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Why Is My Hair Thinning At 19

Coping With Traumatic Hair Loss

Why I shaved my head at 19 – My Hair Loss “Alopecia” Story

Losing your hair at a young age can be very difficult. Your child may feel like they need to hide hair loss, and feel stressed and anxious about their hair loss progressing.

Hair loss can be caused by stress or anxiety in anyone, namely teenagers. Coping with hair loss can be difficult. It may cause poor self-esteem and have a big effect on confidence especially at an age when many people start dating and learning who they are.

If your child is experiencing hair loss, its important to remind them that losing their hair doesnt change the person they are and doesnt mean anything is wrong with them. You can let them know that youre ready to listen if they want to talk about it.

If your child is stressed or depressed, their doctor can recommend an experienced counselor.

Stress Can Cause Temporary Hair Shedding

Even if you never developed a fever or COVID-19, you may still see hair shedding. Emotional stress can also force more hairs than normal into the shedding phase. And who isnt feeling more stressed and anxious during the pandemic?

Again, the hair shedding begins about two to three months after the stress starts.

While seeing your hair fall out in clumps can add to your stress, its important to try to de-stress. Only when the stress ends will the excessive hair shedding stop.

Medical Conditions And Genetics

Ill preface this by saying the number of medical reasons that could contribute to hair loss are vastand the only way to get a definitive answer is to see your doctor or a trichologist . If you eat a balanced diet, live relatively stress-free, and havent had any major hormonal changes or pregnancies, yet youre still noticing hair loss, the next step is to make an appointment with your doc.

Medical conditions aside, early-onset hair loss can also be hereditary. Burg says its more of a myth that hair loss can be passed down from either your mother or fatherif youve got a grandmother or aunt on either side of your family with thinning hair, theres a chance you can have it too. Love you, fam!

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Not Washing Hair Often Enough

Now that dry shampoo is a staple in most of our beauty arsenals, its easier than ever to skip a few days between washing. Convenient? Yes. But not so great for your hair: A buildup of product or excessive dandruff on the scalp has been shown to clog hair follicles, and if its bad enough, it can be difficult for hair to grow, says Dr. Day.

Save your strands: There’s nothing wrong with skipping shampoo for a day. But if it becomes a habit, product residue, dirt, and oil can clog pores in the scalp. Be sure to wash your hair every two days, especially if youre sweating or using lots of products. To prevent excessive dryness, switch to a sulfate-free shampoo like LOreal Paris Ever Strong Thickening Shampoo .

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Returning Home & The Reaction Of Others

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When I returned home, the anxiety started to creep back in. While I was traveling, nobody know whether I had hair before or not. I was traveling solo and I didn’t have to deal with the judgments of family and friends. I was now worried that friends and family back home would reject my look.

Turns out, it wasn’t a big deal at all. I heard a few jokes from friends, but after a day or two, everything was back to normal. Some friends who I hadn’t seen a while actually complimented me on the new look. My family also adjusted quickly.

As time went on, I became increasingly confident. I started dating a girl from Mali and I also started a small business managing websites.

Shaving my head unlocked a door that I thought had been shut for me. As my hair loss worsened, I thought I was doomed to be anxious, self-conscious and depressed. I didn’t know I could experience the opposite by embracing my baldness.

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Why Is My Hair Is Thinning

Temporary hair loss can be a side effect of medications such as birth control, antidepressants, NSAIDs, and beta blockers in addition to the usual suspects such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Exercise is great for us, sure but did you know that excessive exercise can cause hair loss or thinning? Its true. Like any stress on the body, it can disrupt the normal hair-growth cycle, leading to less hair growing at any one time. Additional factors that come into play for exercise advocates and can negatively affect hair growth include steroid use and inadequate nutrition due to calorie-restrictive dieting.

Lets not forget genetics which is a big cause of hair loss, such as pattern baldness . If a member of your family has thinning hair, you may have inherited that unlucky gene from them.

And in the you cant win for losing category, even if youre not actively doing anything to ca/use hair loss, in some cases the bodys own immune system attacks the hair follicles, resulting in sudden hair loss.

Now I Was Losing My Hair

I didn’t believe it. I was 19-years-old and no one in my family, except for one uncle, was bald. Perhaps I had a bad diet. Maybe I didn’t exercise enough.

Maybe my dandruff was causing my hair to fall out. And so began two years of denial.

I tried everything. I started drinking green tea and working out more. I tried meditation and other stress-busting activities. I changed up shampoos so many times I lost count.

All of this led nowhere.

And so, I made an appointment with my doctor. A physical. I hadn’t had one in a few years. In the back of my mind, I was hoping the doctor would offer a solution to my hair loss problem. I was hoping he would tell me, Oh, it looks like you’re not getting enough iron or something else along those lines.

I wanted my doctor to reassure me, but he did the opposite. He took one look at my head and casually remarked, it looks like you have male pattern baldness. I can still remember the sinking feeling I had when he delivered those words.

After the shock wore off, I challenged him, how can I be going bald? My mom’s father has his hair and so does my grandfather on the other side of the family.

He went on to tell me that these kinds of genetic arguments are largely the result of old wives’ tales. Male pattern baldness is caused by genetics, but it doesn’t have to come from your mother’s father.

It was at this point that I essentially gave up on treating my male pattern baldness. At the same time, I was afraid to embrace it.

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Find The Hair Loss Treatment That Is Right For You

If youve noticed hair loss and want to stop it, one of the most effective ways is to block the androgen dihydrotestosterone the hormone that causes hair loss using a combination of finasteride, minoxidil and a hair thickening shampoo.

The most effective hair loss treatments, such as 5-reductase inhibitor finasteride, are designed to stop further hair loss. This means that the earlier you start taking them, the more of your hair youll be able to preserve.

In some cases, drugs like finasteride and minoxidil can cause you to regrow some of your lost hair, although theres no guarantee that this will happen.

Our guide to DHT and hair loss explains more about how hair loss treatments like finasteride work, and the potential effects you can expect from starting the treatment.

If you are worried about whether or not you can grow your hair back, a hair transplant may be the option for you.

You can also complete an online consultation with our healthcare providers to learn more about whats causing your hair loss and how you can encourage hair growth.

Female Pattern Hair Loss

Why Hair Thinning at 19 Signals Rapid Hair Loss, and a Treatment to Stop Hair Loss Progression

In women, hair slowly thins all over the scalp, but the hairline usually doesnt recede. Many women experience this type of hair loss as a natural part of aging, although hair loss may begin any time after puberty. Female pattern hair loss can cause hair to thin dramatically, but only rarely does it lead to baldness.

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Temporary Hair Loss Is Normal After A Fever Or Illness

Fever is a common symptom of COVID-19. A few months after having a high fever or recovering from an illness, many people see noticeable hair loss.

While many people think of this as hair loss, its actually hair shedding. The medical name for this type of hair shedding is telogen effluvium. It happens when more hairs than normal enter the shedding phase of the hair growth lifecycle at the same time. A fever or illness can force more hairs into the shedding phase.

Most people see noticeable hair shedding two to three months after having a fever or illness. Handfuls of hair can come out when you shower or brush your hair. This hair shedding can last for six to nine months before it stops. Most people then see their hair start to look normal again and stop shedding.

Telogen effluvium causes noticeable hair shedding

Telogen effluvium causes noticeable hair shedding, but thats all you should experience. If you have a rash, itchy scalp, or burning, something other than telogen effluvium is likely causing your hair loss, and its time to see a dermatologist.

How To Stop Thinning Hair

If youre experiencing male pattern hair loss, there are several strategies you can take to stem the loss and increase hair growth. Hair loss treatments include:

  • Minoxidil . This liquid or foam is rubbed onto the scalp twice a day. About 60 percent of men who use minoxidil see hair regrowth. If you stop using it, the new growth will reverse, and hair loss will continue.
  • Finasteride . This oral medication is known as a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor. 5-alpha-reductase converts testosterone into DHT in the testicles and prostate. When 5-AR is inhibited, DHT cant shrink hair follicles. Studies show finasteride can stop baldness from progressing and result in hair regrowth in about 80 percent of cases.
  • A red light therapy device. Low-level laser light therapy is an FDA-cleared way to treat hair loss. These devices might come in the form of a wand you point at the scalp or a cap you can wear. They emit a constant red LED light that is believed to reduce inflammation and increase blood flow to the hair follicles.

According to a 2017 meta-analysis of studies published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, minoxidil, finasteride and LLLT were found to be superior to placebo in regrowing hair . However, the researchers concluded theyre all effective for promoting hair growth in men with male pattern hair loss.Some other therapies for thinning hair include:

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Your Mom Lost Her Hair Too

“If you come from a family where women started to have hair loss at a certain age, then you might be more prone to it,” says Dr. Glashofer. Unlike men, women don’t tend to have a receding hairline, instead their part may widen and they may have noticeable thinning of hair. This is also known as femalepattern baldness.

Women may benefit from minoxidil to help grow hair, or at least, maintain the hair you have, Dr. Glashofer says. Rogaine is available over-the-counter and is approved for women with this type of hair loss.

Medications To Treat Hair Loss

Hair Thinning On Crown

Treatment depends on the underlying cause, says Dr. Scott. Sometimes simply addressing a medical condition prompting hair loss will be enough for the hair to regrow. In other instances, a woman might consider a medication like minoxidil , which helps with certain types of hair loss, or another treatment to replace or regrow lost hair.

A newer option being used to treat hair loss is platelet-rich plasma injections. For this treatment, the doctor draws your blood, divides it into its separate components, recombines the blood fluid with a high concentration of platelets , and introduces the resulting preparation back into the scalp.

The science on this isnt totally worked out. We still dont completely understand the mechanism behind PRP, but growth factors contained in platelets can stimulate regeneration of hair follicles and other tissues as well, says Dr. Scott.

In addition, low-level LED laser lights have been found to be helpful in regrowing hair in some cases. Its likely that even more treatments will be developed in the near future.

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When Do Guys Usually Start Losing Their Hair

Male pattern baldness usually begins when a guy is in his 30s or 40s, but it can also happen during the teen years after puberty, although it is much less common. Guys often say that they notice that their hair loss comes and goes meaning that at certain times they realize their hair is becoming thin and other times they may not notice anymore hair loss for a while.

Reasons For Sudden Hair Loss And How You Can Get Help

Everyone experiences hair shedding, and it happens to each of us every day. Most people lose 50 to 100 hairs per day as part of this natural cycle, more on days you wash your hair. But what if you check your pillow, shower drain, or comb and it looks like youâre suddenly losing much more than that?

The best thing you can do is talk to your doctor or dermatologist. Theyâll get to the bottom of why youâre losing hair, and theyâll make sure you get the right treatment in case a medical condition is to blame.

Here are just some of the reasons you could have sudden hair loss.

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Causes For Hair Loss In Young People

Hair loss can happen for all sorts of reasons, for example, it can be related to diet, exercise, illness, stress, disease, or hereditary causes.

For younger women, thinning hair is usually a result of poor nutrition, stress, disease, or changes in medications, like birth control.

Crash diets, weight loss, and low iron levels are all reasons why you may notice hair falling out or changes to hair growth. Make sure you are eating healthy foods for hair growth and exercising regularly to help yourself avoid this. A poor diet is the easiest thing to change when it comes to preventing hair loss.

Diseases more common to women, such as thyroid disease and lupus, are also culprits that contribute to hair loss. If you notice other symptoms besides thinning hair, consult with a doctor to find out what the issue could be.

Oral contraceptives can also contribute to hair loss. The hormones in birth control that suppress ovulation can sometimes cause thinning hair and hair loss. This is more likely to happen if you have androgenetic alopecia, but a hair loss cure is possible if you switch birth control or go off of it all together.

Thinning hair and hair loss in younger men is usually a result of androgenetic alopecia, but it can also be brought on by poor nutrition and stress.

Men have more DHT than women in their body. Since hair loss is a result of the hair follicles sensitivity to DHT, thinning hair and hair loss often begins at an earlier stage for most men than women.

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