hair loss/regrowth in 14 year old girl

Question
my 14 yr old daughter has been loosing a decent amount of hair over the last few months. what concerns me more is that she seems to have a lot of short hairs and hair that is growing is extremely kinky. what could be the cause and are they related the hair loss/kinkiness?


Answer
There are a number of different conditions which can cause this and a dermatologist can narrow the list or even make the diagnosis by simply examining your daughter. This could be due to a drug reaction if she is taking medications, or it could be she has hair growing back after some shed she had due to stress ( a telogen effluvium ) or she could have a condition called trichtillomania which is due to twisting the hairs as a nervous habit. Trichtillomania is most commonly seen is 14 year old girls. It may also be that she is producing hormones from her ovaries which are causing this change of hair cycles and because there may be some more extensive testing needed including a biopsy I recommend she see a dermatologist to determine the correct diagnosis since each of the possible causes has a different treatment.

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