I lost a lot of hair during the summer when I got malnurished because of a serious infection I got that made me so sick that I was in too much pain to even eat. Normally I know people who lose hair at a younger than normal age is caused by cancer but I do not have cancer. I have no kidneys and am on dialysis. The type of dialysis I was on I ended up getting an infection called Peritonitis. Now I have been switched to a different dialysis that I no longer do at home but go into the hospital 3 times a week every week for 3 1/2 - 4 hrs each time and hook up to a machine to clean my blood and take out extra fluid since I don't .. uh .. void fluid.

But that is not the point of my post. The point is I had very thick hair. I remember back in 1991 I saw a lady on dialysis at what is called a 'Kidney Symposium' and I thought to myself "I never have to worry about losing my hair like she did because my hair is very thick and I am lucky for that". Well, now you can see my scalp and every day in the shower my long hair falls out in the hugest handfuls.

I tried so hair to keep my long hair for Christmas but looking at all the pictures I realized I looked horrible. I was in denial about my hair. Now I want to cut it real short since finally my hair is starting to grow back in but all short and spiky on the top of my head and the nape of my neck.

Are there any ideas for short hair styles for thin hair (yes, even thought I had thick hair my hair is terribly thin now because of all this. I used to have to use thick hair elastics because I would break the thin ones .. now I use baby sized small elastics). When I search the net for short hairstyles I have noticed they are not for the thin flat hair types. This is why I decided to ask for suggestions.  I am 32 and am trying not to show that I am sick. I am slowly recovering from my ordeal in the summer (I was in the hospital for 6 weeks total - 4 weeks for Peritonitis which can kill you if not treated and 2 weeks for Pneumonia) and am finally starting to gain a little energy back. Maybe I can go back to work soon too.

I have considered wigs but since I still have some hair and it is growing back and I am not working right now and don't get much from disability, I am looking into hairstyles for now.

Any replies at all would be much appreciated! Thank you

I have thin hair, and in my experience, what works best is short with layers, no more than maybe two to four inches long.  I've also gotten into the habit of blow-drying it and trying to make it fluffier so it looks like there's more of it.

thank you

I asked my mom who is a hairdresser but she has refused to give me any advice saying I never liked her advice before on hair and that I would only complain so I appreciate that you have given me advice. I like your avatar. That is a very pretty hair style and along the lines of what I was thinking but I could not find any styles online that were realistic and what I would like. Thank you very much!  

One thing I did learn growing up with a mom as a hairdresser was blowdrying hair with your head upside down does make it look fluffier. Thx for the advice

I blowdry upside-down, but only for the first few seconds, and try to concentrate on the top.  I've learned the hard way that if you blowdry short hair upside-down too much, it looks like you put your finger in a socket ^_^;;; !  I have to finish drying upright, if I want it to look normal.

You can borrow a couple of my pics as "models" if you want.  Just, er, try to ignore the kinderwhore-iness of them-- my most recent photo set was an odd one -_-;;; .

http://www.geocities.com/naia_zifu/kinder5.jpg - http://www.geocities.com/naia_zifu/kinder5.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/naia_zifu/kinder6.jpg - http://www.geocities.com/naia_zifu/kinder6.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/naia_zifu/kinder10.jpg - http://www.geocities.com/naia_zifu/kinder10.jpg

You might have to copy and paste to see them, as the server doesn't like outside linking.