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Diffuse eyebrow hair loss and scaling. Is it AA?
Hello,
Since last August I have been experiencing scaling in the eyebrows and subsequent hair loss of the brow hair. It began as white gunk in the brows after a shower, and almost a year later I have lost about 30-40% of the brow hair.
I have tried a whole variety of treatment methods from desonide (steroid) to ketoconazole (anti-fungal), to anti-dandruff shampoos (Head and shoulders etc), to no avail. The paper thin scales continue to form and hairs come out with them. If I use any sort of oil product--cream or anything--a white plug at the base of the hair follicle forms and the hairs just drop out. So at present I avoid all creams.
I have been to two derms, each several times. The first said it was just eczema and told me to put cream on it. Hairs continued to fall. Second derm said seborrheic dermatitis, and gave me steroid and anti-fungal. Hairs continue to fall.
My most recent visit to that same derm said that she believes there is an underlying seb derm component but that there may also be an alopecia areata happening. Which is why I am now here.
My scalp is okay, though I do have thinning around the hair line/crown and temples.
Also fairly recent in the past couple of months is a surge of oily skin. My forehead just dumps out the oil and I am greasy after and hour of washing. Scalp hair is similar. The face oil is very odd since I have a history of atopic eczema skin--i.e. sensitive and DRY.
My GP has been helping me with blood work but all come back normal:
-thyroid is good
-iron is low but building and I am not anemic
-cortisol and estrogens all normal
My lastest tests include B12, folate and magnesium, as well as testosterone.
I guess my question to the forum is, does this type of hair loss sound like Alopecia Areata? Does AA cause diffuse shedding? Does AA cause scaling of the skin? Can AA start in the brows and cause hair loss before any noticeable signs on the scalp? The hair loss in my brows is pretty diffuse, though from time to time there is an area that looks patchy. Is AA associated with oil production?
I do have hairs in the brows and along the hair line that are regrowing, but they simply do not replace fast enough so my brows look pretty sparse. I am light skinned and dark haired, so the sparse brows look pretty haggard now.
The challenging part about the seb derm diagnosis is that all the derms insist that seb derm is NOT associated with hair loss. So....I am very confused!
Any insight on this situation would be greatly appreciated :D
THANK YOU!!
S
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by iiann robert on
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Hello Sarah,
My name is Robert I am a 41 year old male and have a very similar situation as yours. Back in November I hurt my back and had other complications which sent me into a very emotional and psychological stressful time. During that time I was sleeping 2-4 hours a night which wreaked havoc on my body. Long story short, In march of this year i noticed hair shedding from my eyebrows so I went to my doctor which did blood work and everything came back fine except my testosterone was on the low end. At that time there were no sings of flakes any where on my scalp or eyebrows. He gave me a referral to a dermatologist. The dermatologist visit did nothing for me. She explained what emotional stress can do to your body and pretty much sent me on my way saying she didn't think anything was wrong and suggested I go see a psychologist. :-/
I went back to my GP doctor and asked if he could do more blood work. He checked my thyroid in addition to vitamin deficiencies and everything came back within the "normal" range. I felt like he was just brushing me off so I decided to switch practices and visit another dermatologist. In April, the second dermatologist diagnosed me with seb derm by just looking at me and barely touching my scalp and brows. She gave me prescription for fluocinonide ointment and ketoconazole shampoo. Immediately after beginning the use of both of these, the scaling in the eyebrows and the white gunk in the brows after a shower started showing up. I was told to scrub the shampoo in really well both on my scalp and my brows, but the more i did the more eyebrows I lost. I try to carefully pick at the scales to clean it up, but with most scales I take out, there is a brow hair stuck to it.
Its been 5 months since I noticed the shedding and it has not stopped since. I usually slightly touch my brows with my finger tip throughout the day to get a sense of whether or not I am shedding. There are days that are bad and days that are not as bad. I also noticed that I am shedding from the scalp quite a bit when showering or styling my hair. It has definitely taken a toll on me both emotionally and physically.
My new GP told me that hormone imbalance can cause many things to go wrong. I have the oily skin as well and the regrowth of eyebrow hair but not fast enough to catch up with the shedding. The only thing that is "off" as far as my blood work is concerned is my testosterone. I am thinking/hoping, in my case, that its all do to the low testosterone and once that the culprit of it is identified and is fixed/stabilized then my hair will return back to normal. I am currently under treatment for testosterone and will be getting a new blood analysis in about 4 weeks. One thing that the doctor told me was that pituitary gland issues could also cause hair loss (hyperpituitarism). So, if the treatment I am undergoing for low testosterone doesn't work then that will be the next area to look into.
My doctor says that patience is the most important ingredient in this equation. But, its difficult to be patient and hopeful when the shedding just wont quit.
Do you have any other symptoms other than the hair loss and the seb derm?
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Hi Sarah,
I do have other symptoms but I am attributing it to the low testosterone and partially to anxiety. I believe that this has somewhat turned into more than just worry/concern and possibly an obsession which creates anxiety almost on a daily basis. I just canceled my appointment with derm tomorrow just because I feel it will just be a waste of time. Thank you for the information and links.I've been going everywhere trying to find information and most seem so outdated or just not too helpful.
Please let me know how the sea salt washing works out.
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Have you tried TTO (Tea Tree Oil) for over production of sebum? I have been reading up on it and there's quite a bit of people saying that they have used a shampoo with TTO or mix in TTO into their shampoo
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I also stared to loose my eyebrows since I got pregnant - especially the right one, its almost gone by now (half way due to conceiving). I also just recently started to loose eyeelashes too.
Checked thyroid + all other possible diseases that affects hair growth - etc and its all good. My doctors cant find anything wrong with me. My only conclusion so far is that this must be pregnancy related, and hopefully will grow back after birth.
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I also started to lose my eyebrows in a diffuse type of loss (from the nose and out) several years ago. They gradually get thinner over month/ years, especially the right one.
Since I got pregnant in january this year the loss started to increase in tempo - my right brow is almost gone by now (half way due to conceiving), 60% of the hair in the brows are gone. I also just recently saw a little "gap" in my eyelashes too.
Checked thyroid + all other possible diseases that affects hair growth - etc and its all good. My B12 was low, but they started to give me B12-injections a month ago, lets see if this changes anything. Also I have pregnancy related diabetes. My doctors cant find anything else wrong with me, several dermatologists ment this is NOT Alopecia because the hairless is diffuse (not "patches" or "spots" and have been gradually .going over years). I wonder of it still can be Alopecia?
- Have anyone in here lost eyebrows in a diffuse manner over years - but have full hair on the head (no hair loss on head)?
- Does anyone in here have any idea of what this can be??
- If anyone lost only brows - did you loose the hair on the head after, or did you keep your scalp hair - but lost brows completely?
- Can it be due to stress (high adrenaline/ cortisol levels) over many years? I have been pretty stressed over many years.
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Permalink Reply by Missellewoods on
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I had eyebrow loss before my Aa patches on my head
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Hello Sarah, I just wanted to know how things were going with you and whether or not you have had any progress. I have a doc appointment to get blood work done to see where things are at. But, other than that nothing has changed much. How are things with you?
-Robert
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Hi Sarah,
I just came back from a DR visit and my testosterone is on the rise with the new treatment I started 5 weeks ago. As crazy as it may sound, I've been trying to keep track of the amount of hair I am shedding from eyebrows. Aside from being a little obsessive, I really cant think of any other way to monitor any fluctuation. I know its far from accurate but I am more concerned with seeing overall numbers. In any case, I have noticed that in the last month I have had more consecutive days without much shedding. I still get the pasty stuff after shower, and once it dries it does become kind of hard and crusty, but even when taking them out, I don't always have an eyebrow attached to it like I did before. I am becoming more convinced that the sebum production is correlated to a hormone imbalance, at least in my case. I am still shedding, but seem to be having better days more often. Of course, having it completely stop would be the ideal. For now, I try to celebrate the "better" days.
-Robert
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I also stared to loose my eyebrows some years ago - especially the right one, its almost gone by now. Its a diffuse type of hair loss - from the nose and outwards.
Checked thyroid + all other possible diseases that affects hair growth - etc and its all good. My doctors cant find anything wrong with me. Also went to a term who ment this was not Alopecia because of the diffuse type of thinning over so long time.
Any tips? Hows the development in the brows with the original poster? Would love to hear anyones experience.
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