Hello all,
I had gone to a few different dermatologists to get a diagnosis on severe hair shedding and an itchy scalp. I have been told by all 3 that I have telogen effluvium, as well as dermatitis, and not male pattern baldness, as I don’t have hairloss specific to my temples and the crown of my head
However I know that there is such thing as diffuse male pattern baldness, where hair is lost all over the top of the scalp, without the classic bald spot on the vertex or receding hairline.
How can you tell the difference between diffuse mob and telogen effluvium? Dermatologists believe that male pattern baldness is only temple recession/thinning at the crown and classify any type of overall/diffuse thinning as telogen effluvium. Granted telogen effluvium lasts only a couple months while it has been close to a year of severe shedding for me.
I am not sure if I trust their diagnosis as they base this off a positive hair pull test, which is not always accurate. Add the fact that telogen effluvium is usually experienced by women, rather than men, and that hair stops shedding after a few months (nearly a year for me). Things aren’t adding up.
Honestly I prefer if someone would just diagnose me with male pattern baldness so that I can confidently begin taking finasteride and minoxidil, as at this point I’m still confused about this random shedding that I’m going through.
I had gone to a few different dermatologists to get a diagnosis on severe hair shedding and an itchy scalp. I have been told by all 3 that I have telogen effluvium, as well as dermatitis, and not male pattern baldness, as I don’t have hairloss specific to my temples and the crown of my head
However I know that there is such thing as diffuse male pattern baldness, where hair is lost all over the top of the scalp, without the classic bald spot on the vertex or receding hairline.
How can you tell the difference between diffuse mob and telogen effluvium? Dermatologists believe that male pattern baldness is only temple recession/thinning at the crown and classify any type of overall/diffuse thinning as telogen effluvium. Granted telogen effluvium lasts only a couple months while it has been close to a year of severe shedding for me.
I am not sure if I trust their diagnosis as they base this off a positive hair pull test, which is not always accurate. Add the fact that telogen effluvium is usually experienced by women, rather than men, and that hair stops shedding after a few months (nearly a year for me). Things aren’t adding up.
Honestly I prefer if someone would just diagnose me with male pattern baldness so that I can confidently begin taking finasteride and minoxidil, as at this point I’m still confused about this random shedding that I’m going through.