Is my hair too far gone?????

by William Taylor

I'm a white 21 male with fairly tight curly hair. Problem is when I was younger I used to wear my hair pulled back more often then leaving it down. I finally cut my hair and noticed that my hair along my temples is basically missing, one side worse then the other. AM I DOOMED??? Because it looks pretty bad and its not as though I can cover it up all the time. I can see minuscule fine baby hairs where there's the traction alopecia, and I'm praying that this is a good sign, right??? What signs should I look for, and how long would take to grow back out???

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Jan 14, 2009
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Traction Alopecia Comments
by: Seymour M. Weaver, III, M.D.

The effects of tension and traction on the hair follicles initially show up as inflammation with scaling, redness, and pustules around the hair follicles.

When this process continues on an extended basis, the hair follicles become injured and can eventually lead to baldness. In the most severe cases this baldness is associated with scarring and can be permanent. It would be necessary to look at a photo and sometimes perform a skin biopsy from the scalp to accurately state how much damage has taken place with the hair follicles.

You mention that there are still fine hairs growing in the area, so there is residual follicular activity present. The initial course of treatment would involve using topical and possibly intralesional anti-inflammatory medication to get the scalp to heal and possibly reverse the hair loss. It can take 6 to 12 months of treatment to see how much the hair will grow back.

If medical treatment does not lead to hair growth, then hair transplantation can be successful in restoring hair growth to the area.

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