can the hair follicles really miniaturize fully this fast?

[Vlatch]

I think you misunderstand. I do NOT have trichotillomania!!!

I do not pluck these hairs for fun or habit. My hairline started to thin really bad at the front so it was really see-through, that's why I started plucking the remaining hairs ONLY in that area

I know, I mentionned trichotillamania because it gives a documented view of what can happen to hair if it's plucked too often. Well I'd better get off this tread before it's too late ^^"

 

[2bald2young]

Evillock let me ask it again is your scalp red, scaly or otherwise abnormal?

 

[EvilLocks]

I know, I mentionned trichotillamania because it gives a documented view of what can happen to hair if it's plucked too often. Well I'd better get off this tread before it's too late ^^"

Too late for what? I'm not mad Just wanted to make a statement so nobody misunderstood my condition, and thought I had trichotillomania

I know some people have a real problem with that but quite frankly it makes me a bit mad to think that these people actually CHOOSE to pull out their hair for no reason, while I am "forced" to do it (in the past) to try to maintain an OK hairline...

Some people actually pull out a huge portion of their hair and it never grows back, even if their hair grew normally in the first place. Makes me mad thinking about why they CHOOSE to ruin a full head for no reason.

Still I'd rather have a good chunk of my hair lost forever to trichotillamania than Androgenetic Alopecia, cause then at least you have control over what you lose and can have hair replacement just for that spot.

It's not so easy when your entire head is dissapearing :/

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Evillock let me ask it again is your scalp red, scaly or otherwise abnormal?

No, my scalp is pale in colour and not red at all. It's not scaly or abnormal in any way when you look at it.

But the pain is definitely there. I suspect the pain being from the hair follicles themselves dying many at once, so it creates inflammation beneath the skin in the follicles. That's probably why you can't see it because it's not the skin itself who is inflamed,

but the follicles beneath the skin. Of course I could be wrong but it makes sense.

I have a biopsy next week and hopefully it will give some answers. I pretty much already know what's wrong (Androgenetic Alopecia) but still, need a definite answer. Do you think inflammation of the hair follicle will show up on a biopsy?

I don't think the pain is in my head there is something causing it I'm sure. I already had so many doctors tell me I feel pain cause I worry too much about my hair. I call that bull****.

I worried about many things long before I lost hair and never hurt then. Funny how the pain appeared where I started to thin and not the entire head also? Ofc it spread to the entire head eventually, and so did thinning. Coincidence? THINK NOT...

Is there a reason why you asked this question twice, btw? Do you have a similar condition?

 

[Armando Jose]

anyone care to explain WHY finasteride doesn't work in women? i KNOW women aren't supposed to use finasteride because of the harm it can cause if a woman's pregnant, which i am not nor am i planning to be - now or ever. i just wanna know WHY it works in most men but doesn't work in most women. what are the differences between male and female Androgenetic Alopecia? i know the miniaturisation process happens in both cases so it makes no sense why it would work in men and not in women. i have written with a few women who have used finasteride and regrown (some of) their hair, and i have talked with women who didn't benefit from it at all. it is to my understanding that finasteride doesn't work in most women but this is weird since the process is the same in both sexes, exept for the pattern (most of the time). I am lucky enough to both have a thinning hairline and overall thinning pretty much all over. i have horrible scalp pain and loads of miniatuirsed hairs. i just haven't heard of a case as bad as mine, that happened at such a young age (starting 20) and so rapidly + the scalp pain. i first started worrying about my hair a year and a half ago when i noticed mild thinning in the bangs, went straight to the dermatologist who looked at my hair and didn't see any miniatuirsation. but a few weeks later i felt my hair was getting worse, so i took a closer look at my scalp and discovered what looked like a few miniaturised hairs in the front of the scalp. went back to the dermatologist (this was a couple months after my first visit), and this time he told me it COULD be the start of Androgenetic Alopecia but said that IF so, it would take 30 years before i'd need a wig. Well fast forward to now 2 years since this started, and I am actually close to wearing a wig. My hairline has receded a full 3 cm and i have plucked hairs with a tweezer at my hairline area in an attempt so straighten it out and remove the thin part. well this worked at first, my forehead was not huge to begin with but as time went on and i needed to pluck more and more to keep a decent looking line it has grown into a 5-head. i haven't plucked any in 2 months except for the part that is already plucked because i cannot afford another mm gone although it's happening for sure. since stopping plucking more the hairline i now have (the 5-head) is also getting so thin and see-through. my hairline hasn't receded in a clean line, just diffusely thinned to see-through-ness.
can anyone help me?

The biology of scalp hairs is the same in women and men. It is so clear....., thna finas acts with the same mechanims.
Other thing is what ocurre with the plama androgens, but in the pilosebaceous unit it is similar.

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Being a woman, I wonder if you did some treatment at the hairdresser as dye or permanent.?

 

[2bald2young]

No, my scalp is pale in colour and not red at all. It's not scaly or abnormal in any way when you look at it.

But the pain is definitely there. I suspect the pain being from the hair follicles themselves dying many at once, so it creates inflammation beneath the skin in the follicles. That's probably why you can't see it because it's not the skin itself who is inflamed,

but the follicles beneath the skin. Of course I could be wrong but it makes sense.

I have a biopsy next week and hopefully it will give some answers. I pretty much already know what's wrong (Androgenetic Alopecia) but still, need a definite answer. Do you think inflammation of the hair follicle will show up on a biopsy?

I don't think the pain is in my head there is something causing it I'm sure. I already had so many doctors tell me I feel pain cause I worry too much about my hair. I call that bull****.

I worried about many things long before I lost hair and never hurt then. Funny how the pain appeared where I started to thin and not the entire head also? Ofc it spread to the entire head eventually, and so did thinning. Coincidence? THINK NOT...

Is there a reason why you asked this question twice, btw? Do you have a similar condition?

I didn't saw your answer first and though that you were ignoring me XD.
But to get to the point I don't have the same condition, I got a very red scalp and itch followed by hairloss at my sides but that is not your case. The thing is I hoped that maybe your hair loss isn't Androgenetic Alopecia at all and is related to something else so I did some quick research and found this condition called trichodynia here is a article about it http://www.womenshairlossproject.com/hair-loss/scalp-pain-sensitivity-burning-and-hair-loss/. If your hairloss is because of something else then Androgenetic Alopecia which I start to suspect but I am not sure at all then maybe you can regrow your hair I think.

 

[zdm632]

Plucking hairs can do irreversible damage to the hair root.
No,. finastseride is not for women.
finasteride works in men with HIGH DHT.
Do women have DHT at all? If they had, i assume it would be insignificant, and thus the reduction with finasteride would be negligible, too.
Anyway, very good idea with that biopsy.
And i don't think you have Androgenetic Alopecia, because of two reasons:
-the scalp pain, in Androgenetic Alopecia there is some itch, but no pain
-the fact that you say your sides/back are thin too.
-you are too young for Androgenetic Alopecia.

Did you have hormonal checks/analysis? Do you have a healthy diet?

That scalp pain is really something you must do an extensive analysis, there are a bunch of conditions in which fungus/inflammations cause hairloss, and the good news is that it can be completely reversible.

 

[EvilLocks]

Plucking hairs can do irreversible damage to the hair root.
No,. finastseride is not for women.
finasteride works in men with HIGH DHT.
Do women have DHT at all? If they had, i assume it would be insignificant, and thus the reduction with finasteride would be negligible, too.
Anyway, very good idea with that biopsy.
And i don't think you have Androgenetic Alopecia, because of two reasons:
-the scalp pain, in Androgenetic Alopecia there is some itch, but no pain
-the fact that you say your sides/back are thin too.
-you are too young for Androgenetic Alopecia.

Did you have hormonal checks/analysis? Do you have a healthy diet?

That scalp pain is really something you must do an extensive analysis, there are a bunch of conditions in which fungus/inflammations cause hairloss, and the good news is that it can be completely reversible.

- Women have DHT, just less than men (normally) and also have other hormones to contradict the effects of DHT. I did speak with a woman who had insanely high DHT levels and was balding in a complete male pattern (I believe she was in her early 30's and had been balding for some 10 years?). She benefited from finasteride and regrew a lot of hair, however I don't know if she regrew all.
- I do have itch, but it's painful as well. Do Androgenetic Alopecia itch feel like a regular itch?
- Women tend to have a more diffuse thinning than men, sometimes involving back and sides, this is called DUPA hair loss.
- I would have thought the same 2 years ago before this started, then I didn't even know it was possible for a woman to go bald regardless of her age. Now I know that while it is more common for women to go bald after the menopause, some women go bald early in life sometimes with an onset as early as mid teens. So it's possible, but rare.

I have tested my different hormones a few times, nothing abnormal. My diet is fairly normal I would say, not too healthy and not too unhelathy..

How do you suggest I get an extensive analysis of my scalp pain? what if the biopsy shows no inflammation? how can I test for fungus and such? The dermatologists in my country just seem to have no clue, and my GP REALLY doesn't have a clue. She didn't even know about Rogaine as a treatment for hairloss and have never heard of finasteride. Does no men come to their GP with these problems then??? The doctors I've been to just look for simple answers, and has told me so many times that it's just stress and hair will regrow. I try to tell them about the miniaturised hairs but they don't seem to know what this is and one doctor even told me to use hand soap for shampoo and these miniaturised hairs would regrow to full thickness. REALLY???

Anyway, I hope and pray you are right and this is something other than Androgenetic Alopecia. But truth is I will be very surprised if it's something else ... I've researched so many conditions with hair loss and none seems to fit other than Androgenetic Alopecia, especially because the miniaturised hairs are only present in Androgenetic Alopecia and sometimes iron deficiency as far as I know, and since my iron is normal then must be Androgenetic Alopecia? ;( Unless i have some kind of rare hair disease still not known to doctors ..

 

[Fena2000]

I'm having the exact same problems as you Evillocks. Also dealing with the scalp pain, it actually started with the scalp pain, then the hairloss started. It's been 8 months and I've lost a lot of hair. I've been trying minoxidil and vitamins for about 5 months, without any improvements. Also notice some miniaturization of hair. I made an appointment with another derm today, since the last one doesn't want to take an effort looking into my problem. I'm thinking of getting a skinbiopsy done, maybe that will show what's going on. I find it very strange I'm losing my hair so fast and all over my scalp just like you do.

 

[Fena2000]

- Women have DHT, just less than men (normally) and also have other hormones to contradict the effects of DHT. I did speak with a woman who had insanely high DHT levels and was balding in a complete male pattern (I believe she was in her early 30's and had been balding for some 10 years?). She benefited from finasteride and regrew a lot of hair, however I don't know if she regrew all.
- I do have itch, but it's painful as well. Do Androgenetic Alopecia itch feel like a regular itch?
- Women tend to have a more diffuse thinning than men, sometimes involving back and sides, this is called DUPA hair loss.
- I would have thought the same 2 years ago before this started, then I didn't even know it was possible for a woman to go bald regardless of her age. Now I know that while it is more common for women to go bald after the menopause, some women go bald early in life sometimes with an onset as early as mid teens. So it's possible, but rare.

I have tested my different hormones a few times, nothing abnormal. My diet is fairly normal I would say, not too healthy and not too unhelathy..

How do you suggest I get an extensive analysis of my scalp pain? what if the biopsy shows no inflammation? how can I test for fungus and such? The dermatologists in my country just seem to have no clue, and my GP REALLY doesn't have a clue. She didn't even know about Rogaine as a treatment for hairloss and have never heard of finasteride. Does no men come to their GP with these problems then??? The doctors I've been to just look for simple answers, and has told me so many times that it's just stress and hair will regrow. I try to tell them about the miniaturised hairs but they don't seem to know what this is and one doctor even told me to use hand soap for shampoo and these miniaturised hairs would regrow to full thickness. REALLY???

Anyway, I hope and pray you are right and this is something other than Androgenetic Alopecia. But truth is I will be very surprised if it's something else ... I've researched so many conditions with hair loss and none seems to fit other than Androgenetic Alopecia, especially because the miniaturised hairs are only present in Androgenetic Alopecia and sometimes iron deficiency as far as I know, and since my iron is normal then must be Androgenetic Alopecia? ;( Unless i have some kind of rare hair disease still not known to doctors ..

when my hair started thinning I was told it was stress or maybe it was because I've had a baby (ridiculous, my baby is 3 years old, doubt that's the reason). I even pointed out the hair that was growing back looks miniaturized, all I got was a blank look and oh we will see in 6 months, here try minoxidil in the meantime. I've had bloodtests done, everything was fine, hormones,, everything, except my iron levels were low, but I don't think that could cause miniaturization. When I see pictures of women with Androgenetic Alopecia, it doesn't look like it, mine is thinning everywhere, in the back , above my ears, receding hairline. And it all started with burning scalppain+very oily scalp, I've always had really dry hair, I don't get how it all of the sudden can go from really dry to really oily in 1 day. My hair were falling out in clumps back then, almost like I had hair loss from chemotherapy, that's howbad it was falling out and that's not overreacted. Luckily now it has calmed down a little, but I have to wash my hair every day.