Shedding from back of head (donor area)

[hairsafelife]

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I have diffuse thinning on the top of my head in the usual pattern. However, I have noticed some shedding (5-6 hairs) at the back of my head above the neck area. Essentially around the donor area, including that area as well sometimes. I noticed this when I very gently pulled on the hair in the back and some came out.

 

Is shedding hair in the back of your head considered to be normal and part of the normal amount of hairs shed daily? And does it matter if some of these hairs are a bit thinner? I just hope that I don't have DUPA...

 

Thanks!

[Dr. David Josephitis]

hairsafelife,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

It sounds from your post that you have normal male pattern alpecia. This is diagnosed, as you know, from the typical pattern that one sees on the top of the scalp. The donor area usually is not affected by this type of alopecia.

 

DUPA (diffuse unpatterned alopecia) is a condition that results in diffuse thinning throughout the entire scalp including the donor region on the sides and back of the head. These patients are not good candidates for surgery.

 

It is hard to determine how much hair you are losing from this area from your post. Remember that most people (even people without hair loss) lose 100-150 hairs on average per day. This is normal. These hair are going through the normal hair cycle. This hair is shed from all areas of the scalp, including the donor area.

 

If you are concerned about your donor region, I recommend you visiting with a hair restoration surgeon to get an accurate assessment of your donor area and a potential plan for hair transplantation if you are interested in that as well.

[gillenator]

You mentioned in the usual pattern...where then would you place yourself on the Norwood scale?

 

Do you have any pics that we could see what your concerns are?

[hairsafelife]

Dr Josephitis and gillenator,

 

Thank you for your responses. I am losing my hair on the top of my scalp -- thinning more in the crown area and middle top areas. Also behind the hairline. I went to two hair restoration surgeons. However, they didn't check my hair because they said I was too young. The whole reason I went was so that they could check for any miniaturization (in donor area/sides) using a microscope/whatever instrument is used.

 

What is the best way to get a scalp miniaturization test done?

[gillenator]

How old are you?

 

You can purchase a USB scope for relatively cheap cost and then look at your entire scalp using your monitor.

[hairsafelife]

I am 21. Is there any particular USB scope that you recommend? And would a laptop suffice?

[gillenator]

Just search online for USB scopes...any of them will work on any monitor including your laptop.