29 Year Old with thin and dry hair. Full Story.

Hi folks, just found this forum and I am hoping it might help me get some information I need to improve my scalp and hair.  I still need to read and figure out my approach, but I really wanted to let you guys in on my experiences to see if you know the primary issues I've been having and how to resolve them.

First off,  I am 29 now but let's start when I was 18.  Back then I was voted Best Hair of my graduating class (funny).  My hair was about the thickest it could be for a white guy and it was much darker then.  It could be oily at times, but my hair seemed really healthy.  I joined the Air Force when I was 21 and some weird stuff started happening.  I noticed my hair started to thin on the very top while the remaining hair was smaller diameter follicles and turning lighter colored.  When I was about 23 I remember having what I guess is dandruff.  It would not really fall easily as I would have to irritate or rub my hair to get it to come out.  Something I never understood was something that was similar to crystals would fall off my scalp.  Seriously, they were fairly dense and clear (meaning no white pigment).  Moving on to today my hair has seemed to slow in thinning and I still have a decent amount because it was so thick to begin with.  It is however very dry and I still have the more oily type of dandruff.  It doesn't really show up on shirts, but ALOT of it comes out if irritated with a brush.

Some additional details on my health/lifestyle:
-Diabetes runs on both sides of my family, although neither of my parents have it.
-Dad has high blood pressure/high cholesterol (albeit from a bad lifestyle and diet)
-Seasonal allergies pretty bad, I take Allegra when needed.
-I struggled with anxiety when I was approx. 18-21.  I don't have it anymore, but my life is quiet stressful.
-No current supplements
-My body doesn't seem to like milk so I don't drink or eat much dairy
-My bones seem to have gotten far more frail/sharp since I was a teen.  I'm still in decent shape and moderately active, but I do wonder if something wrong with my bone mass
-I am curious to know if hormone unbalance is a culprit. My energy seems lower than it should and I have a weird smelling body odor similar to that of onions. I always thought is was because I ate onions sometimes, but another forum post indicated this might be symptomatic with high estrogen.

I know this was a lot of info so thanks for reading.  Whether you have general tips or targeted tips to my situation I'll be very appreciative.  I want to do all I can to improve my hair soon so I can keep it for hopefully a long time.  Thanks

The "crystals" you speak of...were they sometimes attached to the base of a hair when it would fall out? I occasionally get something similar, they are transparent, yet have a slight amber colour to them. The exterior of this substance is pretty hard, yet if I squish it between my fingers it becomes like a waxy substance, once the hardened exterior has broken away. For this reason I think it could well be hardened sebum which has built up inside the follicle. I don't know if this is what you ARE talking about, but thought I'd share my experience with you anyway.

BTW do you eat lots of grains / gluten by any chance? I generally do not suffer any diffuse thinning on top of my head, but when I eat an excess of grains / gluten, then my entire galea will inflame really bad. If the answer is yes, then like many on here you might have gluten intolerance. We are not sure why gluten / grains seem to trigger scalp inflammation and thinning hair, but we just know for certain that it has this effect, simply based upon the fact that the scalp becomes highly irritated after we have consumed such foods. Some feel a strong itch, others (like me) feel a burning stinging sensation.

As for the onion smell in sweat, I only ever seem to get this if I have been on a low carb diet (or if I am pretty dehydrated). My sweat stinks like no man's business. And yes, if I eat a shit load of onions and I'm dehydrated, then I smell like a raw onion afterwards. It is disgusting.

Another food which I recently discovered inflames my scalp is bananas.

P.S. stress / anxiety are known to trigger genes related to inflammatory disorders throughout the body. It seems to me that stress and anxiety (especially work related stress) cause diffuse thinning.

Xenon wrote:The "crystals" you speak of...were they sometimes attached to the base of a hair when it would fall out? I occasionally get something similar, they are transparent, yet have a slight amber colour to them. The exterior of this substance is pretty hard, yet if I squish it between my fingers it becomes like a waxy substance, once the hardened exterior has broken away. For this reason I think it could well be hardened sebum which has built up inside the follicle. I don't know if this is what you ARE talking about, but thought I'd share my experience with you anyway.

BTW do you eat lots of grains / gluten by any chance? I generally do not suffer any diffuse thinning on top of my head, but when I eat an excess of grains / gluten, then my entire galea will inflame really bad. If the answer is yes, then like many on here you might have gluten intolerance. We are not sure why gluten / grains seem to trigger scalp inflammation and thinning hair, but we just know for certain that it has this effect, simply based upon the fact that the scalp becomes highly irritated after we have consumed such foods. Some feel a strong itch, others (like me) feel a burning stinging sensation.

As for the onion smell in sweat, I only ever seem to get this if I have been on a low carb diet (or if I am pretty dehydrated). My sweat stinks like no man's business.  And yes, if I eat a shit load of onions and I'm dehydrated, then I smell like a raw onion afterwards. It is disgusting.

Another food which I recently discovered inflames my scalp is bananas.

P.S. stress / anxiety are known to trigger genes related to inflammatory disorders throughout the body. It seems to me that stress and anxiety (especially work related stress) cause diffuse thinning.

Xenon, about the "crystals" this was years ago but I mostly remember them not being attached. They may have been attached to a hair on occasion, but it's been too long ago to say for sure. They were very hard like you mention, but could be crushed. So I may need something to help with sebum control maybe?

As far as grains I do eat bread and other grains on occasion. Not nearly as much as I used to though. I don't eat much rice, pasta, etc. as my body doesn't seem to crave it at all. I did get an allergy blood panel completed a year ago so I will have to see if gluten is on there.

To add to my earlier information, I think I'm messed up in a few different ways and it's hard for me to figure out what's the most crucial step to take (meaning I don't want to take 15 supplements and 3 topicals, I'd rather just have a few items that would be the best bang for my buck and keep things simple). For instance, I have even when I was a little kid had issues with lymph nodes and today I think I have a poorly functioning lymphatic system. Also, I have to take Aleve to help inflammation causing general discomfort, headaches, and body pain.

I'll be hanging out and reading. Quite a bit of interesting health discussion here.

I summarise and simplify the main hair loss ideas here

https://immortalhair.forumotion.com/t11034-danny-roddy-regimen-gut-health-ih-regimen-gossip-about-hair-loss-talk

Yes, I have missed a lot out

Prolactin
serotonin
cortisol
estrogen

are the main offenders