Hair Loss Causes – Page 243

July 17, 2007

Rubbing Areas of My Head Caused Thinning – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hey dr
this is gonna sound weird but i used to work in a job that involved lifting boxes all day. i lift them on my right shoulder and the boxes would always rub the side of my head and right
eyebrow but i noticed the hair on the right side thinning and also the eyebrow on the right side missing hair and i figured out that all the constant rubbing over the years had caused it. i
have a full head of hair all over except these affected areas. ive made sure over the last year not to touch my head with the boxes but ive noticed no regrowth. i was just wondering if you could suggest anything to use on my the affected areas to promote new hair growth that wont maybe lead to further hairloss as ive heard a lot treatments like rogaine once stopped can cause further hairloss. thanks

What you are describing seems to be a form of traction alopecia, where repeated tension on the scalp and hair causes hair loss. Rubbing hair also puts a pull on hair that is near the end of its cycle. If you have constant traction, this type of hair loss can be permanent. You can try Rogaine in those areas to see if some hair will grow back.

July 16, 2007

How Much Stress Can Trigger Male Pattern Baldness? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Rassman,

I have a few questions:

On average, how much stress is necessary to trigger the balding process in men who have MPB? For instance, I was REALLY stressed out for 3 days about something (to the point where I thought I might have a heart attack). Is this the stress you’re talking about that can trigger MPB?

Is there a delay in the time between the stressful event and the hairloss? I read somewhere that there was a delay of 3 months.

If I’ve been taking Propecia for 8 months now, will that prevent the hair loss caused by the stress that occurred about 1 week ago?

Any insight would be appreciated thank you.

Different people react to stress differently. I once saw a man a day after a big heart attack and he was very nonchalant and didn’t appear to be stressed that he almost died a day earlier! I can assume that he handles stress much differently than you do. To answer your question more specifically, there is really no gauge of stress, but rather your perception of what “REALLY” constitutes your stress level.
By the ongoing theme in your questioning, I can speculate you are a very particular about this stress issue. You should also keep in mind that hair loss from MPB will occur with or without stress, as it is in your genetic programming. There is no definitive timeline of stress and the lag time of hair loss.
Again, I can see you are obsessed about a stressful event. You are taking Propecia for the treatment of male pattern balding –- and not stress-related balding. If emotional stress is an issue for you, you may consider seeing a doctor for your stress related issues, as this is really a medical/psychological problem.

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July 13, 2007

Hair Loss InformationDoctor Says Nerve Damage Is Cause for My Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

33 yr old female. At the beginning of April 2007 I noticed app a 1-inch area to the left of my part that had lost hair. Completly and it has a red tint to the scalp. The only thing I can remember causing this would be sleeping against a corner of a wall for a period of time. My doctor seems to think it is nerve damage and says it most likely won’t grow back. Do you find this to be true and what would cause the redness? Thank you for your help.

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There is no way for me to give you an opinion without seeing you. I have never heard of nerve damage causing hair loss.

July 12, 2007

Bald Spot from Chewing Gum Incident Years Ago – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi my soon to be 7 year old daughter has a bald spot close to her natural part in the front of her head due to a gum incident—some three years ago-the hair is very fine if at all present and her bald spot is shiny now—what I want to know is how do I begin to fix this for her before she is a teenager. We can cover it -but I would like to do something more to help her.-I can’t find anything on gum and hair loss-and what to do now three years later…..

Gum It is not very clear to me how your daughter lost her hair. Did she have gum stuck on her hair and you pulled on it and now her hair is not growing back? If so, it must have been a very bad gum incident! In general, depending on the size of the bald area, she may be a candidate for hair transplantation to that area (that is, if the hair did not grow back over an 8 month period)… but, I am still having a difficult time understanding how gum caused her hair loss. I have not seen gum-related hair loss in all my years of practice. Most of the time when hair is pulled out, it returns months later.

July 12, 2007

Female Hair Loss After Steroid Shots to Scalp – Balding Blog

Hi Doctor,

I see that you replied to another curious Jane that steriod shots to the scalp exacerbated hair loss in one of your patients. I have recently had such shots injected and have noticed an abnormal influx in hair loss near injection sites. Will this loss be potentially recovered or is it permanent?

Thank you!

Injection of steroids is not one of the proven treatment methods for treatment of male or female pattern baldness. The only indication for treating hair loss with steroid injections is in the treatment of autoimmune diseases like alopecia areata, in which the patient has patchy hair loss in the scalp and other hairy areas of the body. I have seen too many patients that lost hair in and around the area of steroid injections. Hair loss could be permanent in some of these cases.

July 12, 2007

Hair Relaxer Caused Chemical Burn? – Balding Blog

Hallo! I used a “no-lye relaxer” about 2 months ago on my hair and it caused a bald spot on my scalp where no hair is to be seen. It has begun to ache a little bit since yesterday too. It is probably a chemical burn isn’t it? How could something like that occur? How can I treat this problem now? I am worried,that the hair won’t grow there anymore. Is it possible? Could you please advice me about how to treat this so that it will be healed soon? It is worrying me very much.
Thank You.

Chemical burns from relaxers are a common complaint. If the burn went down to the hair root level, it may not return. You must wait this out for about 8 months and you will then know.

July 12, 2007

How Many Hairs Does a Man Lose From His Beard Each Day? – Balding Blog

I’ve looked ALL over the ‘ net for the answer to ONE simple question: How many hairs a day does a man lose from his beard? I know it’s 50 to 100 for the HEAD — What about the beard, assuming you have a thick one, ( and I do ). Thanks.

I do not have a definite answer to your question, but lets try to examine your question scientifically:

Beard

Natural beard hair loss should be definitely less than the standard 100 scalp hair loss a day from observation alone.
The total number of beard hairs is significantly less than the total number of scalp hairs.
If you have a very thick beard, you can roughly estimate the total area of beard coverage is approximately 1/5th of the total area of scalp hair coverage.
If you assume the life cycle of beard hair is similar to the life cycle of scalp hair, then the adjusted ratio of 1/5th will dictate that you lose at least 20 beard hair a day.
However, this is a big assumption (to assume beard hair and scalp hair has the same life cycle).
Nevertheless, from direct observation, I have never seen my own beard hair loss on my pillow or in the sink or on my towel (and I too can have a very thick beard).

So I would guess that we lose a range of 0 to 20 beard hair a day.

Photo: World Beard and Moustache Championships

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July 11, 2007

Dislodging a Graft After Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman:

Is this a good rule of thumb for any stage post op? “If there is no bleeding then you did not dislodge a graft”

Thanks

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The highest chance of graft dislodgement is within the first few days after surgery. As you go farther from the time of surgery, the chance of graft dislodgement decreases. When you pass day 5 you generally can not dislodge the graft with simple traction of the hair and even if you can pull the hair out, the graft stays in and is capable of making a new hair (see PDF file: Graft anchoring in hair transplantation. Dermatol Surg 2006; 32: 198-204 Â© 2006 R M Bernstein, MD, W R Rassman, MD). Dr. Bernstein and I published a paper that allowed us to pull out hair follicles from 1-10 days after surgery and then send off what was pulled out to find out if the growth centers of the grafts came out. What we found out was that after a few days they were generally secure, but that was when there was no crusting on the skin edge of the graft. If there was crusting, it would take up to about 10 days to risk losing a hair growth center when it is pulled out. But really now, who in his right mind other than Dr. Bernstein for experimental reasons, would want to pull hair out? Not any patient I know of.

Presence or absence of bleeding does not have to do with the survivability of a graft.

July 11, 2007

Bald Spots From Hair Dye – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Can you get bold spots in different places of the scalp (patches) from coloring the hair? Product used was Loreal. No patch test was done first.

One can develop allergic reactions to hair products. If that happens, stop using them. You can then try a test spot to be sure. Make sure that these spots are not skin diseases like alopecia areata. A good doctor should be able to tell you if that is the case.

July 9, 2007

How Long Does Shock Loss Last? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman,

How long does shock fallout last for? I am more than 15 months out after my initial transplant (49 years old and on Propecia for several years) and had alot of fallout shortly after the surgery. My hair continues to fall out at a pace greater than what I experienced before the procedure. Are the hairs I am still losing possibly the result of the surgery from over a year ago? I am confused and very disappopinted with the results of my transplant as I have decidely less hair now than prior to the surgery – not exactly what I envisioned as the outcome of my procedure.

Please help with your input.

Your case brings up many points. Have you started to lose your native hair in a new cycle? You may have had shock hair loss, but that process should plateau in 3-4 months. One would have to find out if the new grafts grew. What did your surgeon say about your situation? I am coming in late in the game and would need to establish baselines as to what I am looking at before rendering an opinion.

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