I feel so lost - hair loss as a 26 year old (w/ pictures)

[bavy]

I have been experiencing immense hair loss since May of this year. Both a receding hairline and intense shedding when I run my fingers through my hair. I have implemented everything under the sun from oysters, aspirin, oxtail, raw liver, methyl blue, cutting training, increasing protein, to upping my thyroid etc etc etc. You name it, I’m doing it.

My temps and pulses are brilliant, which is the most confusing part of this. I’m sleeping like a baby and even though my cycles are on the heavier side, they are consistent and symptom-free.

I’ve noticed when I take b vitamins (@haidut's Energin or even just b1 by itself) the shedding increases. I’ve also noticed this when I eat high carb.

This makes me think that fatty acids are the cause of my hair loss as it appears I’m not oxidizing glucose properly. So then 100g niacinamide 3-4 times a day with aspirin? And deal with the hair loss that will bring?

Or is this a cortisol issue? If so, why would glucose make my hair fall out faster? Doesn't glucose help lower cortisol? And why does supplementing progesterone not help at all?
Or is this an infection? But then wouldn't I have other symptoms like acne and bloating?

What do you think? How can I get my luscious locks back?

 

[tca300]

You are certain you dont have gas/bloating from the carbohydrates you eat? How is your calcium to phosphorus ratio?

Also, did you get the covid vaccine? Or any other changes in food/ lifestyle around May or slighly before?

 

[AnonE]

Uhh to be honest if I saw you on the street I wouldn't think hair loss at all. Looks totally normal/healthy.

Now it's possible your hair line as shifted as you've aged, as skull bones continue to change even after you stop growing in height (as skull bones don't fuse IIRC). So maybe that's what's happened, which is totally normal. In terms of thinning, I don't see any. How many strands do you lose per day? A hundred or so is totally normal. Girls get hair all over my apartment even after a short stay, none of which are losing their hair lol.

Edit - if you still really think something is up, keep in mind that "Telogen effluvium" can occur, which IIRC is a synchronization of many hairs going into the death cycle at once, and is usually a temporary (multi-month) thing due to significant stress. But hair will go back to normal given health and a few months to let the hair cycles reset and regrow.

Maybe someone else can chime in on acne/bloating. But the hair seems fine imo.

 

[bavy]

You are certain you dont have gas/bloating from the carbohydrates you eat? How is your calcium to phosphorus ratio?

Also, did you get the covid vaccine? Or any other changes in food/ lifestyle around May or slighly before?

Nope, no vaccine! and I experience some bloat with rice but not with fruit.

Here are my ranges back in Feb. Need to re-test eps as I have upped my thyroid to 2 grains instead of 1.5 like when i had this test done.

Prolactin - 8.1 ng/mL
Parathyroid / PTH Intact - 21.0 pg/mL
Free T3 - 3.7 pg/mL
Reverse t3 - 12.3 ng/dL
T4 (Thyroxine) Free - 0.65 ng/dL
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Ab - 241 IU/mL
Thyroid Stimulating Hormone - 2.13 uIu/mL
Phosphorus - 3.9 MG/DL
Calcium - 9.8 MG/DL

I did have surgery in April, perhaps this is from then?

 

[bavy]

Uhh to be honest if I saw you on the street I wouldn't think hair loss at all. Looks totally normal/healthy.

Now it's possible your hair line as shifted as you've aged, as skull bones continue to change even after you stop growing in height (as skull bones don't fuse IIRC). So maybe that's what's happened, which is totally normal. In terms of thinning, I don't see any. How many strands do you lose per day? A hundred or so is totally normal. Girls get hair all over my apartment even after a short stay, none of which are losing their hair lol.

Edit - if you still really think something is up, keep in mind that "Telogen effluvium" can occur, which IIRC is a synchronization of many hairs going into the death cycle at once, and is usually a temporary (multi-month) thing due to significant stress. But hair will go back to normal given health and a few months to let the hair cycles reset and regrow.

Maybe someone else can chime in on acne/bloating. But the hair seems fine imo.

Ah okay, so i did have surgery in April. Perhaps this is the stress from that? Then cortisol would be the culprit!

But I'm losing well over 100 a day. Clumps and clumps. Probably around 30-50 per brush. Not good :/

 

[tca300]

i did have surgery in April

That could be a factor.

I've personally found foods that cause bloating/gas/irritation or are allergenic to my digestive system to raise prolactin enough to cause very noticeable shedding.

No amount of supplements would ever stop the shedding. I had to do seriously controlled food elimination trials to get it stopped.

 

[PhilParma]

Everything that you're doing looks good. Keep it up so long as it doesn't feel like you're becoming obsessive.

Personally I'm starting to think that hairloss is a fungal/yeast infection, locally in the scalp but probably systemic as well. I've been having some success with simply spraying an anti-fungal on my scalp after I shower. So that's something low effort and time efficient that you can try out. Forum member johnwester310 has made some posts about it. Search the forum for "Malassezia" + posts made by johnwester310.

I mix my own piroctone olamine solution.

Piroctone olamine and ketoconazole against hair loss

Piroctone olamine or ketoconazole? Which shampoo best stimulates hair growth? We specialize in hair loss in women and men.

www.hgspecialist.com

You can buy ready made products with zinc or piroctone olamine as ingredients. Spray it on your scalp and leave it to do its work. I suspect that the antifungal shampoos don't stay on your scalp long enough to have optimal effect.

Stimulating Daily Scalp Toner

Rehydrating toner and scalp energizer for a healthy scalp and hair. Unique ingredients perform 3 key functions: stimulating blood supply to the scalp, mildly astringent qualities to absorb excess oil & protecting against bacterial attack.

www.philipkingsley.com

There are zinc sprays too. I think one is DermaZinc.

 

[bavy]

That could be a factor.

I've personally found foods that cause bloating/gas/irritation or are allergenic to my digestive system to raise prolactin enough to cause very noticeable shedding.

No amount of supplements would ever stop the shedding. I had to do seriously controlled food elimination trials to get it stopped.

Ugh I am so sorry. I will do this as last resort :/ thank you for sharing!

 

[bavy]

Everything that you're doing looks good. Keep it up so long as it doesn't feel like you're becoming obsessive.

Personally I'm starting to think that hairloss is a fungal/yeast infection, locally in the scalp but probably systemic as well. I've been having some success with simply spraying an anti-fungal on my scalp after I shower. So that's something low effort and time efficient that you can try out. Forum member johnwester310 has made some posts about it. Search the forum for "Malassezia" + posts made by johnwester310.

I mix my own piroctone olamine solution.

Piroctone olamine and ketoconazole against hair loss

Piroctone olamine or ketoconazole? Which shampoo best stimulates hair growth? We specialize in hair loss in women and men.

www.hgspecialist.com

You can buy ready made products with zinc or piroctone olamine as ingredients. Spray it on your scalp and leave it to do its work. I suspect that the antifungal shampoos don't stay on your scalp long enough to have optimal effect.

Stimulating Daily Scalp Toner

Rehydrating toner and scalp energizer for a healthy scalp and hair. Unique ingredients perform 3 key functions: stimulating blood supply to the scalp, mildly astringent qualities to absorb excess oil & protecting against bacterial attack.

www.philipkingsley.com

There are zinc sprays too. I think one is DermaZinc.

Oh how fascinating! I will try one by one. Thank you so much!

 

[OccamzRazer]

Are you eating enough calories? Given you've upped your thyroid dose that could be important. Some people need more cals simply because 'Peating' boosts their BMR.

You might also want to look into red light therapy.

Also, try not to feel "lost" about this - that could just stress you out further. There's plenty of time to turn things around! In the meantime, your hairline looks fine to me.

 

[rr1]

I have been experiencing immense hair loss since May of this year. Both a receding hairline and intense shedding when I run my fingers through my hair. I have implemented everything under the sun from oysters, aspirin, oxtail, raw liver, methyl blue, cutting training, increasing protein, to upping my thyroid etc etc etc. You name it, I’m doing it.

My temps and pulses are brilliant, which is the most confusing part of this. I’m sleeping like a baby and even though my cycles are on the heavier side, they are consistent and symptom-free.

I’ve noticed when I take b vitamins (@haidut's Energin or even just b1 by itself) the shedding increases. I’ve also noticed this when I eat high carb.

This makes me think that fatty acids are the cause of my hair loss as it appears I’m not oxidizing glucose properly. So then 100g niacinamide 3-4 times a day with aspirin? And deal with the hair loss that will bring?

Or is this a cortisol issue? If so, why would glucose make my hair fall out faster? Doesn't glucose help lower cortisol? And why does supplementing progesterone not help at all?
Or is this an infection? But then wouldn't I have other symptoms like acne and bloating?

What do you think? How can I get my luscious locks back?

I seen from your posts that you have a history of fasting, do you also have a history of eating lots of PUFA? The stress of fasting alone is what causes most 'health conscious' people to start losing their hair. The studies that haidut has shared show that fasting causes high estrogen/cortisol and low vitamin D. I would not stress too much about it, you seem to be doing all the right things now, and the stress from fasting will slowly be healed, but it takes time.

The things I would make sure I'm doing are:
- Getting a vitamin D test and making sure its at least 50 ng/mL, getting as much light as possible
- Carrot salad daily (carrot, olive oil, vinegar, salt)
- Not becoming calorie/sugar deficient, eating when first wake up and eating frequent meals of protein, carbs and fat
- Experiment with cycling 1mg cyproheptadine to lower stress/pituitary hormones
- Experiment with Progest-E (This is a helpful guide). I have responded the best to this brand, not sure about the others. From my experience, there doesn't seem to be a dose that is too high, even as a male
- Aiming for 2 grams of calcium daily
- Massaging for 20-40 minutes daily or a few times per week (Rob at PHH has reported many cases of females improving their hair and stopping shedding from these massages, although it usually takes around 8 months before people can see progress)
- Yoga or some sort of light exercise seems helpful (the magnesium, progesterone, cyproheptadine will all help loosen any tightness in muscles)
- Not worrying about the problem, and having trust in the process

 

[Nicole W.]

I seen from your posts that you have a history of fasting, do you also have a history of eating lots of PUFA? The stress of fasting alone is what causes most 'health conscious' people to start losing their hair. The studies that haidut has shared show that fasting causes high estrogen/cortisol and low vitamin D. I would not stress too much about it, you seem to be doing all the right things now, and the stress from fasting will slowly be healed, but it takes time.

The things I would make sure I'm doing are:
- Getting a vitamin D test and making sure its at least 50 ng/mL, getting as much light as possible
- Carrot salad daily (carrot, olive oil, vinegar, salt)
- Not becoming calorie/sugar deficient, eating when first wake up and eating frequent meals of protein, carbs and fat
- Experiment with cycling 1mg cyproheptadine to lower stress/pituitary hormones
- Experiment with Progest-E (This is a helpful guide). I have responded the best to this brand, not sure about the others. From my experience, there doesn't seem to be a dose that is too high, even as a male
- Aiming for 2 grams of calcium daily
- Massaging for 20-40 minutes daily or a few times per week (Rob at PHH has reported many cases of females improving their hair and stopping shedding from these massages, although it usually takes around 8 months before people can see progress)
- Yoga or some sort of light exercise seems helpful (the magnesium, progesterone, cyproheptadine will all help loosen any tightness in muscles)
- Not worrying about the problem, and having trust in the process

FWIW, I’ve noticed a lot of young women like you thinning around the temples. Do you wear your hair in a ponytail a lot? That seems to be the commonality among the women I’ve observed.

I think women underestimate the stress placed on the hair and scalp from pulling hair back and anchoring it with a scrunchie, ponytail holder or rubber band at the back of their head. You can definitely change a hairline by wearing the hair tied back in a clip or ponytail all the time.

Lots of women sleep with their hair up at night which could add to the problem. Side sleeping in a bun or ponytail can cause addition tension and stress on the temple area. This could affect rate of shedding and hair growth.

 

[danishstargazer]

coconut oil topically. nacent iodine drops ( Mary Ruths ) , Floradix iron supplement liquid ,( Amazon ) Cocoa Locks hot cocoa powder. ( from UK you can order it online. ) this is what i used to grow my hair super thick and long after i overdosed on Progest E it lowered my estrogen so much i lost my hair.

 

[revenant]

I mix my own piroctone olamine solution.

Can you share your recipe? I've ordered some piroctone olamine for experimentation.

Surgery in April sounds like the most probable culprit. It's common to experience telogen effluvium 2-3 months after a trauma or injury to the body, and it can last for several months. I had Covid in April and started experiencing this some weeks ago. Not a whole lot you can do except wait for it to grow back.

In the meantime... Niacinamide and caffeine topically may help; see the thread on SolBan for concentrations. Piroctone olamine shampoos were shown (in one study) to increase hair length and diameter; those are available in any pharmacy. Taurine orally (perhaps even topically) is probably helpful.

EDIT: Do you have or did you have white horizontal lines on your nails? Those are another sign of past stress. I noticed mine at the same time the hair loss started.

 

[magnesiumania]

Try monatomic ruthenium. Helped me grow some back.

 

[saraleah]

Agree with Revenant..Surgery did that to me- Nov. years ago, had general anesthesia. 3 months later lost half the volume of my hair. It did grow back but I can totally understand why you are upset. My ponytail became the size of a dime, drain was full of hair. It stopped stay calm if you can, and eat protein

 

[lampofred]

Do you maintain a high calcium intake relative to phosphate? I think calcium is extremely important for hair.

Also I discovered this pretty recently and I don't know if others would have the same experience, but capsaicin is very good for my hair. I think it pretty strongly depletes phosphate.

 

[Jkbp]

What are your numbers for total iron and ferritin? When my iron is low, my hair falls out in handfuls, my periods are heavy, and I'm very tired. Be sure to test before supplementing iron, as excess iron can be harmful.
Also what is your vitamin D at?
Optimal D range is 60-90.

 

[Orome]

In regards to the bloating this was one of my major symptoms for many, many years. Doesn't matter what I tried - peat wise or non peat wise - nothing helped. Only after eliminating my beloved starches (especially all grains) my bloating disappeared - and I am a new human since then. So there is a good chance that it can also be endotoxin related in your case.

And other than that I would not worry too much. From what I can see on the pictures your hair looks really good .

 

[PhilParma]

Can you share your recipe? I've ordered some piroctone olamine for experimentation.

4oz water
4oz vodka
1g piroctone olamine

In a glass bottle.
Amazon product ASIN B08F264V53View: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08F264V53/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1