Category: Hair Loss Causes

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I appreciate your responding to a few of my questions in the past about LLLT. It gave me a bit of an education at the very least.

I do have a question regarding Telogen Effluvium. I have been dealing with TE for approx. 1 1/2 yrs. now (Chronic TE) due to high levels of stress during that time period. I feel comfortable in saying that the shedding seems to be slowing down or may have actually resumed to it’s normal daily shed (approx. 100 hairs/day) due to the decrease in the level of stress in my life over these past few months.

I understand that a healthy diet for someone with TE is important (lots of protein and iron), but are there certain foods that I would want to refrain from? I’ve heard breads, pasta and potatoes quickly convert to sugar which could have a negative effect on a persons hormones while trying to grow hair. Is there any truth to this?

Also, what would you recommend as a daily diet to help with hair growth?

Thank you in advance.

There are no proven connections between different good healthy diets with regard to chronic TE. The one on one connections you discussed are subjective assessments of various people and I would have no way to verify these observations.

I hear caffeine from coffee i.e. increased adrenaline and you’ve consistently said adrenaline can contribute to hair loss. What’s up with this?

I am not aware of this. I drink a triple espresso every day. Coffee drinkers are not at any higher risk for hair loss than non-coffee drinkers. Genetic balding is the cause of most hair loss.

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Hello Doctor!

I have a question about hair loss. I have been diagnosed with “folliculitis”. I’ve seen several dermatologists, and none has helped. Moreover, I am losing my hair. Can folliculitis cause hair loss? Is there any drug that can help me?

Thank you very much.

Folliculitis is an infection of your hair follicles. It can clear up on its own or your dermatologist can prescribe you medications to treat it. You shouldn’t lose hair from folliculitis unless it is chronically infected. Keep in mind though, the most common cause of hair loss in men is genetic hair loss.

Hi Dr Rassman,

I am not sure if you had seen the press release about neosil being acquired by another pharmaceutical company. Press release – PDF file

It all so goes onto say that peplin does not plan commence further development of neosil’s products until next year. So should we just cross neosh of the map now?

Just some background for casual readers that haven’t heard of this NEOSH101 product (it is a tetrapeptide aldehyde proteasome inhibitor) — A New Drug for Hair Loss, NEOSH101 by Neosil

I do not have any special knowledge of what Peplin will do with this. They don’t say the product is outright dead, but perhaps temporarily on ice? Here’s the interesting part of the press release, where it hints that they won’t be doing anything with it until at least sometime next year, though they will be advancing other Neosil products:

“Peplin intends to use the net cash obtained from the acquisition to continue the development of its lead product candidates PEP005 (ingenol mebutate) Gel for actinic keratosis and PEP005 (ingenol mebutate) Gel for basal cell carcinoma. Peplin believes that Neosil’s proprietary technologies in hair loss and acne could enable it to expand its product pipeline in the future, although Peplin does not expect to commence further development of these programs before 2009.”

Hello Dr Rassman. My question is regarding hair transplants on NW2 patients with stablized hairloss. I have been researching many photos of patients in the NW2 region with strong forelocks who recieve around 500-1500 grafts max to their temples to straighten their hairline making it appear more youthful. This kind of surgery seems rare and not many photos seem to exist of this kind of surgery as it does not seem to bother most men. However for the men that do recieve this kind of surgery, ive noticed that despite having a strong forelock and no recession in the middle of the forelock at the very front of the hairline, the surgeon always places a small region of grafts in front of the hairline right in the middle, in front of the forelock, sweeping around to the primary graft region, “the temples”.

Why do surgeons do this? Wouldnt it be easier to just place the grafts in the temples? Why mess with a good centre hairline forelock that has not receded and looks 100% natural?

I do hope you know what im talking about…

I don’t like ‘messing’ with a good forelock. I am also generally against returning the juvenile hairline (see Maturation of a Hairline — Moving From Juvenile to Mature), because most people do not know where their hair loss will end up. If the surgeon brings the hairline too low, you can have a problem of running out of hair for transplantation as you continue balding. That does not make sense on a good Master Plan.

As for why a surgeon might do this — I couldn’t tell you what goes through another person’s head. Carelessness? Greed? I don’t know.

I think I read that there can be a genetic hair loss or a trait in men whereby they lose hair in a broad patch at the lateral legs, bilaterally. I wish I could remember the name of the condition and read more about it. Is there a name for that? Thanks

I do not think there is one medical condition that is specific for hair loss on the legs. I did find an interesting post on Google Answers about leg hair loss, which contains some great information — see leg hair loss.

NOTE: A reader who is a physician-scientist with experience in the biopharmaeutical field has sent in the below information on FDA recalls in response to our post from a couple weeks ago, FDA Warns About Hair Loss from Total Body Mega Formula. Though not totally hair loss related, I think many people will still find it quite interesting. Again, this post (below the line) was not written by myself or any of the other BaldingBlog editors, but it provides some very useful information and was written by a reader that has provided some excellent emails in the past.

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Prior posts suggest that readers wonder about how the FDA can recall products (such as natural substances), which they have no regulatory authority to approve for marketing. “Natural substances”, while not requiring approval by regulatory agencies, can be unsafe as well as ineffective. Thus, the FDA has oversight in some instances when the safety issues (and not effectiveness) become significant for public health. As a result, the FDA does have the capacity to recall or ban a substance from the market, when a request for voluntary recall by the manufacturer is thought to be insufficient or ineffective.

When physicians or other health professionals notify the FDA of serious adverse events associated with these products (and thought by the FDA to be causally related), and where the risk/benefit ratio is believed to be negative, the FDA asks the firm to remove the dangerous product voluntarily from the market (i.e., without FDA’s written request). In rare cases, if the firm does not recall the product, the FDA can seek legal action under the Federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act. These include seizure of available product, and/or injunction of the firm, including a court request for recall of the product. Any recall may also involve approved drugs in addition to unapproved (natural) substances. In addition, in serious cases requiring immediate action, the FDA may also rule that the substance should be banned and work to enforce both a voluntary and mandatory recall. As part of this effort, the Agency also usually issues a public warning via the news media to alert as many consumers as possible to the potential hazard.

For recalls, which your reader was interested in, three types exist:

1. Class I recalls are for dangerous or defective products, whether approved or unapproved, that predictably could cause serious health problems or death. Examples of products that could fall into this category are a food found to contain botulinum toxin, food with undeclared allergens, a label mix-up on a life saving drug, or a defective artificial heart valve.
2. Class II recalls are for products that might cause a temporary health problem, or pose only a slight threat of a serious nature. One example is a drug that is under-strength but that is not used to treat life-threatening situations.
3. Class III recalls are for products that are unlikely to cause any adverse health reaction, but that violate FDA labeling or manufacturing regulations. Examples might be a container defect (plastic material delaminating or a lid that does not seal); off-taste, color, or leaks in a bottled drink, and lack of English labeling in a retail food.

The most important message about natural substances and other mixtures is “buyers beware.” Because these drugs/substances do not go through a regulatory approval process before their marketing, the exact composition, effectiveness, and safety is undefined. When health professions report adverse events that greatly impact the safety of the drug and a hazard is identified, the FDA often works quickly with the vendor to propose a voluntary recall and, if not done, take stronger action.

An example of the FDA’s approach to an unsafe natural substance occurred in 2003. Ephedra, also called Ma huang, is a naturally occurring substance derived from plants. Its principal active ingredient is the potent chemical ephedrine, which when chemically synthesized is regulated as a drug. Before 2003, ephedra products were extensively promoted in drugstores (over-the-counter), convenience stores, gas stations (by the counter), and the internet to aid weight loss, enhance sports performance, and increase energy. In 2003, the FDA issued a consumer alert on the safety of dietary supplements containing ephedra as the result of cardiovascular-related deaths in some high school and college athletes taking this substance for performance enhancement. The alert advised consumers to immediately stop buying and using ephedra products. The FDA also notified manufacturers that dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids present an u nreasonable risk of illness or injury, and that these substances would be banned. Ephedra-based products are not currently sold over-the-counter.

I heard that eating too much animal liver can lead to Vitamin A overdose, and one of the side effects of this is hair loss. Is this hair loss that is distinct from MPB or is it related to MPB (i.e. accelerating MPB)? If it’s not related to MPB, will hair grow back (I’m assuming it will)?

Hair loss from male pattern baldness (MPB) and hair loss from drug (such as vitamin A) toxicity is not the same. You would probably have to eat massive amounts of liver to have a vitamin A overdose. From Wikipedia’s entry on hypervitaminosis A: “The liver of certain animals — including the polar bear, seal, and husky — is unsafe to eat because it is extraordinarily high in vitamin A.”

If you have vitamin A overdose/toxicity I think hair loss would be a lesser of your concerns, as you will have other medical issues. For more on vitamin A toxicity, please see eMedicine.com.

I read all sorts of foods naturally raise testosterone levels, from garlic to oysters to chicken to lean beef to brussel sprouts to broccoli. So this must be normal and not contribute at all to hair loss right? These foods are considered healthy. Does eating chicken (which doesn’t have any external hormones added to it in the US) increase testosterone? And I read alcohol, sugar, caffeine lower testosterone and boost estrodiol. And that soybeans and tofu a phytoestrogens should be avoided by people wanting to increase natural testosterone. Similarly, working out and increased T levels with that should be normal.

I’ve also read that caffeine is both an in vitro cure for hair loss as well as something that boosts cortisol in the body and since cortisol is from the adrenal gland, that contributes to hair loss. What’s the deal here?

By the way, great episode on TLC Monday night.

Please do not focus too much on testosterone and hormones. If you are male and balding, it is most likely genetic. If you have the genes for hair loss, even normal or low levels of testosterone will cause balding. You may be trying to maximize everything by limiting hormones etc, but it doesn’t really work. If you are going to go bald, you will go bald. The best medical intervention we have thus far is finasteride (Propecia). However, even Propecia does not completely stop balding.