Female hair loss - in 20s

[Rfcchick]

Hi all

I've been suffering from a thinning part in my hair since I was about 16. I'm not sure what the cause was. I think it might be poor diet as I didn't eat any veg till my 20s or going on depo provera injection when I was 16 to stop my heavy periods.

This is ruining my life, my confidence is super low and i hate going out in sunshine because you can see even more of it. I can't go swimming because it looks terrible when my hair is wet I've tried minoxidil it didn't work.

What's next? Hair intergration? Has anyone else had this done?

I've got a picture but not sure how to upload it to this post.

Thanks

 

[wrwr]

Make blood tests, see doctor, try to make sure you don't have any other causes for hairloss.

 

[2bald2young]

as wrwr says you should make blood tests to check if you don't have any deficiency of something like iron that causes hair loss.

 

[zzzzz]

how long did you use minoxidil for? It takes 4 months + to see results often. Post a pic of your hair.

I recommend trying minoxidil again unless you used it for 8 month + and it didn't help

 

[marsha101]

Did you try taking some biotin?

 

[saja2148]

no veges till your 20s? what do you eat then...just meat and bread?

 

[labellavita1985]

Rfcchick,

First of all not eating any veggies alone is not going to cause hair loss. It is highly unlikely that anyone living in the western world in the 21st century has a nutritional deficiency that will cause hair loss. It is thought that women sometimes lose hair due to iron deficiency, but this is usually not because they are not consuming enough iron in their diets; rather, pre-menopausal women lose a lot of iron when they menstruate, so some have a hard time keeping their iron levels up, especially those with heavy periods. Alternatively, people who do a lot of cardio workouts, especially running, often have a difficult time maintaining their iron levels as well, as the body uses iron during cardiovascular exercise.

There are some anecdotal reports of hair loss on depo provera. You may want to google this. If you and your doctor determine this is causing/contributing to your hair loss, you should probably switch to another form of birth control.

I'm not sure what you meant by "hair integration," if you were referring to hair transplants, they are rarely ever done on women since women's hair loss is usually in a diffuse pattern.

Your next step is to have some blood tests done. Make sure you get an exhaustive panel that tests for anything and everything that could cause hair loss. Sometimes you have to get two or three; this is what I had to do as my initial test didn't reveal any imbalance/deficiency because my doctor didn't order a complete panel.

After this, you should obviously address any deficiency/imbalance that is revealed, if any. If there are still no answers, the next step is a scalp biopsy; you have to see a dermatologist for this. A look at your family history should also be telling. Statistically, 95% of hair loss is caused by Androgenetic Alopecia (male pattern/female pattern baldness.)

If you have family history of Androgenetic Alopecia, and you've been losing hair gradually since you were 16 (as opposed to sudden hair loss, which usually indicates temporary hair loss,) you may have Androgenetic Alopecia. Sometimes doctors don't even do a scalp biopsy and diagnose based on what they see and the extent of your genetic history.

If you do, remember, treatments can help. There is always hope. Let me know if you have any other questions.


Disclaimer: all of the above is just my opinion.

 

[Hairlosshelpers]

I see great results when using a clinical laser therapy program. www.hairlosshelpers.com

 

[kik23]

i know this feeling

I began to lose my hair since I was 21 periodically and have not found the cause and how t deal with it yetis cruel especially for young woman like us

 

[John McClane]

If you can discover the cause of the hair loss can you cure it?

What if it's genetic?