuller and feel more textured.
With continued use
With regular cosmetic use, hair can look denser and stronger over a few weeks and avoidable breakage can go down.
What it can't do
It doesn't trigger new hair growth and neither identifies nor treats a medical cause; for sudden, patchy or persistent loss please see a doctor.
Quick questions
How many hairs a day is it normal to lose?
About 50 to 100 hairs a day count as normal. On wash days it is more, because the hairs from the previous days come loose too. What tells you something is the change over several weeks.
Can thinning hair become denser again?
That depends on the cause. After a trigger, hair grows back in most cases, and once the breakage stops, the short hairs at the parting simply keep growing. With inherited loss of density, a dermatologist will go through the options with you; there, care only makes the hair you have look fuller.
What helps men with thinning hair?
The same order as for women: find out what is behind it first, then care for it. In men, inherited hair loss usually begins with a receding hairline at the temples or a sparse spot at the crown, and a dermatologist is the right person to talk to about treatment options. A shorter cut and a matte styling product at the roots let less scalp show through.
Can I dye thinning hair?
Yes. A colour close to your natural shade gives each strand more grip, and a slightly lighter shade reduces the contrast between hair and scalp at the parting. Heavy bleaching at the roots, on the other hand, weakens the hair and increases breakage. Do the patch test from the pack leaflet 48 hours beforehand, even if you already know the colour.
The free hair analysis asks about your density, scalp and habits and suggests a routine that suits you before you take your first photo.