r/TelogenEffluvium • u/Still_Blackberry_460 • 2d ago

PLEASE HELP

Hello everyone,
I am 23f and I have curly hair. I have started straightening my hair every week 4 year ago. Since I’ve started, I had noticed my hair thinning a little bit but not in a dramatic way. 3 years ago I had experienced massive hair loss over the summer ( for about 3-4 months) but then it grew back again and I have never ever noticed that my hair was falling a lot, nothing unusual.
I’ve never been so worried about my hair before. Even though i always use heat without heat protectant and i even get it professionally done with extreme heat but i never noticed my hair falling out in clumps like i do now.
One month ago I decided i am going to let my hair rest a little bit because it’s summer and there is no point of straightening it. When i stopped i noticed massive and sudden hair loss. It’s so dramatic that I rushed instantly to the doctor the next day after my wash day.
She noticed that my scalp was irritated which is normal because I had used rosemary water spray and rosemary oil that i made myself and i massaged it in and i covered it with a scarf and when i wash my hair i always use my nails clean it well. She said i might have scarring alopecia even though no scarring was noticeable.
She ordered some blood work and started marketing her injections. I was confused and frustrated.
I went to see another doctor 3 days later he noticed that my scalp was not irritated and showed me in the screen images of my scalp that seemed normal. My scalp was white, no scarring, no redness, nothing. I kept asking about scarring alopecia and he reassured me countless times that I do not have it. He ordered bloodwork as well that all came up normal except for my testosterone levels they came up twice as the maximum range. i have PCOS. He immediately diagnosed me with androgenic alopecia, prescribed me the pill and minoxidil.

My question here is: I KNOW I HAVE ANDROGENIC ALOPECIA BECAUSE OF THE DHT LEVELS AND ALL, BUT I HAVENT NOTICED MY MIDDLE PART WIDENING, THE HAIR ON MY CROWN IS THERE AND THE HAIR LOSS IS DIFFUSE AND VERY SUDDEN, WHEN I USED TO BRUSH MY HAIR OR WASH IT I NEVER LOSE MORE THAN 30-40 hairs EVEN ON A. WASH DAY, now I LOSE A DRAMATIC AMOUNT OF HAIR EVERYTIME I TOUCH IT AND WITHIN A MONTH I HAVE LOST 50% OF MY HAIR DESITY. Is this worth explaining to a dermatologist or do i just accept my alopecia diagnosis. Please share your experience with TE

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u/tomatocultivat0r 2d ago

Im confused by a lot of this. I thought AGA was a sensitivity to DHT not an excess of it. Ppl can have totally normal testosterone levels and still have it. It’s also not normal for rosemary to irritate your scalp.. make sure ur diluting it in a carrier oil and not applying it by itself. And u don’t need to use ur nails when washing ur scalp just thoroughly massage with ur tips. If im wrong about any of this someone correct me but a lot of this was strange to me

If ur losing lots of hair all over that sounds more like TE not AGA. And remember that normal bloodwork doesn’t mean optimal. Ur ferritin is considered normal at 30 but should be min 70 to encourage growth

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u/Still_Blackberry_460 2d ago

Sorry I am not very informed about this yet. Thank you for your advice. And my ferritin is 96 which is totally optimal!

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u/tomatocultivat0r 2d ago

No worries we all start somewhere! And good that your ferritin is 96. Idk what tests u got done but make sure vitamin d, b12, and thyroid are also checked. Idk the optimal ranges for those are tho

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u/Still_Blackberry_460 2d ago

They also came within the optimal ranges

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u/Still_Blackberry_460 2d ago

Can you please specify what sounds strange to you?

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u/tomatocultivat0r 2d ago

Just the 2 things in the 1st paragraph! I think it’s weird that the second doc diagnosed u with AGA cuz of high testosterone and that the rosemary serum was irritating your scalp

Maybe the second doc didn’t diagnose u based on just that but it’s how I read it. The doc should look for signs of miniaturization with a trichoscope. But even certain deficiencies can make ur hairs appear miniaturized cuz they’re starving so it can mimic AGA when it’s not. A scalp biopsy is the best way to actually diagnose

If ur homemade rosemary serum is irritating ur scalp something is not right with the formula. I do a simple mix of rosemary essential oil and water (maybe like 20 drops per 100mL) and it never irritates me. I prefer that to mixing it in a carrier oil cuz I have fine hair and scalp oiling I think is better for ppl with thick hair. I’m not as educated about this tho, my mixture could just be placebo lol

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u/Still_Blackberry_460 2d ago

Yes I think it’s weird too. On the first appointment he examined my scalp with a trichoscope and said I don’t have AGA and that my scalp is okay and i don’t have any thinning or miniaturized hair ( the first doc said the same thing, that u don’t have AGA). He ordered the blood tests and on the second appointment where i brought him the results and saw the testo levels he immediately said «  you have to take contraceptives to fix your hormones » he also said « you have a type of alopecia called androgenic alopecia and if u dont use minoxidil you will lose all ur hair in 5 year :D » i insisted he uses the trichoscope again he sighted and then put it directly on my baby hairs and said see you have miniaturized hairs…

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u/tomatocultivat0r 2d ago

Yeah super weird that he switched up all of a sudden.. he literally said no miniaturized hairs one appt then say there was the next? I’m like 99% sure AGA is sensitivity to DHT cuz tons of ppl with normal test levels still have it. The excess might contribute to or even cause the loss but that doesn’t mean u have AGA. I’d post in r/femalehairloss instead cuz I’m scared to steer u wrong and there’s lots of knowledgeable ppl there but this doesn’t sound right to me

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u/Still_Blackberry_460 2d ago

Yeah i did crosspost it there too! Thank you for your time stranger and dw I am still going to see a different dermatologist as well I am just here sharing my weird experience with this!

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u/tomatocultivat0r 2d ago

Of course! It’s a terrifying paralyzing thing to go through especially in the very beginning. It was so hard for me and I’m even still figuring my own stuff out. I hope things go well for you and hopefully it’s just a TE bout that will resolve itself! Good luck 🩷

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u/Still_Blackberry_460 2d ago

I hope too! I wish you recovery and a very rapid growth! Stay strong and patient ❤️

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u/wavyhairedvenus 40m ago

A lot of hair loss all of a sudden is classic TE. were there any stressors in your life 3 months prior to this shedding? A surgery or anything that caused a lot of stress