Category: Hair Loss Causes

Hello,
My hair is not thinning, however, it just won’t grow. I’ve had the same length for most of my 52 years. Can’t even get it to shoulder length. The back will grow very slowly but the sides and the front just won’t move. My sisters and daughters all have hair that grows like a weed. Is this a vitimin deficiency?

It is possibly a vitamin deficiency if your diet is poor, but it sounds more like a short hair cycle. When you say the hair is not growing, I believe that you are saying that the hair stays the same length. It is almost certainly growing, just growing very short so that the hair cycle is very short. Hair, as regular readers of this site should know, goes into telogen usually 3+ years after it starts to grow, but in your case, the cycle may be very short (only months). The way to confirm this is to mark a few hairs with some color (use an indelible marker). If I am correct, the marked hair will just disappear when the hair is cycled. Of course, it will be replaced by a new hair that will grow from the scalp at about the same time and it will grow until it reaches the maximal length, which is you is very short.

I have heard that too much vitamin A can cause hair loss, is this true? My multi-vitamin contains 100%DV and I recently found out that a medium sweet potato has over 400%DV. There are other items in my diet as well with small amounts of vitamin A.

Too much of a good thing can be bad, and yes, getting too much Vitamin A can produce hair loss. But, I doubt natural foods such as sweet potato can cause you to lose your hair, nor any ordinary supplements with Vitamin A in it.

I have seen both pictures of matthew mcconauhey’s hairline. His hairline reflects that of Bill Murray’s. What do you think? What do you think has prevented the rest of Bill’s hair from falling out?

Thank you very much for your time and a great blog!!!

I’ve followed Bill Murray‘s career on a very superficial level and have watched his hairline move higher and higher. It seems to have stabilized now, but I do not follow him close enough to know for sure and his films may not be a good showing of his hair loss status, because the presentation ultimately shows what the director wants him to look like.

Hair loss slows down with age and will often stop way short of the final balding process. Norwood Class 7 patients are only present in 7% of the adult male population and it is doubtful that Bill Murray will ever get that bald. Most Class 7 patients have this pattern before the age of 30.

I lost my hair because of bad nerve and stress. i lost my hair in spots. what do i need to do to make it come back? I lost my hair on my stomach and face.

For a very short and brief description and without the luxury of a physical exam, I cannot offer much help, but I can suggest that you visit your primary care doctor or a dermatologist to make sure you do not have any other medical causes of hair loss. It sounds like you might.

(female) I was in a car accident a year ago and have been suffering neck pain since. I also have noticed in about the last 5 months severe itchy scalp and some hair thining. I noticed the loss by my forehead at first but within the last month noticed that I can put my hair in a small clamp. I never have been able to do that before. Also I have noticed some hearing loss, could this all be related? Thank you

Neck pain is not related to hair loss. Itchy scalp is not related to hair loss. Hearing loss is not related to hair loss. Itchy scalp with neck pain and hearing loss in any combination are not related to hair loss.

You may just have a lot of separate medical issues going on that needs to be followed by a doctor. Hair loss can be a result of stress (physical or mental), which you may have.

Is having really oily skin or acne a risk factor for Male Pattern Baldness? My dermatologist didn’t see any miniturization. I’m not shedding. I’m 22 years old and there’s no visible recession. I still have a teenage hairline. But I do have really oily skin. My dad is a Norwood Class 7. I figure if I was going to be a class 7 I’d have recession by now. What do you think?

Acne is common in young men, and really, it’s common with any man with oily skin. That being said, there may be an association, but not a cause and effect (balding does not produce acne). Likewise, oily skin and acne will not cause balding. The acne problem is more common in the young patient, when hormones seem more volatile. I am sure you remember the days in high school when the zits seem to pop up at the worst times. In these situations, the appearance of the beard in the young man compounds the problem.

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I am a 21 (about to be 22) year old male and I am currently in between a NW 2 and 3 on the balding scale. I’ve been taking propecia for about 4 months with decent results.

My question is, when I examine hair that has fallen out of my head, it appears that the hair is lighter colored at the base of the hair (near the bulb) than up around the middle and tip. Is this a sign that the hair has thinned or is it normal for hair to be lighter near the base?

You did not state your hair color. In blonde, gray or white haired people, the bulb is lighter. In hair that is near the end of its life, the pigment changes may be lighter in color as is hair that is about to go into telogen. If you are worried about balding, then get your hair mapped out for miniaturization to determine what is actually going on in your hair.

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