Category: Hair Loss Causes

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How Young Will Balding Start? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

What is the % of white men that eventually go completely bald, and partly the worry about the male baldness is my son’s best friend is almost completely bald with very thin follicles on top at age 27, how young does one start to experience MPB to have this stage of loss by age 27, he’s literally NW 6 1/2 if that’s on the Norwood scale

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The statistics are that about 45% of men will have some clinical balding by the time they are 45. I have seen the process start at 16 years old and some reports have placed it as early as 12 years old. Most of the really bald men see some sign of balding by the time they are 21 (clearly evident on high magnification views with miniaturized hairs with thin shafts). The real question still unanswered is can this all be stopped when the advanced balding young men start Propecia early enough. At the age of 27, the pattern in the man you are talking about will probably be a Norwood Class 7 balding pattern. Class 7 on the Norwood scale.

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Telogen Effluvium & Propecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello, Dr.Rassman.
I have been on finasteride and minoxidil for eight months. In the first five months, they worked fine for me with shedding about ten hairs in my hand while shampooing. But after five months, shedding increased apparently and the situation seemed to suit for the Telogen Effluvium. Someone told me it was induced by finasteride and rode it out. Is it a good sign to indicate the possibility to reverse MPB? And if I experienced a Telogen Effluvium and rode it out, does it have the possibility to reoccur again?
Thanks.

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What you are describing is the acceleration of the hair loss process that normally comes in spurts. Propecia does not cause this; it generally slows it down or stops the loss. Unfortunately, the genetics in some men has a stronger influence than the DHT blocking ability of Propecia. On the other extreme end, we have had some patients completely reverse the male pattern baldness, even in the frontal area where it rarely works to reverse it.

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Hair Loss InformationAlopecia Areata Universalis – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Im suffering with alopecia areata universalis. due to it i lost my hair totally on my scalp, eyebrows & eyelashes. Is hair transplantation possible for me? please give me a reply. thank you.

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A hair transplant requires a sufficient amount of donor hair taken from the back of the scalp, to be moved to the balding area. Unfortunately if you do not have the donor hair to accomplish your goal, then hair transplantation is not an option. You can discuss your choices with a good dermatologist, and the National Alopecia Areata Foundation has a very extensive and informative website for those suffering with your condition.

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Hair Loss InformationHerbal Treatments – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi from Virginia Dr Rassman! I am 27 and am concerned about a receeding hairline I (and my friends) have noticed occuring right above my temples. The hair in this location has always been thin, but has become more pronounced in recent years. What can I do to retard and even reverse this thinning? I have read about Propecia, and they do not recommend it for receeding hairline. Currently I am taking Saw Palmetto (supposedly an herbal Propecia), a sustained-release B Vitamin and MSM (both which supposedly feed and thicken hair). What other treatments are available for receeding hairline, herbal, pharmaceutical, or other?

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If you have been losing hair in the temples and only the temples, then you may have a condition called Triangular Alopecia. IF this is the case, then you need a diagnosis. As I have repeated many times, the hair throughout your head must be observed with high magnification. If the hair loss is only in the triangular temple area, then this diagnosis is probable.

Make an appointment with a good hair doctor and show them this answer. They will know what to do. Don’t rush to herbal or other over the counter remedies without knowing what is going on. Once you get a good diagnosis then you should address the cause or use a treatment that works with scientific proof or at least a reasonable certainty.

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Can Smoking Cause Hair Loss? – Balding Blog

Hi doctor, I wrote you several weeks ago regarding to my frontal hair line which has some reseccion. I am 28 years old and last six months I have started to seeing my front hair line slowly thinning, and slowly receiving. I am between type 1 and type 2 pattern right now and I have seen change in 6 months even in 1 months.I have been seen a doctor for it. My family ,(my uncle , my father ) have all type 3A. And they have very thick hair. I have been using propecia for 3 months. It is not working for now. I was wondering would that be wise to see you to get an better to where I am and where it is going.Or it is too early to tell. All I am try to stop it before it gets worse. It is looking fine now, bad if it goes like this it may not look fine. And also smoking and sun seems to have bad effect on my hair loss .I am not smoker but I smoke once every two months for fun.Is it common that smoking effects hair loss? Thanks for your time.And also what is the chances that propecia can stop hair reseccion in frontal hair line?

If you are a Norwood Class 1-2, this is not balding, but maturation of a hair line. If your family line is 3A, then that is possibly where you may go with time. Propecia works well to retard the progression of these changes so you should consider this drug.

With regard to your question about smoking, I would doubt a direct cause and effect here. Smoking causes constriction of blood vessels and decreased blood flow to the scalp, predominantly due to its nicotine content. The carbon monoxide in smoke decreases the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. These factors may contribute to poor wound healing after a hair transplant and can increase the chance of a wound infection and scarring. Smoking may also contribute to poor hair growth of transplanted hair. While I certainly do not encourage or condone smoking, I do not think that an occasional cigarette every two months will be a deciding factor in your hair loss.




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Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

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Hair Loss InformationSteroids and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello, i just found out my male cousin aged 26 has colitis of the intestine, thus the doctor wants to put him on steroids namely cortisone. He has some recession but no definitive signs of male baldness yet but he has a strong family history of baldness with his mothers father and father balding early, most of his uncles on his fathers side are bald except one who maintained his hair. So at age 26 my cousin feels pretty lucky to have escaped the MPB gene thus far, which leads to his obsessive compulsive disorder, he is now worried to start taking steroids because its known that if you have a genetic predisposition to MPB, then taking steroids can acerbate the hair losss, if you don’t have the dispensation then you still wont suffer.

Now when they talk about steroids they are usually steroids ( androgens that promotes more testosterone production- anabolic) such that of athletes mainly baseball players take to make them stronger. Also if you ever watch bodybuilders many of them are balding or bald at young ages, so i have doubt there is a correlation.

My question are the steroids they give to colitis sufferers or anything that’s associated for medicinal purposes differ rent than the steroids athletes to promote strength? OR do they consist of basically the same chemical composition, the only difference is the usage ( how frequently)

Should my cousin be concerned about losing his hair due to the steroid usage, will it exacerbate the MPB? I know the MPB is trivial to what he is suffering and shouldn’t be any concern even if he does loose his hair but understand he’s in his mid 20’s. I tend to think if he was in his mid 50’s when this occurred, he would have absolutely no reservations in taking the steroids even if that means the hair loss because at that point looks are not as important to many people.

Your response would be appreciated, thanks

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If your cousin has genetic male patterned baldness, but has not started to bald yet, the steroids will most likely accelerate the balding process. If he is not genetically ‘impacted’ (does not have the gene for balding) the steroids should have no balding effect.

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Hair Loss InformationStress Hair Loss in Men and Women – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I recently had a breast reduction performed under General Anesthesia and stated losing a lot of hair. Could general anesthesia cause hair loss?

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In some women who have female genetic alopecia (and with what I refer to as fragile hair), we see hair loss that results from stress. Assuming that there is no medical condition going on, this type of stress hair loss takes on two forms. The first form is typical, progressive genetic hair loss which comes on in phases and at different ages, then stabilizes for years before going into another progressive phase. The second form is less common, but it results from stress and often reverses within a year or less. We see a common variation of this second type of hair loss with pregnancy and in some women who have the stress variation, they often see a repetitive pattern of hair loss with stress, re-growth, then loss again with the next stressful reaction.

Stress induced hair loss is also common in men with genetic balding and is often seen as the precipitating cause that starts the process. Most common amongst the social precipitating factors for men include divorce, death or sickness of a family member or close friend, and stress in school or work.

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Rapid Hair Loss on Propecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr Rassman
Ive been on propecia for over 6 months and in that time my hairloss espically in the front has thinned dramtically much faster than it did in the previous 2 years. Could I be having a bad reaction to propecia?..Would you recommend me quitting trying another product? Im thinking the increased testorone in my body due to the lack of dht may be cuasing me to have a faster rate of frontal loss..its much worse than it was when i started..could it still reocver on propecia? Im just very down about it and regret going on the drug as recommended by a derm i saw this past november..does propecia increase androgens?

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You did not state your age, so I am assuming that you are under 28 years old or so. Assuming that you have genetic balding, you probably are seeing an acceleration of the process. If you are in the early 20s, you may be in rapid hair loss and stopping the Propecia may be the worst thing you can do. You need to see a good doctor, document the degree of miniaturization of the scalp and then lay out a plan. It is very hard for me to react to what appears to be a real crisis, without having you in front of me to ask you all types of questions and having the chance to examine you thoroughly.

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Hair Loss InformationWhat is the Cause for My Female Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

34y/o female, on birth control, no visible medical conditions that I am aware. Started losing hair about 7 years ago once graduated from college and ended a three year engagemenet under stressful lconditions. Hair loss has progressedandrecentlynoticed the amount of thinning as I had a head full of thick hair. Now thinner, and every night shwer, there is always some hair in drain. Ihave tired multivitamins, Kevis, Advecia, and Hairgenesis….the vitamins helped but still falling out. I dont knowwha tto do….I am 5’2″, weight about 115-120 pounds. I was addicted to laxatives at one time but have since recovered. Could I have a vit. deficiancy? hormone problem dueto birth control? My thyroid checked out fine. I dont want to be 40 and bald. I have no children, no otehr medications.

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It is hard to know exactly what the cause and solutions might be via email without first meeting you. My suggestion would be to please read my many answers to women with hair loss. I discuss the medical work-up required for women, plus the causes for it. A good doctor to check you out and a good hair doctor will go along way to help you focusing upon your hair loss problem. I am sorry to sound evasive, but hair loss in women is a difficult differential diagnosis.