Category: Hair Diseases

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Female Hair Loss and Stress – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 52 year old female. My hair has been thinning since the age of about 35. For the past year I have been using cold laser at a medical facility in Oakbrook, Illinois. My hair seems to be getting worse. I am in the process of adjusting my thyroid medication. I have low thyroid and was taking .05. Now I am trying .75 for the past week. I was also diagnosed anemic in may of 2005, and am now taking a vitamin plus iron supplement. I recently went through a very stressful family situation. Do you feel these are reasons for the further hair loss despite the action I have taken. Also, Do you have offices in Chicago where I could get a blood workup by physicians that understand hair loss in women. My doctors just seem to sluff it off. I would appreciate any suggestions you can give me.

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Most of the conditions you outlined are known to cause hair loss. Add to that, genetic factors which have been present since your 30’s and you are a set-up for worsening of the hair loss. Clearly, you must get on top of the medical problems you are experiencing. The hair loss is a combination of both medical and genetic causes and there is no guarantee that it will reverse, but women often get some reversal of hair loss when the medical (disease) causes of hair loss are brought under control. A good doctor is critical to treating your process. Start off with a caring family doctor.

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Hair Loss InformationHair Loss from Illness – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman.

I was hoping to get your honest opinion.

I’m a 23 year old male, in the best health of my life. I work out 6 days a week, and have a healthy diet. But my hair troubles me a lot.

I have a normal hairline, but thin hair, resembling a Norwood 5. My father was bald (norwood 7), and growing up, i kind of expected to go bald eventually. My dad started to lose his hair around 35-40. I have an elder brother who’s 30, and has a full head of hair.

I first noticed the slightest amount of thinning shortly after my 19th birthday. I was in college, and everybody (boys and girls) complained of losing hair, so i thought nothing of it. But the thinning proceeded, till about 2 years ago, when i suffered from a severe stomach infection. unfortunately my university was in a small town in india, so proper treatement wasn’t available. I somehow managed to finish the semester, and return home for treatement. I was diagnosed with systemic edema of the alimentary canal, and had gastritis, oesophagitis, deodenitis, etc. I also had a H. pylori infection. Till then, i was experiencing massive hair loss. I was shedding like a dog on a couch. My pillow and bed used to be literally covered with hair. Thing is, some days into my treatement, my hair stopped falling off. My haemoglobin is slightly low, which my gastroenterologist supposes is due to retarded iron absorbtion due to my stomach condition. However, 10 months later, my haemoglobin is still 12.8, and MCV of 51, and MCH of 51. Not much of a change since then.

I thought my hair would grow back once i got better, but this has turned out not to be the case. Personally, I’m confused as to what i’m suffering from. Is it androgenic, since my hairline is intact? I do have norwood 5 style loss, but it is thinning, not totally gone.

I think 23 is too young for my level of baldness. Maybe at 40, but not 23. I have been seeing a homeopath about this matter for the last 8 months, and haven’t noticed any difference. I’m not even sure if minoxidil will help me.

What do i do?

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It sounds like you had a series of health problems and you also have genetic male pattern loss. Heath problems (just from stress) can accelerate the genetic balding pattern. When the hair is lost from genetic causes in men, it rarely comes back, even if the health problems are ‘fixed’. This is not always the case with women’s genetic hair loss. The key is to go on the drug Propecia (finasteride), as that is your best option to stop hair loss and delay it’s restart. Some men at your age may get regrowth of the hair. There is no down side to this treatment. In the United States it requires a prescription.

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Androgenetic Alopecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have a couple of questions about androgenetic alopecia.

1. How fast can the onset of AGA be? Is it possible to have AGA and notice dramatic loss/thinning within a three-month period or less, without any previous awareness of a problem?
2. Can AGA involve some patchy hair loss, in addition to the thinning hair? Or would the patches have to be due to a separate disorder happening at the same time?

Thanks very much.

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AGA is often first noticed after 50% or more of the hair loss has already occurred. This is unfortunately a common finding. Men deny or refuse to see the hair loss in its earliest stages. It is not something normal men look at unless they are unusually primed by balding in the family or amongst friends.

Patchy hair loss can be associated with diseases and should be looked at by a good hair doctor or dermatologist. The two can happen at the same time, but the diseases that produce patchy hair loss must be diagnosed.

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Hair Loss InformationAlopecia Conditions – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Barring any sort of glaring injury like a burn, how easy is it for a dermatologist to tell if someone has scarring alopecia and their hair follicles have been permanently damaged?

I’m a female in my twenties and have had scalp dermatitis for several years. I tend to scratch it pretty badly in my sleep, resulting in small open spots that then scab over. Just within the last five months or so, I have developed bald patches as well as diffuse hair loss. There are other things it could be, but is scarring alopecia a possibility? Also, could the hair loss be from the dermatitis itself?

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The best way to determine which alopecia condition you have, is to get a dermatologist with considerable experience in diagnosing the various alopecias to give you an opinion. You may then need to get a biopsy of the area of alopecia and get a dermatopathologist to read the biopsy if there is any doubt on cause. Most good dermatologists do this in tandem, although your history seems to suggest that your constant scratching has produced traction alopecia with possibly some scarring. Sometimes, the alopecia will reverse (Alopecia Areata for example) if you completely stop scratching it.

Clearly, the picking of your hair at night can produce trichotelomania, which is a condition where constant picking or scratching causes hair loss. The diagnosis is always clear on microscopic examination of the scalp. If it only happens in your sleep, put on mittens and sleep with them on. Get a good doctor to examine you before you startsleeping with the mittens and after a few months. If the mittens works, then the changes that we can see under magnification will demonstrate that you are on the right path. Ordinary dermatitis without picking or scratching should not cause hair loss, unless is is associated with the genetic forms of hair loss.

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Female Hair Loss and Chest Pain – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 33 year old female who visited a dermatologist that specializes in hair loss because of a receding hair line, (frontal hairline thinning). Very much the same why men start receding in the front. I was diagnosed with female patterned baldness and told to take Rogaine. In the past I was told the 2% was not very effective to use the 5% but the nurse has informed me to use the 2% and it will take up to 12 months to see any results. I have used the 5% in the past and have not had any side affects though I am not completely happy with the results. Is there any other medications or options I can take other then the Rogaine? I am feeling a tightness in my chest and shortness of breath which I think is from using Rogaine, but I am not 100% sure. I have had blood work done and everything has come up normal. I take no medications other then the Rogaine. It is just so frustrating to be told to use Rogaine when there has been so many medical advancements for men.

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Bells go off for me when I hear about tightness in the chest. Women with heart disease is far more common than most people realize. You must remember that Rogaine is a hypotensive medication and could induce (under certain conditions) a drop in blood pressure and chest pain from Angina. Please, see a good doctor. If you want an opinion on what to do about hair loss, please take a read through the many Female Hair Loss posts on this blog. If you are on the west coast, please come and see us.

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Hair Loss InformationThinning on the Sides – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i have noticed that on the side of my head my hair is very thin and i notice bald spots on the side. can you please tell me why? please tell me why?

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I would want to see pictures of your sides to differentiate between various forms of balding and skin/hair diseases. Please send me digital pictures to the address on the Contact page and I will give you feedback on what I see. Best if you could come to see me either in Northern or Southern California, where I have offices.

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Hair Loss InformationHair Loss in Autistic Female – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have an autistic 17 year old female whose normally thick and healthy hair is now thinning. I know her diet is not the best secondary to autism but she gets ample amounts of protein and loves all vegetables. There are no medidcations involved and no diet changes or home stress issues that I can pinpoint. She is not verbal so questioning her is not an option. Could you lead me to a resource for information or suggestions. Thank you for your time.

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I have not read any research that indicates a higher instance of hair loss in autistic teens or adults. However, I would think that autistic people have a higher level of emotional stress, which is one of the ‘big four’ causes of hair loss. You should have a good doctor examine her and look for one of the many medical causes of hair loss. The following problems are among those that should be considered: anemia, thyroid disease, connective tissue disease, and various gynecological conditions. These laboratory tests may be useful if underlying medical problems are suspected: CBC, Chem Screen, ANA, T4, TSH, STS, Androstenedione, DHEA-Sulfate, Total and Free Testosterone. Many medications, including vitamins and over the counter drugs, can also contribute to hair loss.

Genetic causes of hair loss in a 17 year old female, is unusual. Look to the family and see if anyone had such a problem at that age or if there is female genetic hair loss in any of the women in your family. It is more likely that a medical condition, rather than genes, may be the cause of the hair loss.

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Hair Loss InformationTrichotillomania – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have been picking my hair for years. I would like to think that I stopped, but I know that I keep picking at it. I now have a series of bald areas where the picking has taken out some hair. Is this permanent? Will it come back if I stop picking at it? Can it be transplanted if it does not grow back?

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The medical condition is called trichotillomania. Children or adults sometimes twist or pull their hair, brows, or lashes until they come out. This hair pulling is sometimes a coping response to unpleasant stress and occasionally is a sign of a serious problem of an obsessive disorder. If the picking stops early enough, then the traction alopecia that results will reverse. However, this is not what usually happens as most of the people with this disorder continue to pick on the hair until it eventually becomes lost permanently. The best way to determine permanence is to look at the area with a high-powered microscope. Active areas of trichotillomania show blunted, short hairs which are signs of recent regrowth of plucked hair. When these short hairs do not show up under microscopic examination, the traction alopecia is probably permanent.

Yes, hair transplants can put the hair back in the area of alopecia produced by trichotillomania, but the problem with doing it is that the person will just pluck out the same hair again and again and produce the bald spot. What is the point of transplanting the area of alopecia only to have it returned? The key is to address the trichotillomania from a medical/psychiatric medication or therapy approach and solve the underlying problem. Once the patient knows that the cause of the trichotillomania has been fully addressed, then the reward can be a hair transplant to put their hair back.

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Scalp Psoriasis and Transplants – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Does a history of scalp psoriasis (assuming it is under control with treatment) rule out using minoxidil or transplants to offset hair loss?

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Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that has a genetic preference in its victim selection. It comes in all degrees of activity. Simple dandruff may be a very low active state of psoriasis and as it becomes more severe, it takes on more of the characteristics of the disease state, where scaling of the skin and red areas in the affected area can become painful. Flaking of the skin can be easily seen when psoriasis affects the scalp. Baldness is also a genetic process but it is unrelated to psoriasis. Both processes can co-exist in the same person and both can be treated independently at the same time.

People with psoriasis often ask about transplanting the disease from one area of the scalp to another. Can, for example, skin taken from the area where psoriasis is active, move the disease to areas in the recipient area that are not showing signs of the disease? The answer here is no, as the disease seems to be localized in the area where the scaling exist and moving the hair from the scaling area does not impact the normal recipient area, assuming the recipient area is normal. Psoriasis can be aggravated in the area where the disease is active by any trauma and surgery is a trauma. Some people who tend to pick at their skin and hair can develop traction alopecia (hair loss) if they persist on picking over a prolonged period of time.

I generally tell my patients to use a topical treatment (steroids) on any active area of psoriasis prior to a hair transplant so that the scaling that occurs will be less bothersome during the transplant process. I try to get good control of any scalp psoriasis prior to a hair transplant.

With regard to minoxidil, if this medication does not produce skin side-effects, then one can use it with psoriasis. If side effects should appear or the psoriasis should become worse with minoxidil, then the medication may not be a good choice.