What is going on w/ my hair now...

~Traci~ · 12-16-2005, 05:57 PM

My hair is very, very dry all of a sudden. It also looks like I'm losing my hair right above my temple (the area where a lot of men lose their hair first) as well as in those spots it's red and almost looks & feels like exema spots (kinda like Cradle Cap of sorts almost except it's not yellowish, it's white like dandruff but it's definately not dandruff). The feeling of exema spots is on my sideburns as well (I wish that hair would fall out, not my head hair!).

What is this & how do I fix it or at least control it so I don't lose all my hair?

FYI: I have very, very thick curly hair that I'm growing out (it becomes mostly wavy when it gets longer). I'm not cutting it until at least June (when we get our referral for our daughter I'm going to cut it b/c I'm not going to China w/ this hair!) so I need to control it now. I already have thick hair that's brown so these spots really show up & it looks horrible!

Thanks so much for any advise!
Traci

ScaredSally · 12-16-2005, 06:21 PM

Oh I am sorry

I am suffering severe hair loss in the male pattern I have the loss at the temples and above and its slowly eating into my hairline ...... I am also diffuse thinning I was diagnosed two years ago with male pattern hair loss and Ihave tried ALL treatments to no avail ....

Get to a doctor and failing that as all doctors are pretty crap in relation to hairloss they think its not important and go see a derm ... he would have to do blood tests and pull tests to ascertain whether you have alopecia due to PCOS or you may just have an allergy to something ....

But dont leave it too long I left it for four years not beleiving it was happening and now Iam looking into cosmetic options such as wigs and toppers

Rebecca's Mom · 12-16-2005, 06:27 PM

ok find out if its exama first and then you can go to your closest salon and get super skinny shampoo and conditoner treatment and super skinny serum....all big bottles well worth the pay it will run about 55 dollars....its made by paul mitcheel i am a hair stylist i know it works........have a good day tricia

ABumpyGal · 12-16-2005, 08:17 PM

First of all, I'm sorry that you're having this problem Tracy

Does it look anything like this?:
http://tinyurl.com/7pse3

Sorry, this was the best picture I could find. You might be able to find better ones on Google image search, but I was in a hurry. This is Seborrheic Dermatitis and it pretty much is adult cradle cap, or very similar. I had cradle cap as a toddler (a bit old for it) and have Seb derm on my scalp as an adult. One of the worst places I have it is in the temple area you described, and when it's really bad it will kind of 'creep' down onto my face as well. My scalp will be red and I'll feel little bumps on it just as you described. Sometimes some will come off at times, like a scab, but it's just skin (and not yellow, as you said). If it's REALLY bad my scalp will burn like fire as well. And itch... and iiiittttccchhh.

I've lost some hair to this in my worst spot (my right temple), but not much and I've had it off and on for at least three years now. Plus that's always been my most fragile, fine hair. It seems like, for me, once the "flare" of dermatitis is over the hair will start to grow back and just as it's getting going I flare again

This can be hereditary. I inherited it from my grandmother, who lost a fair amount of hair to it despite fighting it tooth and nail. This is the PCOS side of the family, but that could be coincidence. I can see from pictures that her's was also worse at the temples.

My advice? See a dermatologist pronto. Lots of things can be done for this and it can spread, or at least it has for me. Halfway down my back, to be precise. Until then, keep your hair as clean as possible (oil aggrevates it), keep conditioner off of your scalp if you can, watch for allergic reactions to shampoos/styling aids, and Neutrogena T-Sal shampoo will dissolve the crusty bits and help overall (it's OTC, but can be hard to find).

Whatever it is, get thee to the derm! They can help and you don't want to wait until the follicles are damaged or just to suffer needlessly!

Hope you find the answer hon! (((hugs)))
Dana

~Traci~ · 12-16-2005, 08:36 PM

Thanks everyone!

Dana you hit the nail on the head! That's exactly what my poor head looks like!

My mom doesn't have this at all (that I know of, I haven't seen her in a year but I'll let you know on Tuesday!

) and I'm not sure about any other members in her family b/c she's adopted. My dad was bald for most of my life so I'm not really sure about him and I don't really know about his side either b/c he was in his 50's when I was born and an only child so I don't really have any extended family.

Unfortunately b/c of my completely busy life I won't be able to see a derm until at least February... And stress totally isn't helping the situation it seems b/c not only this but my hair is falling out @ a rapid pace (DH says I have enough hair on my head that a little bit won't matter but I don't think he understands how much we're talking about...I think he's trying to make me feel better though...

)

Thankfully it's only in the temple areas (don't need to lose any more of that hair) and the sideburn areas (boy, do I really wish that hair would fall out completely!) and hasn't spread at all.

I swear, I hit 30 in June and my body just started going downhill from there! I have the worst acne that I've ever had, I've gained tons of weight (trying to atleast try and maintain it...), my hair is bad, & my feet are just unsightly! I never believed the 30's could be so cruel!

I just read on WebMD about it and it says to use OTC medicated anti-dandruff shampoos which I already do but it's drying my hair out (if it's not one thing, it's another huh?) so yesterday I started using regular shampoo and now my hair looks horrible (I also used a hot oil b/c of my poor hair). I'll go back to the anti-dandruff shampoo today and continue w/ it as well as wash my hair every day (I usually wash it every other day) to try and help control the oils on my head (apparently, neck up is an oil bath between my face & head!)

Traci