small hairs

Thank you for your answer to my previous question.  (Nickname is Silver_Surfer.  I asked a question on November 15th about hair pull tests.)  It was quite helpful.

As stated before, I am a white male, almost 29 years old.
As I also mentioned, I have a section of hair near the crown that grows at an angle and lays down flat on my scalp.

I am a bit self-conscious of this area (always have been) and I lately I’ve had a tendency to pull at that section just to see what the hair strands look like.

The problem is that the hair strands that I pull from this flat spot look different from the hair that comes out as a result of normal shedding.  I don’t get a lot of hair strands when I pull at this flat spot.  Only one, or a few, at a time.  It’s just that the hair looks like vellus hair more than anything else.  (Thin, maybe a millimeter in length.  Sometimes shorter.)  Looking at the scalp, the hair in that area looks relatively healthy.  I haven’t noticed an increase in shedding or hair loss in any area.  The only odd thing is that when I pull at this one spot, I seem to pull out only small or weaker hair.

I know this is a psychological thing.  (Obsessive-Compulsive)  And I’m working on getting through that.  That’s a separate issue, obviously.

I also know that one shouldn’t focus on the hair that he or she pulls out (unless it’s in clumps or something like that).

My wife keeps telling me, “Relax. Don’t focus on these hairs.  Because your hair grows flat at that spot, you’re probably not able to grab on to too many hairs like you would be able to if your hair grew up away from the scalp.  And so the only things that come out are the weakest hairs, the ones that have shallow roots anyway.”

Does this explanation sound reasonable?  I really don’t want to schedule an appointment with a physician or specialist if this is something normal that I’m just obsessing about.

Thanks,
S. S.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Concerning your obsessive -compulsive disorder, you write, "That’s a separate issue, obviously."  But I don't think that's obvious at all.  I think you are obsessing about your hair and looking at it altogether too closely.  I doubt that the minute observations you have made mean anything at all.  And I can't think of any way for you to know this other than to see a doctor who can actually look and tell you this.  You don;t want to see a specialist if this is normal, but unless you do, how will you know?

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff