- Hi there, I'm Dr. Jessica Wu.
I'm a dermatologist, author, and kind of obsessed with hair.
I'm here to answer all your questions
about how to get thick, healthy hair.
I've been taking care of people with hair loss
and thinning hair for over 20 years.
Because hair grows out of the skin.
Hair is one of the specialties
that dermatologists can help you with.
- Hi, I'm Megan.
- Hi, Megan, I'm Dr. Jessica Wu.
- [Megan] What are some of the more common
hair loss concerns that you see people about?
- I would say there are two top concerns
when people come to see me about their hair.
One is hair thinning.
Very, very popular problem,
very common problem among both men and women.
And the second problem is itchy or flaky scalp.
- [Megan] Do supplements help
or is it just a genetic problem?
- It's true that heredity plays a large role
in whether you're going to lose you hair.
But just because hair loss runs in your family
doesn't mean you're doomed to lose your hair,
because there are a lot of other factors.
There's your diet, there's hormones,
there's what you do,
like smoking for example.
So all of these things can contribute
to your likelihood of losing your hair.
The main things to remember is
take care of your hair from the inside and the outside
to reduce your risk.
- [Megan] How bad is wearings, like,
ponytail holders and scrunchies?
How bad is that for your hair?
- It depends on the type of ponytail holder
and how you use it.
For example, the worst ponytail holder
is your plain old rubber band.
Do not use that to tie your hair.
Because it's got a good grip,
but that means when you take it out
it's gonna yank out hair or possibly break the hair.
Better to use a scrunchie.
Old time scrunchie, I know not so attractive.
But anything that's fabric is gentler on your hair.
Most important thing,
do not use a ponytail holder when your hair's wet.
Because hair stretches,
and when it stretches, it can snap.
- [Megan] Does using dry shampoo
or washing your hair every day make hair loss worse?
- Shampooing every day actually can be a good thing
if your hair loss is due to build up of oil and dead skin.
So if you have a lot of flakes, a lot of oiliness,
it's better to wash your hair every day.
Because that build up can sometimes block the hair
from being able to poke through your scalp.
- [Megan] What are some of the
most common causes of hair loss?
- Probably the most common cause of hair loss is heredity.
If all the men and women in your family have thinning hair,
then you have a chance of having thinning hair.
But you can slow that down
by eating right and making sure there aren't
other medical conditions going on.
Other causes of hair loss can be stress.
Because if you go through a surgery,
or, for women, pregnancy,
any kind of physical or emotional psychological trauma
can make your hair fall out.
And then diet as well.
The most common cause of hair loss
in otherwise healthy young women is iron deficiency.
- [Megan] I feel like we hear about men's hair loss
more often than we hear about women's hair loss.
Why is that?
- Well, the reason we hear about men's hair loss
more often is that men can sometimes go completely bald.
Whereas it's very rare for women to completely go bald.
They can get thinning especially up front,
but it's rare for women to go completely bald
unless they have a severe autoimmune condition, for example.
That said, up to 50% of women
can have hair thinning at some point in their life.
For women, since the most common cause,
especially in young women, is iron deficiency,
I look for internal reasons and then we go from there.
I also check hormones as well.
Now for men, oftentimes they'll have a family history,
but I still do check blood work on men
if it's a sudden onset of hair loss.
- [Megan] Is hair loss more common amongst men?
- Hair loss is more common in men.
And when it occurs, it tends to be more severe.
So you're not likely to see a woman
with complete hair loss and baldness.
Whereas you're more likely to see a man
with baldness due to heredity.
- [Megan] Can you talk a little bit about Telogen Effluvium?
- Hair grows in phases.
There's something called anagen, catagen, and telogen.
When your hair is in the telogen phase
that's right before it's getting ready to fall out.
So it grows, it rests, and then it falls out.
When your body undergoes an extreme
either physical or psychological trauma or stress,
your body feels like we need to conserve our energy,
our protein to do important functions.
Like making blood cells and healing our body elsewhere.
And it shuts off the supply
of blood flow and protein to the hair.
And therefore the hair follicles,
they kind of just go to sleep and the hair falls out.
And when that happens all at once,
that's called Telogen Effluvium.
And you might see large patches of hair
falling out all at once.
Similar to people taking medication
or undergoing chemotherapy.
Even before they've had any medication.
- [Megan] How long typically does Telogen Effluvium last?
- It can last indefinitely depending on the trauma,
the length of the trauma.
There's often a lag time.
There could be a lag time of two or three or four months,
from the time of the trauma,
to the time you see the hair loss.
Another common time when women get Telogen Effluvium
is after pregnancy.
Because it's a big stress on your body.
It's a wonderful event,
but it takes a lot out of a woman's body.
And so while she's preparing to breastfeed
and recovering form the birth,
a couple months later that's often when the hair falls out.
And likewise, once the trauma or the stress to the body
has calmed down and resolved itself,
there's another lag time of three or four months
before the hair grows back.
But it often does.
- Hi, I'm Michelle.
- Hi Michelle, I'm Dr. Jessica Wu.
- [Michelle] Does your hair ever stop regrowing
at a certain age?
- Well your hair follicles continue
to produce hair throughout your life,
but what cuts down, what cuts back,
is the number of follicles that are growing hairs.
We all have the same number of follicles,
and by a certain age, typically in their 40s or 50s,
we tend to have fewer hair follicles growing,
which is why our hair gets thinner.
- [Michelle] If someone is losing their hair,
does it matter how quickly they treat it?
- As with many medical conditions,
I usually tell my patients,
the faster you come to see me for a problem,
the quicker we can address it.
Because a lot of times,
hair loss is not just inevitable and hereditary.
It can be due to diet and other lifestyle factors.
And also, your general health.
- [Michelle] Are there better shampoos to treat hair loss?
- Yes, the shampoo you choose depends
on what kind of hair loss you have.
For example, if you have what's called pattern hair loss,
or just overall hair thinning,
then I recommend using a shampoo containing
an ingredient called Menoxidil.
That helps to stimulate hair growth.
If your hair loss is due to
build up of dandruff and thick flakes,
or a condition called Seborrhea,
then we'll want to address it with an anti-dandruff shampoo.
Your hair thinning is due to actual breakage of the strands,
then we want to choose one
that helps to nourish the strands.
- [Michelle] What is biotin?
And does it actually work on getting your hair thicker,
and stronger, and more beautiful?
- Biotin is so popular now.
So many of my patients are taking it.
Biotin is one of the B vitamins.
And it became very popular because
several years ago there were a few limited reports
showing that it helped to grow hair
in people who had biotin deficiencies
and certain hereditary hair loss conditions.
And so it became very popular.
But the fact is that there are very limited studies
and very few products that have undergone
rigorous clinical trials that prove that they help you,
and that prove that they're safe.
So one of the products I recommend is Viviscal.
I would say it's much more important
to make sure that you're eating
the right amount of biotin in your diet.
As well as protein and other types of hair nourishing foods.
- [Michelle] Does what we eat actually affect our hair?
- Absolutely.
What you eat has a huge influence on your hair.
Whether or not you have a hereditary predisposition to it.
Zinc is another ingredient that's
really important for hair health.
Other nutrients like Selenium.
Also very important for hair health.
- [Michelle] What are some things
that people who are like experiencing hair loss
should avoid to prevent additional hair loss?
- Well on the outside, be gentle with your hair.
Because people who already have hair thinning,
you want to hang on to what you have already, right?
Try to process it less.
Try to use less heat,
because if you use high heat blow dryers and styling tools,
it can actually create bubbles in your hair
that then can make the hair break off.
On the inside, it's really important to provide your body
with the nutrients so that it can make healthy hair.
- [Michelle] Does parting your hair different ways
make hair loss worse?
- Parting your hair can make your hair loss worse
if you spend a lot of time in the sun without a hat.
Because it turns out that UV rays can be very dangerous,
not just to the hair,
it can make the hair weak,
but it can also cause skin cancer and weakening
of the collagen in the part of your scalp.
And remember that the scalp is what produces healthy hair.
And if you're parting your hair in the same place every day,
and it's being bombarded with sunlight,
it can make the scalp and therefore the hair worse.
So keep your scalp covered.
- I know we got a bunch of stuff here on the tray,
is there anything that you want to point out
and talk about for hair?
- One of the misconceptions that many of my patients have
is that dandruff is caused by dryness of the scalp.
So they're afraid to wash their hair.
They might wash their hair only twice a week.
And then it gets worse and worse.
When in fact, most cases of dandruff
are not due to dehydration,
but it's due to overgrowth of yeast
that lives on all of us.
But it just overgrows on the scalp.
It feeds on your hair oils,
your scalp oils, and dead skin.
So treatment is to wash your hair more frequently
with and anti-dandruff shampoo.
And there are many over the counter
and prescription anti-dandruff shampoos.
I love this.
The tangle teaser, I'm not paid by them,
but I use them because I have long, thick hair.
This is used to help get the knots out of your hair
without breaking your strands.
So you use this after washing,
after towel drying.
And it just helps to get the knots out more gently.
This is microfiber and I like this because
if you want to preserve your blowout in the shower,
sometimes people will use a plastic lined shower cap.
And that actually holds humidity in your hair
and makes it frizz more.
So if you use a microfiber or 100% cotton towel,
it helps to absorb the moisture,
so it helps preserve your hair and it's gentle to your hair.
Better than using a rubber band.
Well I hope this has been helpful
and that you've learned some tips
that will help you maintain healthy, thick hair.
If you have hair loss don't give up.
Because there's so much we can do,
both from the outside and the inside,
so see your dermatologist.
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