What Can I do About Thinning Hair in my 30s?
I’m a woman in my early 30s and I feel like my hair has thinned out a lot in the past few years. I’m starting to get very worried that I may have bald spots and keep losing my hair in the future. What can I do?!
American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Dear Nat,
Thinning hair in one’s 30s is
unfortunately a common and distressing concern for both men and women. Women who experience thinning hair in their
30s is usually because of genetic condition called female pattern hair
loss. Secondary causes should be ruled
out such as hyperthyroidism, other endocrinological abnormalities,
malnutrition, stress or local scalp conditions.
Male pattern hair loss in the 30s is usually androgenic or accumulations
of excess aberrant androgens in the scalp and then a genetically determined
enzyme deficiency in the top and oval centre of the head. Male pattern baldness can be treated with
androgen blockade such as Propecia and Finasteride or topical techniques such a
s a vasodilator like Minoxidil or stem cell injectable therapy such as PRP,
micro needling or low-level light therapy and vasodilators like Minoxidil. Female hair loss can also be treated with
scalp stimulation techniques such as used in male pattern hair loss, it’s just
the Propecia and Finasteride and other androgen blockers do not work.
Ultimately, for both male and female
pattern hair loss, hair transplantation using a non-scarring technique like
follicular unit extraction and transplantation is often ideal. The FUE uses automated and robotic rotatory
micro punches to harvest hairs as the growth of movement to the top of the head
where they survive as composite hair transplant graft. The advantage of FUE over strip graft is the
absence of a linear scar at the back of the occiput and the ability to wear
your hair short and not worry about a visible scar. Patients can return every few years as hair
is needed to maintain the look of density and non-balding scalp appearance.
I hope this information is of some
assistance.
To schedule a consultation or to find
out more, please visit: https://www.spamedica.com/hair/hair-loss-and-baldness-treatments-in-toronto/ Visit the
sections on female pattern hair loss if you are female or male pattern hair
loss if you’re a male.
R. Stephen Mulholland, M.D.
Certified Plastic Surgeon
Yorkville, Toronto
American Board of Dermatology, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (FRCPC)
The best option Nat is to see a physician who specializes in hair loss. Hair loss in women is more complex than hair loss in men and there are many more possibilities. Certainly genetic hair loss is high on the list of possibilities but ‘bald spots’ as you describe are not typically seen in genetic hair loss. A careful evaluation is needed.All women with hair loss need a comprehensive assessment with an up close examination of the scalp and blood work for such things as iron, thyroid studies and blood levels (hemoglobin)DrDonovan