The scalp inflammation/itchy/burning/tingling thread

[goldnt]

When i first started to lose my hair i got these, it would bother me so much. i would scratch it or just do a hair pull test and noticed i would lose hair there. Over time these places were spots that had a lack of hair. For example i would get that sensation on the crown area in the cow lick area. 2 months later and that area is a small bald spot. i would also get that in my hairline area where im receding. Once i got on ru though i dont get those anymore. Unless i dont apply it or i get a bad batch of ru i start getting those sensations and hairloss. Thats how i know when i get a bad batch of ru.

[OrdinaryUser]

Like a lot of you it seems, my first onset of hairloss was accompanied by burning, itching, etc. It then happened intermittently when my hairloss episode slowed down a little. Another contributing factor for these sensations of the scalp was when I trialed Rogaine about 6 months ago. In conjunction with worsening my hair by thinning it all over in what I hope to be just a reversible shed, it also gave me the itch I experienced the first time I had hairloss, but this time it was worse and there were red nodules forming on my scalp that have since scarred.

I stopped Rogaine and tried ketaconazole with no relief. I then got on finasteride, a low dose, and only gave a little relief. What has given be the best relief and a removal of at least 3/4 of the itch is salicylic acid. It could be a good addition to any regimen to help with overall inflammation.

[Stressed]

Hi guys does anybody know why my scalp has only STARTED itching now after 5 months on propecia?? Iv never had this problem and only had a receding hairline when i started.. I started minox 4 weeks ago but i only apply it on the hairline. My whole head itches in places and when i scratch it and tug the hair atleast 3 hairs come out at a time. I also started keto shampoo 4 weeks ago but stopped it a week ago thinking it was causing the shed. It is obvious now that it wasnt. Help please??

[35YrsAfter]

Hi guys does anybody know why my scalp has only STARTED itching now after 5 months on propecia?? Iv never had this problem and only had a receding hairline when i started.. I started minox 4 weeks ago but i only apply it on the hairline. My whole head itches in places and when i scratch it and tug the hair atleast 3 hairs come out at a time. I also started keto shampoo 4 weeks ago but stopped it a week ago thinking it was causing the shed. It is obvious now that it wasnt. Help please??

Everyone I know (including myself) has gone through a time when their hair thinned considerably. My worst shed happened ten years ago. It all grew back. Coincidence often causes us to jump to conclusions. My advice... Stay healthy, use all of the proven oral and topicals and look forward to more effective treatments coming our way fairly soon (2.5 - 6 years).

35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office - forhair.com - Cole Hair Transplant, 1045 Powers Place, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009 - Phone 678-566-1011 - email 35YrsAfter at chuck@forhair.com
The contents of my posts are my opinions and not medical advice
Please feel free to call or email me with any questions. Ask for Chuck

[ash86]

Black tea rinses are a DHT blocker bc of the caffeine in it, you should try that.. try it once every 2 weeks after washing your hair.. follow up with a moisturizing conditioner bc the black tea rinse can be drying to your hair

[Dench57]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but it's the best I've found with people in a similar position to me.

I've been on Propecia for 3 months now and I am absolutely certain it has caused my burning/scalp itch. I seem to be an extremely rare minority, as most people's itch stops once they get on Propecia.

I've had receding at the temples for 3-4 years and never experienced any itching, 2 months into Propecia and BAM I got this burning/tingly sensation above my temples. Fast forward 1 month and this area has thinned considerably, where I never had thinning before. I've spent hours trawling through threads and 90% of people agree this sensation is followed by hairloss and is DHT "attacking the hair follicles. I cannot work out how Propecia could cause this itch since it supposedly lowers DHT. The only thing I can think is an increase in Test, since I have had a higher sex drive since this itch started. I've been using Regenepure shampoo for the past few weeks but it's not helping. My hairline has worsened faster in the last 3 months than it had in the last 3 years. I just don't understand how Propecia could possibly be causing this. I'm going to come off it for a few weeks anyway and hope to god the itching stops because it's unbearable, 24 hours a day.

[Ziggyz123]

Dench57, I am experiencing something very similar. The only difference is that I've been on finasteride for a year and 3 months. At the one year mark ( October ) a huge she's hot me. I never had a shed at all during finasteride until this point. My hairline thinned considerably on the left side and receded a bit along with a burning/stinging sensation. The shed hasn't been as bad as it was in December, but I still get a burning/sting sensation along my hairline and on the sides. I think it may be caused by a shedding cycle synchronized with a fin shed.

In your situation, shedding in the first 2-6 months is extremely common. You may have more follicles entering the shed at one time then you normally would due to the effects of finasteride. This would cause that type of sensation similar to what people get during telogen effluvium. I'm not positive about it though so don't quote me on it, but I've read some stories of people shedding on fin and having that issue and it clearing up after the hair re thickens.

I too started weaning off of fin, but found myself taking it again at the 1.25 mg dose hoping that my hair will thicken up in the coming months.

[Ziggyz123]

Meant to say in October a huge shed hit me... My phone sucks

[awesome1]

For me, I'm pretty sure seborrheic dermatitis is the cause of my itch. I've noticed for years now my skin sheds a lot and I've got some bad beard dandruff, excess sebum production in my ears, and sometimes my chest hair gets a rash, where it is thick, along with scalp itch.

Hair loss started with some vertex thinning and now noticing temples getting pretty thin. Only way I treat it is with keto shampoo(regenepure) and water/apple cider vinegar mix as a conditioner. Seems to help with the itch but sometimes i notice it get itchy just a few hours later. Doctor also gave me selenium shampoo which is good on affected areas, like my beard and chest. Just don't like the smell of it that lingers all day.

[Dench57]

Thank you for the responses guys, it helps being able to talk about this stuff.

Ziggy - was Finasteride working for you before? And have you noticed any regrowth from the shed that hit you?

The burning/itch has definitely been localized to an area above my right temple where it's thinner than ever, and I'm worried it will never recover. The reason I'm so concerned is that I can find countless information on various Propecia side effects, shedding and so on, but there's very little people who've had Propecia cause this burning sensation so I really don't know what's happening.

From all I've read it seems shedding on Propecia can generally be taken as a good sign, but burning/itching of any sort is a bad sign - it's basically just the feeling of your hair getting attacked. There's plenty of people who say they shed and the hair came back stronger which is great. But I can't find anyone who's had this burn and said it passes and the hair recovers. Sounds silly but I need to find that success story to keep me going through this.

[Dench57]

For me, I'm pretty sure seborrheic dermatitis is the cause of my itch. I've noticed for years now my skin sheds a lot and I've got some bad beard dandruff, excess sebum production in my ears, and sometimes my chest hair gets a rash, where it is thick, along with scalp itch.

Hair loss started with some vertex thinning and now noticing temples getting pretty thin. Only way I treat it is with keto shampoo(regenepure) and water/apple cider vinegar mix as a conditioner. Seems to help with the itch but sometimes i notice it get itchy just a few hours later. Doctor also gave me selenium shampoo which is good on affected areas, like my beard and chest. Just don't like the smell of it that lingers all day.

I'm hoping that I don't have seborrheic dermatitis, my hair hasn't been oily and I haven't noticed increased sebum, and there's no redness in the affected areas of my scalp. However, I have noticed an increase in dandruff...I've never had dandruff before really. I'm considering the possibility it could be telogen effluvium, as I've read people in extremely rare cases getting it from Propecia.

[Ziggyz123]

Hey dench57, I'm unfortunately still shedding small amounts. Some hair did regrow in front of my hairline at my Peak, but back further it is still the same. If you use minox, I'd stop because that helped me relieve this a bit, but yea my hairline is getting sketchy. I have an appointment next Tuesday at an endocrinologist to see what my test levels and what not are. I'll update you when I'm done and try and shed some light on this. I can say though that in reading one burning etc Hairloss, women usually get this from too much testosterone and that's what I believe may be happening. The increase in test from fin could be doing damage.
Talk to you soon man.

[Dench57]

Hey dench57, I'm unfortunately still shedding small amounts. Some hair did regrow in front of my hairline at my Peak, but back further it is still the same. If you use minox, I'd stop because that helped me relieve this a bit, but yea my hairline is getting sketchy. I have an appointment next Tuesday at an endocrinologist to see what my test levels and what not are. I'll update you when I'm done and try and shed some light on this. I can say though that in reading one burning etc Hairloss, women usually get this from too much testosterone and that's what I believe may be happening. The increase in test from fin could be doing damage.
Talk to you soon man.

Hey Ziggy, thanks for the response.

Increased Test is the closest thing to a logical reason I can think of too. I've definitely noticed an increased sex drive which I believe is a sign of increased Test. As far as I'm aware the hairloss community doesn't really know what Test does to hairloss, other than it can be damaging... but not as damaging as DHT. I still can't get my head around how Propecia, reducing my DHT, could be worse for my hair due to a slight Test increase. I guess we are in a small minority who are more sensitive to Test. There's really so little information on all of this though, it's all speculation. Sigh.

Good luck with your appointment, I hope you can get some answers.

[Dench57]

What type of MPB do you have btw? I'm purely frontal receding, above the temples, and it's the same in my family so I don't think I'll ever have vertex/diffuse thinning at the back. From what I've read it seems hair at the front is more sensitive to hormone changes, and can respond poorly to Fin compared to other types of balding.

If DHT inhibitors (Dut, Fin) don't work for us then we're pretty screwed right? There's nothing else effective out there. I'm not sure where to go from here - stick with Fin and see if it improves, in the process risking damaging my hair even further. Or drop Fin and just accept my hairloss. Limited options.

[Ziggyz123]

Hey again dench, yea i'm just receding in the front. runs in my family unfortunately. no straight baldness, just receding hairlines. But yes, i was doing fine actually on fin up until this year.. the weird thing is that in the summer, i thought my hair was geting thinner, but it could have been due to my shorter hair cut. also, when the recent shed hit me, i did have an increased sex drive as well. another odd thing is that i never experienced a shed in the beginning from finasteride.. it's like i had this one at the 1 year mark and now my scalp sort of hurts along my hair line at times.. the hair just thinned out considerably on my left hairline and a little behind it.. never had this type of issue before finasteride.. all my shed hairs do have a little white bulb on them though so im not sure if finasteride is giving me a form of TE and it wont go away until i quit? pretty much just at a loss with this just like you man. hopefully when i get blood work from the endocrinologist, it will show either that fin isnt working and my dht is elevated, or it is working and my testosterone is through the roof causing damage to my hairline..