Vitamins, minerals, and hair loss: Is there a connection?

Table Of Content

• Topical minoxidil (Rogaine and generic)
• How can I prevent male pattern baldness?
• When should I call the doctor?
• Recommended for You
• Are you balding? A dermatologist explains some preventative measures.
• What is the difference between telogen effluvium and female pattern baldness?
• Patchy hair loss (alopecia areata)

She may also have early hereditary loss, which isn’t so obvious. Once your dermatologist has this information, it’s often possible to tell you what’s causing your hair loss. If you receive chemotherapy or have radiation treatment to your head or neck, you may lose all (or most of) your hair within a few weeks of starting treatment. In women, the first noticeable sign of hereditary hair loss is usually overall thinning or a widening part. No matter which term you use, it means that you’ve inherited genes that cause your hair follicles (what each hair grows out of) to shrink and eventually stop growing hair. Shrinking can begin as early as your teens, but it usually starts later in life.

Topical minoxidil (Rogaine and generic)

The immune system attacks hair follicles, along with other healthy parts of the body. Some people may experience excessive hair loss shortly after giving birth. This type of hair loss is a temporary condition and usually resolves within a year or sooner. The condition is more likely to occur as a person ages, but it can start at any point after puberty. Many females who experience androgenetic alopecia develop it after menopause. Males with this condition tend to lose hair from the temples and crown of the head.

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How can I prevent male pattern baldness?

Possible risks include bleeding, bruising, swelling and infection. You may need more than one surgery to get the effect you want. Hereditary hair loss will eventually progress despite surgery. Even if your hair loss is hereditary, there are treatments that exist that can help slow or reverse hair loss.

When should I call the doctor?

However, there may be a link between male pattern baldness and your father. If your father is bald, you’re twice as likely to have male pattern baldness. Male pattern baldness can affect anyone assigned male at birth. Some pointed towards the hope or relief that medical treatments, such as finasteride or hair transplants, could provide. Many, though, regarded this level of intervention as unfeasible, or undesirable.

Avoid hairstyles like tight buns and braids that pull on your scalp, potentially causing traction alopecia. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that causes hair to fall out in nickel- or quarter-size patches. “Your body’s immune system is attacking the hairs,” Brodell says. If a person has anagen effluvium due to undergoing chemotherapy, cooling the scalp during the procedure may help. Hair will often grow back within 3–6 months after stopping chemotherapy. After 12 weeks of treatment, the patients treated with minoxidil and microneedling had significantly more hair growth.

Are you balding? A dermatologist explains some preventative measures.

But studies that examine the detail of men’s experiences of going bald remain sparse. Male pattern baldness, or hereditary hair loss, has not always been taken seriously. Celebrity hair loss and transplants are greeted with fascinated amusement while, in popular media, bald men have often been absent, mocked or maligned. Male pattern baldness is commonly an inherited condition. It’s very difficult to nonsurgically reverse any of the hair loss that’s seen with this condition.

If you have alopecia, can your hair grow back?

It's not typically recommended for women of reproductive age due to potential risks to a developing male fetus and may cause sexual side effects in some men. It’s the most significant cause of hair loss in women and people AFAB. Approximately 30 million women and people AFAB in the United States have female pattern baldness.

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Hair loss, or alopecia, affects more than 80 percent of men and 50 percent of women, and the risk increases with age. A person should contact a doctor for a blood test to check whether they have a nutritional deficiency that could be causing their hair to fall out. Extreme diets that are too low in protein or certain vitamins, such as iron, can sometimes cause excessive hair shedding. Certain medications have side effects that can cause hair to fall out. While you can buy a microneedling device without a prescription, it’s best to check with your dermatologist first. It’s also important to get the right microneedling device.

Patchy hair loss (alopecia areata)

Often, it’s related to genetics and the natural process of aging. In other cases, balding may be due to an underlying medical condition. See your doctor if you are distressed by persistent hair loss in you or your child and want to pursue treatment. For women who are experiencing a receding hairline (frontal fibrosing alopecia), talk with your doctor about early treatment to avoid significant permanent baldness. Male pattern baldness causes the small depressions in your scalp at the base of your hairs (hair follicles) to gradually shrink, often in a specific pattern.

A scalp infection can lead to scaly and sometimes inflamed areas on your scalp. You may see what look like small black dots on your scalp. A few months after giving birth, recovering from an illness, or having an operation, you may notice a lot more hairs in your brush or on your pillow. This can also happen after a stressful time in your life, such as a divorce or death of a loved one. Hair loss can sometimes be a sign of an underlying disease. Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.

Male pattern baldness is easy to recognize, so you don’t necessarily need a healthcare provider to diagnose it. However, your healthcare provider can confirm it during a physical exam of your scalp. They’ll ask you about your medical history, including when you started noticing hair loss and whether you have a family history of male pattern baldness. They’ll note the shape of your hairline and any areas showing signs of thinning or balding.

A variety of treatments have been developed to help regrow hair and thicken existing hair on patients with alopecia, dermatologists say. Their effectiveness largely depends upon what type of alopecia you have and how quickly you start treatment. This man took finasteride to treat his male pattern hair loss, and within 1 year (B), he had noticeable improvement. It's typical to lose some hair every day as part of your hair’s usual growth cycle.

Minoxidil may irritate your scalp and cause dryness, scaling, itching and/or redness. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. It is typical for a certain amount of hair — usually around 100 strands — to fall out every day. If ringworm does not heal by itself, a doctor may prescribe an antifungal medication such as griseofulvin. If you answered yes to any of these questions, your dermatologist may recommend a wig or concealer.

You might notice your body hair thinning or not growing back after shaving. Hair loss on your legs, arms, and other body parts can be due to aging. However, it can also be a symptom of some health conditions. Tell a doctor about this type of hair loss if you experience it. Women often experience hair loss after menopause in the Ludwig pattern, which is a gradual recession along the part of your hair. Roughly half of women will experience female pattern hair by the time they’re 80.