Is It Normal To Have Some Telogen Hairs?

[BaldingHelpMe]

I just found a telogen hair after a shower. It's a shed hair, I noticed it was thinner at the root, and thicker at the end, so it appeared to be a telogen hair. Other shed hairs appeared to be equal thickness, or thicker at the root. So, is it normal to have some telogen hairs?

I'd be devastated if I'd still have miniatured hairs even taking 1mg of dutasteride everyday. It should not be miniatured hairs, right?

 

[BaldingHelpMe]

On a healthy scalp 10% of your hairs should be in the telogen phase. If you are finding hairs that are thin towards the bulb this is a sign of alopecia areata and is not normal.

However, I don't have alopecia areata, and never have. Also, I've only just found one hair is like that. Others are normal.

I'm gonna pay more attention to the shed hairs next time after shower.

So, even for telogen hairs, they shouldn't be thin towards the root?

 

[BaldingHelpMe]

A normal healthy follicle will produce a hair that is uniform in diameter throughout the cycle. Androgenetic miniaturization occurs between hair cycles and not during.

Some hairs that shed are mostly uniform in diameter, but between hairs, some are thicker than others, some are thinner, but they are uniform for the most part. Those that aren't uniform, they are usually thicker at the root.

But like I said, I've just found one hair that is thinner at the root, so I was shocked.

 

[shulk]

"Androgenetic miniaturization occurs between hair cycles and not during."

What do you think about this?


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Baylor Hair Research and Treatment Center, Dallas, TX 75246, USA.

In androgenetic alopecia, or pattern hair loss, follicles undergo miniaturization, shrinking from terminal to vellus-like hairs. Traditionally, this process is thought to progress gradually over a number of follicular cycles. However, it is unlikely that miniaturization can be explained only by a series of progressively shorter anagen cycles. Simple calculations show that this process would take too long for significant miniaturization to occur secondary to shorter anagen cycles alone, especially in view of the latent lag period seen in pattern hair loss that occurs between the loss of a telogen hair and the appearance of an anagen hair. Evidence is presented to support a new concept that miniaturization is an abrupt, large-step process that also can be reversed in 1 hair cycle, as has been shown clinically, with confirmatory histologic evidence, in patients with pattern hair loss responding to finasteride treatment. It is hypothesized that the miniaturization seen with pattern hair loss may be the direct result of reduction in the cell number and, hence, size of the dermal papilla.



PMID: 11511857
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[Ziggyz123]

Lacey, having hairs that taper thinner towards the root is not a definite sign of AA.. where did you read that? That is caused by miniaturization.. and OP, i am on 10mg of dutasteride and still experiencing that issue with further hairline recession

 

[BaldingHelpMe]

and OP, i am on 10mg of dutasteride and still experiencing that issue with further hairline recession

You mean 1mg of dutasteride, right? 10mg is 20 capsules a day!

How long have you been on dutasteride? And are you shedding heavily?

 

[BaldingHelpMe]

I just plucked a telogen hair out and took a picture. Everything should be the same diameter from tip to root.

Is this your hair? If you examine closely, the root is slightly thinner than the tip. The hair I found yesterday was like that. Just slightly thinner at the root. So, it is normal?

 

[shulk]

This is my hair, same strand, bottom = root. http://i.imgur.com/oauCc9l.jpg

The exclamation mark suddenly goes nope, in contrast to mine which gradually thins over length. I searched for a lot of topics about this and more people are experiencing it, no real conclusions are made. To me It just seems like uncommon but normal miniaturization as it happened to all the reporters in mostly classic male pattern baldness areas. I really don't have another explanation for it :/.