Hair Loss With A Sensitive Scalp
I often get correspondence from folks who notice a very definite correlation between thinning or shedding hair and a sore,sensitive or painful scalp. I often hear comments like “I really never had any scalp issues before I noticed my hair loss. But now that my hair is thinning out,my scalp hurts,itches,and is bothering me more than it ever has.”
They often ask if the scalp issue is causing the hair loss or if it’s really the other way around. The answer truly does depend on the reason for the hair loss. Sometimes,scalp issues can cause hair loss. And other times,the hair loss comes before the scalp issues. I will discuss this more in the following article.
Scalp Issues That Come Before Hair Loss: In my experience,these situations are less common than androgenic or telogen effluvium hair loss that affects the scalp. However,sometimes the scalp is injured,inflamed,or has a reaction that can set off hair loss. Examples are infections,ring worm,yeast issues,or allergic or autoimmune reactions. In some situations,you can tie the scalp issue to a new product or regimen that you’ve recently introduced. Sometimes,it is the result of medications or medical issues. But often,a quick inventory of any changes in your regimen,medicines,or health concerns can help you pinpoint if this is a possibility.
Sensitive Scalp That Happens After Hair Thinning Or Hair Loss: It’s more common for me to hear from people who tell me that they’re pretty sure that their hair loss came before the issues that they are having with their scalp. There are a few different things that can contribute to this.
Perhaps the most common is androgenic alopecia (AGA.) In this situation,the hair follicle is reacting to an increased sensitivity to androgens that often happens over time. The follicle begins to struggle to maintain healthy hair and,as a result,hair thinning or shedding is the results. (Miniaturization can also occur,which also contributes to this thinning.) This process (and this androgen sensitivity) can also affect the scalp and make it feel painful,itchy,or overly sensitive.
Another possibility is TE or CTE (telogen effluvium or chronic telogen effluvium.) This is a condition in which the hair sheds because of some sort of stress or change in your body or lifestyle. Examples are extreme stress,crash diets,surgery,giving birth,introducing or stopping medications,etc. What happens here is that many of your hair follicles reset themselves and go into the resting phase all at once.
Now,this happens on a smaller scale naturally. At any given time,it’s said that 5 –10 percent of our follicles are resting or shedding. But,if you have TE,this happens on a much larger scale. And this process can cause some inflammation that in turn can make your scalp feel painful or sensitive. Also,regrowth can sometimes cause some discomfort,especially if a lot of it is occurring at one time.
What Can I Do About This:The first course of action might be to take a look at your regimen and see if there is anything that is new or could be causing this. Have you changed shampoos,hair dyes,or conditioners,etc. lately? If not,the next course of action would be to look at the cause of your hair loss. Because often,once the hair loss slows,the scalp will also get better.
But sometimes,pinpointing the cause of your hair loss is a slow and methodical process. In the meantime,it’s often a good idea to try to diminish the inflammation that is possibly the culprit. There are commercial products for this,but many of them are very harsh and some of them do more harm to an already wounded scalp. There are some good natural anti inflammatories,but it’s important to dilute and then rotate them so that you’re not doing anything to clog your follicles because the second most important aspect of addressing hair loss is making sure that your regrowth is vigorous and not miniaturized.
How do I know all of this? Because I lived it. In my quest to end my scalp sensitivity,pain,and hair loss,I looked at my shedding triggers,my iron,my thyroid,my adrenals,my hormones,and my scalp’s health. It was a long,hard,frustrating journey which all but wrecked my self esteem but I finally found something that helped quite a bit. You can read a very personal story at http://stop-hair-loss-in-women.com/.
About the Author
Ava’s hair loss blog is at http://stop-hair-loss-in-women.com/.
Dr. Laurie Hess Discusses Adrenal Disease in Ferrets.mp4
Ferret Hair loss on Tail?
Hi my ferret started loosing hair on the middle of his tail,then he started loosing the hair at the beginning of his tail and now the end of his tail. Does anybody know what this is. I though it was rat tail but I’m not sure any more. Now i think its Adrenal disease if anyone can help me please tell me what to do. He used to have black dots but i put weak acne medicine and they went away.
thanks alot
Honestly this is most likely a case of rat tail. Using a solution of one part vinegar,one part rubbing alcohol,and one part of water;wipe the tail with cotton-balls. Your ferrets tail will probably remain this way for a few months until its time for your furbeast to molt/shed again.
The only way to tell if it is adrenal disease is to get your ferret to the vet. Keep an eye out for hair loss anywhere else besides the tail. Watch for more aggressive behavior then is typical for your little guy. Ask yourself…is he as active as he used to be? (If he isn’t that could be a problem.) These are all signs your ferret needs a vet.
Why not take him to the doc just to make sure? Ferrets should have a check-up ever year anyway so you would be killing two birds with one stone.
Dr. Laurie Hess Discusses Adrenal Disease in Ferrets.mp4
What Is The Best Shampoo To Treat Hair Loss,Shedding,And Thinning?
I often get emails about hair loss and many of them have to do with advice about shampoos. People want to know if there’s a shampoo that will stop shedding or TE (telogen effluvium.) They want to know if a shampoo can really stop or prevent hair loss,and they want to know if there are any shampoos that help with regrowth. I’ll discuss these concerns in the following article.
The Most Effective Shampoo For Your Hair Loss Depends On Why It’s Happening: First off,I know of no shampoo and product that will stop hair loss over night. And,if you have medical related hair loss (TE from pregnancy,thyroid or adrenal issues,etc.) no product that you put on your head is going to be able to cure your medical problems. You will have to work with your doctor to do that. However,if you have androgen or DHT issues (AGA or genetic hair loss) then there are products that reduce these things on your scalp and that,in turn can really make a difference.
If your loss is due to scalp issues and / or inflammation (and there is a lot of inflammation that goes hand in hand with TE and CTE) then there are shampoos that reduce inflammation or help to heal the scalp. Often people will go with products like nizoral or even prescription steroid products,but I do need to mention that some find these to be very harsh products that make the scalp even more wounded. Tea tree and emu oil are ingredients that are also healing and they don’t contain the harsh ingredients like SLS.
In cases of autoimmune hair loss that are often treated with steroids,there have been some studies which have shown some success with some herbs and essential oils rotated and massaged into the scalp (examples are lavender,rosemary,cedar wood,lemon oil,etc.) Diluting and then adding these things to low PH or natural shampoos is certainly worth a try. Just educate yourself on how to properly dilute these are they are very concentrated substances.
The bottom line is that,in my opinion,it’s doubtful that any product alone is going to stop hair loss. But,you can find some very effective shampoos (and you can also customize your own) that can become one targeted tool in your regimen that can be very effective in making your situation better.
People will often ask me if they should hold off on shampooing or washing their hair when they are shedding or losing hair. It can be very hard to see so much hair going down the drain. I don’t believe that there is any benefit at all to skipping washes (other than psychological.) It’s very important to keep your scalp clean especially if you have DHT or inflammation issues. And,honestly,although washing massages the hairs out,these hairs would’ve eventually fallen out anyway.
One tip that I can give you if you notice that you get a lot of loss with conditioner,try using the conditioner BEFORE the shampoo or using combination products. This will keep your thinning hair from laying so flat against your head and will make less manipulation necessary when you are completing this task and combing / styling. I know it’s very tempting to think that one product will be the magic solution (and there are definitely products that help,) the key is finding which one works for you and rotating that with other regimens that work just as well.
How do I know all of this? Because I lived it. In my quest to end my hair loss,I tried almost every shampoo on the market. I also look at my iron,my thyroid,my adrenals,my hormones,and my scalp’s health. It was a long,hard,frustrating journey which all but wrecked my self esteem but I finally found something that helped quite a bit. You can read a very personal story at http://stop-hair-loss-in-women.com/.
About the Author
Ava’s hair loss blog is at http://stop-hair-loss-in-women.com/.
Dr. Laurie Hess Discusses Adrenal Disease in Ferrets.mp4
