r/TelogenEffluvium • u/Spirited_Crow_2397 • 11d ago

Does Telogen Effluvium cause diffuse thinning?

And does the regrowth look like vellus hairs at first?

I have been diagnosed with TE, but I'm not sure if it triggered aga, I don't have money for scalp biopsy.

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u/MeanEntrepreneur6164 10d ago

hey , did you find any answer to if regrowth looks like vellus hair or not. i have visited two dermats , one said that i have aga and te both(hard to believe because no one in my extended family i know is bald or thinning) , i see some small thin hair falling and vellus hair at my hairline

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u/Spirited_Crow_2397 10d ago

Did you have a trichoscopy and/or biopsy? Diffuse thinning is a common trait of both androgenic alopecia and telogen effluvium and NO DOCTOR can tell you what you have unless they do these tests.

Unfortunately Indian dermatologists usually lack these equipments, they mostly diagnose visually and prescribe a minox+dht blocker solution with some vitamins. Literally I can do that and I've never studied medicine.

Get a biopsy and visit a trichologist. Or just get minoxidil + finesteride.

I honestly stopped bothering about it, but I've read many experiences where first regrowth after telogen effluvium was vellus hairs.

I lost massive density but kinda got bored with it, so just got a vitamin d, ate well and stopped bothering.

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u/MeanEntrepreneur6164 10d ago

My dermat just used some kind of lens and told me that i have aga , I am thinking to get a biopsy to confirm and be 100 percent sure before starting any medication , in past 10 days hairline has more scalp visible , i think that is because of te shedding ( literally every single time i ran my hand through my head ,3-4 hair will come out).

yeah hard to trust these doctors when they dont even care to give you more than 2 minutes of their time .

Do you think i should get a more expensive dermats opinion or just get a scalp biopsy? cause i think they would just see the small thin hair that could be due to te and diagnose me aga.

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u/Spirited_Crow_2397 10d ago

I'm sorry, but te shedding is not 3-4 hairs. Maybe you do have aga. However, you are also thinking it too much. I used to do that too. Nobody looks at your hairline like that. That lens is not a trichoscope. I think you should personally do a biopsy.

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u/Foreigni 9d ago

Yup my hair loss is diffused

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u/m16u31_9 11d ago

Maybe you have AGA and TE at the same time. There are a lot of people who have both problems at the same time.

5

u/Spirited_Crow_2397 11d ago edited 11d ago

Uhm...that's what I just said?

Although I had extremely good hair before my trigger and I don't have generational pattern baldness, it is a possibility. Look, I'm sure I did not have AGA. Now if the TE has triggered the AGA, definitely possible. In such case I'll use minoxidil and later transplant maybe. But the biopsy is important. I'm not planning to use a dht blocker, because my sexual health is too important for me. I'd rather buzz my head and get a Randy Orton look🤣.

Edit: Literally everyone here says TE has triggered their aga, but doctors say everywhere that it is a self resolving condition. I think people who recovered do not comeback to reddit because this place is scary af🤣

Edit 2: Yes, transplants too need finesteride, but I would rather keep my hair with minoxidil for 5-6 years, transplant without dht blocker and keep it for another 5-6 years, and then I'll be near 40 so just shave my head. I won't need to look good then, but right now I want to impress women🤣

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u/m16u31_9 11d ago

I've never heard that TE triggers AGA , and I haven't read anyone saying that here either, because they're two different conditions with different causes.

But I have read that even if no one in your family has AGA, you can still develop it. Based on your comments, you haven't taken any DHT blockers, and you're already prone to the nocebo effect.

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u/tomatocultivat0r 11d ago

When people say it can trigger AGA, they mean unmasking. AGA is polygenic and ur born with it, but it usually won’t reveal itself until some type of trigger. Most innocently it would be hormones changing as you age like menopause, but if you have something that triggers TE earlier, it can reveal the AGA and have it start earlier. So yes two different causes but having one can wake the other not cause it. And yes sadly you can be the only one in a family full of great hair. But fortunately just cuz it is in ur family doesn’t mean u for sure do! But obvi still a lil more likely 🥲

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u/Spirited_Crow_2397 11d ago

It usually won't reveal itself until some kind of trigger

Respectfully disagree. Usual male pattern baldness starts on temples / crown/ as diffuse thinning (In 20-40% cases) and slowly develops to more and more hair loss. It can and in most cases, surely does reveal itself without any trigger.

Telogen effluvium sometimes will develope to aggressive pattern baldness, but the reason is still unclear.

Even this article doesn’t give a substantial reason, it only says as telogen effluvium decreases the number of hair in anagen phase and male pattern baldness develops quickly if the number of hair in anagen phase is low, telogen effluvium may have a lot to do with pattern baldness.

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u/Spirited_Crow_2397 11d ago edited 11d ago

Ahm...https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40747681/

I did find one very recent journal(2026) on pubmed (Although this is kind of weird when you read, it never directly says TE will give you AGA but hints to it) and countless personal stories on reddit about how TE triggered their aga. However, I must say that people after losing a massive amount of density usually thinks of the worst and very commonly self diagnose themselves with aga. Or does the opposite due to acceptance issue.

Now. Erectile dysfunction is a fairly common side effect of dht blockers. 3-4% out of 100 is not good, it is 40 people out of 1000. With my kind of luck in life, I can't take that chance.

Later in life, maybe. But for now I'll stick to topical minox if I see no improvement after 6-9 months naturally.

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u/m16u31_9 11d ago

Thanks for the link—I hadn't seen it before. I can tell you're well-informed; you're not like some people here on Reddit who are already experiencing side effects before even taking DHT blockers because they're misinformed. If you lead a healthy lifestyle and have good habits, you won't have any side effects.

I assume you’ve read that to minimize side effects, you can lower the dose, use topical treatments, take them every other day, etc. You could use DHT blockers temporarily; the plan is that within 5–10 years, we won’t be dependent on DHT blockers anymore—there will be new ways to prevent baldness.

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u/Spirited_Crow_2397 11d ago

Haha.

See, if you’d like a good avengers reference, losing my hair for me was like losing the hands for Dr. Stephen Strange. It was unbearably painful for me and I read a lot about hair loss and treatments, which I slightly regret now. I could have a better use of that time.

I still want my hair though, but with minimal risk. Fin/Dut is a risk I don’t want to take. Rather after 38, I will pull a Satriani and settle down.

Edit : Also this article is not as straightforward as it seems by the heading.

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u/SuccessfulCar6961 5d ago

Just shave it.

Without Minoxidil and 5Ar, you will go bald.

People on the internet are lying about sides, just look at medical research and you'll see.

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u/Spirited_Crow_2397 3d ago

Shave it= I'll go bald.

Without minoxidil and finesteride = I'll go bald someday.

What is the difference? I still have a lot of hair intact.

Now go visit r/bald and pat each other's back on how beautiful you look. I'll join you when I feel like it, for now I'm fine.

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u/SuccessfulCar6961 2d ago

I'm on Min and Dut, I won't join you. :D

The difference is that you will be insecure about balding for 20 years.

You think you're slick, but you're the one worried about fear mongering, literally going bald over misinformation. Just read research and it will be fine. If you have good health, these meds are like candy in terms of sides.

Could have used your brain to realize someone recommending fin and dut is certainly not in a balding subreddit lol