seasonal hair loss

[imported_Richard]

Hi everyone,

Hope you don't mind me butting in. I'm male, in my 40s, stay at home dad for the past 5 years and, like some of you, hairloss is starting to really kick in.

Last year I had a full head of hair although receding in the usual male pattern but now it has thinned dramatically. A good part of this is probably down to some very stressfull events last year (hairloss) followed by skin cancer (quite minor but still shocking - hairloss), an immune system that took a nosedive (hairloss) followed by a three day hospital stay hooked up to an antibiotic drip (hairloss) and a surgical procedure without anaesthetic (very traumatic - hence hairloss) and a couple of other bits and pieces. Someone recommended meditation and yoga when it all started- I should have listened!

Since then I've tried to figure out what happened, so that I'm not taken by surprise again, and have consequently spent a lot of time on the internet, looking at cancers, hairloss and nutrition generally. There's an awful lot of interesting, confusing and seemingly contradictory stuff out there.
And there's an awful lot of people who want your money for hairloss 'remedies' - some quite legit, others not, but all pretty expensive.

Which brings me, tortuously, to my reason for posting here.

I was looking into the use of Vitamin D for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) for a friend of mine. Vitamin D is usually made in the skin following exposure to sunlight - it follows that the amount of Vitamin D available to someone is less the further from the equator you live and less in the winter months than in summer. This variation in vitamin D has been linked to, amongst other things, cancer survival rates, multiple sclerosis, seasonal bone loss and SAD.

It also occurred to me that it matched my pre- last years pattern of hair loss and gradual recession - ok through most of the year with definite shedding starting off in the Autumn (Fall, if you're in the US). From reading your posts I know that some of you have a similar pattern.

So, your help please.

Could you post if there seems to be a pattern to your hair loss. If so, is it seasonal?

Have you experienced reduction in hairloss with vitamin or nutritional supplements? Which ones seem to work, which ones don't? Have you used vitamin D, what kind of dose?

Anything else you can think of.

Many thanks

Richard

[imported_miapia]

I too am 49 years old, and experience hair loss from Sept. to Jan. When the leaves start to fall, so does my hair. My hair was very thick at one time. I went through a very early menopause (40) and this is when I started noticing the loss. It has been 9 years and I have slowed down the loss with estrogen to a point. My mother and grandmother also had this and were eventually wearing wigs. Mine also is around the crown of my head, and my forhead gets bigger every year. Last year when we had a very long, warm transition to winter, with little snow, I lost very little. This year seams in contrast terrible. The drain is full every night. I live on the east coast, I take excellent care of myself. I have worked out for the last 25 years, take vitamins, and eat very well. I found this site by accident by putting "hair loss" into a web search. I was looking for the shampoo I usually buy called "More Hair". I am thrilled that I can get some feedback on how others handle it. I think it is very interesting that others have the loss in summer months. Sorry about the length of this reply.
Mia

[imported_jillian]

Hello...I live in Maine and have (for about 5 years, now) been losing my hair (in MAJOR amounts) every fall...from September to November-December. Nothing seems to help. I eat well, have low stress and take vitamins. I have increased my Biotin intake, but it still falls out...Clumps...all day long. I am 36 years old and get very upset every year when this happens. Reading all of your thoughts and posts, I am finding that no one has any ideas on how to prevent this, or why it even happens in the first place. BUT, I am glad to know I am not the only one...Hopefully, we can find answers and preventions. Good luck to you all...

[imported_miapia]

I was thinking that if we all tried to find some commonality, we might find some answers. What are your ethnic backrounds? What color is your hair and skin? How old are you? Are you peri-menopausal? memopausal? post-menopausal?When does your hair fall out? Did this happen to your mom? Is there a history of Male-female patterned baldness in your family? What medications are you on? What remedies have you tried? Anything work.
Let's start here.
Mia

[Bolara]

Hello Mia and all reading this,

Like many of you, I've been losing hair for a long time. I'm 60 now and I suspect genetics and age are a factor for me, but that doesn't mean we can't find a way to minimize it. Mia, I'd be interested in knowing if you ever found that shampoo and if it made a difference for you or not.

My hair loss is worse than ever this year. I live near Toronto, Canada in the East and our weather tends to be very hot in the Summer and Very cold in the Winter. I'm through with hot flashes now (thank God for that!) but what I suspect is that the many surgeries I've had are also a factor.... each time, more hair comes out and never seems to come back.

If any of you have found a product or treatment that is not too expensive that can help preserve what we have left, then I'd love to hear about it. Thank you for writing about this.... I don't get to talk about losing my hair with too many others.... for some reason, my closest friends have a full head of hair still, even in their 50's and 60's. I do beleive that genetics play a huge factor in this.

Bye for now.
Bolara

I too am 49 years old, and experience hair loss from Sept. to Jan. When the leaves start to fall, so does my hair. My hair was very thick at one time. I went through a very early menopause (40) and this is when I started noticing the loss. It has been 9 years and I have slowed down the loss with estrogen to a point. My mother and grandmother also had this and were eventually wearing wigs. Mine also is around the crown of my head, and my forhead gets bigger every year. Last year when we had a very long, warm transition to winter, with little snow, I lost very little. This year seams in contrast terrible. The drain is full every night. I live on the east coast, I take excellent care of myself. I have worked out for the last 25 years, take vitamins, and eat very well. I found this site by accident by putting "hair loss" into a web search. I was looking for the shampoo I usually buy called "More Hair". I am thrilled that I can get some feedback on how others handle it. I think it is very interesting that others have the loss in summer months. Sorry about the length of this reply.
Mia

[Richard]

No luck on the vitamin D front as yet although some mice do get hairier when supplemented with it!

Reading the posts by those of you who experience summer hair loss, I thought that this link might be of interest:

Pityrosporum Folliculitis

- under certain conditions, including hot weather, too much sebum (oil) is produced in the hair follicle. This can encourage the excessive growth of a yeast which is normally present on the skin which then blocks up the follicle and may result in infection and can lead to hairloss. The condition described in the link is probably more severe than what you are experiencing but it does fit with the symptoms you described.

One treatment for this is Nizoral shampoo - cheap (about ?5 for a small bottle, follow the instructions on the label), and readily available. I've tried it myself - it does dry the scalp out a bit (but not too much) and is quite refreshing.

If anyone else tries this, I'd be interested to know how it goes.

All the best

Richard

[annierags]

I have experienced seasonal hair loss for 4 years and have gone to many doctors and have had many tests but no answers. I lived in Arizona for 30 years and only 4 years ago did I notice an abundance of hair falling out. I am a healthy woman who eats well, exercises and generally takes good care of herself. I would like to know if anyone has found any help in this seasonal hair loss. It is very upsetting to see this each day from May to about October. Has the Rogaine helped?
[quote=imported_stephania;1416]Hello ladies. I was wondering if anyone out there shares the same problem.
I live in NYC and every spring/summer I go through the same problem. My hair starts shedding in mid May and contiues falling out for the next 2 - 3 months.
This has been on and off for the past 10 years. I have been to so many doctors and none can confirm the theory of seasonal hair loss. I wonder if
it's something in the springtime/summer air in the city. I thought at first it was
a reaction to heat and/or strong sun. I wear a hat every time I'm outside.
Not only is it devastating to see so much hair falling, it is frustrating that no
doctor can help. My diet, exercise and stress levels are normal. My blood tests (hormones, thyroid, ect.) are normal. I've been using Rogaine for the past few years.

[annierags]

I began having seasonal hair loss 4 years ago. Since then I have gone to many doctors and have had many tests all of which came back normal. I have been told by a hair specialist doctor that there is no such thing as seasonal hair loss, only animals have seasonal loss. I would like to know if any one has gone through this and if just naturally stops falling out every summer. I would also like to know if Rogaine helps this problem?
It is extremely upsetting seeing all this hair fall out for months. I would be happy to hear from others who have had this problem and what they have done to overcome this problem.

[fatsa]

I have the same problem, it began 6 years ago and every year I experience the same thing! I loose hair from may through out octomber. It is very frustrating and I have tried different products but nothing seems to work!I excercise regularly and I maintain a healthy diet. I don't think weather affects it in anyway, the last 4 years I
have moved to 3 different cities and all had different climate patterns. The problem did not change in any way. I would be really happy to hear from others.please let me know if anything helped you to overcome the problem!

[stride]

Hi, I am new to the forum. I think I have always had a period of more hairloss but never paid attention to it as I had lots of hair.

In March 06 my hair started shedding and getting thinner. I was diagnosed as having low ferritin causing hair loss. Unfortunately my seasonal shed was not being replaced so it was becoming noticeable.

Although my hair shedding/thinning stopped it hasnt regrown yet.

This year in March I panicked as my hair started to shed again. This time I am seeing regrowth. But because I already have hairloss its lost more bulk.

My theory is that you dont notice your seasonal shedding until you have a hairloss problem. Get your ferritin levels checked out.

My hair shedding starts to rise in Feb and gets higher each month until about June when it starts to drop down. In August I lose around 15-20 hairs a day in my morning comb which is normal.

I am in New Zealand and my shedding is in Autumn. It maybe due to a drop in melatonin due to longer daylight in summer. Our hair rests for around 3 months before shedding.