Category: Hair Diseases

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Is Brittle, Dry Hair a Condition of Genetic Hair Loss in Women? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi I read the post about tamoxifen and hair loss. I’ve been on it almost 4 years and over time my hair has become dry, brittle, and thin. It seems to be noticeable only to me. My fingernails are also cracked and flaky. (I’ve read about many many other women having this problem on tamoxifen). Some women seem to have improvement when they go off tamoxifen and/or switch over to one of the newer hormonal therapies like Arimidex or Femara. But in your opinion, is this side effect just an exacerbation of a genetic condition (no females in my family have thinned hair) or potentially the result of some undiscovered effect of the drug, like impaired thyroid function? (I’ve heard that tamoxifen may heighten the body’s level of retinoic acid?) Thanks for any help.

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You seem to be well aware. Many drugs, such as Tamoxifen, can cause hair loss or even change hair/skin conditions. Judging from your limited history (and without the benefit of seeing you in person), it is difficult to judge the exact nature of your hair loss/ condition. You should be evaluated by a qualified dermatogist or internist/family doctor for a full medical work up.

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Lyme Disease and Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi there….I am a female with diffused hair loss for almost 19 years. Eventually it will all be gone. I have been tested for all the diseases that cause hair loss. Could Lyme Disease cause hair loss? If so what kind of hair loss is seen with the disease? Hopefully you can help me, thanks!

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You should be evaluated by a qualified hair transplant doctor or a dermatologist. You may have a condition known as diffuse alopecia areata , a variety of conditions (search women’s hair loss on this site) and you may have DUPA.

With respect to Lyme disease causing your hair loss, you would have many other medical problems if you had this disease for 19 years. It is conceivable that Lyme disease may cause hair loss, but it would be very non-specific, as many other disease states and stressors can affect hair loss. Therefore, I suspect your hair loss of 19 years is not related to Lyme disease.

From my nine years working with Dr. Rassman, he has taught me a simple way to approach any cause of hair loss. Hair loss can be divided in to five causes:

  1. Genetics – such as male pattern baldness
  2. Stress – such as emotional, disease states, or trauma
  3. Hormonal – such as hypothyroidism
  4. Age – we all lose hair with age
  5. Medical diseases including unexplained weight loss

By Dr. Jae Pak

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Using Arm or Armpit Hair As Donor? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have an unusual hair replacement question. I suffered from alopecia and my entire hairline fell out along with some of the fron of my browline. I have been using organic products with great success and finally after a year, My hair line is returning, but the space between my brows has not filled in and now my features are greatly imbalalnced. i was wondering if it is possible to have a browline restoration procedure on a very small area, about 5/8inch on front of right brow and 1/4 or 2/8inch on left brow? As technology has advanced so much with the advent of hair restoration, I think this would be great for me, but would it be very expensive as it is such a small area of hair to be replaced/enhanced? ANd would armhair or armpit hair be eligible as donor hair as it more closely resembles the bushy brow area hair. I am AA by the way.

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The technology is available to transplant hair from one part of the body to another. However, the catch is that the hair transplanted from one part of the body, such as your armpit, will retain the same characteristics from the donor site (in this case being the armpit area). So hair moved to your eyebrows will still look like armpit hair. I generally like to use scalp hair as the donor because it most often reflects normal eyebrows. Bushy eyebrows are easy to create if needed, the art is in making it fine and less bushy from any donor site.

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10 Months Since Chemo And Hair Has Still Not Fully Regrown – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

My son who is 21 completed a 4 cycle chemo treatment in May 05. Today his hair is still very thin, fine and spots of balding. I have left a message today with his doctor for some advise when I saw your web page. Any suggestions? I know hair growth takes a while but it is going on 10 months now. Thanks!

Hair loss during and after chemotherapy is one of the most distressing side effects. Hair loss occurs because chemotherapy targets all living cells in the body including hair follicle cells. Simply put, chemotherapy is poison to all living cells. It is a medical balancing game where the cancer cells are killed before the chemotherapy kills you.

Hair follicle cells have three phases of growth:

  1. Growth phase (Anagen phase) which lasts anywhere from 2 to 6 years. This is the phase where your hair is actively growing at approximately 10cm per year. 85% of hair is at this phase at any given time.
  2. Transitional phase (Catagen phase) which lasts about 2 weeks. This is the phase where the hair follicle shrinks and prepares to enter the resting phase.
  3. Resting phase (Telogen phase) which lasts about 1- 2 months. This is the phase where hair does not grow but stays attached to the follicle. Some hairs are shed at this phase, but at the end the hair follicle re-enters the growth phase to start the cycle over again. 10-15% of hairs are at this phase at any given time.

During chemotherapy, hair in the growth phase is most affected due to the active nature of the hair follicle. Ideally, hair lost during chemotherapy should start to grow after 3 to 6 months. Unfortunately, new hair may grow thinner, slower, or with different texture or color.

Your son’s hair growth seems to be returing, but at a much slower rate than you have anticipated. This may be due to the 4 cycles of chemotherapy. This may also be due to the fact that your son’s body is recovering at a different rate than expected. It may just be a normal recovery pace for your son. Ultimately, if your son is healthy and is in remission, that is the most important priority. Neverthess, hair loss is certainly the most visible and distressing side effect of chemotherapy and a stigmata of cancer. There are a number of support groups and wigs available to chemotherapy patients, which are sometimes even covered by insurance companies. Finally, topical creams or Propecia would not be of benefit for hair loss from chemotherapy.

By Dr. Jae Pak and Dr. William Rassman

[Note: This blog entry has been answered by Dr. Jae Pak, who has been working with Dr. Rassman for the past 9 years developing new surgical instruments and hair transplant procedures.]

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Too Young for 3 Year Old to Have Hair Treatments? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My 3 years old son begin lose 3 spot of hair 6 months ago. Local specialist doctor determined he had alopecia areata and suggested to wait and observe becase he is too young. Hair loss problem did not stop. Up till 3 months ago, he had lost more 70% of his hair. Doctor still suggested to wait and observe because his young age even though explaining to me the few possible treatments. My son condition did not improve nor getting worse since then. Should my 3 years old son take possible treatment or is it too risky for such young children to take treatment?

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Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition where your body’s immune system mistakenly thinks it’s own hair follicle is a foreign invader, like a bacteria or a virus. It is diagnosed under a microscope by a biopsy of the scalp. Although it is natural to be concerned about unnatural hair loss in a 3 year old, alopecia areata is not a sign of a serious disease. It is more of a social and emotional disturbance. While some treatment may be available, it is not a cure or a guarantee that it will work. There is no permanent cure for alopecia areata. In addition, the treatment in itself may be more harmful to your child than it does good. For instance, steroids are sometimes used to treat alopecia areata by decreasing your body’s immune system. It is not hard to realize that this may not be the best choice when the main purpose of your body’s immune system is to fight infections and diseases. In short, it is a balancing game of choosing the lesser evil. Thus, for your son, taking the conservative approach of waiting and observing may be in your son’s best interest. Hoping that your son’s hair may grow back on its own (and not be permanent) is the best you can do with this disease.

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Demodecosis and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Doctor,
I have recently recoverd from demodecosis (pathological demodex infestation) and now my hair is growing back (front recession and vertex thinning).

What the heck is going on?

Infestation with parasites can cause a lot of problems. Fortunately, these are not that common in the United States. I honestly don’t know what is going on, since I don’t have all of the info. Where have you been and what have you been doing? Where is the explosure coming from?

You can expect your hair to return with proper treatment, just as you are seeing. For more info on this, please see: eMedicine.com

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Alopecia Areata in 4 Year Old – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My daughter who is 4 years old has been diagnosed by doctor has having “alopecia areata (AA)” . I am really worried about her treatment.

She is being given
a)Minoxodil Topical Solution USP 2%
b)Prednisolone Sodium Phosphate Suspension- Omnacortil suspension- 5m/5ml
c)Tretinoin Cream USP- Retino -A 0.025%

is this a good medicine or any new development has been done in this year 2005? please do let me know if any thing else can be done to get my daughter treated permanently

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Doctors who treat Alopecia Areata have a particular interest in this disease. This appears to be a standard treatment for this disease, but this is a highly specialized field and I would assume that your doctor is fully in command of the treatment.

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Transplanting Females with Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and Glaucoma – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello I have several more question I need answers for before I consider a transplant procedure. Can you preform this procedure if you have diabetes or high blood pressure and glaucoma and if not do you have another kind of treatment for a candidate like me. Is there a medication in a different form? I am female.

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I am assuming that the hair transplant is appropriate and you are concerned about the existence of the medical problems. These problems are not contraindications for hair transplants which are performed under local anesthesia. I have my diabetic patients continue to eat and take the same medications that they would normally take. I would expect that the blood pressure is under good medical treatment and that the glaucoma is also well controlled. In people like you, any problems have not been different than in people without diabetes or high blood pressure.

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Hair Loss After Chemotherapy – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in July 2005 and began chemo and lung radiation shortly after that. I lost my hair after the first month of treatment. After my chemo, my hair started to grow back, only for the doctor to tell me that I needed to do a 3-week round of brain radiation as a percautionary measure since the lung tumor was gone and there seemed to be no other organs affected. I finished these treatments about two weeks before Christmas 2005. I totally lost all of the hair that I had grown back, yet again. Well…here it is February 19, 2006 and still no sign of any hair growth at all. My question is this: How long before I should consider this a permanent condition? I’ve basically already given up hope and kissed my long blonde hair goodbye. I would just like to know how long I should wait before I consider the fact that I might not be growing back any hair ever. Thank you.

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I am sorry to hear that you have small cell lung cancer. After cancer treatments, hair can go into a dormant phase for many months. You may have to wait up to 6-8 months for hair to regrow. Some people will have all of their luxurious hair grow back once the effects of chemotherapy have gone. Let’s hope that this is in your future along with a healthy body.

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Alopecia Areata Doctor Recommendation – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Doctor,
About four years ago my sister’s hair started to fall out in chunks, expecially in the back. She has very large bald spots all along the back, and the top hair is very thin. At first nobody wanted to treat her, but then a doctor told her she had an auto-immune disorder – alopecia – and that there really was not any cure. She has tried steroid injections in her head, all sorts of topical solutions, and is now doing Chinese herbs. She is in her early 30’s and I know the hair loss has really taken an emoitonal toll on her. Do you recommend any doctors in the San Diego area who specialize in these types of problems, or any solutions?

Thank you very much.

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It sounds like she has Alopecia Areata. This is a difficult disease to treat. One doctor at UCLA has specialized in this, Dr. Richard Strick, and as you are in southern California, I would try to make an appointment with him. He has developed special protocols for this disease and I have sent a few patients to him who have achieved remarkable results. He is also on the National Alopecia Areata Foundation medical advisory board, where his contact information is toward the bottom of this page: NAAF Scientific Advisory Council 2005/2006.