I have an appointment with my PCP in a few weeks, I went to the dermatologist a few weeks back who basically told me it was telogen effluvium and to get labs done at my PCP.

I just can't seem to see my PCP fast enough, it feels like every day I look in the mirror and see bald spots popping up everywhere.

The thing is, I can't think of anything that would have started the telogen effluvium. My life has actually gotten less stressful and I have been sick less than I was a couple years ago. I'm just so loss and every time I wash my hair or brush my hair, huge clumps are coming out.

Did you ever end up finding out what was causing sudden/rapid hair loss? What was it?

Any advice/support is welcome and appreciated! I'm just looking for support. I want to start wearing hats until I can get this figured out.

I've been dealing with hair loss for years and I'm at a loss, so I'm hoping someone here has been through something similar.

Background

2013: Major shed (~75% of my hair) after rapid weight loss. It stopped after a few months.
2021: Diagnosed with FPHL (thinning at the part and crown). Started 5% topical minoxidil.
2022–2023: Hair recovered really well. This was my best hair, even though I wasn't super consistent with minox.
Mar 2024: Started shedding out of nowhere. Labs normal, no stress, no diet changes. I got inconsistent with minox and stopped around Oct 2024.
2025: Shed Jan–May, stable briefly, shed again Jul–Aug, then stable from late Aug. My part improved a lot by Oct–Dec 2025.
Feb 2026–now: Shedding again, nonstop for about 8 months. My part is widening again, and my sides and crown look thinner.

Current treatment
5% topical minoxidil twice daily (since Feb 2025)
Spironolactone: 50 → 100 → 150 → 200 mg through 2025; reduced to 150 mg in Aug 2026
Finasteride 5 mg (since Apr 2026)

What I've done: Bloodwork (always normal), scalp biopsy (inconclusive so need to do a repeat biopsy), and a hair loss specialist. Still no explanation for why the shedding keeps coming back.

If anyone has been through anything similar or has some suggestions, I would be beyond grateful because I am at such a loss. Attached are my progress pics from 2025 to now.

Thank you ❤️

Hi, I’ve had hair loss for probably close to 10 years since my late teens but it was so thick when I was younger that I ignored it.

I’ve been stalking this sub reddit on and off lol for 3 years, but finally I’m thinking of taking the plunge with actually doing something about it.

I think my pattern of hair loss is AGA as it is thicker at the bottom of my head. I understand that minoxidil helps new hair growth but finasteride reduces hair loss (?) by blocking DHT.

I am taking iron supplements to push my ferritin into the 80s as it was 20something.

Do I start with both minoxidil and finasteride or just one? And are there are any clear benefits to oral forms of both or is it more to do with preference of application?

I would honestly just appreciate any advice or well wishes.

After years of literal suffering and years of minoxidil + Spiro +literally everything it just turns out to be ferritin 18.

The last time my ferritin got checked was two years ago when I was sick with mono and it was a 93 and I actually had no hair loss during that time. the sickness can cause inflammation that temporarily raises ferritin. however no one told me that so I just assumed my ferritin was great.

Now I get comprehensive panels like 15 panels and the only thing that came back bad was a ferritin of 18. My iron panel is normal otherwise and CBC is normal.

How did you guys raise ur ferritin and how long did it take to notice the shedding stop and regrowth come in? Im going to stay on minoxidil and Spiro cause id o have really bad hormonal acne.

After several years of hair loss (my postpartum shedding never really stopped, and everyone brushed me off for a while), my dermatologist finally did a scalp biopsy 2 weeks ago.

The results just came up in my portal, and while it doesn’t explicitly say AGA, I’m fairly certain this is the clinical diagnosis of AGA. It indicates increased miniaturization of hair follicles, with a ratio of 2.5/1.

I’m just really sad. I’m 37 and I’ve been complaining about my hair since like 33. I’m upset that it looks like this is AGA and going to be a lifelong issue, and I’m upset that it took this long for someone to listen to me (this same dermatologist brushed it off like 2 years ago as TE and told me to just start topical minoxidil and it won’t be an issue).

Deep down I think I knew this was coming because my hair is so much more wispy than it used to be. So much more hair in the shower, my ponytail is way way thinner than it used to be.

My follow up appointment is tomorrow and I’m just worried I’m going to get brushed off again

I’m feeling so depressed:/ I can’t do cute styles anymore cause i feel like my hair is thinning. I had a heavy shed in 2023 and some in 2024. I currently don’t have any shedding anymore but my hair density never came back the same. I have regrowth but I’m hearing that you can still have regrowth with aga.

need advice please. I’ve been feeling so sick to my stomach these past days. I don’t know if I can handle this.

My hair looks flat on top, frizzy on the ends, my hairline receeded back. I look like Bill Bailey.

I have lichen planopilaris.

I would like to know how you wear your hair and if you can give me any advice

Hey guys,

So I was diagnosed with AGA via scalp biopsy about two years ago, ever since I’ve been on MIN, FIN, and Spiro which has helped tremendously until about two months ago.

I noticed my hair has been shedding quite a lot and has lost visible amounts of density, this has been quite disheartening because I was finally feeling confident about my hair, didn’t worry about it much and it looked / dried great. Recently I’ve been having a lot of stress related to the fact my hair is slowly returning to how it used to look…loss of density, lots of loss, etc.

Nothing has changed, not my meds, my diet or anything significant in my life, no big events, deaths in the family, surgery or any of that. I’m waiting to hear back on my blood results from my doctor, but I’m just wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this?? I’m just worried ); everything was going so well and I’m already doing all the things, and I just worry it won’t come back this time/ will continue to get worse.

Thanks in advance <3

In July, I (19F) started taking iron supplements daily with vitamin C as prescribed by my doctor after a blood test showed "slightly low iron levels". I think it's also important to note that around the same time I was prescribed lexapro for anxiety (which has been working great). I've always shedded hair when brushing or showering, but since taking iron its become non-stop. My hair feels way more fine now than it did before and it just makes me super anxious. Edit: I only have about 5 iron pills left in my current dose with no refill attached.

So my question is, should I consult my doctor about this? And would you recommend I stop taking them once they run out or start taking them every other day?

There are so many dang products out there so I’m wondering if anyone has had legitimate hair growth from this serum? I’m not a candidate for Minoxidil unfortunately.

Short version: in one hospital paper, women with female pattern hair loss had lower average zinc than controls, but not a significantly higher share below the deficiency cutoff. In a large telogen effluvium series, only 2.1% of patients tested for zinc were deficient. Lower zinc shows up most consistently in alopecia areata. The placebo comparisons are small, old and conflicting.

Zinc questions come up here a lot, so I went through what the published papers actually measured. This is a summary of the data only.

Female pattern hair loss and telogen effluvium

• Kil 2013 (case-control, 302 patients analyzed vs 32 controls): 77 of the patients had female pattern hair loss and 47 had telogen effluvium. Average serum zinc was lower than in controls in every group. But when the authors counted people below 70 µg/dL, the female pattern group was not significantly different from controls (OR 3.44, 95% CI 0.94-12.54). Telogen effluvium was (OR 4.65; Table 3 gives 1.22-17.68, the article text prints 1.12-17.68).
• The detail I find most useful: the patients' overall average was 84.33 µg/dL. That's lower than the controls' 97.94, but it's still inside the 80-120 µg/dL range usually described as typical in healthy people. A lower average is not the same thing as being deficient.
• Yorulmaz 2022 (retrospective, 3,028 telogen effluvium records, one center): among patients who were tested, deficiency rates were vitamin D 72.2%, B12 30.7%, folate 4.4%, zinc 2.1%. Not everyone was tested, so that describes the tested group at one center, not a prevalence for every kind of shedding.

Kil and Yorulmaz aren't really contradicting each other. One asks whether low zinc is more common than in controls; the other is a large descriptive count from routine practice.

Alopecia areata

• Wu 2025 (meta-analysis, 10 papers with 878 people for zinc): lower zinc in patients than controls, SMD -0.69 (95% CI -0.99 to -0.39), I² = 76.5%. Copper didn't differ.

Zinc versus placebo (all in alopecia areata)

• Ead 1981 (double-blind, placebo comparison): no benefit of oral zinc sulphate over placebo. It's a two-page report, so details are thin.
• Sharquie 2012 (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover, 100 enrolled, 67 completed, 40 of the 100 enrolled were women): average baseline zinc was in the normal range. Full return of terminal hair at 3 months was reported in 22 of 37 on zinc vs 3 of 30 on placebo. Sounds strong. But 33 people dropped out for unknown reasons, the randomization method isn't described, and improvement continued after the zinc group switched to placebo, which is the carryover problem that makes crossovers hard to read for slow outcomes like hair.
• Park 2009 (uncontrolled, 15 patients with low zinc, 12 weeks): zinc rose from 56.9 to 84.5 µg/dL and 9 of 15 had a positive response, but the authors say this wasn't statistically significant. No control group.

None of these three papers looked at female pattern hair loss or telogen effluvium.

Why a zinc blood result is hard to read

Plasma zinc moves with recent meals, time of day, inflammation and some medicines and hormones, and the body keeps it fairly steady across a wide range of intakes (BOND expert review, 2016). So a single non-standardized blood draw can mislead, and papers that didn't standardize timing are harder to interpret.

What the evidence does NOT show

• That low zinc causes female pattern hair loss or telogen effluvium. The data are mostly case-control and cross-sectional.
• That zinc improves female pattern hair loss or telogen effluvium. None of the placebo comparisons above looked at either condition.
• That zinc reliably improves alopecia areata. The placebo comparisons disagree, and the positive one has real problems. Alopecia areata is autoimmune, and inflammation can shift plasma zinc, so the condition itself could lower the reading.
• That zinc deficiency is a common finding in telogen effluvium. In the large series it was the rarest of the deficiencies checked.

References

1. Kil MS et al. Ann Dermatol 2013. PMID 24371385
2. Wu R et al. J Cosmet Dermatol 2025. PMID 39739356
3. Yorulmaz A et al. J Cosmet Dermatol 2022. PMID 34449961
4. Ead RD. Br J Dermatol 1981. PMID 7016162
5. Sharquie KE et al. J Clin Exp Dermatol Res 2012;3:150
6. Park H et al. Ann Dermatol 2009. PMID 20523772
7. King JC et al. (BOND-Zinc Review). J Nutr 2016. PMID 26962190

Feels like j could make a whole doll out of this. I try not to panic that my hair loss is getting worse since the last time I washed my hair was Tuesday night and now its Sunday afternoon.

I started taking tirzepatide in February 2026 and stopped in late August. I was eating approximately 1,200 calories per day. By late August or early September, I began noticing significant hair shedding in the shower and after brushing.
Tirzepatide itself isn’t generally considered a direct cause of permanent hair loss. However, hair shedding has been reported during treatment, often in the context of rapid weight loss, reduced calorie or protein intake, or other physical stress on the body. This type of temporary shedding is commonly called telogen effluvium. It can begin several weeks to a few months after the triggering event and may continue for a while even after stopping the medication.
I’ve always had a thinner hairline, but I can now see more of my scalp. The hairs that are shedding also appear thinner and shorter. I also have itchy, sore bumps and significant dandruff on my scalp. Nizoral has helped with the bumps, but the shedding continues.
I recently had bloodwork done and am waiting for the results. My doctor recommended prenatal vitamins and oral minoxidil. I’m also taking cold-pressed pumpkin seed oil capsules, although I’m hesitant about starting oral minoxidil because of the potential side effects.
The timing may be consistent with temporary shedding related to tirzepatide-associated weight loss, low calorie intake, or nutritional changes, although other causes of hair loss can occur at the same time. Scalp inflammation and dandruff may also contribute to irritation and shedding. The bloodwork may help identify factors such as iron deficiency, thyroid problems, or nutritional deficiencies.
Has anyone experienced something similar after taking tirzepatide or losing weight quickly? Did your shedding eventually improve?

I don’t have insurance right now so the second i do I’ll be going to derm but does anyone have any tips on what to do I’m feeling hopeless i had a ferritin of 12 but got infusions in July i feel like id see progress and it feels like its gotten worse. All my hormone panels came back fine got tested for tons of allergies and stuff at immunologist , rheumatologist for my thyroid levels and stuff checked at endocrinologist all i can think of is either the ferritin or i was diagnosed with Lyme in June and they think i had it for awhile as i have some lasting symptoms. Could this be androgenic alopecia or Telogen effluvium ? I feel sick i used to have such nice hair i feel like idk who i am i dont want to be seen in public

Hi all,

I am thinking to buy a hair loss device etc irestore elite or theradome or any other alternatives! What device is worth it? I read irestore elite is the best but is very pricey! Is there anything that can give me the same results?

Just to share a bit of background, I've experienced repeated cycles of increased hair shedding since my early 20s. Around five years ago, when it first started, I saw a dermatologist because I was concerned about the amount of hair coming out in the shower and when brushing my hair. I was told it was likely telogen effluvium. She also recommended the derma vichy shampoos and stemoxydine (as opposed to minoxidil) to help with regrowth and thickness. The shedding eventually settled on its own, so when it happened again, I didn't think much of it. I assumed it was related to stress, as I've always found stress difficult to manage and had experienced several stressful events during my twenties.

I'm also a pescatarian who mainly eats a plant-based diet and live in the UK, where we get notoriously little sunlight for much of the year. Because of this, I thought it was reasonable to assume that my vitamin D and iron levels might be low at times. Although my blood tests have always been within the normal range, they've tended to be towards the lower end, and my GP has mentioned that some people can be more sensitive to lower nutrient levels than others.

Skip forward a few years, and I started to notice that the hair on my left temple appeared thinner than on my right, and that my scalp was more visible on that side when I wore my hair up on certain days (no more messy high buns at the gym). I booked an appointment with a different dermatologist. If I'm being honest, I think I was mainly looking for reassurance that there was no scarring and that the hair would eventually grow back on its own.

He carried out a visual examination and said he could see signs of miniaturisation around both temples. His opinion was that there was evidence of FPHL alongside telogen effluvium, but that it was still in the very early stages.

While I'm upset by the possibility of FPHL, I know that early detection leads to better outcomes and I've decided that I'd rather be proactive than dwell on it. At the same time, I feel a bit stuck between wanting to act quickly, given the importance of early treatment, and wanting to be more confident in the diagnosis before starting medication. I worry that if I rush into treatment and it later turns out not to be FPHL, I could end up making the hair loss worse rather than better.

I've looked into both medications and can see that, while they can be effective, neither sounds particularly appealing. I'm probably more hesitant about minoxidil because of the possibility of a dread shed and some of the negative experiences I've read about from other people. That said, irregular periods and breast tenderness from spironolactone don't sound like much fun either.

At the moment, I'm leaning towards starting spironolactone when I get back from holiday in late November. However, I still have a nagging feeling that I should either get a second opinion or have some further testing before committing to treatment.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been in a similar situation, especially if you've been diagnosed with FPHL, dealt with telogen effluvium, or have experience with spironolactone or oral minoxidil. I'd welcome any thoughts, experiences, or advice on this matter.

i’m 22. over the years, i’ve had diffuse thinning throughout my entire head (most obv at part line, but it’s pretty thin all over my scalp) since 2019. the amount of thinning i have had has been relatively stable for 7-8 years (since i was 15). but recently, i noticed that on the mid to back part of my crown, there are several short, spiky hairs that look decently thick and are pointy on the ends. i am wondering if it’s possible that these hairs are new growth. i’ll detail more about my hair journey below.

i got formally diagnosed with chronic iron deficiency and low vitamin d, and i believe was deficient these two things for much longer than i realized. probably off and on for most of my life. thyroid and other deficiencies and disorders have been checked for and are all normal.

i started getting iron infusions 1 year and 7 months ago. those have been helping to bring my ferritin up but my levels had been quickly dropping back down (within 3 months of each set of infusions). Around 5 months ago, i started a weekly prescription strength vitamin d pill because my hematologist noticed i was also very low in it (for who knows how long). the last blood test i had back in july showed that both my vitamin d and ferritin were at optimal levels (stabilization has never happened before since beginning my infusions). so this has been exciting news.

since my iron and vitamin d have been stabilized, i have been feeling a LOT better overall. i’m less sore, and am way less tired. now that my fatigue and other deficiency symptoms are a lot better than they used to be, i have one main worry, my hair.

i have also been focusing heavily on reaching optimal gut health, because i think a lot of my deficiencies are caused by bad gut health and low nutrient absorption (i’ve had scopes and other tests and they cannot find any real reason for my ongoing deficiencies). i am noticing inflammation in my body start to go down, i bloat less, i have dropped some water weight, i feel lighter and more energetic, etc. i am really hoping that whatever ive been doing is starting to work but the appearance of my hair definitely still bothers me a lot.

i have an appointment with a dermatologist next week. i have a feeling they’ll prescribe me minoxidil (and likely spiro too). if they do, id honestly prefer OM as opposed to topical bc i have two cats. but im really scared to commit to a lifelong medication. I also have an appt with a gyno to rule out PCOS or any other hormonal issues. I have dealt with what feels like hormonal issues for a while, but can’t tell if they are just from my deficiencies or something else.

has anyone had a similar experience to mine? does anyone have any advice?

Picture of my hair at age 14 before the thinning

Hi Everyone.

I’m 25 and growing up I always had very dense hair until I was about 17 and started experiencing hair loss. I had blood tests at the time which were inconclusive, but looking back I feel it was a combination of nutritional deficiency and stress (I went vegetarian but didn’t factor in my protein intake and also had quite unstable mental health). Since then I’ve lost about 50% of my hair density, if not more from the lower section of my hair. The hairs are much thinner and less dense than those on the crown.

I’m still vegetarian and now have very good levels, but still struggle with my mental health which sometimes results in major hair loss during anxious periods.

I’m currently using topical minoxidil, hair oiling and have had 3 sessions of microneedling. I know hair regrowth takes a long time so it’s hard to say whether or not any of this is working, but time will tell. Has anybody recovered from thinning and if so, what did you do to get there?

Back in july i posted about my hair falling out in clumps after my periods went haywire. got a ton of good advice so figured id report back

what i actually did

bloodwork first like everyone said. ferritin was low so i'm on iron now

stopped wearing my hair in a tight clip every day

started live conscious clinical hair growth+ capsules a day with dinner

silk pillowcase bc why not at this point

results so far: shedding is way down. i used to pull a small nest out of the drain every shower and now its a few strands. tiny baby hairs along my part that my hairdresser pointed out last week. overall volume isn't back yet but the brand says 3 to 6 months so im giving it the full 6

no idea how much is the iron vs the supplement vs everything else. but i went from crying in the bathroom to feeling kinda hopeful so that's something.

Has anyone dealt with forehead veins from taking topical minoxidil? Since I started, I swear I have these two forehead veins in the centre of my forehead that are absolutely popping now 😂 idk if it’s due to minoxidil or creatine though

I’ve just been given a prescription for 5% minoxidil from hair and me, the topical serum. I am hesitant to use it due to stories about dread shed. What were your experiences with dread shed? Is it something to be worried about? I’ve added photos of my hair currently if that helps. As much as id love to replenish the hair I’ve lost, I don’t know if id be able to handle losing a lot more. I know it’s worth it though. Thanks :)

So I’ve been using topical minoxidil for a while because after 2 pregnancies I noticed my (admittedly fine) hair getting thinner. I’ve not really taken pictures before? I’m not sure why as it seems really obvious to do so 😂 I guess I just focussed on what I could see, but I’ve been using the foam for a good while anyway. Doesn’t seem to be doing a lot? I found on this sub that it’s supposed to be twice a day - I’ve only been doing it once and was SO PROUD I’d actually made it a daily habit so that was a real kicker lol. Im unsure if this is TE or AGA or something else, any insight is appreciated…

I started digging and found some blood results that said I had ferritin level of 19 in September 2025… so I can’t imagine it has gotten better. I know I need bloods done, I will, I just really hate doing them so I started the Thorne iron supplement (gentle formula) asap and my fatigue has improved massively. On the other hand, I also started GLP medication (another huge factor I imagine) but hope to be off in the next 6 months.

So, I realise I’ve got a fair few active offences going on here, but I’m fairly new to this and just wondering if anyone has had their hair truly come back from this sort of thinning? I’ve never had a lush full head or anything but I want to maximise whatever potential I have (I’ve never really tried much with my hair in the past!).

I would love to take oral minoxidil but I already have quite low blood pressure, Reynauds, and generally suffer terribly with the cold lol. I used to get very easily lightheaded / car sick but this has actually improved with weight loss, weirdly. I wonder if it’s worth a go and just monitor? Has anyone else with low BP taken it?

TLDR low iron, glps, has anyone been in this situation and come back better than before? Crazy naive? 😂