I’m having treatment for hair loss AMA

[Audubon]

I’ve always had quite thin fine hair but since hitting 45 my hair has become terribly thin, a few months ago a large chunk of hair broke off at the back of my head and because the hair was so thin I was left with a bald area around the size of a 50p that couldn’t be covered. After crying about it for a couple of weeks I made an appointment to see a trichologist and was diagnosed with female pattern hair loss. I’ve been having some treatments and managed to really improve the condition and thickness of my hair. I really thought I would have no options but a hair transplant so have started this thread for other people who might be in the same position and need a bit of hope. Feel free to AMA

Nice idea for an AMA. How quickly did you get to see a specialist? Did you go through the NHS?

I had to do it all privately and it was pretty expensive. I did have the recommended blood tests done through my GP though. I turned out I was also borderline deficient in Iron, Vitamin B and Vitamin D3 which I think had contributed towards some of my hair issues, certainly how brittle it was.

What treatments do you think have helped the most so far?

@RealHousewivesOfTaunton I've had a course of 6 treatments of Calecim with micro needling, and I'm on minoxidil, the minoxidil takes about 6 months to see any effect and I only started in April so it's likely that the new growth is down to the micro needling.

Here is my 6 weeks apart photo

Wow that's looking really great!

That's looking quite different, don't think it was so bad before though?

Thanks for doing this.

What regime and amount/type of minoxidil are you on?

And what's it costing you? (You did say AMA 😊)

@Playonplayoff I think it always feels awful to you and you imagine everyone is staring at you! I'm on 5% minoxidil daily. Once you start with minoxidil you can't really stop or any hair that has grown through the use of minoxidil will fall out again when you stop.

@Playonplayoff I paid about £200 for an initial consultation. The micro needling is very expensive £1500 for 6 weekly session. I will have another course of 6 in a couple of months and then move to a maintenance plan with one treatment every 3 months. I honestly can't remember the cost of the minoxidil but it was quite cheap in comparison, maybe £50 for a 2 month supply??

Thank you - I'm thining just at my parting, and thinking about seeing a tricolgist. It's great to know there are treatments. I suspect it's my genetics and it's only going to worsen.

@Playonplayoff I wish I had gone sooner, it's also very thin at my temples and parting, I have got new growth there but not quite as good as at the back. From what I know now you have to get treatment before the follicles completely die off. You can improve follicles that are miniaturised, but when they're gone they're gone.

What does the microneedling involve?

Is it the same sort of micro needling my beautician would do on my face?

@Numnumbirdy it's an electric micro needle, I must say it's quite an unpleasant treatment, numbing cream on first for about 15 mins and then the micro needling your scalp in sections for about 20 mins and applying the serum. It really does work though so I just grit my teeth!

Have you considered a hair transplant OP? Is that an option for female pattern baldness

@RedRidingGood I don't feel it's quite bad enough but I wouldn't rule it out in the future. I am however considering scalp micro pigmentation in my parting at the front to see if that would make my hair appear fuller.

Rosemary oil is supposed to have the same effects as minoxidil. I had alopecia areata and used this hair oil from the ordinary https://www.boots.com/the-ordinary-multi-peptide-serum-for-hair-density-30ml-10332995?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwae1BhC_ARIsAK4Jfry_Lz20Ds8WdKCJ_QSjqdobmXdkJyP3pkb1SICN-ySC3elP9VLsL6YaAscDEALw_wcB

I would try hair oiling, there's lots of information online before paying for these expensive treatments.

Also red onion juice is really good for hair growth. My hair loss was much worse than yours.

Thank you :)

*Cantbelievethatimafoolagain can you expand? *

I can’t afford Audubon chosen path though I am interested to hear as much as you can tell us eg how did you find the trichologist and why did you go down the micro needling route? Doesn’t it mean you don’t need supplements as well?

Did you have an underactive thyroid at all?

@Twicedaily I do understand that the treatment I've had is very expensive and I think if I did nothing else I would still ask my GP for the blood tests. I'm sure that the low iron contributed to my hair being very brittle and the supplements are relatively inexpensive to try and see if it makes a difference to you.

@soupfiend thyroid is something I haven't thought about, it's not something the trichologist brought up.

Im surprised because underactive thyroid can cause thinning hair, but perhaps pattern hair loss is a very different thing and he would know that its not indicating thyroid. Worth looking at though if its not on your main results already.