So frustrated! Need some advice ...

Hi, all!

This is my first post in the forum and I am in desperate need of some help with my long hair. I have had long, thick, somewhat wavy hair for most of my life but recently the entire texture and growth has completely changed. I have tried a ton of different products and I'm just at my wits end!

About six months ago I noticed that I was losing a LOT more hair than usual. Now, I'm used to losing a lot of hair simply because I've always had a TON of it, but this was abnormal even for me. I was under a lot of stress so I just chalked it up as temporary and assumed it would correct itself. I am not losing nearly as much now, but my hair is so thin on top that you can seen my scalp when I fix my hair, which is amplified by the fact that I have very dark hair. My hair texture has always been somewhat more coarse than others (which is funny because it was INCREDIBLY thin and stringy when I was younger). In the last six months, the hair from about ear level up has become very stringy and course, while the hair from the ears down has become so course and wavy that it looks fake. I feel like my hair looks like a wig now. Because my hair is so thin on top now and so course on bottom, my hair ends up totally flat on top, really puffy on bottom, and looks like a triangle. Also, two years ago I had my hair cut quite short and got highlights put in it. As my hair grew out and the color faded, I was left with very, very blonde streaks in my hair. At first it wasn't a problem, but within the last six months they have turned somewhat brittle and stiff feeling. It's not really rough, but it definitely isn't soft and doesn't feel moisturized. I've tried putting hair masks on it and conditioning every time I shower, but nothing seems to be helping, and it tangles so easily now.

I really, really would just like to have soft, manageable hair, but nothing seems to be working. Can someone help me figure out how to have volume at the roots, control at the ends, and still help me hold a style despite my coarse hair's intentions?

PS - I have such a hard time describing what I'd love my hair to look like, so I'll include this photo as a reference. I know that having this style takes work, but at this point I'm willing to put the work in. I'd settle for a fraction of it, to be honest.

 

As Hair braider mentioned, a proper diet is absolutly essential, protein is extremely important.  Do you take any vitamins? If not you need to, also try amino acids, They will really help your hair health. there are allot of special hair vitamins out that will work, but are kind of pricey. I have tried quite a few, but have found a good quality amino acid from a health food store to be just as helpful. My next question is... have you recently lost a bunch of weight? Loosing to much to fast can make your hair fall out like you have explained.