May 5 2009, 3:34 pm PT | Posted in: Hair Loss Causes + Hair Products
Hi.. 5 years back a lady left the relaxer too long so I had a bad burn and ever since hair started to get thinner & thinner. I ended up with a bald area on top of my head. its pretty big in size. around 2 inches wide & 1.5 inches deep. Do you think my hair would never grow again in that area? are there any products that you suggest I use to help me fix this mess?
Its very unlikely that you would see hair growing back again at this stage. It sounds like the chemical treatment may have caused scarring to that area of the scalp or burned the hair follicles resulting in permanent hair loss. This could be confirmed with a scalp biopsy.
On the assumption that you have a good supply of donor hair at the back and sides, hair transplant surgery could restore hair to a reasonable result. Another option is a reduction or excision of the hairless scarred area. This excision might be likely to need scalp expansion in your case if the area is very large.
Without further information, I cannot recommend any products that would restore significant hair in your case. However, you can try temporary camouflage type products like Toppik that can disguise the loss when the need arises. The picture on the right shows a badly damaged hair with the fibrils inside the hair shaft broken out like the spindles inside electric wires.



I haven’t heard of Foltene before, but I checked out the site. The ingredients are a bunch of vitamins and something they are calling “Tricosaccaride”, which according to information I can only find on their company site, is something that they discovered in the 60s. Common sense time — If this really worked as claimed, don’t you think in the past 40+ years it would’ve been a little more well known? The vitamins in the ingredients will nourish the hair, but I have no idea how they can assume that means it’ll regrow hair. Looking a little further into what Tricosaccaride is, it seems like it is an acid that helps with blood circulation to the scalp. The idea of poor circulation leading to hair loss is false. See
Alcohol based hair products will not cause hair loss. The body has sebum which coats the hair as it exits the scalp and that process protects the hair most of the time. Alcohol based products can dry the scalp, so the use of good conditioners for dry hair is a good way to manage your scalp and hair.
Saw palmetto and Provillus are over the counter natural supplements, though Provillus now contains minoxidil along with saw palmetto. The use of saw palmetto may or may not work, but one of the problems is the dosage between different manufacturers and as it is an herbal remedy it is not covered by the FDA regulations for claims. I really don’t believe it works in treating hair loss, but I also see no harm in taking it. I would be careful not to take excessive dosages of any natural supplements, though. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what an excessive dose of saw palmetto would be.
The article you’re referring to can be found