Sudden Hair Loss, is it TE?

by B
(San Francisco, CA, USA)

Hi there,

I'm a 29 year old male and I used to have a lot of thick hair. In mid-December, I started noticing that the population changed and thought it's because the barber used the trimming shears. I got my haircut and asked her not to use that.

After the New Year, I was convinced that I am losing hair. First, I noticed it right in the centre of the scalp and if I used my fingers to brush the hair, splitting in the centre, I'd see a white area there. My hair nowadays is like thin and lifeless. I've always been a really healthy person (didn't have to go to doctor for 10+ years and exercise regularly at the gym).

I went to see my PCP (Primary Care Physician) because of this. He barely looked at my hair and prescribed Propecia for me. Besides that, I also went for a body check-up and everything was normal and I even went to see a dermatologist and he sent me to the labs for blood tests. Results were good and he told me it's either Telogen Effluvium or Male Pattern Baldness and suggested I use Rogaine.

Since the New Year, in the last 7 weeks, my hair on my scalp has thinned by a lot. The pattern is kind of like diffuse thinning going from the front to the back and it doesn't look like the Norwood Scale. My dad lost most of his hair in the centre but he didn't start losing hair till his 40s. The hair that I lose -- I can easily see a bulb at the end on most of them.

Thinking back, it was mid-late September when I was very stressed out (whether to break up with my ex-gf or not). I was thinking about that for a very long time. I was very unhappy about the relationship and even started drinking a small amount of alcohol every weekend. At work, the project was supposed to launch but it was eventually delayed. At that time, I was sleeping at 4am every single night.

Based on the above information, is it most likely Telogen Effluvium? If it is, when should the hair go back to normal? FYI - I broke up with her in late September and moved on. All the dramas are gone. I know I did the right thing.
Thanks for reading!

B

Editor’s Comments,

Dear B,

Firstly, thanks for sharing your story with us and glad that you have moved on in life. Well your case really lies in the middle like what your dermatologist said (Always trust your dermatologist!), which is it’s either a spontaneous case of Telogen Effluvium in action or you are actually facing with early signs of Male Pattern Baldness.

Telogen Effluvium is usually triggered by a sudden physical or mental trauma so your story that occurred 3 to 4 months ago does match with your current hair loss description. However, events do happen everyday in our lives so what you may think is the cause of your sudden hair loss might only be your perception or trying to relate to an event that happened 3-4 months ago to justify reason of the hair loss. If you are having a sudden change of lifestyle, including picking up a habit, sleeping late and other unhealthy activities, this might also be a reason of sudden hair loss.

The other possible reason is you are showing symptoms of Male Pattern Baldness. Do bear in mind that MPB does not occur overnight. The thinning is gradual and occurs through years and you will usually only notice signs of hair loss after you have lost around 50% of the hair on your scalp. Thin and lifeless hair is also signs of miniaturized hair affected by the hormone DHT. So I do suggest you keep an eye on this issue as well.

Well, in my opinion I do recommend that you continue to use Rogaine first as it will help both Telogen Effluvium and Male Pattern Baldness. Vitamin B complex and Vitamin C might help boost your body up.

In the meantime, observe whether there are signs of hair growth after 2-3 months. If there are still increased hair fall with white bulbs at the end, I suggest you discuss further with your dermatologist but in most cases I don’t think that the white bulbs will continue to fall. If you notice that your hair is still thinning and a pattern is showing then it might be Male Pattern Baldness and you should consider Propecia into your treatment. Do feel free to contact me if you need to ask further. All the best on your recovery!