You have diffuse AA, no two ways about it. If you have exclamation point hairs, scalp itching/burning/tingling and the you shed hair across your entire scalp then i guarantee this is what you have.

It DOESN'T mean that it can't resolve though.

Is it normal to lose over 100 strands a day with aa? Is the bulb at the end of the strand meaningless? If I do have aa, what do I do next? I read aa can also stop after a few months when the cause has been stopped..

You have diffuse AA, no two ways about it. If you have exclamation point hairs, scalp itching/burning/tingling and the you shed hair across your entire scalp then i guarantee this is what you have.

 

It DOESN'T mean that it can't resolve though.

Hi Guys,

I have read through this thread and probably every other one on the Internet about accutane hair loss.

I took accutane for 4 weeks at 40 MG/day for 3 weeks and 1 week 40 MG/EOD starting at the start of October. I noticed some thinning on my left temple about 3 weeks in, and pulled myself off the drug. 3 Months later in December, in a matter of 3 days, the hair at my hairline just fell out. It was very rapid. My hairline recessed about an inch on the left temple and half an inch on the right temple.

There is no history of MPB in my family, my dad, my uncles and grandfathers have a good set of hair. However I did go for a MPB test last week, and should have the results in a few weeks.

Since December, I have steadily lost hair on the top of my head, the thinning is pretty bad, I would say about 50% hair loss in 2 and a half months. It is worst on the left upper side and center, the right side isn't so bad. The hairline recession hasn't really changed.

I have gone to a hair specialist and a derm. The Derm thinks I have MPB because of the temple recession and because he says he sees minaturized hair on the top of my head. However he cannot explain the rapid hair loss. The hair specialist told me he has seen quite a few patients with similar hair loss, not so much at the temples, but the diffused pattern only at the top of the head and says its characteristic of Telogen Effluvium seen with Accutane hair loss.

I do not have an itchy head or irritation, I have mild dryness since I started using Xandrox about 3 weeks ago, and since I started using Xandrox I've started to shed (before I was not really shedding.)

I understand it takes 6 months to a year to know if the hair will come back, the specialist says he's sure that with the minidoxil that it should be back to normal in a year, however I'm concerned because of the temple recession and because of the dozen or so stories I've read of people never growing their hair back, plus the derm is telling me its MPB.

I'm wondering if anyone has a similar experience and has had some positive results? Both with their temples growing back and with regrowth on the top of the head? (btw, I have lots of hair on the rear crown area of my head.)

I do have regrowth all around, most of it on the hairline, some hairs seem normal, some seem a little thin, then I have noticed some weird hairs that are really thin and curly (I have straight blonde hair.) I've also read that this can happen with accutane. Is it normal to have some thinning of regrown hairs with accutane? Also I did have immediate hair regrowth as soon as my hair fell out, but its growing slower than the amount of hair that is falling out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Matt

All you have is Telogen Effluvium.

Thanks Max.

Have you heard of anyone having their temples grow back in? I see very few small and short hairs, hard to tell if they are vellous because any new hair I have growing seems to look very thin until its about 3 or 4 cms long, then it thickens up (kinda spear shaped as is grows in.)

I'm trying to be positive, I've gone through some heavy depression with this hair loss but I'm trying to be optomistic since I do see hair growth, although I am still shedding fairly heavily since starting Midoxinol.

Do you know if there is any miniaturization with accutane? I know that retenoids can change the texture and make hair curly (i've seen a few of these ugly little hairs). I'm hoping that this is temporary and only lasts as long as the TE is still in effect.

I guess I'm mostly concerned about my hairline coming back because my temples have completely lost hair, not thinned out but bald. The hairline is where I do see the majority of hair growth, but its still very thin and scalp is clearly visible all over the top of my head.

I'm pretty much convinced that derms do not have a clue about hair loss associated with accutane, which is why I will wait and see what lies in store.

Thanks for your help!

I will make sure that no matter what eventually happens that I come back and update this thread.

Matt

Hi guys,

It might sound illogical but its a bit interesting.

First time I took accutane was in Jan 2006 and was brave enough to take a short course in Dec last year. I started shedding hair straight after taking tane in 2006 with temples being worst effected. For the entire 3 years period I kept shedding badly, some like 100 hair fall everytime I shampoo.

I even used Minoxidil 12.5% for about 2 years which helped in maintaining the hair density but I still kept shedding.

Apart from temples I have quite dense hair, but I never got hair back on my temples.

Now since last 3 months I have stopped Minoxidil completely and strangely I have seen some significant regrowth on my temples. It started like tiny hair on the edge but now they have grown good.

I never saw this kind of regrowth in the last 3 years when I was even using Minoxidil which is strange.

All I am doing is having some zinc supplements but not sure how much its helping me.

Just thought of sharing.

Take care.

Hey Matt, if what you are experiencing is in fact Telogen Effluvium (which I believe it is) then all your hair will regrow, be it temples or whichever part of your scalp. So far there is only person that I came across who recovered without the help of any topical or oral drug except for supplement is Rudolph. You may want to PM him and see if he is willing to provide you with value information and his experienced regarding accutane hair loss.

Thanks Max for your help. Do you know how long it typically takes for folks to recover from TE from Accutane?

Most people who experience Telogen Effluvium usually recover within 8 months. I would say you will recover before the start of next year.

Thanks Max, I appreciate your help. I will update this thread with my progress as I know there are a lot of people who experience this and are extremely overwhelmed at first.

Matt

Hi,

I took accutane over 2 years ago. Ever since that I have had hair thinning and mild scalp acne. How do I get rid of the scalp acne? It does not itch, luckily.

It isn't acne. It will be folliculitis, something like sebulex is very good....

Hi, thanks for sharing your interesting experience .........glad to hear that by no longer using minoxidil you have had positive results.

How soon after stopping minoxidil did you start taking zinc supplements?

Hi guys,

 

It might sound illogical but its a bit interesting.

First time I took accutane was in Jan 2006 and was brave enough to take a short course in Dec last year. I started shedding hair straight after taking tane in 2006 with temples being worst effected. For the entire 3 years period I kept shedding badly, some like 100 hair fall everytime I shampoo.

I even used Minoxidil 12.5% for about 2 years which helped in maintaining the hair density but I still kept shedding.

Apart from temples I have quite dense hair, but I never got hair back on my temples.

 

Now since last 3 months I have stopped Minoxidil completely and strangely I have seen some significant regrowth on my temples. It started like tiny hair on the edge but now they have grown good.

I never saw this kind of regrowth in the last 3 years when I was even using Minoxidil which is strange.

All I am doing is having some zinc supplements but not sure how much its helping me.

 

Just thought of sharing.

Take care.

Hi, thanks for sharing your interesting experience .........glad to hear that by no longer using minoxidil you have had positive results.

 

How soon after stopping minoxidil did you start taking zinc supplements?

I am taking zinc for the last 4 months now and have stopped Minoxidil since last 3 months.

Saw this and think it may help!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/...90213070543.htm

Good article but it would have been even better if they explain even further.

Just to share this information from what I experiences. Never mixs Nizoral shampoo with other shampoo that contains Pyrithione Zinc. This will make the scalp itching feel even worst. It might not happen to everyone but it is worth to take note of it.

For those who are considering using topical steriod, please make sure that what you are experiencing is in fact due to scalp inflammation rather than Sensitive scalp and Staphylococcal folliculitis, else topical steriod will only make it worse.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences. I am 29, male and finished a course of accutane about 10 years ago to treat my cystic acne. At the time it cleared up most of my severe acne. Also, my MPB (male pattern baldness) accelerated dramatically during that time. I believe my rapid hairloss was related to my course of accutane.

In the last year or so my acne has worsened almost to the point that it was at 10 years ago. I wonder why my acne has gotten worse... the worsening coincided with my beginning Propecia/finasteride, of all things. Could there be a connection there?

Anyway, I am now strongly considering beginning another course of accutane to prevent further scarring from the acne. HOWEVER, this time I am considering a very low dose of accutane (10mg every other day or every three days). I am hoping that it will lessen any chance of hairloss as a side effect, but I cannot be sure about anything. Can I still get accutane-related hairloss from such a low dose???

I am especially concerned about hairloss because last year I got a hair transplant procedure near my hairline (with fabulous and undetectable results), and I do NOT want to lose any of my transplanted or native hair.

Do anyone know if there are any supplements, etc. that one can take while on accutane to lessen the chance of hairloss as a side effect?

Thanks so much for sharing!!

Hi all,

Just another update I thought I'd share...

It has now been almost three months since I took my last Accutane pill. I'm (cautiously) happy to say that my situation continues to get better. My scalp does not feel weird anymore, and my shedding is nothing out of the ordinary now. It's interesting, because when I was shedding a lot I noticed the hairs falling out were thinner/crappier than normal. Now, when my hair does fall out, the strands are much stronger/thicker and healthier-looking.

I continue to take all the supplements I've listed before, and still use Rogaine (and Xandrox 5%) morning & night. The recovery process is slow, but I know it's world's better than it was a month or two months ago. I know it will take a while, so I'm hoping and praying things will be back to normal (or at least close to it) in a few more months.

My question now relates to how long I should continue taking all the supplements I'm taking, and also if I should start to wean myself off of the Rogaine/Xandrox. I know dermatologists (mine included) advise those with Accutane-induced hairloss to use the stuff to jump-start the follicles, but if I don't need to continue use of it I'd obviously like to stop at some point. Should I stop once I feel like my hair is close to normal again?

Anyway, I'm not saying I'm fully recovered, but I'm cautiously optimistic that the worst is over and I'm on the road to recovery. Will update again in another month or so...

You can stop everything once the shedding has completely ceased!

Hey Lamarr,

During/after tane my hair has been shedding all over my scalp.

Do you use the steroids on all of your scalp(top, sides and back?)

and I read earlier in this thread that use use 2 kinds of steroids, benovate and clobetasol. Why is that? And do you use them both everyday?

thanks for any help

Hey Lamarr,

 

During/after tane my hair has been shedding all over my scalp.

 

Do you use the steroids on all of your scalp(top, sides and back?)

 

and I read earlier in this thread that use use 2 kinds of steroids, benovate and clobetasol. Why is that? And do you use them both everyday?

 

thanks for any help

Yeah i use both every day. I use the different ones ebcause the strong clobetasol can cause folliculitis when i use it over my entire scalp every day. So i just use it on the hairline daily. I use the betnovate over the entire scalp daily, just a very small amount. It prevents hairs from miniturizing.

Cheers Lamarr.

How many mls of each do you use daily?

And do you apply the topical steroids twice per day or just once??

thanks again.

I am also looking into getting a laser helmut thing that you have been talking about.

all the best

I use 100ml of betnovate every month and 100ml of dermovate once every 2 months ish.

Only once per day yeah.

thanks again lamarr.