Category: Hair Loss Causes

Dear Doctor,

Hi I’m a 16 year old boy attending my last year of high school. The problem is that I’ve noticed my scalp is thinning. My hair has always been quite thin but its getting REALLY thin now. I’ve taken a blood test, and the doctor said that I had low Iron. Could that be the problem? I’m taking iron pills and eating right to get my iron level up again. Besides from thinning hair I am also noticing that I feel dizzy sometimes, and my stamina has really gotten bad.

I’m really concerned about this, because my hair thinning is quite noticeable, you can even see my scalp with enough light.

I should also point out that I have greasy hair and that its infected with dandruff.

I have bought some special kind of shampoo to improve my hair loss state, so we’ll see how that goes.

My question is: Do you have any advice for me? What should I do? Should I buy any specific products?

Thanks in advance

Sounds like you need a relationship with a good doctor who can make your diagnosis (rule out male patterned balding which does happen to 16 year olds). Low iron is absolutely a cause of hair loss. Dandruff is not a cause, nor is dandruff an infection. We replace our scalp skin regularly as old skin get shed (dandruff when the shedding is more rapid) and new skin grows from below. You can wash out the dandruff with shampoos that are designed to get the flakes out.

For a diagnosis, you need to get your hair mapped out for miniaturization to rule out genetic balding, which would show a normal donor hair area and thinning elsewhere. Low iron should show miniaturization of the hair all over the head.

I am a 21 year old male and have noticed that if pick up my hair around the temple regions of my head, more scalp is visible than if i do it nearer the middle of my head. I dont seem to have a receeding hairline (maybe developing a mature hairline though). However i have noticed that many girls and young children have the same sort of idea on their head (scalp more visible around temple areas if hair is standing up) So my question is, Is the scalp generally more visible aroud the temple than it is in the middle of your head for example? Thank you.

The hair density above the ears is often less than the density elsewhere (like that of the back of your head). When people develop Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA), it is often seen first in the sides above the ears because the density there is as much as 30-60% less than in the scalp elsewhere. The answer to your questions is to have your hair mapped out for miniaturization, and if you have genetic balding or DUPA, it will clearly show up.

i am a 21 year old white male who has been balding since around age 17 and it hasnt really worsened that much of 4 years does that mean that i will not be severely bald(its not that noticeable)

There’s not much I can provide over the internet, as I am not a fortune teller. Get your hair mapped out for miniaturization and you then might intelligently guess the future.

Hi

I am a 23 year old male. Over the last 6 months my hair density has decreased to about 40% on top of my head (mpb zone), but also the sides and back (to maybe 70%). I went to a doctor 2 months ago who diagnosed me with mpb because of observed lower density in mpb zone, she did however not look for miniaturization (I asked her later about this). I have been on propecia since then, and may have noticed an increase of shedding, but this could of course also be due to accelerated loss.

I didnt realize the sides and back were thinning until recently. Another observation: The hairline in back of my head has always contained a lot of short 3 cm hairs. These hairs have started to fall out extremely fast, it comes out 6-9 by just pulling them slightly.

My questions:

1) Does this sound like DPA, DUPA or something else?
2) Can propecia cause shedding in sides and back?
3) Will a DUPA patient have any benefit of hair cloning (whenever is comes out)?

Thank you

It might be DUPA, and mapping out your head for miniaturization will show miniaturized hairs in the sides and back reflecting over 20% of the hair population if it is DUPA (Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia). Propecia should have no impact on the permanent hair in the sides and back of your head, so even if Propecia caused temporary shedding and hair cycling, there will be no impact on the permanent rim of donor hair. Hair cloning is still a pipe dream at this point, but if it were here today, one would clone the non-DUPA hair so it would be a reasonable alternative to becoming bald.

Be sure that what you have is actually DUPA before you get depressed. It may simply be other causes of hair loss, so be sure that you also get a medical workup for other causes of hair loss (e.g. thyroid disease).

Dear Sir,I was out playing football the other day and my dome received a sunburn in return.My scalp was red but it wasn’t a bad sunburn but it was noticable.It doesn’t hurt.Will this cause hair loss ?I read that first degree burns can cause hair damage.
Thanks Sir

First degree burns will not produce hair loss. I suspect from what you said, the burn was even less significant. If you constantly get sunburns or prolonged sun exposure, the UV light from the sun will damage the infrastructure of the skin and that is what causes skin cancers (amongst other skin problems).

I’m almost 20 and I’m a male. In the past 6 months, I’ve lost about 30 pounds, and had no sign of hair loss, most recently (January) I moved to Ohio and shortly after settling in I started noticing hairs in the sink, and that when I run my fingers through my hair about 5 or 6 hairs come out every time. It’s probably nothing to worry about but it’s never happened before either. I’m thinking its either the stress of moving and starting a new job or the drastic change of temperature (I moved from southern California). I don’t really feel stressed anymore since I was able to find a job and I’m financially stable, but I’m still losing hair. I don’t have any bald spots or receding hairlines. Is this something I should see a doctor about? Thanks in advance.

You should not assume that the cause is one thing or another. Starvation diets or poor nutrition can cause hair loss. For men in your age group, you should have your hair mapped out for miniaturization first to see if you are genetically balding. You really need a diagnosis first.

Most people with controlled, good diets and weight loss will not experience hair loss.