Category: Hair Loss Causes

My elderly mother lives in AZ, has a soft water system. She believes that she hasn’t been getting the soap out of her hair becuz she now has a “crust” like condition all over her scalp and when she washes her hair her hair is falling out with/in the “crust”. Is there a way to soften it or a different method to remove it and save her hair?

Soft water lacks calcium and magnesium, which might actually be better for your hair than hard water. Crusts on one’s scalp has nothing to do with soft water, though.

Your mom should see her doctor for a diagnosis of what she has before considering any options or speculating on reasons for her hair loss. I couldn’t say what might be going on with her scalp or how to correct it without an examination.

On the eve of the Royal Wedding I had a quick question regarding anxiety, stress and hair loss.

Recent photos of Prince William reveal a less than regal mane. Unlike his father or younger brother who seem to have strong hairlines William has thinned out considerably in a rather diffuse pattern.

Throughout his life the young prince has been subjected to ruthless scrutiny by the British press. The obsessive gaze of the public and media only intensified as he matured into a handsome young man. Joining the adolescent cult of celebrity William was conferred a heartthrob status, young women the world over screaming his name and fantasizing about the kind of storybook courtship now lived out by Kate Middleton.

Like his photogenic mother before William became the “face” of the royal family – representing youth, optimism and vitality to a world that questioned the very viability of traditional royalty and it’s place in modern culture.

The weight of this, combined with familial expectations and the untimely passing of his mother Diana, must have placed considerable stress on young Williams emotional state. I can only imagine the anxiety this man has had to endure. Should it come as no surprise then that his hair has thinned? Is Prince Williams current hairline a reflection of years of stress?

Surfing the net one would certainly get that impression. Not only has a BP sized oil slick worth of ink been spilt on Wils wispy locks but the reasons behind his follicular crisis as well. Add to that the litany of sources claiming any amount of stress, worry or anxiety is tantamount to a death sentence for your hairline and the “stress” explanation starts to make perfect sense when looking at Williams situation.

I’m not sure what caused the flaxen haired prince to shed but there is little doubt that he’ll breathe a little easier once the crown becomes requisite attire for public appearances- lets hope he’s not a Norwood 6 by that point!

We’ve actually written about this before a couple times (most recently here).

While stress may have contributed to Prince William’s hair loss, genetics are much more likely to be the reason. There is known genetic hair loss in his family tree, and although his father Prince Charles may have a strong hairline, the top of his scalp is pretty barren. Judging from photos, William’s loss looks similar.

From the video that was streaming on all the news networks last week, it appears that Prince William is fast showing a Norwood class 6 balding pattern. The pattern may even extend to a class 7 pattern (see the big dip in the hair at the back of his head). This is a situation which should have been aggressively treated with Propecia, which might have held the hair on his head when he still had a lot of it. Here he is on his wedding day:

Ive had a bald patch on the left side of my head since birth. It has decreased in size over the years but my doctor has said it will never fully grow hair. I was wondering what caused this and what other alternatives there are.

I cannot tell you why you have a bald patch that you were born with, but think of it like a birth mark. It is what it is.

In most cases, the easy solution to this is with a small hair transplant to the area.

Dear Dr. Rassman
For a quite a lot of time I had been looking for information regarding hair diameter and its relation with hair loss (I know hair diameter can be used for diagnosis), my question is if thicker hair producing follicles need more time of exposure to dht to give the appearence of hair loss. In other words is thicker hair a a delayer/protective factor for baldness?

People with coarse hair may not show the reduction of hair shaft thickness that those with fine hair would, but DHT will impact the hair equally (regardless of hair character) once the genetic pattern is expressed.

Hello Dr.
I can’t seem to find a definitive answer to this question on the internet for some reason. I was wondering how long you think it takes to correct a vitamin deficiency? I am trying to see if my seb derm and subsequent hair loss are as a result of this, yet I want to know how much time I should give it before I determine whether or not vit def is the culprit? Thank you for your time.

Your analysis is guess work. How do you know you have a vitamin deficiency? Did you get test to confirm this?

I can not endorse your approach to your problem. See a good dermatologist who knows about hair and the various conditions you seem to report. I wouldn’t advise treating yourself.

Hi Dr., I was curious about scalp health and wondered if you noticed that people who are balding have a tendency to have a more oily scalp or perhaps quite the opposite?

I’ve heard a few celebrity stylists say washing the hair only once a month will thicken hair. Personally I have to shampoo everyday because my scalp is always very oily the next morning. Anyway is this a sign of good health and can I do anymore than wash regularly?

Hair is dead, so what you do with your dead scalp hair is make it look ‘alive’ (a cosmetic term used by the hair cosmetic industry). Actually, the status of your health is reflected in your hair. In the middle ages, men with tuberculosis and other wasting diseases lost or thinned their hair, and women caught on that healthy men that are good marital candidates will have a good, healthy head of hair… so women chose men with normal full heads of hair. That is why genetic balding was such a problem, because balding men looked like those men with diseases in those days.

Today we are wiser, because we know about genetics and its association with balding. Oily hair, dandruff in the scalp and other topical problem probably do not impact the growth of your hair.

Hello, I’m 20 and I started experiencing hair loss or at least what I think is hair loss at the age of 17. My hair has always been thin and I’ve always had a really high hairline, but I’m getting these tiny hairs on the corners of my temple where it appears that hair is receding, and I read that is typical of a receding hairline. But what I don’t understand is the hair on the side of my head, right above my ears is where most of my hair falls out. I can literally pull tufts of hair out of that area. I haven’t read anything about hair loss occurring in that area. My question is is my hair loss going to lead to balding? or do I just have really thin hair?

Hair loss on the sides of the head isn’t typical for male pattern baldness (which is the opposite of what you describe). You need to see a good doctor in the field. I can not address your questions without an examination of your hair and scalp. There’s just no way for me to know via the web if what you’re seeing is disease or just the character of your hair.

To find an expert in your area, I’d try the physician search at ISHRS.org. If you’re in Los Angeles or can make it to LA, I’d be glad to see you.

Hey doc,
I have bad habit where I gently “play” with the hairs in my brow. I do it unconsciously and I would say maybe about 20-30 times a day about a couple mins each time. I have noticed that my brows are getting very sparse as of late and furthermore that they have been getting flakey and irritated. Sometimes I see hairs look very limp and then subsequently fall out. I was wondering if very gently rubbing them can cause hair loss and irritation like this?! Thanks for your time doc!

Why don’t you stop rubbing your eyebrow? This habit can cause traction alopecia and permanent loss of some or all of the eyebrow hair. If you have an uncontrollable impulse, the condition is known as trichotillomania. Perhaps you need to consult with a doctor.