Hair loss at 23

I have had thin and fine hair all of my life. I am 23 years old and I have hair like my mom and dad except excellerated in loss. I would say that in 5 years my hair will be just as thin as my mom's hair. You can see her scalp all over through her hair but especially bad in the front. That is how my hair is already starting to thin. I can see my scalp more in the front of my head and you can see my scalp on other parts of my head if I don't put hairspray on it to stay in place. It is really frustrating. What can I do to fix it? What kind of doctor would I need to see about this?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
The causes of hair fall could be due to stress, fungal infections, alopecia aereata, hormonal imbalance(overproduction of dihydrotestosterone and thyroid hormones irregularities),malnutrition, telogen effluvium and sebum plugs on skin. Telogen effluvium is an important possibility. It is nonscarring alopecia characterized by diffuse hair shedding, often with an acute onset. There is a chronic form also which persists for a longer duration and starts with insidious onset. Chronic telogen effluvium is hair shedding lasting longer than 6 months. Treatment consists of medications like Minoxidil, surgical approach(hair transplantation) and improvement in diet.

I would suggest you to consult a dermatologist and get these possibilities evaluated. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.