Category: Uncategorized

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I Chemically Relax My Own Hair and See Hair Loss

Hello. I am a 42 year old black female that is experiencing hair loss. I am wondering if this is due to me chemically relaxing my hair myself. I do have a low thyroid condition that I take medication for daily. Could this be contributing to my hair loss. It seems to be getting worse. I recently permed my hair but I burned my scalp pretty bad. Will my hair grow back? Could you give me any suggestions of products to use that might help? Thank you

Chemical damage and thyroid conditions can both contribute to hair loss, and there’s no way for me to try to pinpoint the cause via email. Try stopping the chemical use on your hair and give it a year or so to see if there is improvement. The hair could regrow, but it depends on the severity of the burn. At this point, all you can really do is wait it out to see.

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I Didn’t Know Weaves and Wigs Would Make My Traction Alopecia Worse!

I’m a 38 yr old black female. My hair started thinning in the crown about 10 yrs ago. I started braiding it to keep out the chemicals. About 3 1/2 years ago I was diagnosed with traction alopecia. Had never heard of it before. I started wearing weaves and wigs to cover up the ugliness. I never realized that this would make my situation worse. Now the balding has spread to the top and front of my head. Is it too late for a hair transplant that would work. The hair on the sides and back is relatively thick, but it seems so unhealthy. At the rate I’m going I feel like I should just shave my head bald and call it a day. I feel so ugly. I did see a dermatogolist for the diagnosis, but I never got any advise on what I should do to help the situation. Can you recommend anyone to see on this side of the country??

If you are diagnosed with traction alopecia, you need to keep your hair short with no weaves and wigs. After stopping the insult, you should wait for at least six months and see if your hair regrows. In many cases, traction alopecia may cause permanent damage to the hair follicle and may not reversible. Repeating the evaluation of your hair after this period of time will show the areas of permanent hair loss. At that point, a hair transplant specialist can evaluate you for further treatment options if the hair failed to grow back. Then, if you are using a wig, be sure that it is converted to clips to prevent the transplants from developing traction alopecia.


2007-02-20 12:16:11I Didn’t Know Weaves and Wigs Would Make My Traction Alopecia Worse!

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Woman Balding All Over Scalp

(female) hi doctor, after reading lots of hair loss forums and websites i have found this to be the most reliable and informative for hair loss.

my question today is about my weird pattered hair loss which is identical to my mothers but less advanced, basically my entire scalp is thinning evenly effecting even the hair near my ears and back where you would call the permanent zone in a male. i had had this condition since ive been 18 and now at 23 its more or less the same i think. about one year ago i did something stupid and bought generic propecia from a website, which did nothing for my hairloss after 10 months so i quit, i am now reading into rogaine which sounds promising as it can even stimulate hair growth even in other parts of the body where DHT is not even an issue, since my hair loss I’m guessing is not caused by DHT could rogaine work for me?

Rogaine (minoxidil) is worth a try, but you should get a diagnosis first to rule out any medical causes of hair loss. It is probable that you are following your mother’s pattern. If you can, bring her into a good doctors office with you when you see your physician to get a diagnosis and a treatment protocol.

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I Feel Stubble on My Scalp — Is Hair Possibly Regrowing?

Hi Dr,
I just posted a question to u before realizing to ask your advice on another topic. I’m 29 and have been taking propecia and minoxidil for the past year. I have noticed that some of the hair that i am losing is short but not necessarily finer than other hair. Also when i run my fingers over my scalp, i can feel a fair amount of stubble. Is this hair that is growing back or just a part of the hair loss process with hair falling out and growing back with a shorter life than before? If propecia and minoxidil is working for me then i shouldnt see the shorter hairs (about one inch long) falling out right?

Thanks for your advice on this difficult to understand topic!

Unfortunately, I can not comment on your observations just based on what you wrote — I’d need to examine your scalp. What I generally do is examine the hair with a video microscope right where it is growing and then I can tell a great deal about the hair you are talking about. I know that when I had hair transplants, I felt the new hair breaking through, so I have some personal feelings that what you are reporting may be new hair.

With regard to your questions/comments on hair cycling, we know that minoxidil does impact the hair by increasing length of the hair growth phase, but these two medications (Propecia/Minoxidil) may kick in the telogen cycle when it is first started up, making the hair cycle shorter. There are many things that occur (possibly at the same time in some people), but I don’t know if you can draw any conclusions from a year’s experience with these drugs.

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Woman with Chronic Telogen Effluvium

Hi I am a 44 year old female with chronic TE and a positive hair pull. I had 2 brief incidents in my 30s but this latest one has been continuous for 18 months and I have lost a significant amount of my hair with little or no visible regrowth. All of my hormone tests are normal including thyroid, FSH, LH, estrogen, my testostone is even slightly below normal and my ANA is negative. The only issue I have is low ferritin and I have been taking iron for about a year but can’t seem to get the levels above the low end of normal.

My condition continues to deteriorate despite rogaine and topical steriods. I don’t know where to turn. Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

There are people who specialize in this. Please let me know where you live and I will try to find someone in your area. For more information see Telogen Effluvium by Elizabeth CW Hughes, MD.


2006-04-11 09:32:39Woman with Chronic Telogen Effluvium

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I grew my hair out for two years. When I cut it, I had noticeably less hair.

I am a 21 year old male. I grew my hair out for two years. 2 months ago, I buzzed my head. I noticed I hd significantly less hair. While I had long hair, I would pull my hair out from time to time due to knots etc. It’s been two months, and my hair is longer, but the total quantity of hair is still less than pre-long hair. Any possible causes/how can I help my hair grow back? No noteworthy baldness in the family or anything.
Hair length is clearly better for a fuller look when your hair density is low because you need the length of hair to produce hair bulk.


2021-02-13 12:17:03I grew my hair out for two years. When I cut it, I had noticeably less hair.

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I was wondering, is it normal to take finasteride after a transplant?

And what are your patient’s experience with Finasteride regarding negative side effects?

For the young man who has a risk of shock loss after a hair transplant (a loss of native hair), finasteride can prevent this. Most men don’t have sexual side effect (risk for sexual side effects is under 4%)


2019-02-12 06:57:47I was wondering, is it normal to take finasteride after a transplant?

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I had a hair transplant and I have numbness in the front for the past 4 months

There are always small nerves cut during the making of the recipient sites which cover a wide area of the frontal hairline. These nerves usually stop bothering most people within the first month, but sometime people feel the numbness for many months. These nerves will eventually heal and stop bothering you, just be patient.


2020-02-11 08:19:13I had a hair transplant and I have numbness in the front for the past 4 months

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Would Cosmetic Eyebrow Tattooing Cause Further Loss?

Hello dr,
I was considering getting my eyebrows filled in with a tattoo. I have a decent amount of hair but have some sparse areas due to overplucking as a teen. I was wondering if tattooing the area will make the hairs fall out? I hear that it doesn’t from the techs who perform it but not sure if they are just saying that to get more business. I would love your thoughts as a hair loss expert on this matter. Thank you

The use of hair transplantation is probably the best solution available today for eyebrow restoration. Take a look at this post from last month and you will see the absolutely natural appearance of an eyebrow transplant.

I wouldn’t expect the tattooing to cause eyebrow loss, but I’d be more concerned about the tattooed eyebrows looking natural, particularly on close inspection. I guess it depends on the color of your brows and how sparse they currently are.