Help..why is my hair falling out???

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Saphire1982
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Help..why is my hair falling out???

Post by Saphire1982 » Sat Jul 16, 2005 11:09 am

Hi;

I am a 22 year old female, and I have been experiencing major hair loss over the course of the last year and a half. I had extremely naturally curley and long (about 20 inches or more) thick brown hair which is now super thin both with the thickness and structure of the strands. Over the past year and a half, I have lost over half of my hair. I'd say atleast 60% is gone. Most of the time in the shower, Id say atleast 500+ strands are left in the drain. And thats not including blowdrying/brusing/etc. When I look at the strands that come out, most if not all of them have a little white spot/ball on the end. So I know that it must be some internal problem that is making my hair fall out. Most of the time its the long hairs falling out, and sometimes I also notice short hairs falling out also.

I realize stress can cause hairloss, and although I have had quite a bit of stress in my life (who hasnt?) I don't feel this is the main reason to lose 60/70% of your hair! The only thing that I can think of that can be causing this is I have been on birth control pills for irregular periods for the past 2 1/2-3 years. When first starting the pill I didn't seem to notice any major differences in my hair, but after 8-9 months I could tell that there was something going on. I went to the doctor and they switched me to a different birth control pill. (I was on mircette and now on lesinna) It was frusterating because since I don't have any bald spots, the doctor just kind of laughed at me and seemed as if he thought I was stupid for comming in. Well I know that Im not bald but when your hair starts comming out excessivly you sort of want to STOP it from becomming bald or getting any THINNER! I started noticing gobs of hair comming out in the shower, in my brush, when I blowdry, and even just during normal times throughout the day. When I run my hands through my hair I always get even more that come out. I've been to the docotor and dermatologist a few times since this has started... and of course they said the typical 'its probably from stress, it will go away eventually'; they suggested "getting rid of my stress" and a "multivitamin".

I tried to believe this, that the hair loss would just go away magically, but it never did. I started looking online for answers, and found this website. Its amazing that most of the people on here are going through the same things as I am, you know you always feel sort of alone when these things start to happen and it's somewhat releiving when you know others are there to talk about it and try to find out solutions. Its nice to know theres someone out there who actually cares/trys to find a solution to problems rather than just collecting a paycheck and giving standard b.s. answers such as 'its from stress,..itll go away eventually'.

It makes me extremely angry that doctors in todays society seem so lazy and indifferent to the problems of their patients; hairloss is a major problem with an extremely large percentage of the population. It's definately not just a 'vanity' problem. I realize that when you get older your hair thins a little, and even more if you have heridity problems... but I am only 22 and have no family history on either side of hairloss at all! I have relatives in their 80's with full heads of hair!

My questions are these: 1) What do you think the cause for my hair loss is?? 2) What do I need to do to find a solution to my hair loss problem? I've tried doctors but they give me the run-around and dont seem to care. 3) Will stopping my birth control pills make my hair fall out more? Or will it make my hair stop comming out? 4) Are there any sort of b.c pills that DONT cause hair loss? and 5) Half of my hair has fallen out over the course of the past year and a half; Im scared that the other half will fall out this next year 1/2...when does the hair loss stop?? Does it just keep going until you are bald? Is there any cure, or are you just stuck with thin/no hair after it starts comming out??

Its so stressfull to see your hair fall out to this extreme at any age, but I'm just 22 and never expected something like this to happen so young!! Please let me know what I should do...thank you so much!

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HairLossFight.com
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Post by HairLossFight.com » Sun Jul 17, 2005 7:40 pm

Hi Saphire1982 and welcome,

Sorry to hear that you have lost so much hair. There could be many reasons for the hair loss. One recent study indicated that low estrogen levels may be partially involved in causing excess hair loss in women. Extra testosterone can also be involved.

Definitely if you are on pills they may be a factor.

I highly recommend visiting a specialist in hair-related conditions to help you get a proper diagnosis. Your family practitioner may or may not actually know enough about hair loss in women to help you much.

The forum moderator here, Tricia, may be able to provide you with some useful information. I am sure she will reply to this thread as soon as she reads it.

Regards,
Sam

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Tricia
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Post by Tricia » Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:01 am

Saphire,

I am very sorry to hear that you are experiencing hair loss. For women, any amount of hair loss is devastating.

The amount of hair that you are losing sounds like what happened to me the last time I tried BCPs (OTC Lo). I quit the pills, but the hair thinning has continued (although not as dramatically) and I started minoxidil.

You have irregular periods. Do you know if you have a hormonal imbalance or something like PCOs? Many women with those conditions experience hair loss. I have heard that some women like taking Yasmin with spirolactone....but they don't regrow massive amounts of hair. The best I've heard is that they think they lose less hair.

However, I'm not a fan of Yasmin. I got really sick when I tried it myself. Many doctors will prescribe Yasmin as the most hair "friendly" BCP. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a hair friendly BCP, because BCPs shut down your ovaries so you no longer produce estrogen. I think the synthetic estrogen is worthless for hair retention (others would argue this point with me).

Be sure that you are getting enough iron and protein in your diet.
5% minoxidil
Multivitamin with iron

persiameneses
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Re: Help..why is my hair falling out???

Post by persiameneses » Wed Dec 22, 2010 7:45 pm

What should I do if I was diagnosed with female pattern baldness? At my age of 29, I can't accept this news.

himusarker
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Re: Help..why is my hair falling out???

Post by himusarker » Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:44 am

I appreciate, Saphire1982. :oops:
..............

aicia
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Re: Help..why is my hair falling out???

Post by aicia » Thu Jan 12, 2012 8:42 pm

hi,

im 25 yo female and also have the same problem, been surfing through the internet and most of the treatment that got positive result are the ones with minoxidil. i.e rogaine for women. just recently informed and havent got the chance to buy and try it. rogaine and some other brands are available to buy through ebay and amazon. and the downside are it makes ur scalp a bit oily and you have to be commited (use it twice daily for approx 3-12 months) to see the results.i have been using hair tonic for a numerous brands and none of them giving me a real benefits. another thing, an article suggest that maintaining an 8 hours sleep in the right time (10pm-6am) will also help the blood circulation to your scalp.
so i am really looking forward to give rogaine a try. probably gonna buy it soon and will keep you updated. good luck

MarshaB
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Re: Help..why is my hair falling out???

Post by MarshaB » Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:43 am

Hi I am 21 and have the same problem, I've been experiencing hair loss for 4 years now but the pass 2 years it is getting worst. I never colored my hair, never had hair treatments and I do not blowdry or iron my hair.

I have curly, thick smooth hair before, now I have thin but (thick strands) frizzy hair. Everytime I take a bath lot of hair falls out at the same time when I brush my hair most of it fall out. I haven't used any hair growers yet then my eye brows where shaved wrongly before now they wont grow back also, that was 5 years ago.. It is very frustrating, my upper head looks bald when I put my hair up. :(

ALSTAIR
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Re: Help..why is my hair falling out???

Post by ALSTAIR » Tue Jun 11, 2013 12:14 am

Argan oils are rich in vitamin E, which is an excellent antioxidant. The antioxidant protects the hair from free radicals and prevents any kind of damage by the environment. Many cosmetic chemical treatments like hair color, perming and straightening processes damage the hair and its structure. Argan oil has wonderful properties to prevent this kind of damage from cosmetic procedures on the hair. It can protect the hair against aggressive factors and helps in maintaining healthy and strong hair.

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