Category: Hair Loss Causes

Hi Dr. Rassman. I am male, 34 years old. I have suffered a lot from stress from work for about five years now. I’ve felt a tingling sensation on the top front part of my head when I’m stressed or anxious, and this is the same area where I’ve noticed some balding (I think this is called Telogen Effluvium). Lately I don’t feel that much stress because I’ve been relaxing more and exercising. If I start using minoxidil, will this affect my hair in a negative way when I stop using it, or should I just try to relax more and let my hair re-grow on it’s own?
Thank you very much.

Stress does strange things. Tingling, hmmm? Maybe. Relaxation is good and learning to manage stress is critical for your health. People who do not manage stress well may get hair loss in those that are genetically prone to it, but more importantly stress produces heart disease and other problems basic to your overall body health. Learning to manage the stress is critical.

With regard to your hair loss, I doubt that anyone can answer your question without knowing your situation is from an examination of your scalp. I would map your scalp for miniaturization and get a diagnosis before using any medication.

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I had a face lift in Aug. 2005. By his own admittance, the doctor has damaged nerves behind my ears and neck area. In addition, my healing has caused keloids, which he cleaned up once in April, but re-healed the same. I have had, and still am having a lot of hair loss.

Has the nerve damage caused less blood to flow to the scalp?

The damage has caused numbness, a sense of cold, and a sense of ‘strangling’ in my neck. I’m not sure if this can be re-paired?

The main question has to do with hair loss.

Thank you.

Your problems are clearly not simple and therefore I would require an examination of you with and would require more detail in your history. Keloids in the scalp are very, very rare. Nerve injuries should not impact blood flow to the scalp. Stick with your doctor if you believe that he/she is competent and has your best interests at heart.

So Im 25 and I am not losing my hair (yet) but my dad does not have much hair left and so do all of his brothers. On my mothers side, 3 out of 4 of her brothers have that same problem. My brother is one year older than me and has already been losing his hair for a few years. Does all of this mean I will lose my hair sooner than later..if one brother is losing his hair, what are the chances of of the other not losing his. Also, I was wondering if men that have more body hair(chest+legs..) than the average guy has necessarly more testosterone in his body than average. I have a hairy chest and hairy leg but my beard is scarce(patchy) and it will not grow over 1.5cm, does that say anything about my testerone level or is it just random gene stuff. Are hairy men more likely to lose their hair. Also, is having fine/thin hair(not thinning) linked to more fragile roots and hair loss. Thanks you for your hepl in answering these questions, I have searched everywhere for answers and the few studies conducted on these subject that i found did not were not very clear. Thanks again

Head hair loss does not follow body or beard hair genetics. Also, just because there are other balding men in the family line, you might just miss it. At age 25, if you do not have any hair miniaturization on your head, it will be likely that you will not follow your family pattern.

I have a typical maturing hairline for a 21 year old. However, I’ve always had very fine hair. (the diameter of the individual hair is thin but I have a lot of it) Does fine hair mean I’m more likely to develop male pattern baldness or is the hormonal process that causes balding completely separate?

No. A person with fine hair is not more likely or less likely to develop balding than a person with a coarser hair.

What does all this mean? I have no obvious signs of hair loss. Any person on the street couldn’t see what I see. I have no receding hair line nor do I have any thinning in the crown. But what I do have is an overall texture and density change on the top of my head from the hairline to crown area. In this area the hair is softer, finer and not as thick when compared to the sides and back. Another cause of concern of mine is that I can lightly tug at the hair at my crown area and always pull hair out. But when I pull at the sides and back it’s a lot more difficult to pull hair out. I am 25 years old and I’m worried that this is the start of my hairloss. Your answer would be greatly appreciated.

You have a very good observation. Generally a person can lose more than 50% of their hair and it would still be unnoticeable to the general public. The difference in texture you notice on the top of your head may be a sign of miniaturization that I often write about on this blog. If I was to use a hair densitometer (invented by me in the early 1990s) to examine your scalp, some of your hair’s diameter MAY be smaller on the top of your head than on the sides or the back. This is why you may be noticing the difference in texture. Which means, you may be at an early stage of male pattern hair loss. Fortunately, finasteride (Propecia) has been well studied to counteract the male pattern hair loss, especially in the crown area. But you would need to see a medical doctor and get the correct diagnosis to be prescribed Propecia. I realize there are many internet sources for obtaining Propecia or finasteride without a medical exam. I strongly urge you not to go that route, because you would not know what you are treating and the interval effectiveness. Remember, you still do not have a diagnosis yet.