My Doctor Thinks My Female Hair Loss is From Iron Deficiency

I’m a 23 year old female – I had rapid hair loss when I was 18 for a year. It stabilized until I was 21 (no further loss of volume). However ,for the last two years, I’ve been experience hair loss all over my scalp. I can see changes from month to month. When I look at hair fibers that fall out, they are not uniform in diameter.

I’ve searched all over the web for information on miniaturization and consulted several dermatologists who all give me different answers. Each hair fiber is growing thinner month by month. If i look at a 6 inch strand of hair, it is drastically thinner towards the root than it is midway down the shaft or towards the end. Is this the same thing as follicular miniaturiazation? I’m vegetarian and have a low ferritin level (9). My dermatologist believes it’s from iron deficiency but after 8 months on iron supplements, i’m still seeing drastic differences in the width of a hair fiber. I’m desperate for answers!

Thanks

What I can offer you here is pretty limited, because women’s hair loss is a complex issue. I believe that many doctors state a connection with decreased ferritin and hair loss, though how it occurs, I am not sure. A miniaturization study may have value.

You reported that in a single six inch hair strand, you noticed a decreased shaft thickness as you move down to the hair root. This would suggest (if it was true throughout your hair and scalp) that something happened at a point in time which can be calculated, as we know that hair grows at 1/2 inch per month. From there I would need a great deal more of information, something clearly not possible here via this blog and without an examination, medical history, etc.