Do I have telogen effluvium or androgenic alopecia?

Question

I am a 30 y/o male that has been experiencing significant hair shedding since July. Some back story: Starting at the beginning of March, I went on a "crash" diet which resulted in me losing roughly 70 pounds between March to the end of May. Starting in July, the shedding began which was mostly evident on my pillow the next morning and while washing my hair. Each hair has been long in length and includes a white "bulb" at the one end. I will stop here but can provide additional information.

Sanusi Umar, MD · Answer

Based on what you've described, it is most likely the case that what you are experiencing is related to telogen effluvium. Extreme dieting practices disrupt the normal processes and overall state of your body. These sudden changes are stressful to your physiology. And to regain a normal equilibrium, the body reallocates nutrition and resources to where the need is greatest. Hair follicles are basically a low priority at this point. They then go into a resting/ non-growth mode which results in noticeable hair shedding, which seems to match the situation you've described. However, I would still encourage you to get an official diagnosis from a medical hair loss specialist. It is still possible that your condition may also result from other factors, such as genetics or other health-related contributors.

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

To diagnose hair loss, one always always needs three things: 1) an ability to get the full story from the patient 2) an ability to examine the patient’s scalp and 3) the ability to review certain tests if needed. I call this the diagnostic set. In this case, none of these three criteria are fulfilled so it’s impossible to actually say.

That said, it’s quite likely there is a telogen effluvium going on for at least one of the diagnoses. However, it’s impossible to say whether there is some AGA present now or whether the TE will “unmask” some AGA as thr saying goes. You’ll want to review carefully with a physician both now and in the near future too in the event there is any AGA in evolution. The key to diagnosing AGA in males is the realization that some parts of the scalp are thinner than other parts of the scalp and the confirmation that the reason some areas are thinner is due to miniaturization. Be sure to review the story full with your doctors. The question here is not does one have TE or AGA but rather does one have TE or AGA ... or both.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

Crash diets with the type of hair loss you have can induce genetic hair loss if you have the genes for this. I would have to examine you to determine if that is what is actually happening.

Do I have telogen effluvium or androgenic alopecia?

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Do I have telogen effluvium or androgenic alopecia?

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Everything you need to know about Hair Loss Treatment

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