I sometimes hear from people who have noticed that, in addition to their hair falling out a lot, their scalp and hair have become quite oily. Once they do a little research into it, they sometimes find that an oily scalp can be a sign of another hair loss condition called androgenetic alopecia. But, that amateur diagnosis doesn’t quite fit either because androgen-related hair loss doesn’t always manifest itself so dramatically.
So I may hear a comment like: “I’ve always thought I had telogen effluvium because my hair loss started when I stopped taking a medication a while back. Am seeing something else just shedding. My scalp and hair are oily and greasy and I have never had this problem before. When I tried to research this, I read in many places that excess oil can be a sign of androgenic alopecia Is it possible to have telogen effluvium with a healthy scalp while this is something new?”
I will tell you my opinion on this, but I am not a doctor or an expert on hair loss. Still, because of my own experience and the research I’ve done, I have an opinion, but I suggest you ask a doctor if you still have concerns.
I believe when you have telogen effluvium it is sometimes possible to notice a scalp that is more oily. And here’s why. When many more hair follicles go into the resting or shedding phase, it sometimes causes inflammation when all the hairs are falling out at once. (This is why your scalp sometimes hurts or turns red or pink.) Now, if your scalp becomes inflamed, your body may see that as damage. So, it will try to protect itself and reduce the same damage. But what mechanism does your scalp have to stop itself? Oil. That’s why sometimes people who use shampoos that are too harsh for oily hair will find that it actually makes the problem worse. The shampoo was harsh to the scalp and the scalp responded by becoming more greasy because oil was being produced to act as a protective barrier. It is possible that the same happened here. One thing you can try is a soothing topical like emu or tea tree oil.
Another possible reason why you may be noticing an oily scalp is the hair care regimen you are using. Sometimes, when our hair is falling out, we naturally want to wash our hair less. Or, we wash it so gently, that it’s not as effective. This may result in slightly more oil than what we are used to. Plus, as mentioned above, the harsh products and topicals that we use to try to prevent hair loss can irritate or dry out the scalp which can strip off that protective oil. Lastly, sometimes the oils we use to soothe our scalp can end up making our hair oily.
With all of this said, it is possible to have two hair loss conditions and think you have one when you actually have the other. Androgenetic alopecia with aggressive shedding certainly wasn’t out of the question. That’s why a doctor can be helpful. But since this effusion started during drug discontinuation, it was reasonable to assume telogen effluvium, unless you started noticing more patterned loss or thinning.
Source by Ava Alderman
