Hair Loss Causes – Page 163

September 21, 2009

Could My Diabetes Be Causing My Neck Hair to Thin? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman,
I’m a 55 year old male in good health with the exception of being a type 1 diabetic. I have been using propecia and rogaine for 10 years with very good results and have maintained almost all of what I started with.

Here’s my question. My hair is thin at the nape of my neck. I can pull on it and 5 or 10 hairs will come out each time. I don’t think I have DUPA because I cannot see any change in my crown,vertex or hairline. I have read on your site that this type of loss is genetic. I know you prefer not to diagnose online but could the diabetes have anything to do with it? my A1c is 7.5 to 8.0 which I know is an the high side – Thanks

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I doubt that the diabetes is causing your neck hair loss. I have seen men over the years (in airports, on the streets, in shopping centers, etc) who have lost just their neck hair and not their scalp hair, so I believe that this is a genetic trait in these men. I suspect that the number of hair cycles your neck hair has is limited and those hairs develop apoptosis (meaning that they have reached the end of their lifetime); if this is the case, there’s not much you can do. Perhaps applying minoxidil to the area will cause new hair growth? Also, I agree with you — it doesn’t sound like it is DUPA if it is limited to the nape.

September 18, 2009

Must Hair Be Miniaturized Before Falling Out? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doc, I have a buring question, I am a 29 year old Asian made with very thick black and have very good hair coverage, my question is when i comb my hair I see thick black hair that come out approx 10-15 not what you would describe as minutrized hair. Must hairs be minutrized when they fall out as mine seem very strange becase they appear to be very health ‘normal’ hair?

Thanks doc

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Norwood 4A I do not believe that hair must be miniaturized to be lost hairs in the balding patterns. Miniaturization does point to a problem, though, for as the DHT attacks the hair, the impact suppresses the hair growth to normal circumference (hence “miniaturized”). As the balding process probably reflects the number of cycles of a hair in any given location, a hair will only live out the number of cycles it is destined to live (for example, hair in the front might have 10 cycles in your lifetime of 3 years each). The hairs around the head usually will outlive you, while the hairs in the front for a Norwood Class 4A (see image at right) balder may last only 7-12 cycles, on average.

September 17, 2009

My Moustache is Disappearing – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Sir, my problem is that my moustache started disappearing on left side gradually. I have a habit of shaving daily so it was not noticed by me earlier. But now it has reached to about half. How to stop this and what to do so that hair is again grown in the bare part? Please cure my problem!

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That is rather strange. Perhaps you can send me a picture? I can’t simply cure your problem for a couple of reasons, the first one being that I’m not a magician and the second one being that there is no cure for hair loss. I have no clue what could be causing it and you really should see a dermatologist in your area to get to the bottom of your disappearing mustache.

I’ve answered a similar question before here and was just as baffled then.

September 16, 2009

Periods of Greater Hair Loss? – Balding Blog

I read everywhere losing up to 100 hairs a day is normal. When I wash my hair I usually notice losing 20-30 hairs. Sometimes though I’ll notice a spike (for a few weeks) and notice 50 or 60. Is it normal to go through periods of a greater shedding/hair loss? Thanks for your time.

Yes, the average is about 100 hairs per day but it does vary by day, time of year, and possibly stress levels.

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September 16, 2009

Reactive Hair Loss? – Balding Blog

Please explain to me what reactive hair loss is…..

This is usually another name for shock hair loss (or shock loss), which can occur in association with a hair transplant. We used to see this often in the days before Propecia (finasteride 1mg) was available, but the use of this drug in men before the hair transplant has prevented most surgical induced hair loss.

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September 16, 2009

Teen Girl with Bulimia and Hair Loss – Balding Blog

(female) i have bulimia, i used to smoke weed and be very depressed. during that time, i had a v8 moment and suddenly realized my hair was soo much thinner than it used to be. i looked around and realized both of my older sisters, have extremly thin hair, balding hair i guess could describe it more. they have been smoking for tens of years, i have stopped, unfortuantely i have picked up another habit. i guess i want to know what everyone else here wants to know, will or could it grow back? also, i am only 15, im still growing, is there hope?

I would have to see you and understand what you are actually referring to as thinning. I would map out your scalp for miniaturization, perform a hair pull test, and then render an opinion. Obviously without seeing you, I can not really understand what your situation is and where you are in this cycle.

Bulimics often have hair loss from stress and unhealthy weight loss, so I would like to know more about your overall nutrition. I wouldn’t rule out that your hair could regrow at some point, but I doubt it will until you get your eating disorder under control. Hopefully it is a temporary telogen effluvium, but I have no way to know that over the web and without some more medical history.

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September 14, 2009

When I Comb My Hair, I See Thinner Hairs Falling Out – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr Rassman,

You often recommend that people get their hair mapped with a densitometer. I am still trying to find someone in my area to perform this. But here’s the question. I can see very clearly when I comb my hair that some of the hairs that fall out are shorter, thinner, and lighter in color than others. I can also see that many hairs along my front hair line and at my temples also look this way. Aren’t these hairs “miniaturized”? Is there anything other than common pattern hair loss that causes such miniaturization?

Male, age 28

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The thinner, lighter hairs you likely see at the frontal hairline and temples are called vellus hairs in normal non-balding men and they could be miniaturized hairs as well in the balding male. Vellus hairs are normal and help to create the visual transition from hair to no hair (from scalp to face). The hairs that you see coming out when you comb could be miniaturized hairs which are weaker hairs being pulled out by the brushing or they could be coming out as part of the natural hair cycling process. I’m not sure that what you’re seeing indicates genetic hair loss. That being said, I’m just going off of what you wrote and haven’t seen you to be able to form any kind of opinion on your state of balding.

If you can’t find someone in your area, you can map it yourself with the right tools (and by watching a video tutorial).

September 14, 2009

Female Hair Loss After Scalp Infection – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello, 2 weeks ago a little cyst i had on my scalp got infected. My Doctor gave me antibiotics and 2 days later i had a lot of pus coming out for a few days. now the infection is gone and the little cyst is there, back to its original dime size, but i lost a lot of hair (about a quarter size in diameter if not larger) on top and around the cyst. Will it grow back? How long, if ever, should i start noticing hair growth? If not, before considering a hair transplant are there any natural remedies product that could activate the hair growth? thanks

It may grow back. I generally tell people to wait up to a year for growth the return. There are no special remedies or products that would grow back that hair. If you still have a cyst I would make sure there isn’t an infection brewing underneath. Follow up with your doctor.

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September 11, 2009

Hair Above Where I Use My Cell Phone is Thinning – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Doc,
I have an area above my right ear where the hair is about 75% thinner — the hair itself, not the coverage, though that’s thinner too. There is also a substantial amount of grey hair here, but not the thick scraggly kind, these are also finer than the rest of my hair. Of note — I don’t have any grey hairs anywhere else but this area. No one in my family appears to have a similar condition. The only thing I can attribute it to is cell phone usage. I only hold the phone to my right ear, and while I don’t spend all day on the phone, I do take 20-30 calls/day. I’m interested in your comments.
Thanks

If (keyword is: “IF”) cell phone use is causing your hair loss, maybe you are pressing it too tight to your ear and rubbing up on the side of your head where you have hair loss. This would be considered traction alopecia.

I highly doubt it has to do with radiation from cell phone use. It may not be cell phone related at all and what you’re seeing is coincidental. Without an examination and a more careful history your guess is as good as mine.

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September 11, 2009

I Started Losing Hair at 46 Years Old, But My Twin Has No Loss! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 50 year old male… There’s no history of baldness in family. At around 46 years of age I started noticing thinning hair around the right front side of my hair. There was no noticeable thinning elsewhere on my head. Then at around 48 years of age I noticed the left front side and top front of my hair thinning. And around the upper back of my head I noticed thinning hair. It stayed about the same – no extra thinning until 2 weeks ago and now I’ve experienced more thinning than ever on both front sides and on upper back of my head.

I have a twin brother who has not experienced any hair loss at all. Could the hair products (waxes, putty’s, pastes, and pomades) be causing this? I wash my hair once to twice a week. Sometimes with just water. My hair is very dry. I’m not experiencing any scalp itching or pain.

You may have genetic balding. If you have an identical twin brother it should affect him as well. If your twin brother is a fraternal twin, you are like any other person in the family with regard to balding risks. It’s unclear what you have with just a description. I would follow up with your doctor to get a good diagnosis. I doubt hair products caused such hair loss.

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