Category: Hair Loss Causes

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2 Years After Transplant, I’ve Lost My Original And Transplanted Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Sir,
I’m 24 now (My birth Year 1982) had a transplant in august 2004 on my front portion but at that time i had hairs on my top left and right. Now in 2006 i have lost most of my hairs both my original and my transplanted. How can i have my hairs back. Im too worried, Please guide me what to do. Reply me soon.

Loss of transplanted hair generally means that the hair that was transplanted was not from the permanent zone (the wreath around the side and back of the head), or that the hair that you lost was really the original hair not the transplants itself, or the hair came from the neck rather than the scalp (hair from the neck is not really permanent hair), or that you might have another type of alopecia (most commonly Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia – DUPA). You need to get your hair mapped out for miniaturization and that will clearly show the status of the permanent hair zone. If the permanent zone has miniaturized hair, that means that you might have never been a candidate for hair transplantation. This is the most common cause for what you are telling me about. Finasteride benefits this condition in about 50% of patients with DUPA.

Please get your donor area mapped out to be sure that the quality of the donor hair is good.

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My Crown Looks Like It Is Thinning – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi, I’m a 23 year old asian male with a norwood 2 hair pattern, I have been since I was 19. I was born with less hair on the crown than most, there’s a small hole there. I was wondering if an HT can cover that up and if it was safe to do so in say 2 years time? Is it also possible that I’m more ‘prone’ to hairloss because of it? I also wondered whether it was alright to have an HT to straighten the hairline? It’s only for cosmetic reasons I guess but I feel quite stupid with my hairline so I’m forced to put my hair out in the front. Thanks

If your hair is very straight and strong, what you are describing is the swirl in the back of your head. In Asians with strong, straight hair, the swirl will show. The swirl is created by the change in direction of the hair in front to the sides and behind it. Like water going down the drain, the swirl emphasized the hair flow and the eye can follow the hair shaft to the scalp. In most Asians, the light skin and dark hair make the swirl area look balding, when it is not actually going bald. Here’s a photo of the crown of our own Dr. Jae Pak, M.D. He is not balding in the crown, but what looks like balding is the result of (1) Asian straight hair that does little to cover the crown, (2) black hair on pale skin, and (3) low density hair, typical of Asians. In some Asians with hair that stands up on its own (like the spiked hair style that is popular today), there is the perception of thinning hair in the front, when that is actually not the case at all. The most difficult areas to get to be full looking therefore are the crown area (particularly in the center) and the frontal hairline where the light penetrates into the hair and the scalp (and when the skin is light and the hair is dark, the background lights up). As you may ascertain from what I have said here, there is a real ‘art’ to doing hair transplants, because the surgeon must understand the blend in color and contrast, hair thickness (like the brush strokes of a painting), the waviness of the hair, and the number of hairs available to fill in the balding area being transplanted. Like a portrait painting, you need to have a good artist doing it for it to look real, that is, unless you like the Picasso look.

If you wish to fill in the crown and make it fuller, you need to find a good hair transplant surgeon, one that is ethical and will be able to meet your goals without risking you to hair loss or deformities created by poor planning.

Anyway, here’s a photo of Dr. Pak’s crown, as mentioned above. Click the photo to enlarge.

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Shakespeare’s Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

How did 16th Century playwright William Shakespeare lose his hair? I’m sure you find yourself pondering that question every waking day of your life. Well, perhaps not. At any rate, I stumbled upon this year and a half old article that has an interesting take on why Shakespeare possibly lost his hair. The title of the article gives away the punchline, but enjoy…

Ouch.

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Shedding Hairs Get Thin At Root – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Doc, I’ve been on propecia for 4+ months. Ive started the infamous sheds about a week ago. I would say 90% of the hairs I shed are extremely thin. The ones that look like they are about dead. What’s weird about it, and what worries me, is that so many of the shed hairs seem like it thins out at the end (closer to the root). What trips me out is that my hair is about 4 inches long, so I get to see the trend of hair thickness from before propecia to now. And the fact that it looks like my shed hairs gets thinner at the roots gets me a little paranoid. Are shed hairs, whether affected by MPB or not, usually meant to thin at the end? Or is this a classic sign of MPB attacking my hair? Thanks Doctor!

What you are seeing is the shedding of the miniaturized hairs. Some physicians believe that the shedding impacts these miniaturized hair as they are forced into the hair cycling. The hair on the scalp follows three life cycles:

  1. Anagen
  2. Telogen
  3. Catagen

Once the hair falls out, I would expect that it would be replaced by a new, stronger hair coming into its Anogen phase.

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One Area Of My Hair Has a Different Texture – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Like the guy who says that his hair grows to 1/2 inch then falls out I’ve also had the problem of my hair growing to a certain length then falling out. This only occurs on the lower left region of my head. I’m 22 now and began having this problem when I was about 14 or so. I went to a dermatologist about it 4 years ago who told me that it may have come from overprocessing and suggested that I cut my hair off and regrow it or wear lose braids. I chose the braids of course and now I have a full head of natural hair. Recently though, I’ve noticed that the hair in this lower left side is a little shorter and almost has a little bit of a different texture than the other sections of my hair. Also every now and them, I get an itching sensation in this area or it’ll feel a little sore. I want to go back to relaxers but do you think this would be ok or would it fall out again? I actually have an appointment to see a dermatologist again but what tests would you suggeest I ask them to run to see if its ok?

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Wait until you see your dermatologist. It does sound like you are obsessing over subtleties in your hair. I wish I could add more, but I’d let your dermatologist do his/her thing and please feel free to let me know what the findings are. Please reference this posting when you reply.

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Here’s My Stats – Why Is My Hair Falling Out? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

  1. 18 Year old male
  2. Hair loss started around the age of 13
  3. This was when i first started geling my hair
  4. This occured with dandruff
  5. After a while this stopped, although hair remained very thin and became see through when wet
  6. About 1 month ago, started to loose about 20 to 30 hairs every time i shampooed or brushed my hair (no dandruff)
  7. Individual hairs can be pulled out fairly easily
  8. Started using a new hair gel a few weeks before the problem started
  9. During the period between my previous hair loss and now, i used gel in small amounts but these did not have any effect
  10. My hair gets very oily and weak when my nails grow for more than a week without trimming
  11. I had a blood test done and this only showed a very mild iron deficiency which the doctor said was not enough to make the hair fall out
  12. I had a very high fever about 4 months ago (New Year’s Eve)
  13. No history of hair loss in the family

Can you think of any reason why this is occuring and if so, is it treatable?

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  1. At 18 years old you may have the beginning of male pattern hair loss
  2. At 13 years old, as your puperty hit, you may have had some juvenile hair loss or a change in your hair character which is normal (not male pattern hair loss)
  3. Using a hair product, such as gel, does not cause or accelerate hair loss
  4. Dandruff is not associated with male pattern hair loss
  5. 20 to 30 hair loss during a shower is normal (we lose about 100 hair a day)
  6. Stop pulling at your hair, it will cause permanent hair loss
  7. Again, using hair styling products does not cause hair loss
  8. Oily hair is not related to hair loss (you can try using shampoo for oily hair)
  9. Your doctor was right — mild iron deficiency does not generally cause hair loss and it is easy to correct
  10. High fever on New Year’s Eve won’t generally cause hair loss. Any one day is no worse than any other day
  11. No, family history does not necessarily mean you will not have male pattern hair loss (there is no absolute rule)

If you had a complete medical workup and you are still concerned about hair loss, you should make an appointment with a hair doctor (a good dermatologist) to map your scalp hair with a densitometer to look for miniaturization and pattern of hair loss.

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Iron Levels – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, my hair has been falling out for a few months now and has become thin around the temples and forehead, I also get an itchy scalp. I went to my doctor who ordered blood tests which show low iron stores of 19ug/l range (20-160) my iron saturation is 15% range (20-45) I have been taking iron pills and multi-vitamins for a month now. How long will it take to build up my iron stores and see growth in the thin areas. Thanks

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From the iron studies, it appears that you have an iron deficiency, which may lead to hair loss. I am assuming that you are a woman, so please forgive me if I am mistaken. Bleeding causes iron deficiency and with your monthly blood loss, the iron must be replaced. Meat offers iron and is a good way to add iron to your diet. Iron deficiency can be from malabsorption if you have anything pertaining to diseases of your digestive system. Make sure you drink orange juice and Vit-C with iron to help with iron absorption. You need to continue to take your iron pill and repeat the blood work to see if your iron level has become normalized. Even then, it will take many months before your hair follicles respond with fuller hair.

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Hair Loss InformationScalp Is Itching, But Not Inflamed or Red – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Doc,

I am 23 and for the past three years I have experienced an itchy scalp and hair loss. About a year ago I went to the doctor and he said to use anti-dandruff shampoo. However this has done nothing to cure the itchiness of the scalp, which seems to be associated with hairloss, with both becoming more intense over the last six months. It seems to be rapid thinning across the crown and top midline where prior it was a slow receeding hairline. My question is why the sudden change from a slow receeding hairline to rapid hairloss and why the itchiness that is associated with the hairloss, knowing that my scalp is not red or inflamed. Sometimes it feels like a crawling sensation across the scalp.Also, I am thinking of taking propecia to slow the hair loss. Is this wise? What should I know before starting?

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Dry scalp tends to cause an itchy scalp. The more you scratch or think about your scalp, the more you will scratch your scalp. Excessive scratching can cause hair loss if it pulls the hair as you scratch (called trichotillomania). I am not certain if there is a true relationship between itchy scalp and hair loss. I believe taking Propecia would help with Male Pattern Baldness (MPB), but as I have said many times on this blog, you need to have a diagnosis first. Propecia could either regrow hair, stop the hair loss, or slow down the process of hair loss in someone with real male genetic hair loss.

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Hair Loss InformationSeborrheic Dermatitis on Eyebrows – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman,

I have been diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis on my eyebrow areas. My eyebrow hair are falling off all the time. They do grow back, but I notice that the texture of the hair is thinner than before I have got the problem. Does seborrheic dermatitis affect hair follicles in such a way as to cause the hair strands to get thinner?

Thank you very much for your time.

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Anything is possible. If you scratch it, you may be pulling out hairs and eventually this will lead to permanent hair loss. You can treat it topically with a low dose steroid (1/2% hydrocortisone cream) about three applications a week, 12 hours apart. This can be purchased over the counter and is safe, unless you take too much of it. Try it for the short term. If it works, see a good dermatologist to consult on what is the best way to keep it under control.