Why Does My Hair Look Thin When Wet?

You may have noticed (on yourself or someone else) that hair looks thin when wet. We’ve all seen enough photos and videos of big, fluffy dogs and cats suddenly reduced to much smaller versions of themselves after falling into a pool or bathtub.

It’s hilarious to witness this happen harmlessly to an animal. But seeing your own hair lose much of its perceived thickness and volume — often with visible spaces on the scalp — after showering can be really concerning.

While your hair might look thinner when wet, it’s actually not. However, because your hairs stick together when they’re soaked with water, it’s common for issues like male pattern baldness to show up — or at least become more visible. For this reason, when your hair is wet, diffuse thinning or the beginning stages of hair shedding or patchy hair loss may be easier to spot.

Below, we’ll explain why hair looks thin when wet, as well as how wet hair can make detecting the symptoms of hair loss easier.

We’ll also share at-home tests you can use to check for signs of permanent hair loss and the best evidence-based options for preventing hair loss and promoting healthy hair growth.

Why does hair look thinner when wet? Well, as you’ve probably deduced, wet hair is simply matted down.

This doesn’t mean it’s tangled. In this context, “matted-down” just means wet hair strands clump together, making it less voluminous and more compact.

A few things cause this phenomenon.

Wet Hair Is Heavier

The first is that your normal bouncy and weightless strands of hair suddenly become significantly heavier when they’re exposed to water, as hair is porous and absorbs water quickly.

Wet hair is generally easier to cut, partly because all that volume is reduced to straighter, easy-to-manage tendrils, But the weighted-down effect can appear thinner.

Wet Hairs Are Clumped Together

The second is that hair properties interact with water, drawing strands toward each other in clumps. These clumps occupy less space than dry, separated hairs, resulting in a perceived loss of scalp coverage.

The result of this process is that you look as if you have less hair than you did before getting into the pool or shower. And those hair follicles are indistinguishable from one another because they’re clumped together.

Dry Hair Is Fluffier and More Voluminous

When it comes to hair density, matted-down hair can be a bit of a shock. Without the added weight of water, hair is often fluffier, buoyant, and more voluminous.

Even if your scalp hair is thick and full of life when it’s dry, it’s far from uncommon for it to look severely thin when soaked with water. 

To a certain extent, the fact that hair looks thin when wet is an illusion. Still, the effect might make it easier to see any real hair loss you’re experiencing when wet hairs stick together in separated sections.

Hair loss probably isn’t something you’re happy to discover. However, having drenched hair can be a great opportunity to take accurate stock of your follicles and see if there are any changes to your hairline, crown, or general level of hair thickness and growth.

The Texture and Volume of Dry Hair Can Conceal Hair Loss

When hair is dry, it’s common for its natural texture to conceal some common signs of hair loss, such as a receding hairline or a bald patch near the crown.

For example, if you have curly or textured hair and normally wear it unstyled, it might naturally settle into a position that hides your hairline.

Since your hair clumps together when wet, it can be significantly easier to see bald spots, diffuse thinning, patchy hair loss, and other signs of male pattern baldness that usually voluminous coif might otherwise cover up.

This isn’t to say that thinning is dramatically easier to spot when wet. Yes, you may have better visual access to bald spots or a receding hairline, but to get the best idea of whether your hair is actually thinning, you need to see it in normal (dry) conditions.

Assess Your Hair Both Wet and Dry

Dry hair, after all, is how you look daily — unless you’re a professional swimmer.

To get the most accurate understanding of your hair’s condition and stay ahead of sudden hair loss, try to look at your hair when it’s wet and dry, preferably under various lighting conditions.

You might even part your hair differently (at least temporarily) to see if any bald spots or receding areas show up.

This is probably a good time to talk about “real” hair loss — as opposed to the trick water can play on your eyes.

Hair can thin for various reasons. This includes autoimmune diseases like alopecia areata, severe stress (a type of hair loss known as telogen effluvium), or traction alopecia, hair loss that develops when tight hairstyles or strong-hold hair products pull too firmly on your hair follicles.

But more often than not, men’s hair loss is genetic and/or a natural part of the aging process.

It Could Be Genetic

The most common form of hair loss for guys is male pattern baldness (aka androgenetic alopecia). This form of permanent hair thinning is caused by a combination of genetic factors and an androgen (male sex hormone) called dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

Our guide to DHT and hair loss in men explains this process in more detail and covers how it can affect your scalp and hair throughout your life.

Genetic thinning might look more obvious when your hair’s wet. But eventually, it might lack coverage even when it’s completely dry.

It Might Be Part of the Normal Aging Process

It’s also normal for hair to become physically thinner, less pigmented, and slower to grow as you get older. These factors may contribute to some degree of “thinness” even if you don’t have any signs of male pattern baldness.

For most men, this process happens gradually. Dermatologists and other specialists in pattern hair loss typically use the Norwood scale to track hair loss as it becomes more severe with age.

How can you tell if your hair is thinning? There are several ways to check for signs of temporary hair loss or permanent hair thinning, including looking in the mirror, using photos, or doing a pull test to assess the severity of hair shedding.

Carefully Assess Your Hair in the Mirror

One of the easiest ways to check for hair loss is to look at your hairline, crown, and other areas affected by normal hair loss in the mirror.

You may notice your hairline looks ever so slightly higher than it did last year or that your hair simply appears to be thinning on top.

Take Photos of Your Hairline

Tracking hair loss solely by eye and memory of what it once looked like can be difficult. That’s why it often helps to take photos of yourself every month or so and then compare them to see if you’ve shed any hair over the course of six months or a few years.

You might want to have someone else take the photos to get a good angle of the top, sides, and back of your head.

Make sure to compare photos taken in similar lighting conditions — a downward-facing light source can often create the appearance of thinning even if you have an otherwise full head of hair.

Check for Changes in Hair Thickness

Looking at yourself in the mirror or studying photos can reveal obvious hair loss. That said, hair thinning isn’t just about visuals — it’s also about fragility and hair breakage that can develop as strands decrease in diameter with age. (Interestingly, some research shows that hair increases in diameter until around age 40, then declines.)

One self-assessment you can do, for example, is to look for variations between follicles. You may notice some of your hairs are coarser than others or that they just appear less uniform than before. 

Perform a Hair-Pull Test

There’s also something called the hair-pull test, which is as simple as it sounds (and much less painful).

Essentially, a hair-pull test involves gently pulling on a small handful of hairs (about 50). You’ll want to apply enough pressure to pull on the hair — but not so much that you experience pain or rip out your hair aggressively.

Some of your hairs will pull away from your scalp naturally. It’s normal to see roughly 10 percent of the tugged hairs detach from your scalp and end up in your hand.

If more than 10 percent of your hairs detach from your scalp during a pull test, it could be a sign you have a form of hair shedding, such as telogen effluvium.

Whether you’re certain you’re starting to lose hair or just want to start taking better care of your scalp and hair before the first signs of hair loss present themselves, numerous options are available to treat thinning hair and promote hair growth. 

These include FDA-approved hair loss medications, such as finasteride and minoxidil, as well as cosmetic procedures for restoring hair.

For most men, finasteride and minoxidil are the most effective ways to prevent hair loss from worsening — and in some cases, they can stimulate new hair growth. 

Finasteride

Finasteride is a prescription medication that works by preventing the conversion of testosterone to DHT. This reduces DHT levels and stops the hormone from miniaturizing (shrinking) hair follicles and causing hair loss.

Many studies show that finasteride can slow down, stop, and even reverse pattern hair loss in men.

For instance, a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology in the late 1990s found that balding men who took finasteride showed a significant increase in overall hair count over the course of two years.

Finasteride is effective, but its results aren’t immediate. You’ll generally need to take this medication for three to six months before noticing improvements in your hair’s thickness or any significant hair regrowth.

We offer finasteride online after a consultation with a licensed healthcare provider who’ll determine whether a prescription is appropriate.

Minoxidil

Minoxidil is a topical hair loss medication that works by speeding up the hair growth cycle and increasing blood flow to the scalp. It’s available as a liquid solution (kind of like a hair serum) or foam and needs to be applied to your scalp twice a day for optimal results.

Like finasteride, minoxidil is supported by a large volume of scientific evidence. Some studies show it’s particularly effective when used with finasteride.

A study published in the journal Dermatologic Therapy found that 94.1 percent of men with hereditary hair loss improved after using minoxidil and finasteride for 12 months.

In comparison, 59 percent of the men who used minoxidil by itself, and 84.1 percent of those only used finasteride also showed improvements.

We offer minoxidil solution and minoxidil foam online, with minoxidil and finasteride also available in our Hair Power Pack.

Though it’s an off-label use and requires a prescription, oral minoxidil may also be available to you following a virtual consultation with a healthcare provider. Our version of oral minoxidil is minoxidil chews.

Hair Transplant Surgery

When medication alone isn’t enough, procedures like a hair transplant surgery can potentially restore hair to areas of the scalp affected by male pattern baldness, like the hairline and crown.

This type of procedure can be costly. So it’s best considered when you have significant hair loss that may not fully improve with finasteride or minoxidil.

If your hair looks thin when wet, here’s what to keep in mind:

• It’s normal for hair to look slightly thinner when wet. This is because the tens of thousands of hair strands on your head tend to clump together when drenched with water, resulting in a larger gap between each group of hairs that reveals more of your scalp.

• It’s probably nothing to worry about. It’s generally best not to fret too much if you notice your hair looks thin when wet but normal when it’s dry.

• See an expert if you expect hair loss. If you think you’re developing a receding hairline, a bald patch at your crown, or diffuse thinning that affects your entire scalp, bring your concerns to a healthcare provider. They can tell you if you’re suffering from male pattern baldness, temporary hair shedding, or a more serious health issue affecting your scalp and hair follicles.

Interested in getting help for thinning hair right away? We offer a large range of evidence-based hair loss treatments online, including FDA-approved medications for preventing pattern hair loss and stimulating hair growth.

Our full guide to the best treatments for thinning hair also outlines your options for dealing with noticeable hair loss.