My Hair Only Grows When In Braids

hello Dr.,

i’ve been having hair problems since a was a little girl. my hair only grew when i had braids. whenever i removed them, the hair would fall out. so, upset and in my late 20ies, i decided to shave my head and kept them short until my early 30ies.

i began hair treatment at this salon where i actually saw result. my hair was finally growing without the breads and i finally looked like a feminine black woman. after a couple of months, hell broke loose. it started falling again. now, my receeding line is pushing back and my already large forehead got even larger.

i trully don’t know what to do. you see, i am already a little tomboyish so not having hair, makes me feel very uncomfortable in my body. i rarely go out now and if i do, i either wear a hat or use mascara to cover the front of my hair.

what to do? implant for me is financially impossible but i am putting some money aside for it. i saw a Dr. in Canada, who is willing to implant for 2500$ but he has no knowlegde of what is wrong with me and doesn’t seem interested in finding out.

please take care of me. right now, i am using Ducray Anastim products. i can manage to send you a picture of the disaster if you want.

kindly!

A while ago I wrote a piece on a syndrome that may reflect an element of your problem (see What Is Body Dysmorphic Disorder?).

I can make no sense of what you are telling me, because it is not logical to my mind. If you found a doctor willing to do a hair transplant for $2,500 without a diagnosis, it is like giving that doctor $2,500 with a doubtful end point that will make you happy. If you insist on parting with $2,500, give it to a good charity and you will get more pleasure than having some ‘hack’ doctor take your money. You need to get a good doctor to help you with your possible dysmorphic situation and also get some good tests to determine what is really going on. I would be pleased to get pictures and upon receiving them, I will get back with you for some general advice, but what you need is a hands-on, caring doctor who is not trying to put his hands in your purse.