Category: Hair Loss Causes

• Moby Waxes Philosophic About Hair Loss

Some things worth noting after reading this article –

Shaving your head does not cause hair loss and vitamin E does not prevent it. Hair loss has four causes in men:

1. The genetic balding defect, whatever that is
2. The male hormone
3. Stress of all types
4. Time of exposure to #1 and #2

The sum of 1, 2, and 3 working together in some manner causes less hair loss if a person is not stressed. Without both #1 and #2, stress will not cause hair loss over any period of time. Propecia works wonders at preventing hair loss or slowing it down in those impacted genetically who may become baldwe over time.

My daughter is 17 yrs. old. She has a 2nd degree burn to her scalp from a chemical. She had highlights done at a local beauty salon and she was burned. She now has a hypertrophic scar. Will cortisone shots to the scalp help? Her hair follicles are completely burned.

If it is a 2nd degree chemical burn, I doubt the hair will grow back normally (if at all) and the cortisone shots will probably not help the hypertrophic scar at this stage. It is very difficult to give an opinion without seeing her. Fortunately, there are many options to treat her, including scar reduction surgery or even hair transplants, which work quite well in many cases. Consider sending us photographs — in the photos include a ruler so that the size of the defect is clear.

In the last two weeks, I have seen three patients with similar problems. We have offices in San Jose, Los Angeles, and Newport Beach, California. You can always schedule a free consultation for an evaluation by calling 800-NEW-HAIR.

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Hello I’ve been told that going to bed with wet hair, after coming out of the shower without drying it first, can cause hair loss because of the humidity it builds up or something like that? Is this an old wives tale or is there some truth to it?

If you go to bed with wet hair, I do not believe that it will cause you to lose hair — but it will get your pillow all wet. Be sure that the wet hair does not get pulled when you move around. Generally, it’s probably best to dry it first.

Hello,

I have a lot of physical traits from my father’s side of the family, including body and facial hair, and I have the same color and texture of head hair as my father. I have few traits from my mother’s side. My hair is just beginning to thin at 25, and I am hoping I take after my father’s side in hair loss as well, since my mother’s side has a strong history of baldness. I don’t suppose there is much actual data on the subject, but subjectively, do you think I am more likely to avoid baldness since I take after my father in nearly all other respects? I would like to get miniaturization mapping done but I doubt I could afford it yet, so any input would be greatly appreciated!

Male pattern hair loss is genetic, but it does not necessarily follow a predictable Mendelian genetic pattern of either the father or mother’s side. There is no definite way to predict your hair loss pattern, but one way is to measure the miniaturization state of your scalp hair with a good hair densitometer at predefined areas on your scalp. Then you can periodically measure the miniaturization state and compare it with your baseline picture to see if there is a trend. A miniaturization study is free (at least at NHI).

When you lose hair due to illness, do you lose hair from all over your scalp or just on top? Is the location of the hair loss different than it would be with genetic factors?

Stress such as an illness can produce hair loss. This is explained because illness requires that your body conserves its resources to fight off the illness. Hair is a high metabolic organ, consuming considerable amounts of nutrients, blood supply, cardiac output, etc.. The body diverts is support activities and abandons those organ systems of low importance. Hair qualifies for that sacrifice. I might expect hair loss to be a generalized loss over your entire scalp, possibly including some body hair as well. That being said, the illness or the stress may have set off a genetic “switch” that probably kick started male pattern hair loss process when the gene is carried by the patient.

My Grandmother told me that in Sicily where she grew up it’s widely held that artichokes cause hair loss. I’m not sure what to make of this. Any thoughts?

There is no connection between artichokes and hair loss that I know of. Sometimes I laugh at myself as I put in some quick research to be sure that there are no connections between hair loss and the variables presented to me on this blog time after time. Every once in a while, I am surprised that I actually find an informative connection that makes me wiser and more humble.