Author: Dr. William Rassman

Post-menopausal women (50% of the feml population) often develop hair loss or diffuse thinning. Finasteride works well in some of these women; however, when a pre-menopausal woman has this condition, it may not work very well. In addition, pre-menopausal women have significant risks with this drug if they become pregnant so they should not take it with that risk over their head.

Is it true that Alopecia can go away and (possibly) never return?

“Alopecia” is just the medical term for hair loss. Genetic alopecia will not just go away, but other types such as alopecia areata can go away and not return (or stay dormant for years). You can learn more about alopecia areata and its various forms at the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

Thank you for taking time to read this and I love how this site is very informative. I have always been wondering if there is anyway to let baby hairs grow into normal hair. Lots of my hair stops growing at a very short length and it gives the impression of the lack of hair. Hope to hear from you! Thank you!

Baby hairs you are referring you vellus hair or peach fuzz on your skin. It is actually all over your body except on your palms, soles of feet, and lips. It does not grow to normal terminal hairs. If someone can find a way to turn these hairs into longer terminal hairs, the results may not be what you expect or desire. or example, there is a condition called Hypertrichosis where there is abnormal amount of hair growth all over the body. I am not aware of any mediation or treatment that can change the morphology of the vellus hairs or target its growth specially.

You should not easily pull out normal hairs, but miniaturized hairs easily come out. For people with Telogen Effluvium (mostly women) we call this a ‘Pull Test’ where the number of hairs that come out are quantified.

Dr.
I wanted to know, since I have been taking creatine, animal m stack and muscle milk I have noticed my hair has been falling off, I also take ocuvite, fish oil, and korean ginseng, do any of these supplements contain anything that may make my hair fall faster, I mean im just concerned since I am only 20 years old.

It is a cruel fate of nature for some of us to lose hair at such young age. While I cannot comment on every supplement and their efficacy on hair growth or loss, sometimes the cause of hair loss can be related to increased androgens (example: testosterone) in your body. Drugs like finasteride (Propecia) work by addressing this fact. It is my general opinion that no one source of food or supplements are a cause of hair loss unless it has steroid type of activities (of which there are probably a few natural type of substances out there on the market). If you are losing hair then it is likely you may have a genetic component of hair loss. To be certain, you should have your scalp hair examined by a doctor and if possible have you scalp hair mapped for miniaturization.

I bleached (at a parlor) my hair about 6 months ago and have noticed a noticeable thinning overall in my hair since then. My question is does bleaching cause permanent hair loss?

When bleaching is done improperly, there are chemicals in the bleach that can burn your hair follicles resulting in a permanent loss of hair. We see this at times in professional salons when either the person doing is new, or the person doing it did not follow a strict protocol designed to prevent such happenings. When the damage happens, it kills hair follicles at the root. Sometime, Minoxidil (Rogaine) may grow new hairs, but this is generally not a reversible thing. If it particular bad in a single area, then maybe a hair transplant can address it,

The skin in this area takes about 3-4 months to become normal, even if it looks normal. Therefore, you should not traumatize it by brushing roughly. Instead, gently use a brush to comb your hair in this area.