Have you ever raked the yard one day, and after you were done, lifted your rake to find a HUGE mass of pine straw woven through the teeth of the rake? That's what my hands look like as soon as I begin to wash my hair. I'm loosing enough hair in one washing to fill a few trash bags..... Okay, I'm exaggerating, but my point is, the amount of hair I'm loosing is UNBELIEVABLE. :eek:

I'm convinced this is not natural hair loss for a couple of reasons. One, my hairline is not receding; my hair is falling out from all over the place--the front, back, top, sides, EVERYWHERE! Also, it seems to be trying to replenish itself, as I can always see new hairs coming up around my hairline.

At least its willing to grow back, I guess. But this means my hair length hardly ever moves, because by the time it takes these "new hairs" to grow back to match the length of the rest of my hair, most of the rest of my hair has fallen out, and new hairs are growing back to match the length of the hair that just grew back. I've gained maybe an inch in hair length over one year, and I haven't cut my hair once!

My hair has also become very, ummm....WEIRD. I used to have "normal" hair, but now it always feels very "sappy," as if I wash my hair in pine sap or something. It has a sticky feel, and its almost impossible to get shampoo to lather up on my hair, because I can barely run my hand through it. The hairs have also become very slender and frail-like, and the roots are nearly microscopic. You have to hold a hair up against a dark object in order to see its tiny root. I also have dandruff for the first time, and when I scratch my scalp, gunky white muck comes out all over my finger nails :D

I've tried doing some things to fix my hair loss problem, but nothing has worked. I've tried changing shampoos many times. I've tried organic shampoos. I've tried using a tiny drop of shampoo, diluting it with water, and washing very gently. I've tried not washing my hair at all. I don't know what else to try... :confused:

Any ideas on what could be causing all this hair to fall out? Could this be some type of hair disease I've contracted? Or could it be lice, or something like that?
BTW, I'm 20 years old, male, and Caucasian with dark brown hair. And I've had this problem for about a year and a half now.

If your hair is falling out in small patches, it could be alopecia areata, where your white blood cells attack your hair follicles... but the hair follicles are still able to re-grow the hair.

Is your scalp red, dry, itchy? Are you also losing hair from other areas, like your face and body?

Your hair loss could also be from some genetic condition, a (skin) disease, thyroid/hormone problem, poor diet, medication side-effects, bacterial infection on your scalp, an allergic/sensitivity reaction (like to ingredients in shampoo), certain times of the year (like dry winter weather)...

From what you've written, and since it's already been a year and a half, I think you should get it checked out with your doctor! Good luck!

Hey

I am 19 and suffering very similar problems to yourself. Ive been noticing hair loss in my head for bout the past year and a half too...since I was 17 or so. I think my situation is slightly more serious in that I now have very little hair left. The sides are fine though, which makes me think I am going bald naturaly. However, like yourself, I also have a poor scalp. I used to have white gunk coming out, though other times it is yellow. Its really disguisting. I am considering going on proscar (see my thread) but have not yet been to the doctor. I went when I was 18 and she just said it was natural and thought no more of it, however, I am now reconsidering going back and seeing if it is a skin disease. the problem is though my hair does not seem to be growing back- though i don't know if this has anything to do with my unhealhty scalp. I would also add- I think my diet is quite good.

One thing I do know is high doses of vitamin A cause hair loss. I don't know if you take that or not but my aunt was taking high doses every day and she got this wierd purple stuff growing on her face and then her hair started falling out. My mom also had the doctor prescribe vitamin in high doses for her and he said to stop taking it if her hair started falling out.

Stress can make your hair fall out I've heard. My hair dresser said certain times of the year more hair will come out. I had alot coming out. I keep my ponytail low and loose now for work. But it does seem like I lose alot more hair at certain times of the year (like fall) than others. :confused:

hi there...i am also losing hair diffusely...i recently took a serum ferritin test and my iron was low which is a reason for hair to fall out diffusely and then begins to regrow. I just started taking iron supplements to bring my iron back to normal so i don't know if it's the underlying problem...but I would recommend that you go to the doctor and ask to have a CBC with an IRON PANEl done...make sure you do both...you never know, you're iron could be problem...best of luck...hang in there...my hair has been falling out insanely for the past year and it scares me to death...good luck

I Eat Hay:
Wow. You've completely described me! Only I'm not 20 and I'm not male, lol. I remember back in June 2003 when I had twice as much hair as I do now. I have NO idea what's causing it. I think it's my diet. Either that, or I'm wearing my hair in a ponytail too often. Does constantly pulling the hair cause hair to fall out?!? Ahhh who knows? It's hopeless. I wash my hair every other day, and every time, a whole buncha strands just fall out... and I ain't even tugging on them! It's driving me utterly insane and depressed. :( :dizzy:

Vitamin A linked to purple skin? I've never heard of this. I've heard of Vitamin A yielding orange skin, but not purple, lol. What does Vitamin A have to do with hair loss?

Me? I love papayas.. so I used to get a great amount of vitamin daily. But uh... I haven't had one since the beginning of the year, and my hair is still failling out!! :rolleyes:

Vitamin A in large doses causes hair loss if taken internally. Anything over 15,000 IU causes Nausea, cramps and pain, cessation of menstruation, vomiting, diarrhea, dry, flaky, itchy skin, sores on the skin, and hair loss.

hey i know exactly what you're going through except i'm a 15 yr old girl... it's crazy how what you're going through and what i'm going through is a like... i dunno what to do eaither but if you find out PLEASE let me know!!!

hey i know exactly what you're going through except i'm a 15 yr old girl... it's crazy how what you're going through and what i'm going through is a like... i dunno what to do eaither but if you find out PLEASE let me know!!!
Im 15 too. I guess we're on the same boat. LOL.

Could it be the shampoo and conditioner you're using? I know Pantene made my hair fall out after a few months of use. Hope this helps :-)

Could it be the shampoo and conditioner you're using? I know Pantene made my hair fall out after a few months of use. Hope this helps :-)
Uh-oh.. Pantene is EXACTLY what I'm using...
But it's Pantene the 'good' stuff??

Yep, thats it. You need to stop right away. Pantene seemed so great at first when I first used it. It made my hair so much softer...but the long term effects are horrible. I lost so much hair everyday I thought I was sick -- until my Aunts and cousins told me they got the same reaction from it. I think Pantene softens your hair so much that it weakens it. Use anything else, just not Pantene. I just use cheap shampoo and cond now (whatever's on sale) and just use a good leave in conditioner to get the softness. I use Sebastian's Potion 9. Another thing you can try is not letting the conditioner touch your scalp--just your hair.

Yep, thats it. You need to stop right away. Pantene seemed so great at first when I first used it. It made my hair so much softer...but the long term effects are horrible. I lost so much hair everyday I thought I was sick -- until my Aunts and cousins told me they got the same reaction from it. I think Pantene softens your hair so much that it weakens it. Use anything else, just not Pantene. I just use cheap shampoo and cond now (whatever's on sale) and just use a good leave in conditioner to get the softness. I use Sebastian's Potion 9. Another thing you can try is not letting the conditioner touch your scalp--just your hair.Oh wow, I would have NEVER known. I use both Pantene shampoo AND Pantene conditioner... :eek:

Thanks for the info!!

Why dont they tell you this on the bottle?? :mad:

Also, another question:

Would tying up your hair in a pony tail 'cause your hair to "move" towards the back of your head? LOL. Or hair loss from "tugging" it all the time?

How about scratching the head? Can that be a factor, as well?

hey i've been haven the same problem since september, my hair was really thick but now it's thin, but the only thing i could think of is that i'm not getting enough vitimins or nutrition. I don't really eat that much like how i use to,i use to eat once a day and thats really bad, so i guess i wasn't getting enough nutrition. Since last week i've been eating 3 times a day and i've been taking vitimins, hopefully i could see results soon.

if this don't work i think i might just shave my head bald and start all over again.

Actually, I heard that shaving your head to make your hair grow back thicker is simply a myth so I'd hold off for now, lol.

Six months ago, I went to my hairdresser for my semi-annual highlights and she told me my hair had gotten thin on top which had both depressed and scared me.

I'd always had really thick hair as a child, until I reached sixteen or so. I had gone on a diet that basically went out of control and ending up losing half my hair as a result. I remember going for tons of blood tests and everything coming back normal. No one I knew even suggested mal nutrition at the time, despite the fact it was obvious I was barely eating.

Once I went back to eating semi-normally, my hair grew back, thick but not as thick as when I was a child, although I didn't really mind since it was easier to manage.

However, since my latest visit to the hairdresser, I've become paranoid about the hair loss that significant enough for her to notice considering I only see her twice a year.

I've had a bunch of tests done to check for any hormone abnormalities since I've also been experiencing some weird hair growth on my chest and face however, everything came back normal with the exception of my cortisol and prolactin levels which were slightly elevated. My doctor thinks it's all stress related and I've got to go back in a few months to have them re-tested.

I was told not to worry about my hair, but I find that hard not to do. I also notice, that some of the hairs that are falling are short and really thin, almost hard to see when held up to the light.

Since I was a child I've nervously pulled my hair out (running my fingers through it and causing it to fall or break off) but I've since tried to stop that with some success. I've also been trying to eat healthier and taking vitamins. Hopefully, this will work.

Anyway, just wanted to share my experiences and I'm glad I'm not the only one out there with similar concerns.


ScarletJewel

Hello y'all. I would like to say that I stopped using Pantene for almost two months now. And I realized that the hair loss REALLY did decrease. And although my hair isn't as silky/smooth/managble as it was before, I find it completely worth it! I'd rather have more hair!! Just thought I'd share as so that current Pantene-users may consider trying this.

But, I must admit there could be other factors other than the shampoo. I guess the only way to know for sure is if you tried it for yourself. What's the worse that can happen? Plus, previous members have deemed this to be true, so it's worth a try!! :)