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Woman Taking Propecia Is Experiencing Accelerated Hair Loss

I am a 42-yr old African American woman. I had hair restoration surgery in March 2006 for androgenic alopecia in the crown. For the last year and a half, I’ve been taking Propecia in pill form 2.5mg/day as well as topically. I’ve noticed since taking the meds, I’m experiencing diffuse thinning all over my head now. Have you heard of Propecia causing accelerated hair loss? Is this a temporary side effect? If I stop now, will my density return?

Propecia (finasteride 1mg) is an oral medication for the treatment of androgenic hair loss approved only for use in men. It blocks a hormone known as dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which is responsible for hair loss in men. Propecia is not approved for women, because female hair loss is not necessarily caused by DHT and it may cause birth defects when women take the medication. Finally, only 1mg of finasteride is recommended for the treatment of androgenic hair loss. Taking 2 mg or 2.5 mg is not necessarily twice as better or effective. It will however increase the potential for more unwanted side effects. I would recommend that you see your doctor and address these concerns to him/her and or see another physician for a second opinion. This website is NOT a second opinion.

The question should be: Will taking Propecia harm me if I am not going to get pregnant? We really don’t know the answer to that, as the appropriate clinical studies were not done on women so safety and effectiveness are still up in the air. I couldn’t possible know the cause of your hair loss without an examination and a detailed medical history.

Also worth noting, Propecia is not available in a topical form or available in 2.5 mg strength.

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Woman Suing Procter & Gamble Over Hair Loss

Many people seem to find a way to make a bundle in our litigious society. There is no doubt that hair dyes can cause problems such as skin allergy in some people, burns from improper applications of the dyes, etc. Television has many soap opera presentations of such litigations. A good company like P&G should have adequate disclosures on the products to cover the individual risks of particular patients. $12 million is a lot of money. The legal costs to pursuing such a case is high and for P&G, the cost is higher just to build and present a defense. Many times, companies like P&G will pay off the pursuers just to avoid the legal costs and internal management costs for nuisance cases. The lawyers that take on such battles know that, so this is like a game of Russian Roulette with money as the bullet in the chamber. As clearly stated in the article, “Once Ross’ firm determined the extent of Mack’s injuries, more formal negotiations began.”


2006-10-26 10:18:31Woman Suing Procter & Gamble Over Hair Loss

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Woman Prescribed 5mg Finasteride for Hair Loss

I am a woman and have been prescribed a dose of 5mg of finasteride daily for hair loss. It is working, but I am concerned about the high dosage. Since I am not of childbearing age, do I need to be concern about it?how long do I use it?

Women who have a high androgen level and genetic balding may be helped by finasteride. I do not know the proper dosage, but the 1mg dose should work. The experience with women shows that those who do not have a virulizing problem with higher than normal androgens, should not see any benefit from finasteride. You can read Treatments Available for Female Hair Loss for more information.


2007-12-05 14:24:56Woman Prescribed 5mg Finasteride for Hair Loss

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Woman Picking at Sore Spots on Her Scalp

(female) I have very sore sporadic spots only on my scalp. If I pick at them it is agony. They are really tiny and have a little white head. Also if i rub my scalp with my fingertips little hard white bits come out like they were the hair follicles. Most disturbingly my hair is getting shorter, thinner and has become dry and extremely frizzy. I used to have beautiful long curly hair. I am so distressed. I feel so embarrased. I have just turned 40 also. Have you ever heard of anything like this.

You describe a condition known as trichotillomania.

From Wikipedia: Trichotillomania (TTM), or “trich” as it is commonly known, is an impulse control disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, facial hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows or other body hair.

There are support groups and learning centers such as Trich.org.


2007-09-12 10:36:21Woman Picking at Sore Spots on Her Scalp

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Woman Lost 50% of Her Hair in Under a Month!

I have lost a good 50% of my hair in the past 3 weeks. I have been weaned off Metoprolol recently and stopped Pravastatin on Christmas Day in an effort to see which, if either, are causing the massive loss. How long might it take for the Pravastatin to clear my system and if Pravastatin is the culprit, how long before my hair stops falling out. I am a 60 year old female who previous to this had a very good head of hair. I had a triple bypass in September and e-coli sepsis a few weeks later. I was hospitalized for 5 days of intravenous Avelox but not very sick with the sepsis so I’m assuming it was caught early. If my hair loss was caused by the sepsis would it fall out in such large amounts and so quickly. Thank you!

I highly doubt any drug is the culprit of your hair loss, but to lose 50% of your hair in only one month is definitely not normal. There may be medical issues that you are not aware of. You need to see your physician and discuss your issues with him/her. It seems you have gone through some serious illness and surgeries in recent months. Acute telogen effluviums can cause this problem, but the real question is what caused that? I would strongly urge you to be followed by your physician regarding your medication regimen, as I trust your physician is aware of you stopping or weaning off certain medications.

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Woman Losing Hair Following Recent Move and Job Change

I am a 25 year old female experiencing hair loss. I can tell that my ponytail is about half the thickness it was about 2 months ago. I haven’t noticed any bald spots really, but at the front of my head and can definitely see my scalp and it is a lot thinner. I have had blood work done for thyroid and anemia. Everything came back normal. I attributed it to moving away and starting a new job and just being stressed out, but losing my hair is just making me stress even more.

There is even less hair on my arms, legs, and body. My skin is starting to become itchy, but no rash or dryness. And my hair is less oily. I have gained about 5-10 pounds, but I figure that’s because with my new office job I am less active. I have no history of hair loss in my family, but my dad does have thyriod problems, but that test came back normal. Any ideas on what could be going on?

Stress from your new job and the move could contribute to hair loss, and I realize losing hair in itself can also be stressful — so it seems like a never-ending cycle. That being said, there are many possible reasons for hair loss in women, so it would be difficult to solely place the cause on stress. You can find a partial list of causes here.

Did you just start notice your hair starting to thin during or following the move, or was there some loss going on prior to that when you were under less stressful situations?

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Woman had hairline lowering procedure and had terrible complications

This woman reported hair loss in the frontal area (see pictures) about 2 months after she had a hairline lowering surgical procedure. These procedures are common surgeries for women who can have their hairlines lowered about an inch directly by advancing the scalp forward and surgically removing the upper forehead. The good news about this surgery is that the results, which are often terrific, are immediate and this patient reported better initial results from this surgery than she thought she would have; however, after two months she began losing hair as shown in the pictures and this hair never came back.

Hair-loss from any forehead surgery, including brow lifts or even extended face lifts, have hair-loss as an infrequent complication. In women over 40, when this happens, the hair-loss rarely returns. There is probably some genetic predisposition to this problem in these women that might eventually show up when they pass menopause. Unfortunately, this woman not only had the hair-loss as shown, but a visible scar from where the hairline was sutured to the upper forehead. The good news is that she does not have to live with this problem as a hair transplant can put the hair back and cover the scar so that she will eventually be normal with no visible scar. Somehow, this woman was not aware of this risk, and this is the tragedy. Every surgery runs a risk and we try to spell this out during our consultations and in the ‘informed consent’ that every patient signs before surgery.

Frontal loss after HLP Surgery

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Woman Growing Facial Hair from Rogaine

I am (female) developing face hair ever since I started Rogaine. I believe that the Rogaine is helping. What can I do?

I have seen many women who report this. Usually, the hair is a fine, baby hair. You can bleach it or shave it off. Shaving will not make the facial hair thick, so I would not worry about that.


2007-05-21 10:33:49Woman Growing Facial Hair from Rogaine

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Woman Experiencing Significant Hair Loss In Transplant Area 10 Years After Surgery

I’m a female who had a mini graft (hair transplant) 10 years ago. Over this past year I have noticed significant hair loss in the area where the transplanted hair is. When I say significant, I mean the hair on my head is now see through! Why is my transplanted hair falling out? Is there a way to tell which hair is the transplanted hair? I read somewhere that hair transplants in women aren’t as successful as they are in men, because as women age we tend to lose density to our hair. Because of that, all the hair on our head appears to thin, and that includes transplanted hair. Any truth to this?

Women with genetic hair loss will often find progression into the back and sides (called donor area in men) as they age. What you are probably describing is that you are losing this hair and the transplanted hair (which was moved from that area) has some of that hair in there… so what you are probably seeing in the previously transplanted area is the same thing that is happening on the back and sides of your head as well. If your doctor examines the back and sides of your head, he/she will probably see miniaturization that reflects what you are witnessing in the previously transplanted area.

You’ll note that I’m using the word “probably” a lot in my answer, and that is simply because I don’t have enough information to provide a response of real substance. Photos and an examination would help tremendously.