Category: Hair Loss Causes

I stubbled across this website and have one question. Does NHI provide a service that proves or disproves mpb for men? Reason I ask is because I have noticed hair loss or thinning for about a year and a half now and there are really only two areas that I notice a problem. Around my cowlick back left around the crown and front left which is noticeably thinner than the right. Wondering what can be done as I am already using finasteride, minoxidil, hair club EXT treatment and laser comb. Thanks

We are not in the business of proving or disproving MPB. We are physicians who examine, diagnose, and treat patients. We developed a concept of establishing a Master Plan for every patient who visits us. It sounds like you have tried everything (and the kitchen sink) and have not established a baseline to determine where you started and where you are going.

can you figure out how hair that i had lost and hadnt grown back in years, all of a sudden came back over 2-3 months of giving up smoking and jogging everyday in the scorching sun ?.

I ask as the moment i got it back i stupidly started smoking and stopped excercising and it all diffusely thinned again.

Im guessing my hairloss wasnt male patterned and whatever type it was reacted to the constant sunlight ?

thanks

I don’t know how these things are related to your hair regrowing, but thanks for sharing your story with us. Sunlight doesn’t make hair regrow, for those curious. If your hair is falling out and regrowing on its own, there’s probably something other than MPB going on.

I used a dark spot corrector on my face and it caused me to experience hair loss in my beard. There was not even any redness only a slight burning sensation. As soon as I felt the burning I washed off the chemicals and noticed my hair was gone. I am extremely self conscious at the moment can you please offer any advise.

I don’t know what chemical you used. If the hair loss occurred less than 6 months ago, you might still see it return. If it is beyond 6 months, you might seek a hair transplant into the balding spot.

Dear Dr Rassman,

I was reading your blog the other day and was interested to see you comment that a person may have a norwood six balding pattern but still look like they have a full head of hair and also that a person who shows a Norwood 3 balding pattern would almost never advance to a norwood 6.

I am confused because in another post of yours you stated that thinning can begin in different areas at different ages. Can you clarify? I really would like to get an idea of what my final norwood pattern would be if bulk analysis can do that but now I’m not sure it can (?) what do you mean when you say that someone with NW3 thinning will rarely ever progress to a NW6?

If someone had slightly thinning temples and a thinner patch at the crown does this mean they are likely to be a higher NW pattern?

Many Thanks

Men in the process of losing their hair in a Norwood class 6 pattern may not be thinning uniformly. They may be losing more of the frontal hair faster, yet have the overall pattern of a class 6 that may or may not become complete. Some men who take finasteride will arrest much of the class 6 pattern thinning, especially in the top and crown of the head, but their frontal balding could actually be advanced.

I like to tell patients where they are going with their balding pattern, and where they are now during the evaluation.

Hello.

I am curious about hair/scalp contrast, and camera flash vs natural lighting when taking looking at pictures of my hair.

I have a very inflamed scalp, which is also quite scabby. I’ve tried many shampoo’s and ointments, but nothing has been able to clear it up. When I take pictures of my hair, my scalp can be noticeable, since my hair is very fair and when am using flash on my camera it stands out even more. If flash is off, the only noticeable part of my scalp you can see is my crown.

So, what gives the best evidence of hair loss with pictures? Flash, or natural lighting? As I said, natural lighting my hair looks fine, with flash it looks a bit ‘iffy’. My family have said my hair looks like the natural lit pictures, in ‘real life’. My GP says I have no hair loss, but the pictures can make me question hair judgment.

Thanks

I would rather not discuss photography issues (I’m not a photography expert), but it’s pretty common for direct/harsh light to make your hair appear thinner than it is. Just as various light sources can make someone appear older, angry, or even make your hair look a different color, lighting can also make your hair appear thinner than it is. Why, I don’t exactly know. Photography isn’t my field of expertise, but I’m hopeful there a reader of this site has a logical explanation. Direct light isn’t going to be a crystal ball in determining your future hair loss, though.

Other people are telling you that you don’t have a problem with your scalp and/or hair, but if you still believe you are losing hair, then see an expert (photography or hair loss) and find out what is really happening. At the very least, see a dermatologist to treat your inflamed, scabby scalp.

Hi Doc,

Nice blog.

My question is kinda odd, but please humor me. I can tell there’s some sort of relationship of importance between cause-driven itchy scalp and hair loss.

I really think someone in the hair loss research field, such as yourself, should look further into what I’m saying. I am a statistician by background; I have a PhD in my field, and I am by no means bringing up a crazy idea here. It’s a theory. We all want a cure for baldness, and the best bet is to hear out every conceptual idea or theory. If you could learn the connection here, I believe you would not only make a lot of money, but you’d also help a lot of people.

So, here goes… I noticed about a year or two ago – when I eat something spicy, my head itches. Ok, big deal. Sometimes when I workout, my head also itched. However, the spice aspect, is more noticeable, regular and I can even predict it. When I eat something spicy, I know I’ll have an itch shortly “only in the area of my head that’s thinning or balding”. It’s really strange, and my statistics background tells me there’s got to be a connection there.

The questions I think need answering are:

-Why do humans feel itching?
-What in a spice could cause itching at distant location?
-Could it be something from the spice goes into the bloodstream right away and effects DHT?

I seriously think a dermatologist should be able to answer this. I know I’m not the only one to bring this up.

I am not a dermatologist, so I will try to answer to the best of my capacity. I do know from personal experience that one of the consequence of eating spicy foods is sweating on the scalp, which can make your scalp itch. It also makes my nose run and sometimes my eyes water depending on the heat level. This may be due to a histamine reaction from the capsaicin, the chemical which makes it spicy. But I do not see how this is related to hair loss.

Most male hair loss is due to genetic causes, which is known as androgenic alopecia (AGA) or male pattern baldness (MPB). It is really not a DHT issue in and of itself. In other words, if you do NOT have the genes for hair loss, you will not go bald no matter how much DHT you have.

As far as why humans have to feel the sensation of itching, that is like asking why humans have to feel the sensation of pain. I think that is a bit beyond the scope of BaldingBlog. Sorry.