does shaving at an age of 1 to 2 years damage the follicles? I ask this because I had my head shaved when I was 1 year old and i’ve noticed like my friends, i dont have thick temple peaks. but my mother has that and my close relatives also have that
Head shaving at any age should not damage hair follicles. We all have variations in hair lines and temple peaks. This is more about genetic variations.
Hello,
from 2010 until September 2011 I was wearing eyeglasses that were too tight, and I suppose the tightly fitted frames lead to a pressure-induced alopecia at both lateral scalp sides, decreasing the blood flow passing through the external carotid artery. The right side of my scalp shows reduced hair density. Is this due to an ischemic process? How do I know if the alopecia is scarring and if this process is reversible? Up until now the hair hasn’t regrown. Thanks a lot
I suppose anything is possible. Perhaps you have traction alopecia, but I wouldn’t say it is from an ischemic process. If the problem has been ongoing, the hairs may not grow back. Only time will tell (about 1 year), but I suppose if it has been since late 2011, you would know by now.
Transplants work well if it does not grow back, and in fact, you would never know that they are transplants.
Dear doctors, love the website. I come here as much as i can and its helpful in learning and coping with hair loss, which is the worst thing a man can go thru.
I understand that a lot of transplant doctors tell their patients its better to wait to get a final hair loss pattern rather than going for a hair transplant when the hair is still falling out. So wouldn’t finasteride be a bad thing to take then because if it merely slows down the hair fall out rate and doesn’t stop it, then a patient wouldn’t really reach his final pattern at a proper age where he can have a full HT?
The drug would just keep on delaying the patient from reaching the final balding pattern but he would still be losing hairs, albeit not as many as he would have if he were not on the drug, but he would still be losing hairs and can not get a hair transplant.
Delaying the need for surgery is sort of the point.
The goal for finasteride in many patients is just what you said. Why rush into surgery that may not be necessary? If you are lucky, the drug may delay the final pattern for many decades. Surgery is more of a last step unless the pattern impacts your appearance and you want it restored.
Many young men find themselves in the situation you are talking about and may never develop a pattern beyond a Norwood class 2 and could keep the hair throughout the scalp.
Great blog! I frequent it periodically and have been following some useful advice you’ve given to your readers. It has helped me, so I thought I’d share my success story (thus far).
I’m 25, and began to notice thinning according to a Norwood 4 pattern around the age 22. No doubt it would progress further seeing my father and brother are a Norwood 6 – 7. I was in denial initially, but after reading your blog I came to terms with my fate and recognized treating the issue sooner would allow me to keep my current hair longer.
After talking with my doctor, I began finasteride 1mg. I didn’t notice any significant changes for quite some time. In fact, I continued to lose hair… for a while too. After about 9 months my hair began to look healthier but I never grew new hairs. Nevertheless, my hair appeared to improve according to my girlfriend and close friends.
I can confidently say my balding had drastically reduced, if not stopped for the time being. After 1.5 years on finasteride, I decided to throw Rogaine in the mix. I’ve been using Rogaine at my hairline now for 4 months (in conjunction with finasteride). Although not perfect, my hairline is much improved. Even with wet hair, you can only detect traces of my balding. I only hope the results continue to improve.
Good luck to everyone with the fight!
This is not an atypical story. The full value of finasteride may take up to two years to see… and adding minoxidil does work in some men, as you have clearly stated here.
Thanks for sending in your story and I hope you have continued success!
Snippet from the article:
Really. Come on. Who isn’t interested in hair? Hair growth, hair loss, hair thickness, hair shape, hair location. I’d bet that everyone of us spends at least a minute or two each day thinking about (or, if you’re like me, futilely plucking and prodding at) the state of our locks.
Now Stanford researchers have delved deep into the cells surrounding our hair follicles to better understand what makes them grow and maintain hair. Perhaps not surprisingly, the answer lies in the stem cells (here, called ‘bulge cells’) within the follicle.
Specifically, research associate Yiqin Xiong, PhD, and associate professor of medicine Ching-Pin Chang, MD, PhD, have identified a signaling circuit that controls the cells’ activity.
Read the rest — The secret life of hair follicles, revealed by Stanford researchers
I just turned 21 male in February, I was not really paying attention to my hair until just few weeks ago I noticed a big scalp showing in my crown area and hair is also thinning in that area. My dad is also bald but he started loosing hair when he was 30.
I am now using Regenepure Dr. I heard a good thing about this shampoo. Also should i start to use Rogaine Foam?
Thank you
The only 2 medications that I recommend are the FDA approved hair loss treatments Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil). If you’ve got early crown hair loss, Propecia is the better treatment… but you should speak to your doctor about this. Figure out what it is you’re seeing in the crown by having an examination with a doctor.
If what you’re seeing is early genetic hair loss, Propecia should halt the loss and possibly regrow the hair. If you’re not seeing genetic loss, this isn’t the medication for you. Minoxidil does work in the crown, but it doesn’t stop the loss and the hairs that regrow tend to be finer.
RegenePure DR is a shampoo with ketoconazole as an active ingredient. Some claim ketoconazole works well as a hair loss treatment, but it is a better antifungal and dandruff treatment. Ketoconazole shampoo is better known as Nizoral, and I’ve written about ketoconazole before here.
This isn’t a hair loss question, but I am curious about the rate of my hair growth. I find my hair growth occurs more rapidly during the summer months. Is this normal? I usually get a haircut every 4 weeks or so, but in the summertime I find myself at the barber every 2-3 weeks because it gets out of control. With summer a few months away, it got me thinking that I need to put aside some extra cash for more barber time.
I have heard about this observation before (though I tend to hear this more about winter months rather than summer), although there is no documentation in the clinical science literature about it. It may not be a general rule, but what you’re seeing is probably appropriate for your situation.
I’ve written before about seasonal hair loss here.
I have noticed when i don’t wash my hair for a couple days, the sebum and oil and all that builds up on my scalp. When this happens i don’t see any hair falling out, but when I rub my head, tons and tons of hair falls out but i still have thick hair when its longer.
Is this because the oils and everything on my scalp are holding in the loose hairs that should be falling out and when i rub my scalp that is when it comes out? It is making me think I am losing way more hair then the normal amount!
Hair loss has nothing to do with washing your hair. You are likely correct in your guess, that it is the oils or possibly any hair styling product you’re using that is keeping the loose hairs that would’ve normally fallen out throughout the day. Once you rub your head, those hairs become dislodged from the surrounding hairs and fall out.
I am a 45yr old diabetic woman who suffered from 2 heart attacks and a mild stroke 6 months ago. I am on all sorts of medications such as Insulin, Glimeperide, Clopidogrel, Bisoprolol, Atorvastatin, Aspirin, Ramipril, Gluchophage/Metformin, and Amytriptylin. I have recovered well despite the period of ill health and am now back at work full time and looking after a young family and grandchildren.
This being said I have gone from having a head of wild curly hair to having nearly straight, very thin hair that is showing my scalp in places. Please help me understand if this will recover or is it a reaction to medications???
I am glad to hear you have recovered. While hair loss may not be life threatening like a heart attack or a stroke, it is a great concern for many patients with serious medical illness who need to be on many medications. Hair loss from medical stress may be temporary and you should generally see some regrowth in about a year. However, many patients may not see full regrowth.
In my experience it is generally not the medications that cause the hair loss, but the stress from the illness. With that said, the atorvastatin (also known as Lipitor) and amitriptyline both lists hair loss as a rare side effect, though I must reiterate that the side effect risk is rare.
There may be non-prescription solutions such as topical Rogaine, but speak with your doctor and get a good diagnosis before you start a treatment regimen for hair loss.
Dear Dr Rassman
I am a male in my early twenties with extremely fine hair (which tends to get curly/wavier as it gets longer) and so I tend to have to style it aggressively to make it look the way I want (i.e. make it look straighter, imitating coarser hair). This usually involves blowdrying and hairspray, and combing through with a wide-toothed comb, even after it has gone ‘hard’. Sometimes this involves straightening too. I’ve done this for years without worry, though a few years ago I did notice my hairline was moving up a bit (when I was around 19), and in my panic I consulted the internet. I found the concept of ‘mature hairline’ and was reassured. However I’m not sure if this type of aggressive styling could be causing it to develop prematurely or unevenly (since the left side has indeed risen higher than the right – though I know you say this isn’t completely unusual), or lead to some patchy baldness.
On hairspray, it seems as though you advise people with any form of alopecia to avoid rough brushing lest they make hair loss worse: Hair Spray and Hair Loss
Is it otherwise okay for people without alopecia, so long as it is not extremely rough? It seemed okay before I noticed some recession, but now I am concerned about styling practices when I know my hairline is changing. I would hate to inadvertently cause some form of hairline or uneven progression. Will hairs that are pulled out grow back fine so long as the trauma isn’t severe?
First, you need to be evaluated by an expert in hair. You can try to quantify the degree of thinning by measuring hair bulk throughout your scalp to see if there are components of genetic hair loss present.
Yes, you are right, people can damage their hair from aggressive styling (extreme form is traction alopecia from tight braids), but I don’t know exactly what you are doing in this regard. Generally, I tell people to be gentle with their hair when styling and use only good grade commercial products for grooming.
