Maybe this isn't the best reply you're looking for, but I know for a fact that the chance of hair loss while taking accutane is very rare. My dermatologist has treated hundreds of patients with accutane, and she has never come across hair loss with the taking of accutane. I was very concerned about this before starting my accutane treatment, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. I'm on 20mg a day too, and I'm going up to 40mg in a week. I wouldn't worry about it, even if you do experience hair loss it probably won't be noticeable to others, and you can come off the medication straight away if you want to. Don't worry you'll be fine! Hair loss is very rare in accutane treatments! Plus, at least you're on quite a low dose, so you shouldn't experience horrible side effects anyway.

There is no "chance" as in percentage one can tell you--it may happen or it may not.

Doctors dont tell you the bad side of drugs after all they are there to make money.

If you want a realistic idea, read 'negative accutane experiences" a lot of thos people had hair loss.

I took 20 mg for one month and had significant hair thinning afterward. Its 9 months later and m hairline still isnt normal you can see my gallery pic.

Accutane is a chemotherepy drug, and we all know those can cause hairloss. Im not trying to scare you, just give you a realisstic idea.

Are you quoting your derm? Side effects are not 'very rare" and hair loss is not rare either. Take a look at some of the negative accutane experiences and youll see its fairly commonly listed. Sometimes it starts duringteh course but sometimes it doesnt show up till a bit later.

Nice youre trying to be positive but accutane isnt necessarily a drug everyone will be fine with.

Maybe this isn't the best reply you're looking for, but I know for a fact that the chance of hair loss while taking accutane is very rare. My dermatologist has treated hundreds of patients with accutane, and she has never come across hair loss with the taking of accutane. I was very concerned about this before starting my accutane treatment, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. I'm on 20mg a day too, and I'm going up to 40mg in a week. I wouldn't worry about it, even if you do experience hair loss it probably won't be noticeable to others, and you can come off the medication straight away if you want to. Don't worry you'll be fine! Hair loss is very rare in accutane treatments! Plus, at least you're on quite a low dose, so you shouldn't experience horrible side effects anyway.

ok thanks for the reply i was just wondering if 40mg/day is still considered a low dosage?

yes, 10-20 are considered low, anything over that is moderate and Id say 80 mg would be considered very high.

The drug is supposed to be weight based. To determine low vs. high dosages, one would need to know your weight. 1mg/kg/day is standard. 1.5-2mg/kg/day is considered high and often given during round 2 or 3 of Accutane.

I have had changes in my hair. I have yet to determine if it's actual "loss" or just a change in texture. I have not noticed more hair in the shower or my hair brush, however, my once thick lush wavy hair (they use to call me "Texas" at work ) now feels thin, limp, difficult to style and appears stringy. Because I had a ton to begin with, it is not noticeable to others. I noticed it after about a month and I am now in month 3. It has not gotten worse and I have continued treatment. It is an individual choice. I believe it will return to normal post treatment. If not, I have chosen clear skin with just okay hair over disgusting acne and pageant hair.

I noticed almost immediate changes in my hair, within a week of starting the medication. It became dry and limp. It's better now that I am using a moisturizing shampoo and deep conditioner as well as jojoba oil. I have noticed some increased shedding occasionally but no visible hair loss. To be fair, I have also experienced increased shedding with other drugs, even greater than what has developed so far with Accutane. I am also in my third month. I think extreme hair loss/balding may be rare with Accutane but it seems like increased shedding, hair damage is not that unusual. I am taking biotin also to help prevent damage, I've read that can help but I'm not really sure about the true efficacy.

I noticed almost immediate changes in my hair, within a week of starting the medication. It became dry and limp. It's better now that I am using a moisturizing shampoo and deep conditioner as well as jojoba oil. I have noticed some increased shedding occasionally but no visible hair loss. To be fair, I have also experienced increased shedding with other drugs, even greater than what has developed so far with Accutane. I am also in my third month. I think extreme hair loss/balding may be rare with Accutane but it seems like increased shedding, hair damage is not that unusual. I am taking biotin also to help prevent damage, I've read that can help but I'm not really sure about the true efficacy.

How do you use the jojoba on your hair? What shampoo are you using? I am using Dermorganics, which is fantastic for dry scalp, but my hair is still limp. I need to get it highlighted but I am afraid of the damage. Have you colored your hair on Accutane? I've just been rockin' the natural ombre!

I noticed almost immediate changes in my hair, within a week of starting the medication. It became dry and limp. It's better now that I am using a moisturizing shampoo and deep conditioner as well as jojoba oil. I have noticed some increased shedding occasionally but no visible hair loss. To be fair, I have also experienced increased shedding with other drugs, even greater than what has developed so far with Accutane. I am also in my third month. I think extreme hair loss/balding may be rare with Accutane but it seems like increased shedding, hair damage is not that unusual. I am taking biotin also to help prevent damage, I've read that can help but I'm not really sure about the true efficacy.

Does anyone know if taking biotin will help?

I am using Loreal Power Moisture shampoo and the same brand moisture mask, it comes in a jar and is a really thick conditioner. I've been adding 3-4 drops of jojoba oil to the conditioner and leave it on my hair as long as I can stand it while I finish washing, shave, etc, I try to leave it on for about five minutes or more and then rinse it out. I've thought about trying a sulfate-free shampoo, I've heard they're good while on Accutane but wasn't sure of a good brand. I may give it a try. I have colored my hair but skipped the highlights. I've just been getting a glaze to cover up my grays. Gray hair and acne...lucky me. ) Ombre's in, you can definitely get away with it. =)

I am using Loreal Power Moisture shampoo and the same brand moisture mask, it comes in a jar and is a really thick conditioner. I've been adding 3-4 drops of jojoba oil to the conditioner and leave it on my hair as long as I can stand it while I finish washing, shave, etc, I try to leave it on for about five minutes or more and then rinse it out. I've thought about trying a sulfate-free shampoo, I've heard they're good while on Accutane but wasn't sure of a good brand. I may give it a try. I have colored my hair but skipped the highlights. I've just been getting a glaze to cover up my grays. Gray hair and acne...lucky me. ) Ombre's in, you can definitely get away with it. =)

Accutane or not, I definitely recommend sulfate free shampoo/conditioner. I always buy sulfate free, the other stuff seems to strip my hair. Loreal has a good line that is reasonable....I think just as good as any crazy expensive shampoo. I love Aveda products also, but they are kinda spendy. I'm going start doing the jojoba oil on my hair. The first few weeks of Accutane my scalp was disgustingly dry and flakey, so I put Vaseline on it...lol...don't do that. It took days to come out and a lot of dish soap!

Biotin is supposed to be good for hair growth, but I haven't tried it because I think just the texture of mine has changed. It will no longer curl if I use a diffuser---just stringy and limp. It's pretty icky unless I use the InStyler---which is great, btw!

I was on accutane from Nov 2012 till April 2013 on 80 mg/ day. Started noticing hair loss n thinning around the time I came off it. I am taking biotin, zinc, brewers yeast and vitamin b complex but still shedding about 50 hairs a day. My derm said I am experiencing TE and it should stop in few months. Has anyone tried low level laser therapy? It is supposed to prevent hair loss and promote growth but not sure it helps folks like us suffering from accutane induced TE. I m thinking about giving it a try and wanted to check if someone had done it??

The chances of hairloss due to accutane is extremely high. I've been on Oratane 20 mg since November 2013 and have noticed the mass shedding of hair during my 4th month so i stopped treatment immediately. It was a weird sensation, my head one day just got extremely oily and since then the shedding up till today has been non stop. Ethnicity wise I am Indian and my hair is usually thick and wavy but right now at the moment ive lost practically 70% of my hair, which leaves me with a wardrobe full of beanies. I have been on chemo therapy medication around 4 years ago which led me to loose basically all my hair but within 9 months it was as thick and as healthy as it always was. With Accutane it feels somewhat different + its given me dandruff !!! FML !!! Im still sticking to the same meds that helped my hair grow back after my chemo meds which is bioton, silica & msm !!! I will keep you guys posted with the results !!! Good luck guys !!! P.S F-ck all the derms that forgot to mention this !!!

Hey, did anybody in here got some hair growth again after some time? This is very interesting for people which have hair loss while taking accutane and don't know if they should quit the medicament or not. If you read this, please answer, would be so great )

On 3/2/2015 at 7:57 AM, termi1 said:

Hey, did anybody in here got some hair growth again after some time? This is very interesting for people which have hair loss while taking accutane and don't know if they should quit the medicament or not. If you read this, please answer, would be so great )

Hi, I was on Accutane for 6 months last year.  I had beautiful hair while on Accutane.  It stayed thick and was never greasy! However,  my last few weeks of Accutane is when I started to shed.  I shed 300+ hairs a day (I counted a few times) for SIX MONTHS.  it was horrible,  and so stressful as my dermatologist said I had TE and it SHOULD stop shedding but  there  is no guarantee that it won't turn into male pattern baldness (I'm a 27 year olds female).  Luckily,  mine did stop shedding 6 months later.  I lost A LOT of hair,  but others didn't seem to notice.  I do have regrowth, a ton of it so right now my hair ia kind of crazy.  But shedding did stop,  and I do have regrowth.  It was my worse side effect,  and I've stated breaking out again which makes me consider another round of Accutane.  Id do it in a heartbeat if not for the fear of another horrible shed.  

I am a 20 year old male, 5'8 and at the time of beginning accutane I was 155 lb,(I have gained around 10+lbs. since). I started out at 20 mg then in January went to 40 mg. I started accutane at the end on November 2017. During December I noticed my hair getting very dry and brittle. Thinning also began to occur. I would guesstimate that my hair was about %50 thinner around February. It was around this time though that the texture of my hair returned to normal, however the thinning stayed. Around February my face and back was completely clear. I got off the drug a month early (in April) due to high loads of stress, both from school and the idea of it thinning my hair. My thinning didn't get worse or better, it stayed the same. In mid July of 2018 I went to the same doctor that prescribed the drug to get a biopsy. When they got the results the told me over a phone call that I had male pattern baldness and prescribed rogain and finasteride without any warning of possible side effects. I am taking neither. My hair line is not receding nor is my crown thinning, it is just an overall thinning over the entire scalp. I am not saying that I do not have male pattern baldness, but the way my hair has thinned male pattern baldness does not make sense. It is now early August 2018 and I have noticed my hair getting thicker. I would guesstimate that it is 20%-25% thicker. I have been drinking a lot more water, doing total body LED light and chryo therapy and using a different shampoo. I couldn't say that any of that is causing thicker hair or if it's just time being off the drug, but I can say as of now it is somewhat thicker.