Please help ! desperate for advice

[stacy01]

Hi, I am a 26 year old female and at the end of June suffered quite a significant hair shed. Hair was all over the place for about 4 months .. I had significant months of emotional stress before that, I also stopped the birth control pill abruptly after 2 months and I put my hair through a chemical misery at the hairdresser by dying it twice and doing a Keratin treatment all in 1 week :/ .... I sought advice from a dermatologist back in end August who told me to start 10 drops of Regaine, however, I never started it because I was scared of initiating worse hair shed. I carried out a full blood test and everything was normal .. recently I noticed that my ferritin level was 50ng/mL ... i've read online that this is on the low side?? No doctor pointed this out ... I lost hair on my temples and my parting widened all the way to my crown which becomes really noticeable maximum 3 days after washing my hair …Hair on top of my head has thinned out and a behind my ears also... The hair on my temples has grown back (not to the same thickness as it was but there is significant growth), however, my crown and parting are not much different from what they were after the shed except for some new hairs growing. Although the shedding has reduced (I don't think I lose more then 100 hairs, perhaps 60) I am also losing hairs of all lengths and sometimes i find the random vellus hair ... I have no family history of hair loss, both my fathers, mothers hair are in a better state then mine. The only person who experienced hair loss in my family was my grandfather but I assumed it was because of age. I have been taking folic acid 5mg and cystine B6 for 6 months now. Is this more Telogen Effluvium rather then hereditary hair loss? Sorry about the long post I'm new to this but desperately seeking advice ....

 

[2bald2young]

First compare your hair with the female patterned baldness scale.

I have read a story of a woman who experienced hair loss after stopping with the birth control pill. Telogen Effluvium is something where you can see all of your hair thinning, you can check if it is Telogen Effluvium by doing the pull test, just grab some hair and pull lighty if there is a lot of hair in your hand it could be Telogen Effluvium, to make that sure you can also visit a derm. Also I don't really think it is female pattern hair loss, but it is a good idea to compare your hair with a scale. Here are some ideas for you:

1. Take the BCP again
2. Do the pull test and if you hair is easy to pull out and you are sure it is Telogen Effluvium, just wait some time and it is going to grow back.
3. If it is not the genes, I think you can grow your hair back with natural ways, like putting rosemary oil and garlic juice on your head (it is best to search this on the internet)

 

[Bubblyc]

Hair Loss worry

[Hi

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Hi, I am a 26 year old female and at the end of June suffered quite a significant hair shed. Hair was all over the place for about 4 months .. I had significant months of emotional stress before that, I also stopped the birth control pill abruptly after 2 months and I put my hair through a chemical misery at the hairdresser by dying it twice and doing a Keratin treatment all in 1 week :/ .... I sought advice from a dermatologist back in end August who told me to start 10 drops of Regaine, however, I never started it because I was scared of initiating worse hair shed. I carried out a full blood test and everything was normal .. recently I noticed that my ferritin level was 50ng/mL ... i've read online that this is on the low side?? No doctor pointed this out ... I lost hair on my temples and my parting widened all the way to my crown which becomes really noticeable maximum 3 days after washing my hair …Hair on top of my head has thinned out and a behind my ears also... The hair on my temples has grown back (not to the same thickness as it was but there is significant growth), however, my crown and parting are not much different from what they were after the shed except for some new hairs growing. Although the shedding has reduced (I don't think I lose more then 100 hairs, perhaps 60) I am also losing hairs of all lengths and sometimes i find the random vellus hair ... I have no family history of hair loss, both my fathers, mothers hair are in a better state then mine. The only person who experienced hair loss in my family was my grandfather but I assumed it was because of age. I have been taking folic acid 5mg and cystine B6 for 6 months now. Is this more Telogen Effluvium rather then hereditary hair loss? Sorry about the long post I'm new to this but desperately seeking advice ....

[/QUOTE]

 

[EvilLocks]

I think your loss sounds more like Telogen Effluvium than androgenic alopecia. It is not long since your shed, but remember the hair won't grow back at all once, it may take time. But if you see new hairs growing that is a good sign.

 

[Eliza1990]

It sounds like Telogen Effluvium to me. I completely feel for you / how stressful it is to lose a lot of hair in a short amount of time, but try to have faith - I'm sure it doesn't feel like it right now, but rapid onset is generally much better than news than having gradual loss as it suggests it's temporary, not genetic, and will likely revert to normal (as will the look of your hair) over time. Happy to hear you've already seen the shedding begin to reduce.

I do not think your ferritin level is part of the issue- while many say 70 is ideal for growth, there's no research that suggests a level above 50 would cause/contribute to the onset of hair loss (especially dramatic and sudden case like yours).

I promise it will get better...just try to stay hopeful, don't stress, and treat your hair/body well (stay hydrated, eat protein, get enough sleep, take biotin, and a multi-vitamin if you feel like you need it).

 

[Romanadvoratrelundar]

Has anyone bounced back from a state like this?

Hellooo! I am very sorry to hijack this thread but I am very new and can not post my own. I am panicking right now. I'm 26-year-old female and when I was a child I had really thick gorgeous hair, what changed with puberty and my hair has progressively thinned. It wasn't an issue for me until last 2 years when I started suspecting it's possibly getting really bad, but whenever I asked someone (my parents, friends, boyfriend) they'd tell me it was just in my head and my hair looked fine. Well... tonight I took a picture of my scalp... and I really doubt it's just in my head.
Is this normal or do you think there is a problem with my hair? What does it look like? Has anyone had similar problem and got better? Thank you million times for any answers!

 

[solvicula]

Hi Romanadvoratrelundar,

I'm 26 years old too, and I have telogen effluvium/seborrheic dermatitis. Your hair appears to be very thin at the front for someone so young. If I were you, I'd get a blood panel done. There may be some chronic health condition or deficiency going on, considering your age, and the progressive nature of your hair loss.

I had a SEVERE zinc deficiency from poor diet, but the only symptoms I noticed were a weird rainbow-colour halo effect around lights at night and memory problems. Otherwise, I felt okay. It wasn't until I started losing my hair in handfuls that I went to see my doctor. He ruled out other causes, identified inflammation, and with that information I was able to discover the root of my problem. I might have to wear bandanas in public to hide my bald patches, but at least I have peace of mind knowing that I am taking steps to improve my overall health.

Hope you figure it out as well.

 

[EvilLocks]

Hellooo! I am very sorry to hijack this thread but I am very new and can not post my own. I am panicking right now. I'm 26-year-old female and when I was a child I had really thick gorgeous hair, what changed with puberty and my hair has progressively thinned. It wasn't an issue for me until last 2 years when I started suspecting it's possibly getting really bad, but whenever I asked someone (my parents, friends, boyfriend) they'd tell me it was just in my head and my hair looked fine. Well... tonight I took a picture of my scalp... and I really doubt it's just in my head.
Is this normal or do you think there is a problem with my hair? What does it look like? Has anyone had similar problem and got better? Thank you million times for any answers!
View attachment 35790View attachment 35791

First of all, you are defintely not crazy and imagining things, your hair IS thinning. What you have is most likely androgenic alopecia, since your hair has been thinning gradually over some time. I am very sorry you are going through this and let me just tell you I'm going through the same. I'm also a woman in her 20's suffering from hair loss. My problem never got better just keeps getting worse. If you have androgenic alopecia it's going to keep getting worse unless you are on treatment like Rogaine or Spironolactone. They don't help everyone though, me included. I wish I could tell you something more uplifting but I guess you want the truth instead of sugarcoating it.

- - - Updated - - -

BTW don't let one-posters like Joanna over here scam you for your money. They can't do more for your hair than the conventional treatments (probably nothing at all, since natural treatments don't work) and probably cost a lot more money. Please listen to what I say, as a fellow hair loss sufferer I only wish you the best

 

[Romanadvoratrelundar]

Thanks for answering guys!!! I went to see a dermatologist specialising in scalp and hair today and although my blood test results are yet to come back he had no doubt it was androgenic alopecia. It's funny because I always thought that's what it was but I was in denial and thought... maybe if I eat more fish/stop eating gluten/use homemade natural shampoo/use henna/take zinc supplement/thousand other things, my hair will magically restore itself. I should be disappointed now, but to be honest I am SO relieved because worrying about it has been EXHAUSTING and now that I know there's little I can do I can just lay back, use my minoxidil, relax and wait for my hair to get bad enough to get a wig. Doctor had a point saying that it's way preferable than having your hair falling out as a symptom of something more serious. I'm probably healthy as a horse (balding horse, but still pretty healthy), so I'll just choose to be happy about that and get a shorter haircut tomorrow. Thank you very much and I will see where minoxidil will take me.

First of all, you are defintely not crazy and imagining things, your hair IS thinning. What you have is most likely androgenic alopecia, since your hair has been thinning gradually over some time. I am very sorry you are going through this and let me just tell you I'm going through the same. I'm also a woman in her 20's suffering from hair loss. My problem never got better just keeps getting worse. If you have androgenic alopecia it's going to keep getting worse unless you are on treatment like Rogaine or Spironolactone. They don't help everyone though, me included. I wish I could tell you something more uplifting but I guess you want the truth instead of sugarcoating it.

- - - Updated - - -

BTW don't let one-posters like Joanna over here scam you for your money. They can't do more for your hair than the conventional treatments (probably nothing at all, since natural treatments don't work) and probably cost a lot more money. Please listen to what I say, as a fellow hair loss sufferer I only wish you the best

 

[kik23]

that could be my story too .discontinuing the pill and then the chaos and in too pretty sure that it may be telogen