my hair accidentally touched (clorox) while cleaning bathroom. it began to fall, and brake. my doctor said its a chemical burn and i need 2 months to feel progress. my hair from one area is broken and falling. i take tablets called (multihair). will my hair get well again?
If you just got bleach on your hair you’re likely going to be fine. It just takes time and patience, so follow your doctor’s advice and wait for the regrowth process.
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Hi Doc.First of all, congratulations for this website.
My question is the following: Can an exposure to common microwave-oven rays cause hair-loss? If so, to what extent? Thank you for your help
Common microwave oven rays should not cause hair loss, but I am not a physicist. I would like to believe common microwave ovens are safe as long as you use it as it is intended according to manufacturer’s instruction. According to the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) microwave (MW) radiation are electromagnetic radiation in the frequency ranges 300 MHz – 300 gigahertz (GHz), respectively.
Most of what I find on microwave radiation is from commercial applications such as cellular phones and radar (not microwave ovens). Some sites have quoted a 1998 book, “The Body Electric“, that mentions a Russian study concluding that hair loss occurs from microwave ovens, but I can’t vouch for this. I would also check out the U.S. FDA site on microwave oven radiation.
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Hi Dr. Rassman,I have been to two dermatologists about my recent diffuse shedding which I believed to be telogen effluvium and they did very little to help because they said “you look like you have hair”. One dermatologist took some of the shed hairs and said he could not really tell if there was clubs on them because they were somewhat clubbed but had a tail too. When i look at them i can clearly see a white bulb at the end about twice the diameter of the hair but at the end of the bulb there is a very short hair like structure that is much thinner that the hair itself, the hair is very different from the ones i would say “pluck out”. So my question that I and my dermatologist was stumped on is whether they were telogen hairs because they had a tail at the end of the bulb.
Thank You
The telogen effluvium hair often has a white bulb and a mucus debris at the end so this could be the correct diagnosis. Also, the ‘hair pull test’ will show more than 10% of the hairs that are pulled, and will come out between the fingers that pull it. If you do this test, be gentle when the hair is pulled.
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Snippet from the article:
Researchers in Japan have identified a gene that appears to determine cyclical hair loss in mice and believe it may also be responsible for hair loss, or alopecia, in people.
In a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists described how they generated a line of mice that were lacking in the Sox21 gene.
Read the full article: Scientists identify gene that may explain hair loss
I’m sure there will be much more information announced about this, as hair loss is a billion dollar industry and companies will be trying to figure out ways to use this new find to their advantage. So far though, this has only been shown to be valid in mice and “could” be the case for humans, as well.
Here’s some past hair loss genetics news:
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Dr. Rassman,
Can Alopecia Areata be detected histologically even when it is not active?
It has to be active and the biopsy must be done at the margin between the hairy area and the bald area (just on the edge). If it’s not active you can’t tell. Otherwise, it just looks like scarring alopecia.
I would like to get your opinion on why I am experiencing relatively sudden thinning. I am 19 years old. I can’t pinpoint the exact time that my hair started getting thinner, but I can say that my hair was completely full a little under a year ago, because of my driver’s license photo.
I have a feeling the hair loss is far too aggressive to be male pattern baldness, because I have had no signs up until recently. I don’t recall before a couple of months ago. In fact I have never seen hair fall out of my scalp or seen actual “hairloss” but i’m sure people rarely do.
I would like to know if you think this hair loss is temporary (based on the photographs) and if you think this is possibly permanent or even male pattern baldness. I have no history of the disease, my grandfathers on both sides died with a full head of hair. So did the grandmothers!
Male pattern baldness (MPB) does not always require a doctor to assess. Look at your hair loss pattern (use two mirrors). Is it thinning mostly at the top, but you still have good hair on the back and sides? If so, chances are you have MPB. We recommend a miniaturization mapping of your scalp hair and you can make the diagnosis that way. You can see how to do this yourself — here. By the way, MPB is not a “disease”. It is a genetic trait that you inherited from one of your parents. It may skip generations so you may not see it in your immediate family tree.
Finally, the aggressive nature as you describe does not surprise me, as men who lose considerable amounts of hair with an advanced balding pattern usually have a more rapid course of hair loss, often starting in their very early 20s. That may not be your case, but don’t fool around with it as there is a good medication (finasteride) to take if you are unfortunately balding. See your doctor and get a correct diagnosis and ask about options.
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Not to be rude but I can’t help but ask, before i ask a more detailed question; why Dr. Farjo, a contributing writer appears to be having serious balding problem.
Look at this another way — should a plastic surgeon make a statement by not having a boob job or a face lift? My former associate, Dr. Robert Bernstein, was asked about his balding on national TV (he has a class 6/7 balding pattern) and simply put, his hair loss does not bother him. Like Dr. Bernstein, there are many men who look handsome with a short haircut and some advanced balding pattern. Decisions on having a hair transplant reflect upon personal choices. I’ve written about this before here and here (and probably elsewhere).
I know a man with a broken nose who never had it fixed. He came to see me for a hair transplant and he said his nose was not a priority for him and the cost of a repair exceeded his budget. He obviously felt different about his hair. As to the cause, I am sure Dr. Farjo’s balding reflects genetic pattern balding like most men.
I read an article suggesting that the thinning hair can be reversed (care2.com). Could you comment on it please.
A good diet is always important for good health, but thinning hair in a person with any reasonable diet will not improve or reverse without a more direct ‘attack’ on the problem. First, find out what is happening (diagnosis), then probe treatment options with a good doctor.
The photo used in the referenced article shows a thinning Norwood Class 6 patient who will probably lose much of his hair from genetic causes over the next 10-20 years unless he does something about it. Home remedies are fine if you want to get your bathroom tile clean or get the stain out of your shirt, but I’ve yet to see any diet that works to regrow or halt hair loss.
Hello Doctor
I am in my mid 7th month of using Propecia everyday (alone without anything else), and am starting to get concerned. As I understand it, you need to wait 9-12 months to see any effect from the treatment, and thats where I need clarification.
- Would I notice worst symptoms (loss of hair bulk/mass) before it got better? My hair was diffuse beforehand but still covered my head. Now, the rear crown of my head is very close to being bald. (Please see images..I sent them to your email) Frontal has remained basically the same. I now keep my hair very short, so I dont know if there was shedding (and it just wasnt apparent for this reason.) But I havent noticed ANY hairs falling out….instead the hair just seems to be getting thinner and thinner.
- At this point, I am trying to determine whether to use Rogaine on top of Propecia as a last ditch effort. I know that would make it hard to determine WHICH product is helping my hair (which is why I have been holding out on that), but my big concern is that if I let things continue to progress at this rate than I won’t have any hair in the crown for Rogaine to even “thicken”…What is your take on that.
- The only reversal/progress I THINK I have found is a few disperse black hairs that have spouted up in areas that I believe were bald before (in my frontal region). This could very well be my imagination, but I am wondering if that is a sign that things are picking up..or if some people just gain a few of these random hairs and nothing else.
- In considering that I started taking Propecia 7 months ago….does Propecia work to try and maintain THAT base level hair (with ups and downs in the process). Or does it work to maintain baselevel from the 6-12 month mark when you guys say it typically starts to take effect….I am very confused at the “typical” experience I should expect for the 1-12 month term of treatment (with Propecia)
- I would be open to take that genetic test, but they dont list any NY doctors on the site…any suggestions for that?
Thanks for the help!
I noticed someone else asking if propecia could accelerate hair loss and wasnt sure if it was possible or not. Both times I started taking propecia I did notice unusual hair loss within a couple of weeks. I understand it could take 6 months to get results but is there a possibility that in the first severall weeks it actually causes loss?
There are some reports of accelerated hair loss from Propecia, but this is probably just accelerated hair cycling and after it takes its course, the growth (anagen) part of the hair cycle will pick up and grow more hair.
