Category: Female Hair Loss

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My Hair Keeps Falling Out In the Same Spot – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 21 year old African American Female. I started to relax my hair for the first time at about fourteen years old and after a couple months (maybe 6) the hair at the back of my head began to fall out. I then proceded to braid my hair for the next two years and relaxed it again at 16. Again, following a couple of months my hair began to fall out at the same place – the left corner of my head. I put it in braids again. I permed my hair for the last time when I was 18 and then decided that I was going to go natural. I braided my hair for the next two years to gradually grow out my natural hair. I now do not process my hair chemically (or hotcomb it) at all. However, last year after wearing my natural hair out for about 8-9mths my hair fell out in the same place again. Basically – My hair falls out repeatedly in the same place – the left corner in the back of my head. All the rest of my hair seems relatively fine. I usually put my hair in braids when this happens and the vast majority of the hair grows back (pretty quickly too). But after taking the braids out and leaving my hair out for a while, natural (no chemicals, or straightening products – just in a straight afro) it repeatedly breaks in that spot. HELP!! Do you have any hints into what is going on ?

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Braiding will cause hair loss from constant pulling pressure, meaning Traction Alopecia. This is a known permanent cause of hair loss in the African American community. All of the things you discussed can cause permanent hair loss if you persist in doing them. I can not tell you if you are past the point of no return, but would strongly advise that to prevent further hair loss, you should avoid braiding and everything else you are doing to your hair. After a year or so, you will know what your new baseline is.

Many women in your situation find that if they put a stop to the things that they are doing to get the style they need to function on a daily basis, then I understand that the problem and the solution clash. Even the wigs used by some women can produce traction alopecia if they pull on the hair, so you have to find a balance between your social needs and the costs (in hair loss terms) between the things you do.

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Hairline Lowering in 15 Year Old Female – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 15 year old female from Michigan. I have been dealing with the unfortunate inheritance of a high hairline. It has made me suffer through a lot of insecurities for most of my teenage years and I would like to learn more about hairline placement through the insertion of new hair follicles that weren’t present in the area before. I would also like the find out the average cost for both 1 and 2 procedures for future reference if possible. Thank you!

The hairline lowering procedure is a good one. The best way is probably the surgical approach where the actual hairline is lowered by up to an inch. The results of this are immediate (hair transplants take time) but there will be some minimal scarring in the frontal area for a while (most disappear over time) and these can be covered with bangs or other hair styling techniques. You must get your parents involved and there must not be a history of female genetic hair loss in the family. Cost for the hairline lowering procedure (one time surgery) is $9,000-$11,000 (there are no extra charges for anesthesia and the surgical room).

The cost for a hair transplant solution goes by the graft, so I would have to see pictures (with your forehead creased by lifting your eyebrows) both from the eyebrows up and full face as well (front and sides). Graft prices vary depending upon the circumstances; standby pricing is the least expensive at $5/graft, regular scheduling is $6/graft, and the fees are a bit higher if you request that I personally do the transplant procedure. Transplant estimates may range between 900-1300 grafts per session. Some people can get it done in a single hair transplant if their hair and skin color have low contrast and the hair shaft thickness is not fine. Send photos to the address on the Contact page and please reference this blog posting in your email.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

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Stress from Months Ago Still Causing Female Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 23 year old female and over the past 2 months I have lost over half of my hair. This past year i have gone through a divorce, had a miscarriage, lost my job, and hospitalized and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. My miscarriage was 6 months ago so i don’t believe that would still be affecting my hair loss but i could be wrong. When i went to the hospital in october for diabetes, my body was in a starvation stage, i was dehydrated, very little potassium, and down to 98lbs. (I regularly weigh 122). I’ve already been tested for thyroid disease and that came back negative. Is it possible that the stress that i had so long ago is just now causing all my hair to fall out? I’m very worried that i might lose it all. My dermotologist put me on over the counter medicine called appearex that contains 2.5 mg of biotin once daily. I’ve taken it for a week and my hair is still falling out by the handfulls. I wish i could find someone that could tell me exactly how to fix this problem but it all seems to be a guessing game. This is a very serious problem especially for females, we cant just go and shave our heads. Please help me if you can, i don’t know what else to do.
Thank you

I would expect that the some or all of your hair will return within a year. The body takes months to go through its cycle and the telogen cycle in people can vary between 3-8 months. That is the minimum time to get reversal to show. I am assuming that you do not have genetic hair loss as well, which can be precipitated by the stress and then some of the hair may not return.

Any residual elements of the above causes of hair loss, may continue to hold back growth and you have many causes all going on at the same time. Show patience, because you have little choice but to continue to correct your problems with the proper medical management (it seems that you are getting that now). Hopefully you will be rewarded with a return of your hair.

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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.

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African American Dermatologist? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Is there a way to find a national listing of African-American dermatologists? I am especially interested in those that deal with hair loss in the african-american female.

Thank you.

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I don’t believe that you need to have an ‘ethnic’ doctor to understand the nuances of African-American hair loss. It will be far more valuable for you to indentify a good dermatologist or hair doctor who has a specific interest in hair loss. Some of these can be found on the physician search at ISHRS.org, or American Academy of Dermatology. There are many causes for female hair loss, such as braiding (dreadlocks), hypothyroidism, iron deficiency, malnutrition, stress, hormone imbalance, contraception, high blood pressure medication, warfarin, eczema, psoriasis and other inflammatory disease. These diagnoses and other causes for hair loss are general people/female problems, not specifically African-American ones.

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I’ve Had Alopecia for 15 Years – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I suffer from hair loss for more than 15 years ( I am 36 years of age, female). I have been to a specialist here, in Uk, just to be told that I suffer of alopecia (no reason for it)and there is no treatment for it. Hence i never tried anything…But in the last 2 years the situation has worsen and I became desperate. Could you give me an advise, please?

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Rogaine (minoxidil) works in about half of the women who use it. Try it, but apply it twice a day and keep on it for at least 6 months to see if you get the benefit.

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Hair Loss from Hair Tracks – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 42 year old female and I was recently diagnosed with graves disease and i had iodine treatment to destroy the hyperthyroidism and I went into hypothyroidism. I wore tracks in my hair and noticed my scalp was itching and after taking the hair tracks out I noticed balding where the tracks were and my hair falling out. Will I get my hair back?

Traction alopecia, which appears to be the diagnosis, needs a recovery period in which you must wait up to a year or so to determine if the hair will grow back. I would not do anything but wait and do not use anything that will pull on the hair, or it will just make the situation worse. I am assuming that the hair loss reversed when you got control of your thyroid problem.

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Native American Indian Female with Thinning Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’m a 50 year old Native American Indian lady living in Phoenix, Arizona and would like to know why my hair is already turning white and thinning out. I’m thinking that I may have an illness that I don’t know about. Because it seem like I’m sick all the time. I am also going through my menopause so I don’t know if that’s triggering it.

I have gone to see the doctors and they taken blood tests, but keep telling me there’s nothing to be alarm about. But the point is I’m so wary about this matter and I see alot of the people in my age group that still have a mopful of dark hair and not going gray/white. Not only this, it seems like my face has age about 10 years older within the last year or two. Am I thinking (stressing) about this to much? What type of herbs or shampoo will help my hair? Or, am I lacking some type of vitamin deficiency? I don’t mind the aging gracefully, but not this fast. Please, let me know. Thank you.

I would have to write a book on what may be the cause of your hair loss. The fact that you feel sick is an indication that something may be wrong with you (such as hypothyroidism, eczema, alopecia, dieting, malnutrition, autoimmune, drugs, infection). Considering that you are an American Indian, genetic hair loss is uncommon, so I would start looking for a medical condition. Also, I would suggest that you get your hair and scalp mapped out for miniaturization, as that may point to genetic hair loss in the case that you are the exceptional American Indian with a genetic cause of it. In non-American Indians, hair thinning is present in almost half of females going through menopause.

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Female Hair Loss from Stress – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 44 year old female. Over the past 4 years, I have experienced a series of extremely traumatic events (far above average) resulting in a variety of stress related symptoms. Approximately 18 months ago, (almost overnight) I began to notice a significant amount of hair loss. It only caught my attention at first because of the dramatic increase of hair in the tub after showering. I was put on thyroid medication approximately one year ago (my levels were normal but my MD thought the hair loss might be related to a thyroid condition.) This did not seem to be effective. At this point, it seems the hair loss (although all over to some degree) is primarly at the temples / sides of the head, where the hair is now patchy and thin, with visible bald areas. Could this be a reaction to the years of extreme stress? I am at a loss as to what to do next, and so is my physician.

Stress is a major cause of hair loss in women with a genetic predisposition to it. You need to have a complete medical work-up to try to identify diseases or conditions that cause hair loss (such as hypothyroidism, eczema, alopecia, dieting, malnutrition, autoimmune, drugs, infection, genetics, etc). Then you need to have your hair mapped out for miniaturization to determine if your have the genetic patterns of female hair loss. 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. Show the information from this blog to your doctor to help him point to the various medical tests he should perform.

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Thyroid Medication and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 29 year old woman. 5 years ago a number of symptoms creeped up on me (this started 1 year after i stopped ortho-tri cyclen). The symptoms got progressively worse over the years. They included: hair loss, decreased metabolism (irregular bowel movement inspite of high fibre diet), cold intolerance, fuzzy headedness (lack of concentration), depression, dry skin, increasingly recurrent mild yeast infection.

My TSH was normal, so thyroid probs was ruled out. 2 months ago, i went to another doctor who listened to my symptoms and put me on synthroid. He thought i may be suffering from sub-clinical hypothyroidism. All my symptoms (except hair loss) have since compeletely clerared up … (i feel like i was given a new lease on life …and feel normal for the 1st time in years).

I am hopeful that the medication will resolve the hairloss as well, however i am worried since i have a lot of Hair miniaturization all over my head including back , side and top but most pronounced on top of my head and temples and sides. Do you think that thyroid problems could also cause miniaturization and i should wait and see if the problem gets helped. Or should i be starting another regimen…

Also , where can i get the desitometer measuring the progress or worsening of hair miniaturization, to figure out if my hair is improving with thyroid meds or not…

Thanks in advance !!

Female hair loss precipitated by birth control pills and thyroid disease in women programmed for genetic hair loss may not reverse. Only time will tell you.

The best place to get your own densitometer is at Radio Shack or a local small electronics shop. Look for something they call a hand microscope which should sell for around $15. Someone other than you will have to do the measurements at the same place each and every time you are examined and plot it out over time, possibly monthly.