For around 5 years, I’ve noticed that the hair across my scalp seems to grow a few inches and then fall out, only to grow back and repeat the same cycle. It’s been gradually getting worse over time, but it’s become significantly more noticeable in the past year.

It seems to happen all over my scalp, but I notice it most around my hairline, above my ears, near the nape of my neck, and at the crown of my head.

I don’t think it’s breakage, as the ends of the shorter hairs are pointed, which makes me think they’re new growth rather than snapped hairs. The hair does grow back after falling out, but it never seems to get much longer before the cycle repeats.

I have fine, wavy hair, and I’m wondering whether this could be related to a nutritional deficiency, a hormonal issue, stress, a scalp condition, or something else entirely.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar? If so, did you ever find out what was causing it, and was there anything that helped?

Hello, I have been reading posts on here for a while and appreciate and can relate to every single person on here on a journey that feels so unfair.

Pre 18 years old - For context I had the longest most beautiful curly hair up until about 14 then I had extreme hair fall (coincided with my periods starting I think) and over about 2 years lost 80% of my hair density. Looking back I was only young and so confused and didn’t have the support I should have at the time. Then once I lost majority it pretty much settled and I didn’t lose anymore.

18 - 22 years old - (Keeping this as condense as possible) I was using foam minox for about 4 years on and off and hair did slightly improve not of course to normal standards.

22 - 24 years old - As I got older I began to do my own research and switched to growplex and their natural DHT blocker. Also took pumpkin seed oil, omega 3, vitamin D etc. Never had like extreme re growth like you see in some people like baby hairs but it stabilised I never shedded. Just for context I also live a very healthy life style at this point - exercise daily and whole foods. I also never really had a real diagnosis always assumed it was androgenic as I had the widening part but also TE as I lost density all over. During the years I have had bloods done - never had hormone or thyroid issues (according to their ranges which I am now starting to question).

25 - now - I see a derm about 4 months ago and she diagnosed me with AGA and TE. Had my bloods tested and ferritin was at 40 so she said dose up on that and I did and my ferratin rose to 70. She also suggested spiro for the AGA element. Was so worried about this as I do believe in the natural path to everything but was pretty much getting to my wits ends with it it has taken over my life since the day it started.

About 2 months into the spiro I noticed shedding which has since then has not stopped. Before this I never shedded a hair since the extreme hair fall. For about a week it scared me then now I’m still shedding but lighter. What scares me is I don’t have the hair to lose. I have noticed new baby hairs on the top of my hair sprouting since ferritin rise and starting Spiro but cannot be sure which one it is. I have also noticed my hair has gotten so much darker. Also never have stopped minox foam and I do all the basics like bonding masks, peptide serum, aminexill etc.

Now - I don’t know what to do. Is shedding good is it bad. I get lost down holes of research people saying Spiro destroyed their hair and some people having great results and I end up so upset and confused and have to remind myself about all the other happy things in my life. I stopped dating years ago as I can’t deal with ever having embarrassment around it. My derm said the shedding is a good sign then some people say they went through so many derms to get to the right person.

Feels like an awful curse and so unfair - I am sorry to everyone else who is also going through this.

For ref pictures labelled 1 are before Spiro (4 months ago, doing natural approach and minox)

Pictures labelled 2 are now (added Spiro 100mg and kept everything else the same)

Thanks so much for any insight, I read everything and the community is great x

hi, I am 22F, I’ve had multiple TE episodes since the past year without any known trigger. blood levels are in check, so I really don’t know what’s causing my hair to fall out so many times.

i am planning to start minox but I am really unsure still, I don’t have a problem with regrowth, just want to control the hairshedding episodes.

do any of you have experience in starting minox in TE and has it helped you to stop your episodes/ to lessen your hairfall for atleast an year and did you eventually taper it off after your recurring episodes were gone?

I think I may have found the culprit of my scalp burning and hair loss…has anyone else had a reaction to this shampoo/conditioner? I’ve used it for 3 months.

Okay so I haven't been diagnosed. But I have had this pattern where I lose weight and then like clock work when I reach my lowest weight and stay there for a few months ...my hair start shedding ..then I'm so scared I gain weight again..but then I'm always still dealing with having to regrow the hair .....I have ED ...so yeah it's always recovery and relapse and then yeah my hair responds accordingly . I've decided to never relapse again and focus on regrowing my hair now ...I hope I never relapse again. I just choose hair over weightloss at the end of the day. When I am healthy and eating unrestricted my hair recovers and althought it's very fine ..I do have enough of it. My hair is very curly and makes coils curls when it's healthy. my dying wish is just to have long hair to my bum..but I've never been able to have it long because every 2 years I go through TE from relapse ....So no I refuse to cut it ever again . I've started topical minoxidil a month ago..and let's hope! I'm also using it on my eyebrows ...LOL .so let's hope I don't become chubaca since my forehead is so small.

If anybody thinks this could be Androgenic Alopecia...please let me know ..and why you think so?

Too broke to go see a doctor at the moment and given my history I've only assumed it's TE..since it's always existed alongside my illness.

Sorry English is bad .

Anyhow ...I've been shedding massively from taking minoxidil ..still shedding but it's seems less .The first week was crazy. I have such thin hair ATM I can't wear it down at all. It's completely see through...I'm so embarrast ..why I do this to myself ...meh..

mwa

my hair looks dirty on the pictures ..it's fully of minox and I've started flaking from it. Gross indeed .

For those of you who have experienced hair loss (Chronic T.E) after the COVID vaccine, how is your situation now? Has your hair loss stopped, improved, or are you still shedding hair?

I’m 24 years old, and unfortunately, there aren’t any dermatologists close to where I live, so I thought I’d post here to get some advice and see if anyone has experienced something similar.
My hairline was never great to begin with, but the hair on my crown and the rest of my scalp was pretty good. It was slowly getting thinner, but I still had considerably decent density until March 2025.
That’s when I decided to get a hair transplant while I was overseas. Looking back, my first mistake was getting a transplant without trying any medication beforehand, but it is what it is.
I work in real estate, which can be quite stressful. I also suffered a back injury that left me bedridden for a while, and I ended up gaining a lot of weight during that period.
The strange thing is that my natural hair never really grew back to the same density after the transplant. The transplant was only done to rebuild my front hairline. Nothing was done to my crown or mid-scalp. But for some reason, the hair in those areas never returned to how it looked just a week before I shaved my head for the procedure.
Around March this year, I grew my hair longer and stopped paying much attention to it for a while. Then I started taking retatrutide for about four and a half months and lost approximately 22 kg.
After that, I got another buzz cut, and that’s when I realised just how thin my hair had become. Now that it’s grown out a little, I can clearly see that my overall density is significantly worse compared to March this year.
What’s confusing is that nobody in my immediate family has thin hair, although receding hairlines do run in my extended family.
I’ve now been taking finasteride for about a month and a half and am planning to start minoxidil as well.
I’m just trying to understand what’s actually causing this hair loss. Could it be genetic hair loss, the rapid weight loss from retatrutide, stress, shock loss from the transplant, or a combination of everything?
I’m only 24, and seeing my hair deteriorate this quickly has been pretty stressful, especially when it was nowhere near this bad a year or two ago.
I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from anyone who’s experienced something similar or has knowledge about hair loss.

I have been experiencing shedding since around December 2025 so it’s been about 11 months now. At the same time I noticed shedding I found out that I had Ferritin 20 and Vitamin D deficiency alongside Folic Acid deficiency. I also had been eating very poorly all of 2024/2025 trying to lose weight (i lost about 2 stone in this period).

I have gone through TE once before in about 2023 but it didn’t last this long and I didn’t experience noticeable thinning.

I have diffuse thinning all over my scalp, it’s extremely thin above my ears and all around my scalp. I know my parting looks like aga but this has come about only this year and with the amount of hair I lose each day/wash I am not surprised.

I do have lots of regrowth coming though all over my scalp but not enough that it has helped with filling gaps yet, I still shed quite a bit.

My ferritin raised to 49 in May 2026 and am no longer vitamin d deficient. I also had a hormone test in which nothing abnormal was flagged. I also have regular periods.

I am looking for hope that this is just something I am going to have to wait out for another year before my density improves again. I don’t want to stress too much about aga yet as I am hoping this was all linked to deficiencies and my poor hair had enough.

Has anyone else with TE for this long experienced similar thinning and has recovered?

I haven’t seen a derm yet as it’s so expensive and i feel like they will just suggest minoxidil which I am really against taking as I don’t feel comfortable with the medication, commitment and wanting to get pregnant in a couple years time.

Looking for hope! Photos were taken in front of a bright window.

When my hair is wet scalps visible but when dry it looks like this am i goin bald?

I realised two months ago that the back of my head looked kinda strange but I didn’t inspect it closely until now. To my horror, I realised there is some balding. This happened to me two years ago as well, the sides of my temples suddenly lost hair but I was able to grow some baby hair back.

I have been under lots of stress and I have other health issues which cause me to eat a very restricted diet

why are extensions so acceptable but not wigs on Caucasian women?

I see wigs on famous women all the time. Not just celebrities but people with reality TV shows and also news anchors all the time.

But for average women, I don't think it's accepted in the white community.

It seems a lot of us are getting recurrent episodes of TE. Do you think it's true that once you've had it once, your body is more inclined to respond in the same way with other triggers? any new drug I start, I get TE with!

I wonder whether the sleep routine or specific hours helped you personally.

I'm aware that lack of sleep might contribute to high stress levels, but did falling assleep before 11 pm help anyone? Thanks

I noticed an increase in shedding in May that has continued through now. I was really sick in May (fever, etc) and experience nearly constant stress because I’m a law student. The last time I had COVID I also experienced a period of heavy shedding. Had bloodwork done and my Ferritin is a 23 and Vitamin D also pretty low. Does this look like AGA, TE, LPP or low ferritin hair loss? I’ve been to a derm and am going for a follow up and biopsy but was curious as to what this community thought.

Hi, this week I (32F) feel like I’ve lost half my hair!! I’m not noticing loads when I brush/shower but running my hand through my hair it feels so, so thin compared to my usual thick hair!! My timeline below:

- In February 2026 I was diagnosed with a ferritin level of 21 µg/L. I tried supplementing with iron tablets but couldn’t stomach them.

- In July I was diagnosed with Vitamin D 21 nmol/L and took a 6 week course of “InVita D3 50,000unit capsules” (one a week) and finished that course on 14 August. I didn’t then start a maintenance dose (my bad…)

- I have been B12 deficient for years and get injections. In September I was one week late for my injection on Sept 23 so I actually took it on 30 Sept.

- I only started BetterYou iron spray a month ago and haven’t checked my Vitamin D or ferritin since.

Would that timeline make sense for what feels like a really sudden loss of density in October?

So i visited a clinic to confirm whether it was TE or Aga but the derma wasn't available. They used something like a microscope? And showed me my scalp. Overall my hair was thick but the issue was there was just 1 hair per follicle, max 2... They told me that each follicle should have 3.

I've attached an image and that's how my scalp looked, it's not my image but I'm attaching it for a reference.

The thinning is on all over top of my head, crown area is most affected, cowlick makes it worse. My hairline hasn't been affected much.

I feel needleing sensation on my crown and sometimes on top of my head. Sometimes it hurts.

Can anyone please help until i find a good derma to confirm whether it's aga or te? I'm M25

Dear People,
I have been suffering from hairloss for close 10 years now, but i was always able to stop it.

1. I had it when i stopped birthcontrol and i nearly became balled so i went back on it.

2. I had androgenic alopecia and had to use more and more blockers so currently im takind the pill and 75mg spironolactone, which stopped the issue again and again as i climbed it up all the time.

3. In april my hair started to shed again and i was confused as im on DHT blockers and im not over weight at all and im small so i cant take more of these.
   I did a big blood test and turned out my iron dropped significantly between January and May this year.

Test
January 2026
Serum iron: 24.35 µmol/L
Ferritin: Not available
Transferrin: 3.75 g/L
Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC): 94.1 µmol/L
Transferrin saturation (TSAT): 25.9%
Hemoglobin: 140 g/L

May 22, 2026 -> started taking iron, folic and vitamind D supplements as prescribed
Serum iron: 8.3 µmol/L
Ferritin: 26.91 ng/mL
Transferrin: Not available
Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC): Not available
Transferrin saturation (TSAT): 9%
Hemoglobin: 143 g/L

September 2–3, 2026
Serum iron: 9.08 µmol/L
Ferritin: 56.27 ng/mL
Transferrin: 3.34 g/L
Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC): 83.8 µmol/L
Transferrin saturation (TSAT): 10.8%
Hemoglobin: 138 g/L

My hematologist said that im not a good candidate for iron IVs and he thinks we should find the gastro reason why the serum iron is not getting higher while being on a big dose of folic iron for 4 months(now 5)

My problem? Ah yes, my hair shedding became more and more crazy. I didnt know until i compared the pictures which i took on the same day every month.
I do ordibary peptide serum treatment, i massage, i take every pill i got sprescribed and my hairloss doesnt care.

I know the amount doesnt seem much compared to others, but believe me, this is huge amount for my little hair.

What do you think? Is it even still the iron or i should look elsewhere?

Im 29, female 55kg 166cm.

I’m getting extremely paranoid for over a week now. I last visited a dermatologist in September and she told me I only have TE, but I’m scared I might find a bald spot. The thinning is all over my head but it’s most prominent at the sides of my scalp. I got my thyroid checked and it’s normal. My iron had both MCH and MCHC lower than range but she said they were still normal. I haven’t gotten my ferritin and b12 checked yet. I’m visiting a new dermatologist tomorrow for a second opinion. Is this thinning more leaning to nutritional deficiency and not anything worse like AGA and AA?

For context, I noticed excessive shedding mid July that I didnt pay much mind thinking it was normal seasonal shedding, I was getting clumps of hair when brushing my hair and in the shower (I wash my hair everyday). Now the shedding is slightly stopping but I’m noticing that my eyebrows and eyelashes are also shedding, the ends of all my sheds have white bulbs at the end. My temples are naturally high but it still scares me.

As a very long-haired (F18) person currently in in a stressful time of their life, I started having pain in my scalp when i move my hair around for about a month. Is this how hair loss starts? I really don't want to lose more hair since I already had stress induced hair loss a year ago.