Hi, Everyone.
I guess I'll start with a little of my history. I am a 42 year old female and I have been losing my hair for over 6 years. I noticed regular shedding, but didn't think anything of it until I started thinning. The routine for me is to shed heavily for 3-4 months (like 300 hairs a day...yes, I counted) then to have almost no loss for about 3 months. The hairs start to come back and I have losts of fuzzy regrowth that sticks out oddly. But each time it happens, I get a little thinner.

I made the mistake of using minoxidil 5% for a couple of years. I still had the same shedding schedule so I stopped. Now, a year since stopping, my shedding has gone on much longer.

I restarted the minoxidil and started taking 2000 mg of biotin twice daily along with a prenatal vitamin. (no, not pregnant...but I had super nice hair and nails when I took them so I figured, what the heck.)

I have seen my regular doctor, dermatologist, and gynocologist. I have had my hormone levels tested 3 times. All times everything was within the normal limits. My feeling is normal for who??? I have felt like I have been starting menopause for a couple of years. Not full on, but several times a year I awake with nightsweats and have been having some "hot flash" type behaviors recently. I have some moderate PMS and had an ablation a couple of years ago to help with abnormally heavy periods. (Sorry for TMI, but if it helps to have my background and is meaningful...I'll do pretty much anything.)

My hair is coming out with the bulb attached. It comes out in scary bunches in the shower and falls all day long. My scalp seems to change in oilyness and becomes somewhat sensitive when I am in a massive shed. My eyebrows seem a itchy too.

I am planning to read Dr. Redmonds book on hormones in order to be informed when I see an endocrinologist. I have no recommendations...I would like to see someone skilled in hairloss, but my area is not too advanced, it seems.

Additionally, I and my husband are teachers. Money is an issue. I cannot afford weekly lazer treatments and to try a bunch of products that don't work, but yet I don't want to be the bald old lady that I seem to notice everywhere now.

Please help...I want to try a proven product, but I am not sure which one and what to purchase. I would say that I have lost about 1/3 to 1/2 of my hair at this point. I'm devestated. Thanks in advance for your support.

I guess I should mention that I am a brunette, but my reading is making me think that maybe the tin peptides would be better for hair growth? Thank you again.

This is our general advice on hair care for women.

Many hair products for women cause long term damage. Many hair experts think that women's hair was healthier 100 years ago. Old photographs often show women in the 60s with hair down to their shoulders or their waist.

Copper Peptides help supply nutritional copper to the scalp so that the skin can perform its functions. Numerous studies from the US Department of Agriculture Nutrition Laboratories indicate that most person have an inadequate intake of copper for optimal health.

This may help.

1.If your scalp is irritated, the best would be to nourish the scalp with Emu Oil for Hair and Folligen Lotion at night in denser hair areas for nutritional copper. Start with a very light amount of each. You do not need to wash it out in the morning.

2. If there is no irritation, then use Folligen Solution on your scalp - a small amount. Let it dry a little, then apply a light amount of Emu Oil-S for Hair. You do not need to wash it out in the morning.

3. If you have very blonde hair, then use Folligen for Blondes. This is lotion based on tin-peptides but which works better for some clients.

4. Our new Hair Signals Cream and Serum work better for some clients.

5. Also take daily supplements of MSM - 2 to 4 grams - and 2 to 5 grams each of flaxseed oil or borage oil.

6. Always use a minimum of shampoo and conditioner. Folligen Shampoo and Folligen Conditioner are very mild shampoos that help thicken and keep more moisture on the hair shafts.

7. Keep heat off your head - blow dryers can boil follicles. Hot oil treatments also damage hair follicles.

8. Stress can cause hair loss. Blood cortisol levels are raised and this inhibits skin rejuvenation. Often temporarily taking a daily supplement of 75 to 100 mgs of DHEA for a few months will block the damaging actions of cortisol.

9. Tight bindings, buns, braids, and so on, can cause hair loss. Keep your hair loose and fluffy.

10. Sometimes new hair growth can push out older hair shafts and there may be a brief period of hair shedding as the new hair shafts push out the old dormant hair shafts. Old, non-growing hair is held in the hair follicle for about four months before falling out.

Feel free to email more questions or call Skin Biology at 800-405-1912 during office hours (10 to 5 - Pacific time).

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Dr. Pickart i have a hair loss problem and i dont know what to do since i am only 25years of age. I was worried that all my hair falls. I browse on fb for the medicine since i read some forums that foltene thing helps a lot. Is this true?

Anyway here is the link that i saw on fb:
http://www.facebook.com/FolteneME/info

Any help please. Thanks.

From what I know of it, it is primarily puts fatty molecules on the hair shafts to make the hair look thicker. I am unaware of any published studies in scientific journals on any hair growth actions.

The hair loss in women can be due to hormonal changes. I started losing my hair at a very early age.I am a fashion designer,so my profession demands for social interaction. I lost my confidence because of my hair. An acquaintance advised me to go for hair extensions. These helped me retain my look.

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