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Is it normal for a hair under an inch long to be noticably thinner towards the root? i see hairs that fall out that look kinda like an exclamation mark, thick at top and thin at the root. my hair is around 2cm long.

The exclamation point hair you’re describing usually points to a variety of conditions, such as allergic disorders, thyroid disease, vitiligo, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis (see Exclamation point hair). Normally hair is uniform in width.

My daughter is nine years old and is of the african american origin. Her hair is not growing and is falling out at the nap and temples. Yes I have gone to a doctor and still nothing works. I relax her hair about every six months with a PCJ just for me kids relaxer. Please help me I am at my wits end! What do I need to do to fix her problem?

It is highly probable that you are doing something (without realizing it) to cause hair loss, unless your daughter has some genetic disease. A good doctor should be able to tell with an examination. Make an appointment with a good dermatologist.

Dear Dr.,
First of all thank you very much for the help you have given on this forum. I have had two HT operation 1000 FUE(1.5 years ago, worked very well) and 2000 FUT (3 months ago). My question is has to do with HT results and I would appreciate if you could answer;

1. I saw pictures of more than 5K-6K grafts but has poor coverage/appearance compared to some 3K graft transplantation? Even, the pictures are from the same clinic. What are the reasons of this inconsistency?
2. Most of the pictures show hairlines and first half of the top. How about the crown? Is it a common practice to leave crown bald? Is it because the budget or a bald person does not have enough donor for front and crown so has to select one?
3. Does hair loss stop or decrease rate with the age? My lost started at age 26-27 with diffuse pattern now I am 31. A diffuse pattern goes till NW-7 or NW-6 or NW-6 with some diffuse hair still on top and crown?

Thank you very much.

Regards

Three months after a hair transplant should not produce enough hair to show any significant results. Wait a full 8 months to see the results of the second surgery.

1. There could be a variety of reasons for that. Patient A and Patient B could have different hair color, skin color, hair characteristics, degree of balding, etc. Or it could be different techniques used (many clinics have damage problems with FUE grafts, for example). There’s just a lot of variables that could be the reason.
2. The transplantation of hair in the crown does depend upon many factors, again including donor density, scalp laxity, thickness of the hair shafts, and the degree of balding. It may not be possible to transplant an entire head with a Norwood class 7 pattern of balding, but I have done it in patients with great hair qualities (see Patient ZU here, for example).
3. Only about 7% of men go as far as a class 7 pattern, about 20% a class 6/7 pattern… and most of these men with the class 7 pattern have clear signs of it before the age of 30. You need to be evaluated by a doctor like myself or Dr. Pak that specializes in this field if your doctor does not answer this question for you.

Hello Dr. Rassman. I am a 20 year old male. I have been loosing my hair for about a year and a half and have thinned quite a bit all over the classic horse-shoe area. My questions are as follows: My hair has thinned, but not receded, my hairline is still intact, just diffuse. I’ve been on Propecia for about a week now,and I swear my hairloss has slowed. Is it possible that it could be working already? I have a VERY high metabolisim; could that be a factor? I’m crossing my fingers! Thanks….

I doubt Propecia would show any regrowth in only one week, but I suppose it is possible for slowing the hair loss. You should take a photo of your hair and keep it as a reference to see how it changes in the next year. That will tell you a great deal. Also, you can map out your scalp for miniaturization and follow the mapping results over time. Changes in miniaturization will show if the medications are working even if your metabolism is high.

20 year olds tend to do really, really well with finasteride (Propecia) and I have seen miracles with this medication on those in your age group. Good luck.

Hi Doctor, I wrote to you and want to thank you for posting my question. I have taken my daughter to two different doctors and I received two different opinions. The first doctor said TE due to stress and the second said AGA due to family history. I did not think AGA could cause such loss on the corner forehead down to the temple. I wanted to know what the odds were that a 17 year old could have AGA. I know it can happen, but how unlucky would we have to be? Also, the area I’m talking about looks bald in photos. This has been going on since March with no regrowth.

One doctor says telogen effluvium (TE) and another says androgenic alopecia (AGA), but without an examination, I really couldn’t and shouldn’t try to help break the tie. So while I cannot comment on your daughter’s diagnosis, the general fact is AGA is more common in men. In fact, AGA (also known as male pattern baldness) is the most common cause of hair loss in men in post puberty years, including teens. I have seen rare instances where genetic hair loss can impact young women as well, but I don’t have actual statistics off hand for you. Luck doesn’t play a part, but based on my experience genetic hair loss in teen girls isn’t a common occurrence.

Please i really need your advice.

For 3 months I started taking 1.25mg of proscar daily because I started to shed hair. soon after taking proscar, hair loss came to a halt and I stopped worrying about MPB. But then I started to get sexual side affects so i stopped the treatment and everything was in working order in days. But now of course am starting to itch n shed again. what do i do? less proscar? saw palmetto? minoxidil? am 26 and still have a full head of hair but I will begone if action is not taken.

This is why a prescription from a doctor is required for finasteride… to answer questions like yours if you experience side effects. I often recommend half a pill a day for those that see side effects to see if this is tolerated, but cutting a 5mg Proscar tablet into 8 parts is a real challenge. Ask you doctor, as this is an important thing for you, and you should not let it slide until you go bald.

I’m a 28 year old woman who suffered a bit of diffuse hair loss at the front of my scalp. I have always had thick dark curly hair but started losing hair as consequence of being treated with a medication for anxiety. I have been told that it will regenerate by itself once I stop the medication. But, I am still taking this medication and obviously I dont want to keep losing hair so my doctor has given me some vitamins and also Rogaine for 6 months. I’m only on the first month of using Rogaine and I havent noticed any improvement yet. I was just wanderig what will happen once I finish both treatments. I’m planning to stop the medication in two months. I’ve read that once you quit Rogaine your hair goes back as it was. Is this going to affect my natural hair regrowth? Will my hair keep thick after Rogaine if this is my natural? Is Rogaine appropriate for me?

Many thanks for any advise!

Rogaine (minoxidil) will not impact normal hair. If you have no side effects from its use, you can apply it as directed twice a day and wait out 8-12 months to see if it works. You won’t notice anything in the first month, and if you stop the medication in 2 months you’re not going to get any benefits. Why would you even bother starting it?

I have had a severe case of hair loss that has continued over the past ten years. Over the past two years, I have learned that this was because of low testosterone. My urologists has prescribed Androgel, which I thought would help but it only gives marginal improvement.

Erections are almost non-existant with some form of visual stimulant. ED drugs help but take a while to kick in. The last test that I took for testosterone had a level of 35 which was lower than the normal low end range for a 50 year old male.

Please help as I feel helpless to resolve this issue with the doctors that I have been seeing over the past 2 years. I’ve been prescribed for Propecia, which does marginal good and I have been using Minoxidil since it was first on the market. It didn’t stop the hairloss.

Please help!

If you come into my office, I can make an assessment of you, a good history, and an examination. Without that, I can not do much to help you. Or, find a local doctor who should do what I would do and get enough opinions until you find the right doctor.

I wanted to clarify my question, which you called “A Reader’s Minoxidil Theory“. Let me put the question to you another way:

If a healthy hair follicle, which was never going to be affected by baldness, comes in contact with minoxidil, then its anagen phase will be prolonged and, as a result, its telogen phase will be delayed. And when the minoxdil is withdrawn, then that healthy hair follicle will finally enter its telogen phase and fall out. But since that hair follicle is healthy, then it will grow back, regardless of the minoxidil discontinuation.

Do you agree?

I have no basis of a scientific opinion. You may be right, but does it matter if the long term impact is negligible?

Hi,

My hair has been thinning and falling for a few years now (I’m probably too late in asking for help), and now I can see that the hairline has receded quite a bit and the scalp is easily visible. The loss/thinning is limited to the top of my head in a horse shoe pattern. If I massage my scalp on the top, hair falls out. If I massage the side of my scalp, nothing falls out.

I also suffer from a very oily scalp/ face….

The question is, can I treat the situation or is this genetic? Is oily scalp a culprit? It does feel like hair falls out faster when my scalp is oilier.

thanks

Oily scalp is not the reason for your loss. Genetics are. It is likely not too late to start on medication like Propecia, which can help to halt the hair loss and possibly regrow some.

If you rub the side of your head and no hair falls out, yet when you massage the top of your head you’ve seen hair loss, this sounds like a classic situation of male pattern baldness (MPB). The sides and back of your head retain your hair permanently (which is why you see so many men with the “horseshoe” of hair) and will not come out like you describe with a massage, and it sounds like when you put any traction on the top of your scalp, even gentle massaging, it’s causing those weak hairs on top to fall out faster.

You indicated in your email form that you were in the San Francisco bay area. I have an office in San Jose and you should consider making an appointment with either Dr. Pak or myself by calling 800-NEW-HAIR for a consultation.