Hair falling out rapidly (photo) - causes?

[Hair1234M]

Hi all,

NC. I'm worried my photo is identifying.

My hair is falling out terribly - my hair used to be lovely and a medium thickness, it's now lank and so thin.

I am chronically stressed but otherwise everything okay. I've no idea how to stop this and I now have a very fine layer of hair over sort of these bald patches.
It comes out in clumps in my hands whenever I'm brushing/washing and I seem to be losing it fast especially at the front.

Does anyone have any magical remedies? Or any idea what causes this? I've never had this in the past even when I've had low ferritin.

Thanks!

Have you had your thyroid checked?

Thyroid
Peri
vitamin deficiences (what tests have you had)

Are you in a high calorie deficit, is the stress making you lose appetite and have you lost weight?

My hair fell out with low ferritin, but my levels were down to 5. Iron pills eventually sorted it.

Thank you for the replies.

Yes my thyroid is fine. Vitamin D is fine. My iron is fine etc. My diet is as usual and no weight loss.

And I'm 31 so unlikely to be peri.

Have you had covid recently? Could be that?
Hair Loss After COVID-19: Why It Happens and How to Treat It | SELF

Stress does cause hair loss!!

I assume you can’t remove the stress but could you do things like swimming or walking that may help ease some of the stress?

I would also take vitamins.

They say rosemary oil is good.
I am mixing rosemary oil and jojoba oil (Amazon) leaving it on overnight and then wash it in the morning.

I only use it once a week and it’s only been about 3 weeks, so I can’t really say whether it’s working yet.

Low ferritin levels cause hair loss.

Low ferritin doesn't mean low iron and doesn't have to mean anaemia. Ferritin is a bit different. But lack of it definitely causes hair loss. It's a very common symptom.

If you're stressed, have you been eating enough?

Is the "fine" of your results the GP telling you are? They may be within the normal range, but that doesn't mean they are normal. Ferritin and vitamin D need to be high within the normal range.

If Ferritin range (just as and example is 5-80) and your result is 6, you will be told it is normal - it most certainly wouldn't be.

I don’t mean to scare you, but my alopecia started like this after a year of horrendous stress and childbirth - and within two weeks I’d lost all the hair on my body. That was a year ago and it’s never come back. It’s very rare, so very unlikely that would happen to you, but please get to the doctor asap, get all your bloods checked because if it is alopecia, you may be able to get steroid injections to slow it down or help regrow. There is also new medication which looks promising. Please keep us updated.

Did you have a sudden bad shock to the system around 3-4 months ago? Could be an emotional trauma or sudden illness (aka flu/severe stomach bug)?

I also agree with PP - low ferritin really means anything below 70 for hair loss.

I had really worrying alopecia (round patches that fell out randomly) for a few years. I started taking vitamin D pills a few months ago, even though my doctor said all my vitamin and mineral levels were fine. So far, it has been a lot better, and I haven't noticed any patches for months. It's worth a shot, and the pills cost less than £2 at Savers for about 3 months' worth.

Try high strength vitamin B complex & use L'Occitane Strength & Volume shampoo. It worked for me. Took a year to fully grow back but could see regrowth after 2 months. The loss slowed to almost nothing in 2 weeks.

Ferritin needs to be atleast 70 but closer to 100 for hair growth. Mine was 26 and caused massive hair loss. I take iron daily and sue men's 5% regaine minoxidil foam once a day as suggested by a Private dermatologist

This happened to me after I had been very poorly. It was a few months later I think and I was told it was the body's reaction to stress. It stopped after a while and my hair came back strangely very curly for a while!

@Hair1234M did you ever find out what was happening with your hair? How is it now?