Hair

In the past year I have decided to grow out my hair more then normal.   A little over 3 months ago I started to notice above normal hair loss but I just ignored it thinking it was more visible since my hair was longer.  A little after that I lost one family member who I was close to, it was really sudden.  Not long after I started to straighten my hair for the first time ever.  Just a month after losing one family member another went into the hospital, rapidity deteriorated and we lost them to.  Now I have a lot of dandruff, itchy scalp, and massive hair loss after a shower.  I had been really worried about hair loss after a shower, it seems as I lose about two combfuls a time in the front of my head after a shower and just a tad bit on the sides making me scared to shower.  Also I have developed an itchy scalp in the past few weeks, one night I awoke to find my self scratching so bad that I was bleeding.  Another thing that is weird is I've developed chucks of white flakes on the front of my hairline.  What do you think the problem is and do you think that the hair loss could be permanent or just the effects of either long hair/stress/flat iron?  I have attached a picture of the white flakes at the front of my hairline.

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi.

I understand that you have been under a lot of stress lately. This I believe could have aggravated your condition.

A differential for your case is a seborrheic dermatitis. Seborrheic dermatitis is a skin condition associated with a yeast infection. It presents as a yellow to whitish scales on the scalp. It may also affect other areas like the chest and the face.  It has been shown that stress and environmental factors such as the weather have been associated with seborrheic dermatitis. I suggest that you have this assessed by your dermatologist. There is no definite medical treatment for seborrheic dermatitis. Frequent and vigorous shampooing appears to be the mainstay of therapy for the dermatitis. Medicated shampoos are available depending on the severity of the condition. Seborrheic dermatitis has also been associated with diffuse hair loss which may explain your case.

I hope you are better now. You need a lot of rest .Maintain a healthy lifestyle and stay positive. Stress may not only manifest with skin and scalp conditions such as a dermatitis.It may also present in other ways such as headaches and muscle pains. So try to give yourself time to heal and rest. Your body needs it too.