Losing my hair at 23!

by Jennifer
(Atlanta)

I started to notice diffuse hair loss of hair with white bulbs on the ends back in March and now 8 months later it's still going on. At first I thought nothing of it because my hair had thinned before from stress, but now my hair looks half as thick as it used to be and I'm starting to see scalp and a widening of my part. I went to my general practitioner who tested my testosterone levels and thyroid. All were fine. My DHEA was at 940 ng/dL and testosterone was at 35 ng/dL. He said this was normal for my age and that the hair loss was probably from stress, not androgenic.

I then went to my dermatologist who ran her fingers through my hair and said it probably wasn't Telogen effluvium because she should have pulled more hair out than she was able to. I thought this was because I'm constantly running my hands through my hair to get the shedding hairs out. She did a scalp biopsy and the results did in fact come back as Telogen effluvium. I don't know what to think about this diagnosis because when I part my hair at different angles on my head I do see new hairs coming in, some look strong and dark like my normal hair and some look so fine and thin and come out easily. This scares me because I read that when these thin, fine hairs grow in, it's a sign of androgenic alopecia.

My dermatologist said my hair follicles are just weak and some are producing these thin hairs and that I should take biotin to strengthen them. I'm happy that I'm beginning to see this new hair growth all over but I don't know what to think about some of these super fine hairs growing in which range from 1-2 inches.

Does this sound like androgenic alopecia or Telogen effluvium? Androgenic alopecia does not run in my family and my doctor said my testosterone levels were fine, although my derma said my DHEA was kind of high even though it falls in normal range. I had been on ortho-tri-cyclen for 6 years and went off of it 3 months ago because I thought that may have been causing it plus I was hearing all these bad things about the pill. Anyway, I just keep hoping the new hair growth will continue and I will get hair back and that it's not AGA.

Editor’s Comments

Dear Jennifer,
I honestly don’t think you are suffering from Androgenetic Alopecia. Based on your age factor and the test results, your Testosterone level looks within normal range for a young and healthy woman like you.

The fine hairs that are starting to grow on your scalp are indeed new hairs. They are supposed to look fine and thin considering that they are still growing. What I think you might be suffering is mild chronic Telogen Effluvium triggered by medications and also at 23, you might be quite socially active. If you are drinking and smoking quite regularly, you might also lose more hair than normal. You shouldn’t worry about the condition considering that your hair will definitely recover.

As for the birth control pill Ortho-Tri-Cyclen, it’s a very common and effective oral contraceptive that can also trigger some hair loss (see medications list here). Like any other oral contraceptives which the mode of action is to manipulate hormones and DHEA levels, some hair loss might occur. So if you are on the pill for a long period of time, you might notice some gradual hair thinning for the duration of the medication.

If there is no need to use the pill, I suggest you should stop taking it. Try other contraceptive methods instead. In my opinion, any medications that manipulates with your body hormones should not be taken for a long period. No medications in the long run benefit anyone.

Furthermore, it seems that now your hair is coming back after you stopped taking the drug for 3 months, so your hair loss is probably caused by the birth control pill. If you want to boosts hair growth, you can try Viviscal, a very good supplement for women for better hair growth and density. I don’t think you will need any more hair loss medications, just keep it cool and take some simple steps to care for your hair and health and your hair should come back in no time.