Hello,

I am a 27 years old female. I started notice hair loss when I was 25. My parents are 60 something, and they still have lots of hair. I first visited a gynecologist on the problem with hair loss. The gynecologist had done ultra sound and said that I have PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome), he said this might because I have too much male hormone,etc. He said I could start taking Diane35 (a birth control pill), which would help to block male hormone.

However after taking Diane35 for 7 months, my total cholesterol and triglycerides levels were extremely high,and for this reason I stopped taking Diane35 in end of June.

I then went to see a dermatologist, he asked me to take a blood test and tested my testosterone level. I have skipped one month of taking birth control pills before taking this new blood test because I assumed that birth control pills would probably affect the result of the testosterone level. And my testosterone result was 80 ng/dL. (the report stated that the ref. value for female is 13-108). The dermatologist said my level was a little bit high; however, he said this should not be the reason of my hair loss... He then said the causes of my hair loss could be vary, such as stress, hormone imbalance (so he suggested me to take hair vitamins and do hair treatment - treatment of at least 10 times), in which it causes me $950USD per treatment & vitamins. ( I do not have money to pay for all those treatments)

* Could you please advise if my testosterone level is accurate after I stopped taking birth control pills for a month?

* Do you think my testosterone level 80ng/dL should be the reason of too much of male hormone, so this should be the main cause of my hair loss?

* I am currently using Regaine 2%. Could I use 5% instead since I really want my hair to grow faster? Would this cause any problems if a female uses 5% of Regaine? Would this affect me from giving birth in the future or affect my future baby?

* I am also taking Yaz birth control pills, the dermatologist said this could help. Thoughts?

* Would taking Pantogar helps?

* Anything else I could do to stop from losing hair? =***) please help me.. I am confused even after seeing the dermatologist and don't know what to do now.

Thanks a lot!!!!!!!!

The testosterone probably is not a problem.

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, then to calm your scalp and help hair health, the best would be to use the Emu Oil for Hair on your scalp in the morning and Folligen Lotion at night in denser hair areas and Folligen Cream on hairlines. 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 a new lotion based on tin-peptides but most reports are very positive.

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.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Skin Biology,

I have, and probably had for most of my life, testosterone levels higher than the clinical upper threshold (last time I checked was a year ago, and on a reference of 2-45 ng/dL, I had 52). For me, this is most likely due to a mix of genetics and having done tons of sports for my entire life, which I read can make the endogenous testosterone higher. But no hair loss problem. Matter of fact, I love it. I feel so lucky because with naturally high testosterone, you get to be strong, muscular and with high metabolism, almost effortlessly.


I only experienced lots of hair shedding once, a year and a half ago. I had a suspicion it was due to iron deficiency (I hate the taste of meat and chicken so I rarely eat them), asked to be tested for iron but the doctor only prescribed the complete blood count, which was all normal. I decided to go ahead and take some iron supplements anyway, and the hair shedding almost instantly disappeared.

So, in your shoes, I would consider what your diet is, and maybe test specifically for iron levels (total, binding capacity and saturation). Low iron can easily cause abnormal hair shedding.

For the birth control pills, in your shoes I would just decide either on for a long time or off for a long time. The worst thing you can do is go on-and-off, on-and-off, because it takes time for the whole body to adjust to a given type of pill, and it is far better to minimize the hormonal transitions due to interrupting and restarting it.

My dermatologist recommended I use Rogaine 5% for my hair loss, it is fine for women to use. I use the foam version twice a day on my thinning areas, and use Folligen spray all over my scalp 3X a week. I used to take Yasmin birth control but because of all the lawsuits my Dr. switched me to Desogen. The progesterone in Desogen is non-androgenic like Yasmin so it is safer for hair.