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View Full Version : Bald spot....FREAKING OUT



amantha
November 19th, 2011, 08:31 PM
So about a month ago, I had this giant cystic zit (about the size of a dime) on my scalp....on the top and near the back of my head. It got to the point where I couldn't ignore it anymore because it was throbbing constantly. So I finally asked my boyfriend to sterilize a needle, poke it, and squeeze all the gunk out of there (TMI, I know, I'm sorry!). The squeezing hurt a lot, and I was left with a scab in that area. I made sure to put neosporin cream and a sodium sulfacetamide Rx cream on there for a day or two to prevent it from getting reinfected.

I was worried that I had done damage to the hair follicles there because the skin in that area was very tender for a while. I kept checking everyday for a week or two to see if I still had hair there...and everything was fine.

I went to the bathroom about 15 mins ago to brush my hair and noticed a bald spot, roughly the same size of that old zit, in the exact spot where that zit was. There's still a little scar there from it. I guess the hair had fallen out at some point and I hadn't noticed until now. :'(

I'm freaking out a little bit because it's kind of hard to hide since my hair wants to part near that spot naturally. I've also never had a bald spot before. Did I permanently damage the hair follicles so that hair will never grow back there? Is there anything I can do or take to make the hair grow back? If it will grow back, about how long will it take before I see growth?

I know this is petty to get upset about, but my hair is my one vanity. HALP!!!

FrozenBritannia
November 19th, 2011, 08:48 PM
not petty at all IMO. I don't think popping the zit did any damage, but I wonder about the cream you put on it? I used to use a zit product that worked quite well, till I realised that the bleached hand-prints on my towels were from me wiping my hand on the towel after applying the product.

Could you wear your hair pulled back over the spot for a few weeks until the regrowth comes in enough to camouflage the spot?

Yame
November 19th, 2011, 08:52 PM
How big is this spot? If it's just where the zit was, it probably isn't big enough to be noticed by anyone other than you.

I mean, I'd be freaking out at something like that too, but to put it in perspective, how likely would you be to notice something like that on someone else?

holothuroidea
November 19th, 2011, 09:00 PM
I don't know if this helps but I have a large scar on my head (about the size of my thumbprint) on the back of my head from where I had surgery as a kid. I remember that hair started to grow back after the skin healed and the scar formed. It took a couple of weeks but since then hair has always grown there. I really think your hair will grow back fairly quickly.

This is just based on a hunch so take it with a grain of salt but I don't think you did any damage and I don't think it was the creams either. Likely the skin there expelled all the hair to give itself a chance to heal and it will grow back when it's done.

I would be more worried about what caused the cyst in the first place and doing what you can to prevent them in the future.

amantha
November 19th, 2011, 09:01 PM
FrozenBrittania: I think Benzoyl Peroxide cream bleaches towels. I do use that on my face, but I would never put that on my hair shudder:. The sodium sulfacetamide cream is basically just a sulfur cream which helps kill bacteria and lessen inflammation. It even smells like sulfur. It's a pretty mild but effective antibiotic. For now I'm just trying to make sure my hair part is covering it. I guess I'm concerned that popping the zit caused damage because it was really painful while he was doing it and it ended leaving a big scab on my scalp.

Yame: It's about the size of a dime. The zit was about that size too. I don't think anyone is going to be like WHOA THAT GIRL IS BALDING or anything, but it is noticeable if I don't cover it with my hair. I guess I'm concerned because I've had a few similar things or irritated spots on my scalp in the past and never lost hair from them.

holothuroidea
November 19th, 2011, 09:05 PM
They use to use benzoyl peroxide to bleach hair and it is what they use to bleach flour, too (gross!). I had a very severe sensitization reaction to benzoyl peroxide where my eyes were swollen shut. Ack!

You say you use it on your face, are you acne prone? Sometimes acne can develop into cysts. Have you noticed any scalp acne?

amantha
November 19th, 2011, 09:07 PM
I don't know if this helps but I have a large scar on my head (about the size of my thumbprint) on the back of my head from where I had surgery as a kid. I remember that hair started to grow back after the skin healed and the scar formed. It took a couple of weeks but since then hair has always grown there. I really think your hair will grow back fairly quickly.

This is just based on a hunch so take it with a grain of salt but I don't think you did any damage and I don't think it was the creams either. Likely the skin there expelled all the hair to give itself a chance to heal and it will grow back when it's done.

I would be more worried about what caused the cyst in the first place and doing what you can to prevent them in the future.


Ah, good! Your story does give me hope! :cheese: I think the cyst was either from allergies...since I got it at the height of my hay fever and I had several of them on my face at the time too. Or it was just from my hair being oily in general and it was bound to happen sometime. I've had them happen a few times in the past, but never one this bad that I had to actually get someone to clear it out for me.

I just talked to my mom and she said she had a random bald spot appear on her scalp a few years ago, about the size of a quarter. Our hair dresser told her to take one of the B vitamins everyday, but she couldn't remember which one it was. She said after a few months, the hair grew back in. Anyone know which one it might be? I said Biotin is a B vitamin, and she said that it wasn't that. :shrug:

amantha
November 19th, 2011, 09:09 PM
They use to use benzoyl peroxide to bleach hair and it is what they use to bleach flour, too (gross!). I had a very severe sensitization reaction to benzoyl peroxide where my eyes were swollen shut. Ack!

You say you use it on your face, are you acne prone? Sometimes acne can develop into cysts. Have you noticed any scalp acne?

Yeah I am acne prone but it's not severe. I just get the occasional breakouts, a few of them being cysts. I use BP and Tazorac to keep things under control most of the time. I don't get scalp acne other than maybe the 3 or 4 cystic zits I've had on there in my lifetime.

Tea Lady
November 19th, 2011, 09:13 PM
I doubt this is what is causing your trouble, but thought I should mention it just in case. We sometimes see kids at the pediatric clinic I work with who have scalp Ringworm. This will cause a lesion in the scalp and sometimes hair loss. The only way to know for sure is to go to the doctor and have them take a scalp scraping to be cultured in the lab. It takes about four weeks to definitively rule out Ringworm, but if the doctor feels it is Ringworm upon exam, there is a medication they can give you. Note that the medication for scalp Ringworm is different from the skin Ringworm, so you can't clear up scalp Ringworm with a topical cream, as scalp Ringworm affects the follicle itself. Hopefully it is not that however.

Tea Lady

amantha
November 19th, 2011, 10:51 PM
Just bought 5000mcg of Biotin, 1000mg of MSM, and 500 Pantothenic Acid at my local Rite-Aid. Going to start them tomorrow. Hopefully it will grow back soon.

McFearless
November 19th, 2011, 11:03 PM
Be very careful with your vitamins and only take the recommended dose. I know some people on here go crazy with biotin. Best of luck to you, I hope it grows in quickly!

amantha
November 19th, 2011, 11:15 PM
Be very careful with your vitamins and only take the recommended dose. I know some people on here go crazy with biotin. Best of luck to you, I hope it grows in quickly!

Oh I will be careful! Trust me, I never wanted to take these vitamins, despite their reputation for giving people awesome hair, because I already take a bunch for migraines and iron deficiency. So I'm only going to take the minimum recommended dose. Even the minimum dosage for these is really high IMO. If my hair grows back in, I'll probably stop taking these particular hair ones after I see a good inch of growth in that spot....because I figure by then the follicles are healed enough to continue on their own. :p

Arashi
November 20th, 2011, 03:00 AM
Not to be a debbie downer or anything, but have you looked through some of the threads here about taking biotin for hair growth? From what I remember, a lot of people reported getting cystic acne after they began taking biotin... Considering why you got the bald spot in the first place, it might be a bit counter-productive!

Of course, no one could claim 100% that the acne was a result of the biotin, and not everyone experienced that effect from it, but just something to consider.

Edited to add a link:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=29563

jasper
November 20th, 2011, 06:32 AM
I think your hair will grow back. Anecdotal story: my husband had a gash in his scalp from a car wreck. The had to pull a chunk of glass out if his scalp skin. The hair in the area of the gash fell out, but regrew and the spot is not locatable now.

jacqueline101
November 20th, 2011, 06:48 AM
I don't know what to say except I do wish you good luck on your journey.

amantha
November 20th, 2011, 07:53 AM
Not to be a debbie downer or anything, but have you looked through some of the threads here about taking biotin for hair growth? From what I remember, a lot of people reported getting cystic acne after they began taking biotin... Considering why you got the bald spot in the first place, it might be a bit counter-productive!

Of course, no one could claim 100% that the acne was a result of the biotin, and not everyone experienced that effect from it, but just something to consider.

Edited to add a link:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=29563


Oh no! Thanks for showing me this. My friend has cystic acne and she said it cleared hers up A LOT. I'll take it for a week or so and see what happens. I'm actually more concerned about the migraines that people reported because I already suffer from them very frequently.

Does anyone know of any good vitamins for hair growth besides biotin? (I already purchased MSM and pantothenic acid).

holothuroidea
November 20th, 2011, 01:52 PM
Does anyone know of any good vitamins for hair growth besides biotin?

Sunshine, lollipops, rainbows, kittens. ;) Just kidding.

I would focus more on making sure the skin is clean and has an opportunity to heal. If you have aloe and raw honey, those would help a lot. Apply anything you use with a clean q-tip and not your fingers. I would also clean by gently dabbing it with a washcloth that has a very dilute mild soap and rinse using the same method. Baby your scalp, wash it gently, moisturize liberally and dry it quickly.

I've been doing some research on getting rid of scalp acne because I've had some develop since I went WO. I think the biggest issue is the scritching. If you scritch with your fingernails (or even absent-mindedly scratch your head during the day) you can create opportunities for acne and cysts. I really calmed down my acne by doing a bentonite clay and ACV scalp wash and I only massage with well washed hands now. Hope this helps. :)

amantha
November 20th, 2011, 02:44 PM
Thanks everyone for their advice! I really do appreciate it.

I bought a biotin vitamin at GNC today that's only 600 mcg of Biotin....so hopefully that will lessen any negative side effects while still adding some benefits.

In some good news, I'm at my Dad's house tonight because he invited me over for dinner. He's a physician and I had him take a look at the bald spot. He said there's already little dark spots where the follicles are growing back in. So I guess that means it wasn't permanently lost. Woooo!

Holothuroidea- I think you're right about washing that area gently. I had been on an SLS-free and cone-free shampoo/conditioner all week. I just randomly wanted to use an SLS/coney one today because it smelled good, and that spot felt irritated afterward. So I think I need go to back to the stuff I was using earlier this week.

Velvettt
November 20th, 2011, 11:24 PM
Before I started taking megadoses of any vitamin, I'd see a dermatologist. I know that in cases of alopecia areata, a steroid injection at the site can get the hair to start growing again if it's done early enough.

If you suffer from cystic acne frequently, a dermatologist is probably a good idea anyway.

ttverdy
November 21st, 2011, 12:13 AM
It's not unusual for areas with cystic acne to experience temporary hair loss. I've seen it in a couple of my friends and myself, pre-Accutane. The area of the cyst is greatly traumatized and infected, so the hair growth is disrupted. It's not permanent, thought, so try to just stay positive now, knowing that it will remedy itself soon! :)

Purdy Bear
November 21st, 2011, 02:37 AM
Damage directly to the hair folicle can cause the root to die off and thus baldness to occur. I would say in your case to keep an eye on the area. It can take a long time for hair to regrow depending on which phase it is in.

You can tell if the hair root is there by the colour of the skin, you can see it underneath the skin. With illnesses such as Alopecia the skin becomes very pale with no darkness underneath the skin.