Follow-up: Doctor believes that I am recovering from a telogen effluvium?

Question

My hair is thin and parts thick, I know it is difficult to give a diagnosis looking at pictures, I was losing 200 to 300 hairs a day, now I lose 20 to 30 hairs a day, I have always had enough hair, that's why I don't notice that I have lost hair, but I feel that I have lost density. In the photos you can see that I have lost hair on the front, but I don't think it can be alopecia, I don't have relatives with alopecia. I also lost eyebrow hair. I'm 22 years old

Ilhan Serdaroglu, MD · Answer

Female pattern hair loss or genetic alopecia is the most common reason of hair loss in women and it is more common than it is thought to be. 25% of the women at the ages of 35-40, 50% of the women at the ages above 40 suffer from hair loss. 20% of the women with hair loss have a positive relative who suffered/is suffering from hair loss. Other reasons of hair loss are: Hypo- and hyper-tiroidism (hair loss may be one of the early signs of thyroid dysfunction, and hair loss stops after treatment); polycystic ovarian syndrome (an inherited ovarian disease, seen in 10% of the women during adulthood); pregnancy-related hormonal changes (temporary hair loss which can be seen during pregnancy stops after birth)..
The reason of the hair loss may related with factors other than genetic like connective tissue disorders, stress, anemia, lupus, medications, hormonal and seasonal changes, nutritional problems, severe diets, bulimia, protein/calorie deficiency, zinc and essential amino-acid deficiency, mal-absorption (intestinal and digestive problems), A-vitamin excess, general anesthesia, affective mood disorders.So you may need to have a full exam with an hair surgeon, internalist and/or endocrinologist to find out any reason for hair loss.

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

One can't say if you have a TE or not based on this information. It does sound possible but an important question is whether you also have androgenetic alopecia here too. An up close exam is needed along with thorough review of your story. Eyebrow loss is uncommon in male TE and does not occur in AGA. You need a more in depth review than the photos and a brief caption can cover.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

Men rarely get a telogen effluvium but rather genetic alopecia which leads to balding. Assuming you are a male, your biggest enemy is the progressive thinning leading to a
balding pattern that is not evident at this point in time. The degree of
thinning that you are experiencing would suggest that you should see a
doctor who most likely will get Bulk Measurements of your hair to
determine the degree of the thinning that you are presently having. If the
diagnosis is early genetic hair loss (the most common cause of hair loss
in young men), then the best treatment would be the drug finasteride which
is highly effective in men of your age and may not only stop the hair loss
but possibly reverse it. If you are developing a more advanced balding
pattern the best test to get will determine the Bulk Measurements of your
hair and this will show, over a one-year time frame, how effective the
treatment will be. Once you know this information, then you and your
doctor need to develop a MASTER PLAN which will define what you need to do
over the years to come.

Follow-up: Doctor believes that I am recovering from a telogen effluvium?

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Everything you need to know about Hair Loss Treatment

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Follow-up: Doctor believes that I am recovering from a telogen effluvium?

Answers (3)

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Everything you need to know about Hair Loss Treatment

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.