Why do some lose hair gradually while others do so very quickly?

[HairLossFight.com]

I'd like to get a discussion going on why there is such a variance in the speed and degree of hair loss in individuals.

If I had to categorize broadly, I would say there are basically 4 different combos when it comes to pattern hair loss:

(1) Those who start to lose their hair early in life and progress towards baldness very rapidly (1 to 5 years to high norwood)
(2) Those who start to lose their hair early in life but progress more slowly (I fall into this category) (5 to 30+ years to high norwood)
(3) Those who start to lose their hair later in life and progress very rapidly (once they start, 1 to 5 years to high norwood)
(4) Those who start to lose their hair later in life and progress very slowly (once they start, 5 to 30+ years to high norwood)

Of course there are those who never lose their hair at all, but I wonder if depending on which category one falls into above the way one treats hair loss should differ.

Those brainiacs on hair loss out there, please comment!

[Jacob]

I'm 2..too.

I'm not sure if there's any way to treat them differently. Earlier may be the way to go though.

[HairLossFight.com]

Yeah, I think treating it early is the best route, but I can't help but wonder after all these years of trying to deal with it, if there may be different underlying mechanisms at work between the different types of MPB. And by extension, if they can be identified, whether other treatment modalities will arise. I think we are on the verge of some innovations in this and other conditions where multiple factors are involved.

[astro_boy]

I guess I'm number 2 also. Though my hairline hasn't moved much, I just get thin all over in the NW6-7 pattern. I don't know if that's a different kind of MPB altogether.

Just some guesses here but I figure it comes down to a few factors; DHT level in the body, DHT sensitivity of hair and possibly some immune system factors. For sure there is a lot more to it than that but as far as a very basic model goes having more of those would make you lose hair quickly but having only one would cause hair loss to progress more slowly.

[Melon Collie]

I would be in the number 2 category as well. My hair has always been fine, almost like baby hair. Over the years instead of going slick bald it just seems to get thinner. At this point, after about 30 years my hair on top is super thin but you can still see a lot of very fine, very light hair that grow to different lengths. Some still grow as long as the darker terminal looking hairs. Genetically this type of hair loss is from my dad's side of the family. He is 79 and has had this same thing going on since I can remember. He still has quite a bit of hair but is getting thinner all over, where mine is still very dense outside of the horseshoe area. His mother had really thin hair and always wore a wig. Before she died about 10 years ago, I saw her without her wig on and her hair loss looked exactly like mine except thin overall like my dad's. She was like 93 then.

I've noticed a couple of things about my physiology and was wondering if anyone else in this #2 catagory had any of this in common.

1. Excessive facial/head sweating and blushing when doing physical activity.
2. Rosacea symptoms
3. Face is very sensitive. Most lotions/sunscreens cause irritation or inflammation.
4. I have increasingly been getting more and more shinieness on my head. You can actually see where it starts. It's a somewhat uneven line right at the hairline.
5. A couple of years ago I noticed like a weird looking pattern of pigmentation on my forehead and neck like malasma. It also went up into my scalp right in the middle where I parted my hair as a teenager(At that time I thought sun damage). I also noticed a faint scar just behind my hairline about 2.5 inches by 1.5 inches in the shape of an elongated circle and a straight line like from a cut about 3 inches long next to it. The weird thing is that I never had any head injury.

Below is a recent history of what I've been doing to combat this dread:

About 5 years ago, I started using Azelaic Acid for the rosacea and decided to starting putting it in my hair after shampooing with Nioxin and leaving it on for about 20-30 minutes before rinsing it out. Well it got rid of all the weird pigmentation on my forehead and scalp and a lot of hair grew back. I ran out of the prescription and started using Revivogen and propecia which was not that effective. I used Spectral DNC for about a year. I quit using it though because of the eye swelling it was causing...that and it grew hair on my ears like nobody's business!

I have been recently searching skin disorders and came accross something called sclera derma. Looking at the pics I can say fortunately I never had anything so severe as that and never experienced any patchy hairloss like those examples. But, I think I must have or had some kind of very mild case of it and that is what caused the weird scars on my head.

So, having said all that I believe my case is probably about some autoimmune disease. Another factor could be circulatory as I know my mom has always had poor circulation and since I responded really well to Spectral DNC.

For about the last 6 weeks I've been putting Grapefruit seed extract on my face and hair about 15 minutes before showering, and using seabuckthorn oil shampoo, rotated with tea tree oil shampoo and also rotating seabuckthorn and tea trea oil soap on my face and rest of my body . I put coconut oil and emu oil in my hair before bed. I can see a lot of baby hairs growing in now. I am going to start using the A&G complex and a Laser Max 90 in about a week.

Morpholica, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you were looking for with this discussion but I thought I would add my case study and see if anyone has had any of this in common.

[Regrowth-agent]

I probably fit the '2' pattern as well.

But I don't seem to have a gradual ongoing loss - every few years I seem to have a sort of telogen event when my scalp loses hair like crazy for 2-3 months, then it quits for a few years and starts again. Little of the lost hair ever regrows. First massive shed when I was 21, another when I was 28, the last was at 35, like a damned 7 year itch. The last event left me pretty badly off so I took up the treatments hoping to regrow a bit, and did, until I hit the rogaine foam.

While there's a pattern to loss once it begins, the actual beginnings of it - the timing of the genetic trigger - still seem pretty mysterious to me.

[HairLossFight.com]

I would be in the number 2 category as well. My hair has always been fine, almost like baby hair. Over the years instead of going slick bald it just seems to get thinner. At this point, after about 30 years my hair on top is super thin but you can still see a lot of very fine, very light hair that grow to different lengths. Some still grow as long as the darker terminal looking hairs. Genetically this type of hair loss is from my dad's side of the family. He is 79 and has had this same thing going on since I can remember. He still has quite a bit of hair but is getting thinner all over, where mine is still very dense outside of the horseshoe area. His mother had really thin hair and always wore a wig. Before she died about 10 years ago, I saw her without her wig on and her hair loss looked exactly like mine except thin overall like my dad's. She was like 93 then.

Sounds like you may have MPB with the diffuse sort of thinning common in FPB (Female Pattern Baldness), yet another form that I didn't mention earlier.

I've noticed a couple of things about my physiology and was wondering if anyone else in this #2 catagory had any of this in common.

1. Excessive facial/head sweating and blushing when doing physical activity.

Yep.

2. Rosacea symptoms

Yep.

3. Face is very sensitive. Most lotions/sunscreens cause irritation or inflammation.

To a degree, although my scalp is much more sensitive to topicals.

4. I have increasingly been getting more and more shinieness on my head. You can actually see where it starts. It's a somewhat uneven line right at the hairline.
5. A couple of years ago I noticed like a weird looking pattern of pigmentation on my forehead and neck like malasma. It also went up into my scalp right in the middle where I parted my hair as a teenager(At that time I thought sun damage). I also noticed a faint scar just behind my hairline about 2.5 inches by 1.5 inches in the shape of an elongated circle and a straight line like from a cut about 3 inches long next to it. The weird thing is that I never had any head injury.

I haven't seen anything like these two personally. Have you had this checked out?

I have been recently searching skin disorders and came accross something called sclera derma. Looking at the pics I can say fortunately I never had anything so severe as that and never experienced any patchy hairloss like those examples. But, I think I must have or had some kind of very mild case of it and that is what caused the weird scars on my head.

Definitely get this checked out!

So, having said all that I believe my case is probably about some autoimmune disease. Another factor could be circulatory as I know my mom has always had poor circulation and since I responded really well to Spectral DNC.

I'm certain that autoimmunity is involved to varying degrees in most common forms of hair loss. The hair follicle, being essentially a miniature organ, is susceptible to being rejected by the immune system for some reason or set of reasons. That's what makes this hair loss thing so difficult to deal with effectively. Pisses me off to no end.

For about the last 6 weeks I've been putting Grapefruit seed extract on my face and hair about 15 minutes before showering, and using seabuckthorn oil shampoo, rotated with tea tree oil shampoo and also rotating seabuckthorn and tea trea oil soap on my face and rest of my body . I put coconut oil and emu oil in my hair before bed. I can see a lot of baby hairs growing in now. I am going to start using the A&G complex and a Laser Max 90 in about a week.

MC, I managed to get my rosacea and seborrheic dermatitis under control by vastly reducing my intake of foods containing simple sugars, and by lowering stress through exercise and various relaxation techniques. This also eliminated my folliculitis, a condition that I had developed over time I think from using too many topicals on a sensitive scalp.

Morpholica, I'm not sure if this is exactly what you were looking for with this discussion but I thought I would add my case study and see if anyone has had any of this in common.

Thanks for sharing your situation MC. I'll bet there is a spectrum of similar symptoms and conditions that have a higher prevalence in hair loss sufferers than in the general population. Definitely more research is needed here.

[HairLossFight.com]

But I don't seem to have a gradual ongoing loss - every few years I seem to have a sort of telogen event when my scalp loses hair like crazy for 2-3 months, then it quits for a few years and starts again. Little of the lost hair ever regrows. First massive shed when I was 21, another when I was 28, the last was at 35, like a damned 7 year itch.

This observation is very relevant Regrowth-agent. I had noticed something similar as well. Sheds that happen in fits and starts every several years. It's like the freaking cells are programmed to die off or miniaturize in intervals. This makes me think that the autoimmunity thing may be triggered by the cells themselves...like a form of cell-induced follicular suicide.

The last event left me pretty badly off so I took up the treatments hoping to regrow a bit, and did, until I hit the rogaine foam.

This is why I think we have to stick with what works for us when we find it, and if things are not getting worse while we are on a regimen we should consider that the regimen is probably working.

[Melon Collie]

I was just reading a post at Regrowth about Relaxin. It's a pretty interesting read. It mentions some of the things we're talking about here.

Autoimmune diseases (even scleroderma), fibrosis, Insulin levels, various skin disorders etc.

Unfortunately the supplement is about $70 for a one month supply.

[Melon Collie]

Got this off the FAQ on this page promoting relaxin for Fibromyalgia

http://www.customrx.com/women/vit.html

Q. What are the side effects of Vitalaxin?

A. The know side effects include:

* Breast tenderness (for first month)
* Morning sickness (for first month)
* Occasional increase of menstrual flow
* Increased growth of hair, nails
* Improved complexion and elasticity of the skin

[stan21]

Hmmm.... I don't know if I could tolerate so many sides.