POSTED UNDER Retin-A REVIEWS
Hair Loss from Retin A
ORIGINAL POST
I just want to start by saying I am VERY prone to...
lilz287August 10, 2017
$9
I just want to start by saying I am VERY prone to hair loss. From the age of 14 i have suffered from it. My pattern in diffuse thinning and more severe at to the crown, just behind the hair line, especially at the centre. This pattern is very common for women. I have hashimotos disease, and was diagnosed at 23, although by that stage by anti bodies were extremely high, so it is probable that i have had the disease since my teens. I am not on medication, as my thyroid hormone levels are not significantly low (they fluctuate, but are usually only JUST outside the normal range). I am also prone to hormonal imbalance, i usually have bad PMS symptoms.
My hair loss fluctuates, at certain times the hair loss at the front of my scalp is very noticable. Other times my hair is thicker and the crown thinning is not so noticable at all. It depends what hairloss triggers i have going on.
I started retinol as a means to prepare for retin a in feburary this year (5 months ago) I started on retin a 0.025% in may, and have recently moved on to using it every other night, without any skin irritation, dryness or peeling. My skin has improved alot. I am 35 and wanted to use retin a to help with fine lines on my forehead, improve skin tone and texture and prevent future skin aging. so far i have been pretty happy with the results on my skin and have had many compliments, however it is still early days and i have been very excited for further results to develop. i was so excited, that i would frequently read and watch other peoples retin a journeys, just to hear about other peoples experiences and psych myself up. Through doing this i stumbled across people talking about retin a hairloss.
Shortly starting retinol, i have had increased shedding, but i thought it probably had something to do with the iron infusion that i had in march (iron infusion can create a shock response in the body). However my hair shedding just hasnt stopped and really started getting worse when i stepped up from retinol to retin a in may. During the last month i notice my hair is thinner then it has been for a VERY long time. Also the pattern is a bit different to usual. The loss is not just at the crown, it is also all around the hair line (as in, the whole arch) its like my hairline has moved backward, my forehead is larger. This pattern makes me think that it is probable that the hairloss is retin a related, and it is a pattern that i have read other retin a users see also.
I am pretty upset about this. I was so excited by retin a and my skin was doing so well on it. I have followed instruction very carefully, and did alot of research on how to use it in the safest least irritating way. I have always applied a very measured amount, pea sized or less, switched to very gentle cleansers and rich moisturisers. Religious application and frequent reapplications of spf 50 sunscreen through out the day, wearing wide brimmed hats when outdoors... I did every thing right, and my skin thanked me for it. However, my hair did not...
I have stopped retin a and retinol yesterday. I have started serioxyl for hair growth and will be soon be starting overnight castor oil hair masks twice a week. hopefully my hair comes back in quickly!
I will try and introduce retinol again in a few months, and see if my hair can manage it, but sadly, i dont think i will ever be able to use retin a again.... In the meantime i guess i will just go back to using glycolic and lactic acids... their good but no where near as good as retin a... i still have my matrixyl and vitamin c at least...
My hair loss fluctuates, at certain times the hair loss at the front of my scalp is very noticable. Other times my hair is thicker and the crown thinning is not so noticable at all. It depends what hairloss triggers i have going on.
I started retinol as a means to prepare for retin a in feburary this year (5 months ago) I started on retin a 0.025% in may, and have recently moved on to using it every other night, without any skin irritation, dryness or peeling. My skin has improved alot. I am 35 and wanted to use retin a to help with fine lines on my forehead, improve skin tone and texture and prevent future skin aging. so far i have been pretty happy with the results on my skin and have had many compliments, however it is still early days and i have been very excited for further results to develop. i was so excited, that i would frequently read and watch other peoples retin a journeys, just to hear about other peoples experiences and psych myself up. Through doing this i stumbled across people talking about retin a hairloss.
Shortly starting retinol, i have had increased shedding, but i thought it probably had something to do with the iron infusion that i had in march (iron infusion can create a shock response in the body). However my hair shedding just hasnt stopped and really started getting worse when i stepped up from retinol to retin a in may. During the last month i notice my hair is thinner then it has been for a VERY long time. Also the pattern is a bit different to usual. The loss is not just at the crown, it is also all around the hair line (as in, the whole arch) its like my hairline has moved backward, my forehead is larger. This pattern makes me think that it is probable that the hairloss is retin a related, and it is a pattern that i have read other retin a users see also.
I am pretty upset about this. I was so excited by retin a and my skin was doing so well on it. I have followed instruction very carefully, and did alot of research on how to use it in the safest least irritating way. I have always applied a very measured amount, pea sized or less, switched to very gentle cleansers and rich moisturisers. Religious application and frequent reapplications of spf 50 sunscreen through out the day, wearing wide brimmed hats when outdoors... I did every thing right, and my skin thanked me for it. However, my hair did not...
I have stopped retin a and retinol yesterday. I have started serioxyl for hair growth and will be soon be starting overnight castor oil hair masks twice a week. hopefully my hair comes back in quickly!
I will try and introduce retinol again in a few months, and see if my hair can manage it, but sadly, i dont think i will ever be able to use retin a again.... In the meantime i guess i will just go back to using glycolic and lactic acids... their good but no where near as good as retin a... i still have my matrixyl and vitamin c at least...
Replies (4)
1) It all started with a * shampoo/conditioner that I was using back around the year 2000. After about 3 months of using the product (I can't remember how long I used it--could have been less than a couple of months), my hair started falling out in handfuls--while I was taking a shower--at that time, I never thought that the cause of hair loss was because of the shampoo or conditioner.
Eventually, through my daughter, I found out that at least 7 girls at her school were losing some of their hair and the girls started a discussion about it--what they had in common was a particular shampoo and conditioner.
When I called the shampoo company* the young woman who answered the phone had an automatic answer (she did not seem surprised at all): contact your doctor. I did--I went to a couple of dermatologists and each one said that YES, it can cause hair loss, and they named another shampoo, at the time, that caused this condition more than any other that they knew of. They were NOT aware of the brand that I was using could also cause the hair loss reaction.
Afterwards, the above problem (the shampoo and conditioner) seemed to “trigger” hair loss with practically ANY shampoo or conditioner I used (even baby shampoo).
I found out, after years of experimenting, that using literally a drop or two of shampoo on my hair (NOT rubbed into my scalp) and IMMEDIATELY washing it out THOROUGHLY, that it helped my hair considerably.
As for conditioner, I only place less then a drop on the longer part of my hair (from around the neckline, down) . . . my hair is slightly longer than shoulder length. Again, I do NOT leave it on my hair for less than a couple of seconds, and then I immediately rinse it out. I NEVER apply any conditioner to my scalp.
2) Medications can also cause you to lose hair. For example cholesterol meds or heart meds or many others.
Also, young women have problems with IUD (the copper in it); I do no know if they still have those around.
3) Minerals in multi-vitamins can cause hair loss too
All I am saying is that, Yes--certain meds can cause hair loss.
I am about to try the Retin-A, I am waiting for the pharmacist to contact me to tell me when I can pick it up from them.
I was looking Retin A up on the Internet, and I came across your words.
I will WASH MY HANDS THOROUGHLY (per my doctor), and I will make sure that my hands do not go near my scalp when I have the stuff on my fingers.
But thanks to your words, I will be very careful with this product (because it goes deep into the skin). Thank you lilz287