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View Full Version : Treatment for Traction Alopecia or Receding Hairline



marla
March 21st, 2017, 08:14 PM
I'm a surfer and for years I've kept my hair in a tight ponytail when I go in the water. I see a lot of girls go in with their hair loose and I thought that would be awful for hair, causing knots and breakage but now I see that my method has resulted in a horrible receding hairline! I don't know if this is traction alopecia or just the effects of keeping my hair tightly bound, or if it's the same thing, or what, but I need help!

Can anyone recommend a treatment? Would it be better to try Monistat or instead a mixture of jojoba oil and essential oils? Perhaps Nizoral or some other anti fungal? I need to get this reversed as it is making me quite depressed. A friend posted a picture of me and before I could detag myself many saw it and I am so embarrassed, it looks so awful.

Any and all advice appreciated!

P.S. I want to add that I am a vegetarian but I supplement with extra protein and I do have my thyroid and other levels tested regularly and all are in check. I am convinced this is caused by tight ponytail.

Tosca
March 22nd, 2017, 04:56 AM
A dermatologist would be your best bet.

lucid
March 22nd, 2017, 05:11 AM
And in the meantime - stop wearing any tight hairstyles. :)

Start braiding your hair in a loose braid instead.

If it's traction alopecia, it will often go back to normal once you stop with the particular hairstyle that is causing it. So no more tight ponys or similar hairstyles :)

Arctic
March 22nd, 2017, 08:06 AM
Yes, ditch all tight styles, there are plenty of nice ways to wear your hair without putting pressure to the delicate hairline. I once started a thread about hairline friendly styles, if you go to my profile, click to see the threads I've started you can find it easily, I don't start many threads.

For swimming it is good to have your hair contained, long sheds floating in the pool are disgusting to other swimmers. Maybe a swimming cap would be practical, it would also protect your lengths from the water.

As for treatments, not sure if Nizoral will do any good for you unless you have yeast infection. Essential oils seem to work for many, there are few typically considered great for hair. SEarch for the Essential oils for hair loss thread here at LHC for info and recipes.

Castor oil especially Jamaican Black castor oil seems to be popular home treament if your skin can take oils (mine can't). Caffeine rinse help some people. I don't know much about monistat but I remember reading some people get great results. The most important thing however is to stop with the cause, that is, the tight hair styles.

marla
March 22nd, 2017, 08:15 PM
Thank you everyone. I was wondering if you think CO may be making the problem worse, i.e. if follicles are being blocked?

Arctic
March 23rd, 2017, 04:37 AM
Some people find CO washing increases shedding, but to my understanding it would be allover, diffuse hair loss. But if you happen to one of those people, CO probably wouldn't make the situation better. On the other hand there are many people who (and whose hair/scalp) adore CO washing, and they notice lot of new growth after ditching sulphate shampoos - it's very individual.

We have 2 lovely hair loss threads going on by the way too, one in the mane forum, one in the health forum, you are welcome to join there too for peer support!

Reyesuela
March 26th, 2017, 03:02 AM
My hairline has gained half an in on nizoral and minoxidil, but my problem was aging-related thinning. :).

marla
March 26th, 2017, 08:13 AM
My hairline has gained half an in on nizoral and minoxidil, but my problem was aging-related thinning. :).

Mine's probably age-related too. I am 53. I should have known that tying my hair back would exacerbate the natural thinning that comes with age. Can you tell me what your routine is? Do you mix the two? Use daily or a few times a week? Also, will conditioner interfere with results?

Anje
March 26th, 2017, 09:50 AM
Agree with the others, looser styles are a good idea. Rather than a tight ponytail, I'd suggest a braid that isn't quite so snug against your head. Containing your hair isn't a bad idea, but you're going to want to get comfortable with contained not equating to feeling constant tension on your scalp, which is going to take some adjustment. In general, pulling sensations are bad; I tended to see them as a cue to redo my hair.


As for treatments, not sure if Nizoral will do any good for you unless you have yeast infection.
Actually, it might. (Link goes to PDF.) (http://www.haargroeispecialist.nl/resources/product-files/files/Ketoconazole-Shampoo-Effect-of-Long-Term-Use-in-Androgenic-Alopecia.pdf) Ketaconazole seems to help hairgrowth even in people without seborrheic dermatitis. Now the study I linked was for androgenic alopecia, not traction alopecia, but it seems like it's worth consideration all the same. I don't think I would pair it with Monistat (miconazole) treatments, though, as the two active ingredients are related and overdoing it might not be good.

Reyesuela
March 26th, 2017, 12:35 PM
Mine's probably age-related too. I am 53. I should have known that tying my hair back would exacerbate the natural thinning that comes with age. Can you tell me what your routine is? Do you mix the two? Use daily or a few times a week? Also, will conditioner interfere with results?

Minoxidil 5% twice a day. Nizoral 1% shampoo on the scalp only 3x a week. Denorex on the other days (because minoxidil causes dandruff in my hair--ymmv--and Denorex has helpful stuff in it.

I've started using other things, but minoxidil and Nizoral have the best data. Nizoral works without fungus--they're not entirely sure why.

I do condition-wash-condition. Doesn't matter what you put on the lengths. I also use coconut oil to protect from protein loss from washing my hair so much. :)

I started with minoxidil 1x per day and Nizoral 2x per week until my scalp adjusted.

marla
April 2nd, 2017, 08:10 PM
Minoxidil 5% twice a day. Nizoral 1% shampoo on the scalp only 3x a week. Denorex on the other days (because minoxidil causes dandruff in my hair--ymmv--and Denorex has helpful stuff in it.

I've started using other things, but minoxidil and Nizoral have the best data. Nizoral works without fungus--they're not entirely sure why.

I do condition-wash-condition. Doesn't matter what you put on the lengths. I also use coconut oil to protect from protein loss from washing my hair so much. :)

I started with minoxidil 1x per day and Nizoral 2x per week until my scalp adjusted.

Thanks so much. I've been keeping the Nizoral on for ten minutes in the shower. I turn off the water and use the time to scrub the tub and tiles. :p

Reyesuela
April 3rd, 2017, 02:42 AM
You only need about 2 minutes! :). But that could work even better. Who knows? Check my sight for more ideas.

lapushka
April 3rd, 2017, 04:58 AM
You only need about 2 minutes! :). But that could work even better. Who knows? Check my sight for more ideas.

My leaflet says 5 minutes here in Belgium. On the web the info you find says 3 to 5 min.
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/PIL.4124.latest.pdf (.pdf form)

Reyesuela
April 3rd, 2017, 05:12 AM
Cool! There is no length given on the Nizoral bottle.

marla
April 3rd, 2017, 05:40 AM
You only need about 2 minutes! :). But that could work even better. Who knows? Check my sight for more ideas.
I'm not sure where I read ten minutes. But my tub is really clean!

Reyesuela
April 3rd, 2017, 06:35 AM
Haha! I bet it is!

marla
April 5th, 2017, 08:31 PM
I've decided that more is not better because I do think the Nizoral is drying for the shaft so I have reduced to five minutes. I think it's odd the bottle does not say how long to leave it on. I've also started putting it on my eyebrows as those have gotten sparse in the last year!

Reyesuela
April 6th, 2017, 04:03 AM
Minoxidil on my scalp made my eyebrows thicker and lashes longer. Eyebrows thin to an be caused by low thyroid or just plain bad luck (me!).