A simple guide to thinning hair

Everyone loses about 50 to 100 hairs a day. You will see them in the brush and the shower drain. That is your hair doing what it is supposed to do.

What matters is a change. More hair than usual. A part that keeps getting wider. A ponytail that feels smaller in your hand.

You will notice it long before anyone else does. That is normal too.

For most women, it runs in the family. Your mother or grandmother may have had the same thing.

It happens slowly, over years. The part gets wider. The top and crown get thinner. The hairline usually stays where it is.

This kind does not grow back on its own. But it can be covered very well.

A big shock to the body — having a baby, surgery, a bad illness, a crash diet, losing someone — can make a lot of hair shed at once. This usually shows up two to four months later, so it rarely feels connected. The good news is it often grows back.

A thyroid problem or low iron can both thin your hair. Both are common. Both are found with a simple blood test.

Menopause, starting or stopping birth control, and PCOS all change hormones, and hormones change hair.

Tight ponytails, buns, braids, or badly fitted extensions pull on the roots for years. Caught early, this recovers. Left too long, it does not.

Some medicines list hair loss as a side effect. If yours started after a new prescription, that is worth asking about.

Maria is a hairdresser, not a doctor. She cannot tell you why your hair is thinning, and she will not pretend to.

Please make a doctor's appointment if you notice any of these:

A topper. This is a small piece of hair that clips on at your part or crown. It adds hair exactly where yours has thinned. Your own hair stays out around it. It is not a wig — a wig covers your whole head.

A better cut. Long hair hangs flat and makes thin hair look thinner. Taking weight out in the right places can make the same hair look much fuller. This costs nothing extra.

Smarter color. A dark head of hair against a pale scalp shows every gap. Softening that difference hides a lot.

Honest advice about extensions. Extensions add length and weight. If your hair is already fine or shedding, the wrong ones pull on hair you cannot spare. If you want thickness rather than length, a topper is the better answer.

Out of the box, a topper looks fake. The color is generic and the ends are all the same length. That is what people picture when they picture a hairpiece.

Maria colors it to your hair and cuts it into your own hair before you leave. That is the whole difference.

You take it off at night. You wash it separately. You move the clips around so the same hairs are not always holding it.

It will not make your own hair fall out when it is fitted properly.

Maria works in her own room with a door that shuts. It is just the two of you. No salon floor, nobody listening.

A consultation is $50, and it comes off the price if you decide to get a piece.

Plenty of people come in with no plan to buy anything. They just want to know what their options are. That is a completely fine reason to come.