I’m Using Dutasteride, Rogaine Foam, and Nizoral — And Yet I Still Lose Hair!

Dear Doctor,

I hope you are fine. I have a weird problem.

I am losing hair since last 4 years and I shave off my hair (completely bald) once in 4 months. Few years back, my dermatologist mentioned that I had Androgenetic Alopecia and I was thus placed on that medication for quite some time. After taking medication and doing relevant tests, it was found out that my DHT levels are low. But for some reason my hair still falls out!

Looking back at my history, my hair grows long for 3 months (and I dont lose much hair in these three months – 4-5 per day) and they start falling out rapidly in the fourth month (20-25 per day)! In the fourth month they become so weak that if one would gently smear on the head, my hair would come out on his hand!

My question is why does the hair keep falling out when it grows long, in spite of me being on the medication – dutasteride (0.5mg per day), rogaine foam (twice daily) and nizoral (thrice a week).

Doctor, my hair loss worries me quite a lot. In the last four years, you can actually notice that the density of hair on my head has reduced drastically!

I will be grateful for your advice and help.

Hair growth is unpredictable. Contrary to the cycle of hair loss and growth that you report, I am skeptical that you can see it in 4 month cycles. Measure it by mapping out your hair for miniaturization and then you can prove it either is happening or not.

Using all of the medications like a shotgun won’t get you more hair growth, and although not likely, it’s possible that your hair loss is from causes other than MPB and thus medication wouldn’t help anyway. Perhaps seeking out another dermatologist for a second opinion might be worthwhile. Also, it’s normal to lose around 100 hairs a day.