Female Hair Loss – Page 66

November 21, 2006

60+ Year Old Female – Hair Transplant Possibility? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m a 66 year old female taking thyroid and blood pressure pills for an underactive thyroid and high blood pressure. Would having hair transplantation be successful at this age? How much would it cost? My hair has become thin and brittle, as well sparse. Please let me know what is the possibility of a successful transplant without complications.

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To answer the question, I would want to understand the quality of your donor area and the degree of miniaturization you have in the hair of that permanent zone. Then I would want to know the extent of the hair loss and the size of the area that you want to treat. I would want to map out your scalp for miniaturization as I would need to know that information in order to ascertain if you will be helped or hurt by a hair transplant. Evaluating women for hair transplants is a real art combined with science. I met a doctor at the recent annual International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons meeting that told me that their medical group did surgery on better than 95% of women who came to them. I would suspect that the doctor has terrible results and many unhappy patients. Get a good doctor who knows about this and get yourself evaluated properly.

November 20, 2006

Cyst Removal on Head Causing Female Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i have been on the depo shot for about a year now and have noticed that my hair on the top of my head is thinning. now i didnt notice this until about august i think it was after i had a cyst removed from my head. it is by the area where it was removed but all they did to remove it was make an incision and it was tough coming out so they had to pull and dig a little. my question is could that removal of that cyst have caused this and in either case, will it grow back?

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Any procedure in the scalp may trigger hair loss at the surgical site. Two main factors may cause this local hair loss:

Shock loss: If you are predisposed to balding, you may have already had miniaturization to some degree and the surgery on the scalp may have only facilitated the process of hair loss. This phenomenon is called shock loss, and it may or may not be reversible. It varies per person.
Undermining the edges of incision: In order to remove a mass or cyst from the scalp or sometimes to reduce the tension of the skin edges, the surgeon may cut some of the hair follicles. Dissection of hair usually results in permanent baldness in the affected area. This baldness in a scarred area is similar to the hair loss that patients get after a craniotomy or scalp trauma.

My suggestion is to wait it out for 6 months. If the bald area doesn’t grow hair during this period, the baldness may be permanent. At that point, if the location of the scar is noticeable, you may want to see a hair transplant surgeon. The treatment options for this condition will be either to primarily remove it if the scar is small enough, or to use hair transplant to fill the bald area if it is too large.

November 20, 2006

Vitamin A & D and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female) regarding hair loss. I have tried it all, propecia, rogaine, the works. what i’d like to know is, I take loads of vitamins and supplements. I have hashimoto’s which I read I should take among others Vit.A and/or omega 3 fish oils. I was taking 5,000-10,000 of A and 400 iu of D. Then I thought I should get my a & d from fish oil instead. I take (2) 2500 Vit a and 250 vit.d a day.My question now becomes this. Would I need to take the same amount of Vit.a & d in the fish oil as in a regular a/d capsule which is from say carotene. I know a & d can become toxic and causes loss of hair and I’m wondering if that is my problem. What is a safe amount?? And which/ or both do you suggest.

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As a rule, a normal healthy diet should provide you with ALL the essential vitamins and minerals for a normal healthy person. Millions of dollars are spent on marketing supplements to a health conscious society and it gives a skewed perspective on our health and subliminally gives us the message that we need to take these extra supplements to make us better (lose weight, grow hair, increase our sex drive, build muscle, feel happy, get smarter, reverse aging, etc). As long as things are not done in the extreme and it seems to help, there is nothing wrong with taking supplements. But there is no hard medical science to support majority of the claims.

With respect to Propecia, it is only FDA approved for male pattern hair loss in men. It is not approved for women. For more information on the use of Propecia in women, see: Treatments Available for Female Hair Loss. With respect to Rogaine, you can try it out, but it would take about a year to notice any benefit. I do not know if you had tried it for a year before you abandoned it. With respect to vitamins and supplements, if they work for you, then I see no reason to change the regimen. With respect to your thyroid condition, you should follow up with the doctor who is overseeing your treatment and follow his recommendation. It is not something you cure with just supplements.

November 17, 2006

90 Year Old Woman Has Severely Itchy Scalp, Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

My mother-in-law is 90. She has been having a severe itch problem, dry scalp, and loss of hair. She has been to Her family Dr. and to a Dermatologist and they just say it is dry shin. She has a Rx cream to apply. I’m mainly concerned about her scalp. It is so very dry. I have given her a treatment for conditioning the hair. Also had her use Selsun Blue shampoo several times. It doesn’t seem to be getting better and the hair loss seems to be getting worse. She scratches her head so much that she gets sores. Is this just part of getting older or some other problem? Dr. here haven’t helped much. Do you have an answer? We would appreciate any help you can give.

Thank you so very much!

In dermatology, there is a humorous anecdote when referring to skin problems. It goes something like this — “If it is dry, wet it; if it is wet, dry it.” I would focus on shampoos and conditioners that are made for dry skin. Sometimes, I recommend a good quality hand lotion be gently rubbed into the scalp. Then with a shampoo an hour later, wash off the scalp with a shampoo for dry skin, following by a conditioner for dry skin. See if this works.

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November 15, 2006

Hair Loss InformationFemale Hair Loss from Ortho Evra? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ve been getting an increased amount of emails from women that are experiencing hair loss and are under the belief that it could be their birth control. Although I have discussed various birth control pills and hair loss in the past, it is worth posting again for new readers. Here’s one recent email…

I am a 24 year old female. I took Ortho Evra for about 4 years, until I realized that i was experiencing many of the side effects (I had no idea they were all related to the medication). One of the most troubling is the rate and the amount of hair I have lost. I have been off the patch for about a year now..and my hair keeps falling out (patches on a daily basis). Apart from cold medicine, I dont take any medications, and I just don’t know what to do to get my hair back. Please, please tell me there is something i can do. Please help me, i am so scared!!!

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First off, you should have your hair mapped out for miniaturization as part of the work-up for female hair loss to evaluate and quantify the degree and distribution of miniaturized hairs which may indicate genetic hair loss characteristics and patterns.

Hair loss in women can sometimes be caused by underlying medical conditions, so it is important for you to be evaluated by your own physician before we proceed. If clinically appropriate, the following disease processes should be considered: anemia, thyroid disease, connective tissue disease, gynecological conditions and emotional stress. It is also important to review the use of medications that can cause hair loss, such as oral contraceptives, beta-blockers, Vitamin A, thyroid drugs, coumadin and prednisone. The following laboratory tests are often useful if underlying problems are suspected: Estradiol, FSH, LH, SHBG, Prolactin, T4, TSH, ANA, Iron, TIBC, Ferritin, Free and Total Testosterone. Any family doctor can do this.

You started off asking about Ortho Evra, so I might answer that this drug can cause hair loss, as well as increased facial or body hair growth (hirsutism). It seems that you can not win with any drug.

November 15, 2006

Teen Girl Losing Hair, Wonders If It Is Cancer – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Im a 14 year old girl and about 2 weeks ago I cut my hair myself. I always do so I didnt think anything wrong was going to happen. But now any time I run my hand though my hair I have like a hair ball and it’s starting to scare me because I used to have really thick hair. My mom has thin hair. Could i have cancer? My grandmother has a history of it.

Based on what you’re telling me, I doubt that you have cancer. If there is a family history of cancer (ovaries, breast, uterus) then you should find out if your family has the gene for such cancers. If that is the case, you can get checked out for the cancer gene as well. If it is not in the family, I doubt that you need to get the genetic test. I remember when I was in medical school, each and every time I found out the details of a disease, I seem to have developed the symptoms of that disease. Eventually, I learned to disassociate my learning from my life and I stopped getting the weird diseases. At 14 years old, cancer is unusual, but that is a matter you should discuss with your parents and your doctor.

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November 13, 2006

Hair Loss Information » 5 Year Old Daughter’s Hair Won’t Grow — What Can We Do? – Balding Blog

My 5 year old daughter’s hair will not grow. The sides (around her ears) grow longer than the very back and top of her head. We have tried trimming it, (she does not have enough to trim any more than an 1/8 of an inch at a time), we have tried shampoos to strengthen it etc. When I run my hands through her hair, it comes out. We have taken her to a local doctor who had no answers for us. She is almost six and we are scared that this is going to become an issue with her soon. We do not know where to go at this point? Any suggestions?

There are a number of genetic diseases that could be responsible. A good dermatologist should evaluate her. An example of a genetic disease can be read about here — Gene Glitch May Up Inherited Hair Loss.

November 10, 2006

2 Weeks After Using Hair Dye, My Hair Is Falling Out! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’m a 28 year old female who has always had very long, thick and strong hair. I’ve dyed it for YEARS. Now, suddenly, my hair is falling out and baldness is not found on the woman’s side of my family. After I brush and after I wash I can literally pull out the hair by the handful. It’s scaring me to death. I dyed my hair about 5 weeks ago, and 3 weeks ago is when I began to notice this. Could it be connected? My scalp didn’t feel burned or hurt, so origially didn’t think it could be related to the coloring. However, I at a loss and I’m loosing my cool. Please help! Thanks so much.

It is normal to lose 100 hairs a day. You might consider stopping the hair coloring process to try to surround what is happening. That being said, I am sure you are noticing more hair falling out than what you are used to. It may be a phase or it may be a sign of a medical illness or a genetic balding process. Genetic balding does not necessary mean that your mother or father were balding. Hair loss in women can sometimes be caused by underlying medical conditions, so it is important for you to be evaluated by your own physician before we proceed. If clinically appropriate, the following disease processes should be considered: anemia, thyroid disease, connective tissue disease, gynecological conditions and emotional stress. It is also important to review the use of medications that can cause hair loss, such as oral contraceptives, beta-blockers, Vitamin A, thyroid drugs, coumadin and prednisone. The following laboratory tests are often useful if underlying problems are suspected: Estradiol, FSH, LH, SHBG, Prolactin, T4, TSH, ANA, Iron, TIBC, Ferritin, Free and Total Testosterone. You may benefit from a miniaturization study to examine your hair under a hair densitometer to document the health of your hair.

November 7, 2006

Crash Diet and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

In the passed 3 weeks my hair has been falling out. I know it is from crash dieting. Last week I started eating better (more calories) and taking vitimins. How long is my hair going to continue to fall out in large quantities. I am 46 years old, female. I have always had beautiful thick hair. It is at least 50% thinner now than it was three weeks ago. Please help me with this.

Thank you very much

A crash diet, as you have found out the hard way, is unhealthy. It can lead to malnutrition and stress your body in many ways — in your case, your hair fell out. Unfortunately, such stress can set off a cascade of events that may be hard to reverse. If you were genetically predisposed to hair loss, the stress of the crash diet may have kicked started your hair loss. If this is the case, this is hard to reverse. The only thing you can do is get yourself on a balanced diet and even consider getting a regular physical exam by your doctor. I cannot say if your hair will grow back but you will know in about 6 months or so. Only time can tell.

November 7, 2006

Hair Was Pulled, I’m Afraid It Loosened – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi,
During an unfortunate incident,about 2 days ago, someone pulled my hair very hard and she didn’t let go for quite a while. I have long hair, so she wrapped her fingers into it and maintained a strong grip. It really hurt and a lot of hair came out afterward. The hair on that side seems much thinner now, and my scalp really hurts. I am really upset and I am not sure of what to do. I have been extra gentle with my hair since then. I am wondering if it will grow back, and I am afraid that other hairs may have been loosened. What can I do to help it to grow back? Are there any suppliments or topical treatments that might help?

Also, I am 35 (female) and have some gray hairs. I am worried that more of the hair might come in gray. Is there anything I can do to keep my hair’s natural color if it grows back?
Thank you.

You may have some local trauma associated with the hair pulling and may lose some hair, but it is more than likely that your hair will grow back. It is just a matter of time (which can be weeks to as long as 6 months). I have seen one patient who had his hair transplants pulled out in a mugging. It all grew back within 6 months. As for the color when it grows back — if it grows in gray, you can color it. That’s the only solution I can recommend for “treating” gray hair.

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