When I lived in Kuala Lumpur (Malaya, as it was then, now Malaysia) 55 years ago, I often saw old Chinese women who were almost completely bald except for the knot or bun of gray hair at the back. It may have been genetic, but the explanation most commonly heard was that a lifetime of pulling their hair back tightly had weakened the roots, starting at the front and moving inexorably backwards.
If it's true, then that's what will happen to me too. But what the hell? The less hair, the easier it is to wash.
I know what you mean about the shedding, too. But hair composts well. And it is good nesting material for birds, too.
BTW, the very oldest of those Chinese women used to hobble very slowly, with two sticks. They still had bound feet. It looked gruesome. Let's just be glad that particular concept of female 'beauty' has been consigned to the dumpster of history!

Right now I am letting my hair grow out, but I have found in the past that cutting it short gives it the appearance of growing in thicker. Whether it actually does or not I don't know, but periodically I will cut it all off just for that effect. Like you I find long strands of my hair everywhere (including in my food, ugh!), but with short hair, all that goes away :-)

From your salt and pepper, retreating haired person here with a husband with Alopecia which started in his beard and is not moving up his head, I send you hugs.

On my mother's side, the women seemed to end up with thin hair but on my father's side, they did not (but they got breast cancer); so I don't know what I will have. So far (at 65) my hair is thick and although I wind it up sometimes, mostly I let it hang loose as it pleasures me (and always has) to feel long hair on my back. The only time it's a nuisance is when there is a wind and then tying up does have to happen but the long length and a knot make a couple of bobby pins all that I need to carry.

It used to be that no old woman could let her hair hang loose and maybe it's my part of the Pacific Northwest, but I see a lot of it now and gray. I love the freedom to do what suits me and not have to care what is appropriate for an old lady.

I do notice the long, white hairs a lot of places but some of that is part of natural hair shedding of 100 hairs a day which we don't notice so much when it's short ones.

I read that taking statins for high cholesterol causes hair loss. Here's one link: http://www.spacedoc.net/statins_hair_loss.html

recently i started taking Ultrabaths (2 cups epsom salts, 1 c baking soda, 10 drops of lavender oil in the hottest tub of water you can stand, soak for 20 mins.) and while i'm there, i wash my hair with the bar of soap. lemme tell ya, that gives my hair LOTS of body!! i've always had baby fine hair and a very high forehead--thanks to my german forebears. if i use regular shampoo and conditioner, my hair lies flat and limp--reminds me of my favorite line about hair from Flannery O'Connor: "like ham gravy trickling over her skull."

My hair is thin too, after a lifetime of extreme thickness.

On the statins causing thinning hair, maybe not. I cannot take statins, but still my hair grows ever thinner. I've also heard that blood pressure meds cause thinning hair. I suspect these causes are more folklore than reality.

Please Ronni, wear a hat in the summer! You don't want freckles in your scalp or skin cancer.

I, share, the shedding, the thinning and the decision to go gray/silver/white. Yes, I have a pinkish tinge... and yes, the shedding is sometimes more than I care to look at or think about.

At times, I did have it colored professionally and although I lived on LI, we still had moderate mom type salons where a cut,color etc. came to about $65 in the 80's. I then went back to the do it yourself because my roots came in after two/three weeks. It became too much.
Quite some time ago, I decided to grow it out - what a nightmare and had to get it cut down to a man-type cut to do this.

Yes, people do criticize and give reasons - especially those who believe by going blonde, most problems are solved - except for those of us who are true brunettes and will never have skin tones for blonde.

My own thoughts as to the thinning and texture changes are early menopause, stress, eating processed/packaged foods and environmental issues.

For me, more than the thinning has been the textural change. It feels stringy when wet and I wash, am almost afraid to keep a towel on my head or do more than pat drying because it is so fine. Sigh...

In closing, there are more serious concerns/issues/problems in life and perhaps with a touch of humor - put in the cateogy of gee, can't wear a mini skirt any more, can't wear high heels anymore but whew, am I more comfortable now!

You whine away, Ronnie - we're here to listen. Welcome back.

Here's a story I think all of you would love - about funny reasons why this writer WANTS to get old. Enjoy,
http://www.bettyconfidential.com/ar/ld/a/Please_call_me_grandma.html

All my friends understand my "surprise hair" excuse on the days when my baby-fine flops no matter how much spray and fluffing. I, too, am letting it grow out so I can twist, pile, poke, spray and go. BTW, minoxidil is also used to treat high blood pressure, so some people can combine two aggravations of old age with one drug!

Re hair loss as a statin side effect that a couple of people mentioned, I've been taking one only for about two years and my hair loss far precedes that.

When my hair was short when I was still working, I had to be careful to hold my head away from the headrest on the commuter train. If I didn't, my hair flattened and left a bald spot showing.

I'm nearly there tho I get an inch trimmed off at a cheap place once every couple of months. I colour mine with a 'natural' henna from the holistic store but with bad eyes I'm wondering if I look like one of those henna-d people (Lucille Ball) from days of old. Karma finds me every time.
could you share the hairpin info? I put my hair up a lot and have pretty bad psoriasis at the back of my head, anyone know of a cure for that?
Great post Ronni and I get the hair looks great!

I just didn't have the patience to color my hair and I have been gray since my 30's. I wore it as long as yours Ronni until 2007 when I had to have surgery and knew I would be in the hospital a week. I have kept it short since then. The thinning of my hair is more noticeable on my scalp now but I must have been losing quite a bit all along. My Mother's hair has gotten thin also but she still has hair all over her head at 92 so I hope the loss will slow down. I don't know what I will do if i go bald. I don't like any of the alternatives any better than you do. I don't like wearing hat so I expect a wig would feel worse. A lot of the women here have their hair cut very short and now I wonder if it is in response to thinning hair.

I started statins a year and a half ago and it's had no effect on my hair-- so far. I do not have much body hair anywhere but never did. I suspect a lot of this is genetics and it can skip generations; so a mother with no hair or a lot wouldn't necessarily say what we would get. I have looked for the thinning given my own mother's thinning hair.

Mine is getting thin on top, just like my mother's, (and her mother's, and her mother's, too; so I think it's a familial thing in my case). I used to keep it short when I was working, because it really looked better, but I've let it grow now so I can just stick it up with a big clip. I really don't have time to go get a haircut every three weeks, which is what it would take to keep it tidy. And hats—I crochet, and I like hats, so that's my camouflage nowadays.

How come we can put a man on the moon, but we can't cure baldness?

How come we haven't invented a thing, like a drink machine. Picture a is a selection row of hair types...skunk, horse, mouse, cow, raccoon, wolf, monkey, etc. You put $20 in the machine, select a hair type, color, length, and then stick your noggin in the round opening.

BAM! You come out with an original, rocking head of hair.

I too have thin, fine hair. The best way for me to wear it, is short and spiky. Easy to take care of it..a bit of gel and I'm good to go, but I can't help throwing admiring glances at horse tails.

Oh well, better to be smart, than hairy. Someone once asked me why I wear my hair so short. I replied. "I'd rather be awesome than average."

Ronni,

If no one has mentioned it yet, there are terrific wigs - at very reasonable prices - made for married Orthodox Jewish women. You can use a search engine to get an idea of what's out there.