Hair Loss After Using a Hair Relaxer

/by William Rassman, M.D./5 /, ,

Hi. I have read a lot of your articles but still confused. I am asian american female age 18, and about 2 years ago I used a relaxer kit I bought from Walgreens for my hair becuase I had thick Frizzy hair. I asked the lady at the store to see if I can use it beucase I thought it was only for African Americans. She said yes so I bought it. After I used it my hair, it has been falling out really bad after showers especially. I let it fall all it wants knowing that I had thick hair for about a year and a half. About 4 months ago I noticed that my hair are growing thin. I have hair that is at least 16 inches long but my hairs that are newly grown comes out very easily. And the my short hairs come out very easily. When i get out of the shower, about 1/4 of hair that falls out are thin and decreased in size. And they look very thin and you can barely see them. the diameter of my hair has decreased to half the size it used to be but I don’t have any bald spots. Some of my friends I talked to say that it cant be the relaxers becuase chemicals can’t have an effect that last 2 years. And 2 years ago was the first and last time i have ever done that to my hair. I havent dyed my hair since… and my hair should be fairly healthy beucase there arent any chemicals i have put in these for 2 years.. All the relaxed hair has been cut off already… but the hair is growing thin. they said it could have been becuase i switched off and on Birth control. But i dont believe that is the problem. I have gone on and off birth controls before and never encountered this problem. And i only realized it right after that relaxer i used. My father is going bald at the crown but none of my aunts or uncles or grandmothers or father has this issue… even if I am a girl, could I have inherited it from my father… and if so why would it hit me so young. But I did notice that after I used the relaxer, i started getting dandruff and i have never had dandruff in my life before that.. Not the dandruff is still around… But it seems to run in the family from my mother. But the thing I dont understand is that why would i start getting dandruff right after I used that too.. Ugh it is ruining my life and I feel like I have nothing to live for..

Your problem does seem a bit serious and if the hair that is falling out is really much thinner that the hair that remains, this complaint is very characteristic of a genetic female hair loss problem. This is best determined by visiting a good hair doctor and having your scalp mapped out for miniaturization. If what you are experiencing is female genetic balding, it will show up in the mapping.

Since it has been over two years since you used the hair relaxer, it is very unlikely that it may have an affect on your hair now. Birth control pills can affect hair loss and hair composition, however, this is generally on an individual basis, so it is not absolutely clear whether it is the birth control that is affecting your hair. The dandruff problem you mentioned does not affect hair loss unless you are scratching your scalp vigorously, but you might want to check into some products such as Selsun Blue or Head and Shoulders. Dandruff seems more detrimental to your self esteem moreso than thinning hair. Getting back to the thinning hair and hair loss, it is normal to lose about 100 hairs a day, but these hairs should not be much thinner than those that remain.

Options for Regrowing Pubic Hair?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

After I had liposuction several years ago I had pubic hair loss (one of the places the canula was inserted was through the pubic hair area). The hair never grew back. The hair on the sides was not affected, just everything in the middle. Even tho no one sees it except my husband and myself, it’s still so embarrassing to me, and I really HATE HOW IT LOOKS!!!

I tried Rogaine For Women but it didn’t seem to do a thing.

What can be done about this? Of course the less expensive the treatment the better for me. We live in a very modest area, and have a modest income. We only have Kaiser health insurance, which is useless for things like this of course.

Would transplantation be my only option? Please help because I don’t want to look like this for the rest of my life. I just lost 40 pounds & am planning to lose more, have come out of a long depression, love my job and my life, feel healthy, do yoga, etc etc, but feel bad about how I look “down there”.

I’m happy to read that your life is going so well and you’ve gotten back on track towards success. I have done quite a few hair transplants into the pubic area with good success. As you’ve discovered on your own, Rogaine does not address your situation. Hair transplantation is probably the only method that would work. My office in Los Angeles is not too far from you if you’d like to come in for a consultation.

Female Hair Loss After Face Lift

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

I had a facelift last Sept and in Feb I noticed my hair has thinned to the balding stage. Is this permanent, caused by the facelift, or just temporary? What can I do to stimulate hair growth?

Hair loss around the scar after a face lift surgery is a common problem. Fortunately, it is one of the indications where a hair transplant procedure will help very nicely. You should first followup with your plastic surgeon for his opinion on the permanence of the hair loss, but as this has been a year already, I suspect that it may be permanent. If you are on the west coast, please consider paying me a visit in Los Angeles or San Jose, or if you can not easily drop by, send me good photographs and I will give you an opinion. Your privacy will be protected and I will not show them here on the web without your consent.

Any Advice for Woman with Telogen Effluvium?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

i have a form of telogin effluvium,with thinning on top of scalp!i’ve been to 2 medical doctors with no help in sight..my scalp itches and burns alots. for the past 5 mos. i’ve been wearing a hair system that is glued on to the edge of my outer hair..please advise!

If you have been fully evaluated by two medical doctors with blood work and carry a diagnosis of telogen effluvium, there is not much help I can offer other than assurance that it will take time for your hair to regrow, if it does regrow. The use of glued hair systems will definately make the problem worse. Hair transplantation is definitely not an option. Unfortunately there are no medications to treat telogen effluvium. With respect to your scalp itch and burn, the hair system may be impacting you more than you realize.

Hair Transplantation in Women

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

Hello,

First of all, I wanted to thank you for this informative blog. I thought I was the only woman going through hair loss. But here I have found I am not alone.

I have always had very fine and thin hair. I never really had a lot of hair, but I had enough that I didn’t notice it thinning. That was until I was 20 years old when my hair started to fall out. It would fall out a lot when I showered or combed it. So, it go to the point where I was afaid of even touching my hair. I went to the doctor and they ran some tests and I was told that it was a hormone imbalance and I was put on birth control to correct this. My hair stopped falling out and I didn’t notice it for the next five years.

That is until last year when I started noticing that I could see my scalp more. And I would have to make a consious effort of styling my hair so that it didn’t look too thin. I went to my doctor (a new one since 2000) and she ran tests. She said there was nothing she could do, but told me to take iron pills (since my iron was a little low) and to use Rogaine. I have been doing this for 6 months and I have realized that my hair is thinning out a lot more. As you can imagine this has seriously depressed me. Especially with our socity’s obsession with big hair on women.

My question, is there something else I should try besides Rogaine? I will be scheduling another appointment with my doctor and maybe see a dermetologist. However, I have started looking into hair transplants. But my question is, how does the new transplanted hair not start to fall of just like the old hair? And why do some women’s hair never thin out? My mom has a full set of hair at 56 yrs old and my dad is balding, but that started more when he went through chemo.

I will be going to my doctor to discuss my hair loss. Can you please let me know what tests should be run and what questions I should ask? The first time I went, I was a novice and was told to just use Rogaine & take iron pills. But since then I have tried to become more informed.

Sorry for rambling!

Beware of hair transplant doctors who specialize in female hair loss and transplanting many women. The truth is, female hair loss is complex and is very difficult to treat with a hair transplant. Although we do perform hair transplants on women, in all honesty we turn down many women because most are poor candidates for transplantation. What makes them poor candidates is that the rich donor supply area we find in men is heavily miniaturized in most women with female genetic hair loss. That means that a transplant will move ‘sickly’ hair from the back of the head to where it is needed. If miniaturization is 80% in the ‘donor area’ (the area where the hair is taken from), that means that 80% of the hair that is moved is of a poor quality and in the transplant only 20% of the hair has good value.

Minoxidil (Rogaine for Women) may work, but more importantly, you are also doing the right thing by seeing a dermatologist. A good dermatologist can check your blood work or check the health of your hair under a microscope to map your hair loss for miniaturization. If that leads you to a dead end, you can make an appointment with a good hair transplant doctor, but keep in mind what I said at the beginning of this answer. Most women just do not have good donor hair, so a good doctor knows this and does not recommend surgery just to make a buck. As you indicated that you are in the Los Angeles area, I would like to invite you to setup a free consultation with me at my LA office. You can call 800-NEW-HAIR or request a consultation online.

Thank you for the compliments on the site and good luck.

Is Brittle, Dry Hair a Condition of Genetic Hair Loss in Women?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, ,

Hi I read the post about tamoxifen and hair loss. I’ve been on it almost 4 years and over time my hair has become dry, brittle, and thin. It seems to be noticeable only to me. My fingernails are also cracked and flaky. (I’ve read about many many other women having this problem on tamoxifen). Some women seem to have improvement when they go off tamoxifen and/or switch over to one of the newer hormonal therapies like Arimidex or Femara. But in your opinion, is this side effect just an exacerbation of a genetic condition (no females in my family have thinned hair) or potentially the result of some undiscovered effect of the drug, like impaired thyroid function? (I’ve heard that tamoxifen may heighten the body’s level of retinoic acid?) Thanks for any help.

You seem to be well aware. Many drugs, such as Tamoxifen, can cause hair loss or even change hair/skin conditions. Judging from your limited history (and without the benefit of seeing you in person), it is difficult to judge the exact nature of your hair loss/ condition. You should be evaluated by a qualified dermatogist or internist/family doctor for a full medical work up.

What Questions Should I Ask My Doctor?

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /,

I’m african american, cherokee, and chickasaw indian and i’ve been natural since 2001. The last perm I had before that wasn’t rinsed well and left on my scalp. I went home and washed it. I thought everything was fine until 2003 when I noticed hair loss and gradual thinning from ends to root but growing length hasn’t been a problem. I’ve taken blood tests and found everything to be normal though the hemoglobin was 11.3 and b-12 374pg. Now the hair near my scalp looks as though it will disappear any minute now. I’ll be seeing a different dermatologist soon. How will i know what questions to ask to be aware that the doctor is being thorough? Please help.

It would be unlikely that anything left on your hair from two years earlier would be responsible for your present hair loss. A good doctor will lead the questions and get responses from you. The doctor will know what to ask of you, what tests to perform on you, and what to examine. That is your doctor’s job, not yours. Reading what is on this blog (see Female Hair Loss category) will give you insights into what you may experience with your doctor and what other women’s questions were. See what makes sense to you and then you can ask these questions of your doctor if you feel that he/she may need more guidance.

Chemical Trauma, Stress, and Hair Loss

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I’m 18 years old, female, and over the past few months (I’d say about 4-6 months) I’ve been noticing my hair thinning above my ears and towards the back of my head. Over the past 4-6 months I had a terrible hair dye job occur when I was forced to get my hair bleached in order to remove the colour, in turn my hair turned a greenish/red from the bleach so I had to go BACK in to have it re-dyed. I’d say I’ve had it fixed about 3-4 times within the past couple months. Could that play a role as to why it is thinning? I’ve spoken to my Doctors and my blood tests for Anemia, Thyroid Dysfunction, Liver & Kidney disease all came back within normal limits.

I’ve been experiencing tremendous problems with my IBS as well. Seems as though these past couple months have been some of the most stressful I’ve ever had. So basically, could the chemical trauma my hair has been through more then likely be a result to my hair thinning? I’ve been taking vitamins with Biotin in them, about 6mg a day. And I’m going in to my stylist to have a foundation treatment done on my scalp.

Am I going in the right direction considering taking action for my thinning hair? Any suggestions or advice?

Thanx so much! this site is great!

I am sorry to hear there has been so much stress in your life. Emotional stress in itself can cause hair loss. Added to that, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) has also been linked with hair loss. To make your situation worse, chemical hair dyes and bleach can also be a cause of hair loss. It seems that you are taking the right approach to promote a healthier hair/ scalp environment. However, it is not a guarantee for hair growth. The best thing going for you is a good bill of health from your doctors. Your body should hopefully take care of the rest. Keep away from the chemicals for your hair and you might have to wait a full year to see the benefits of time.

Female Temple Hair Loss

/by William Rassman, M.D./3 /,

Approaching high school my hair started to thin in the temple area. I am female, African American and No one in my family has genetic hair disorders or anything but, I believe very strongly that ever since I started to relax/perm my hair, is when my temples started to fade.

With relaxers, you have to keep putting them in every couple of months otherwise your hair will fall out. I do put my hair in a pony tail a lot, but instead of brushing and pulling backwards, I brush down to cover my temples and then put it in a ponytail.

Without the option of Hair transplant surgery or wigs for right now, how can I get my temples to grow back? Will they always be this way or get worse?

Sometimes people describe the corners of the forehead as their temples (which is incorrect). If you are losing hair from the corners of your forehead, you may have male pattern balding. If you are losing hair above your ears, up to the corner of your frontal hair line (your temples), you may have hair loss from the use of topical chemicals to ‘relax’ your hair. You may also have a condition known as diffuse alopecia areata or a known genetic condition where the temples themselves will fall out (Triangular Alopecia) without other areas of the scalp being impacted, but we need to review your pictures to help make this diagnosis as it has a characteristic appearance. You should be evaluated by a qualified doctor for a definitive diagnosis if this problem continues to be an issue for you. If you send us pictures, we may be able to help further.

My Hair Was Pulled Out In A Fight

/by William Rassman, M.D./4 /

I am a 28 year old female and was in a fight a few days ago and had a handfull of my hair pulled out from the back if my head about the size of a 50 cent coin..could you tell me if it will ever grow back?

Yes, a one time pull of hair will return in 99% of cases, particularly in women with no long term hair loss issues.

Lyme Disease and Hair Loss?

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /,

Hi there….I am a female with diffused hair loss for almost 19 years. Eventually it will all be gone. I have been tested for all the diseases that cause hair loss. Could Lyme Disease cause hair loss? If so what kind of hair loss is seen with the disease? Hopefully you can help me, thanks!

You should be evaluated by a qualified hair transplant doctor or a dermatologist. You may have a condition known as diffuse alopecia areata , a variety of conditions (search women’s hair loss on this site) and you may have DUPA.

With respect to Lyme disease causing your hair loss, you would have many other medical problems if you had this disease for 19 years. It is conceivable that Lyme disease may cause hair loss, but it would be very non-specific, as many other disease states and stressors can affect hair loss. Therefore, I suspect your hair loss of 19 years is not related to Lyme disease.

From my nine years working with Dr. Rassman, he has taught me a simple way to approach any cause of hair loss. Hair loss can be divided in to five causes:

  1. Genetics – such as male pattern baldness
  2. Stress – such as emotional, disease states, or trauma
  3. Hormonal – such as hypothyroidism
  4. Age – we all lose hair with age
  5. Medical diseases including unexplained weight loss

By Dr. Jae Pak

Low Iron and Hair Loss

/by William Rassman, M.D./2 /,

Hi, Im am 35 Female. Last summer I started to have a swollen feeling near my tonsils. I have difficulty swallowing. I always use couph drops because its a relief for my swollen feeling. It doesn’t hurt, just feels swollen. A few months later around Sept, I noticed my hair getting really really dry. Now its falling out and has been since Dec. It falls out in handfulls everyday. I lost over 100 hairs in one day and this is a daily thing now. I went to the doctors, My ferriton level was the only thing out of range. Everything else is within normal limits. My ferriton is at 7 So Im on Iron suppliments as well as B12 and a Multivitamin. I had rapid heart rates, but I think its calmed down since the Iron therapy. The doctor told me to gargle with peroxide. She didn’t really focus too much on my throat problem, and actually she didn’t even look in my mouth. Could this be something else other than anemia? And could throat thing be the main reason that caused my hair to fall out? and why Im not getting the Iron I need?

Thank you for your time

Low iron indicates anemia may be present, a known cause of hair loss. Being sick brings on phyical and emotional stress which could lead to hair loss as well. The cause for iron deficiency could be from improper diet or even by worms and other blood born parasites (unlikely in North America). I can not comment on the topic of your throat problem and its relationship to hair loss.

Heater Causing Female Hair Loss?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

I am a 69 year old retired female. I live in a one bedroom apartment in a block of 12 apartments. Unfortunately my apartment is situated over the boiler unit that heats this entire block of apartments. Last winter I began noticing my hair falling out in February. This continued throughout the early Spring. Testings have eliminated thyroid and testosterone problems. I’ve been diagnosed with female allopecia. However, during the warmer months and summer I stopped losing hair and regrowth began. However, two weeks after the boiler unit was restarted in November, I experienced more hair loss during every shower and combing. I now have to wear a wig due to huge losses. I do have an appointment with a Dermatologist next week. However, I do not think it a coincidence that my hair falls out only during heating season. I believe it is related to the combustion process of this boiler or a malfunction of some sort. Management will be no help without proof of some sort. Any info would be extremely helpful. Is the chemical Chloroprene involved in this process? Thank you

Humans have asynchronous hair cycling, which means that we do not shed hair like other mammals that lose hair in the summer and grow their hair/fur in the winter months. In your case though, it sounds like the heat of the boiler running in the winter is contributing to your hair loss, despite what I have just said. Sorry, but a visit with a good doctor is needed to evaluate the many causes of hair loss in women. This is one of those situations where too many factors which could lead to female hair loss might be in play, preventing me from giving a more specific response.

Eyebrow and Pubic Hair Loss

/by William Rassman, M.D./3 /,

Can I grow eyebrow hair by applying Rogaine (minoxidil) to the minimal eyebrow hair that now exists?

Also, would I bring my concerns about eyebrow hair loss (I also have completely lost my pubic hair which doesn’t bother me) to a dermatologist rather than internist? What related lifestyle, medical, physical, emotional information should I note to give the physician the information needed to make a proper diagnosis? Do you recommend any physicians in the Boston area who are experts in the area of eyebrow hair loss in women and corrective transplant?

I really appreciate being able to ask questions based on the information you provide on your website. Thank you again. I look forward to your guidance with this matter.

Rogaine should not grow eyebrow hair where there is none. A dermatologist would help you with the correlation between pubic and eyebrow hair, if any. The physician will know what to ask you to help make a diagnosis.

Lost Hair at Hairline After Damaging Hair With Bleach

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /, ,

I am female and recently bleached my hair and then dyed it. The problem is that I lost track of time while bleaching and left it on way too long. Not realizing the extent of the damage, I then put a color on it. A couple of days later, when I pulled my hair back I realized that my hair line had receded noticeably in certain areas leading me to believe that I melted my hair to the scalp in those places. My questions are: will my hair grow back in those spots and will I continue to lose my hair? I am seeing a stylist in a couple of days to have it cut very short to try to minimize more damage through breakage but would like to know what kind of fallout I can expect — unfortunately, I have no one to blame but myself in this situation and realize that your forum is for those experiencing some very devastating conditions and although my situation seems vain in comparison any answers you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

The good news is that your hair will likely grow back. The bad news is that you will have to be patient and wait until the hair grows back. In the mean time, I suspect you will come up with a new creative hair style — you have little choice.