Causes, other symptoms, and treatments

Many adults expect to lose some hair as they age, but hair loss in children can cause alarm, especially when they become upset about bald spots or thin hair. However, hair loss in children is relatively common.

Hair loss in children may have different patterns to adult hair loss. For example, androgenetic alopecia, or pattern baldness, is the most common cause in adults. In children, common causes include fungal or bacterial infections, telogen effluvium (stress-related hair loss), and traction alopecia.

However, the most common cause of hair loss in children is scalp ringworm, which is a treatable fungal infection. Doctors can treat most causes of hair loss and can often reverse it.

This article looks at the possible causes of hair loss in children, other symptoms, and treatments. It also discusses when to see a doctor.

The following sections look at possible reasons for hair loss in children and ways to treat them.

Scalp ringworm

Share on PinterestA fungal or bacterial infection may cause hair loss in children.

Ringworm is a common, contagious fungal infection of the skin. It causes a red, ring-shaped rash. When ringworm affects the scalp, it is known as tinea capitis.

Red, patchy, or itchy spots may appear on the scalp. Caregivers may notice that their child scratches or rubs their scalp.

Scratching the infection and damage to the scalp from the infection itself can slowly cause hair to fall out. Some children may also pull their hair to try to relieve the itching. The hair loss usually happens in just one or two locations — typically over areas of itchy and irritated skin.

A doctor may prescribe antifungal cream for the scalp. When the ringworm clears up, the hair should begin to regrow.

Alopecia areata

Alopecia areata is a type of hair loss that causes the body’s immune system to attack hair follicles. It can occasionally cause total baldness or very thin hair. Some children also lose their eyebrows and eyelashes. The bald spots that remain are usually smooth and skin colored.

Many children with alopecia areata experience flares, or periods during which the hair falls out, followed by periods of regrowth. Doctors have identified several subtypes of this disorder, and the pattern of hair loss varies from person to person.

There is no cure for alopecia areata, but some treatments may help manage symptoms. There are no specific drugs available to treat alopecia areata, but doctors can prescribe off-label drugs that might help stop the body from attacking hair follicles.

Sometimes, light therapy may stimulate hair growth. In many cases, the hair begins to fall out again after a child stops treatment, so a child may need to continue treatment even after symptoms disappear.

Hair pulling or twirling

Children who twirl their hair may damage the hair follicles, causing the hair to fall out. Some children pull their hair because of anxiety. Doctors call this trichotillomania.

When the person stops pulling or twirling their hair, it should regrow. Hair pulling is a type of anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder, so it is essential to treat the underlying cause. A child may benefit from therapy, emotional and social support, or medication.

Traction alopecia

Traction alopecia is a type of hair loss that happens when the scalp experiences long term tension or pulling, such as wearing very tight braids or ponytails for long periods. Some people also develop traction alopecia from poorly placed extensions. This can happen due to getting cheap extensions or attaching extensions at home.

The scalp may be itchy and red, with large bald or thinning spots. The hair loss usually concentrates on areas where there is the most pressure. For example, a hairstyle that places tension on the hair at the temples will cause more hair loss there.

Traction alopecia should go away on its own with a looser hairstyle, but it can take time for the hair to regrow. If a person with this type of hair loss develops a scalp infection, a doctor may recommend antibiotics.

Scalp injury

An injury to the scalp, such as a burn or significant blow to the head, may damage the hair follicles. This can cause significant hair loss at the site of the injury. When the injury heals, the hair should regrow.

Prompt treatment is essential because untreated scalp injuries can damage underlying structures and may even cause permanent hair loss.

Telogen effluvium

Telogen effluvium is a form of temporary hair loss that occurs after a physical or emotional shock.

Healthy hair grows on a predictable schedule. A hair may grow for 2–6 years. This is the anagen phase. The hair then goes into a “rest period,” called the telogen phase. This phase lasts 2–4 months before the hair falls out and new hair replaces it. When hair is healthy, 80–90% of hairs are actively growing at any given time. Telogen effluvium happens when something causes more hairs than usual to enter and stay in the telogen phase.

Some potential causes of telogen effluvium include:

• physical injuries
• emotional stress
• fever or infection
• surgery with general anesthesia
• some medications, such as the acne medicine Accutane
• vitamin and nutritional imbalances, such as too much vitamin A

Often telogen effluvium remains untreated because people do not know they have it. Because it takes several months for hairs to fall out during the telogen phase, a person may not notice any increased hair loss for some time. By this time, it is often too late for treatment. In most cases, the hair grows back over time.

Hair loss is a medical problem, so it is crucial to see a health provider any time a child loses more hair than usual.

Some parents or caregivers panic when they see a wad of hair in a comb or hairbrush. But all children lose some hair every day. Seek treatment if:

• The child complains of an itchy or painful scalp.
• The child loses eyebrows or eyelashes.
• There are visible bald spots.
• The child begins losing significantly more hair than they used to.
• A child has hair loss following an illness or when taking a new medication.
• The child has a scalp injury or burn.

Children with chronic hair loss from alopecia areata, as well as children with significant bald spots, may need psychological support. A mental health professional, such as a therapist, can help the child better manage their feelings about hair loss.

Hair loss is not uncommon among children. Many factors can cause hair loss, including infections, stress, and tension on the hair. Most causes are treatable. People can see their healthcare professional for an accurate diagnosis of what is causing the hair loss.

Hair Loss in Children: Causes and Treatments

How common is hair loss in children?

You might not be surprised, as you get older, to notice that your hair is starting to fall out. Yet seeing your young child’s hair fall out could come as a real shock.

Hair loss isn’t uncommon in kids, but its causes may be different from those of adult-onset baldness. Often, children lose hair because of a scalp disorder.

Many of the causes aren’t life-threatening or dangerous. Still, losing hair can take a toll on a child’s emotional well-being. It’s hard enough to go bald when you’re an adult.

Because hair loss may have a profound psychological effect on kids, it’s important to see a doctor for treatment.

Often, hair loss in children is caused by an infection or other problem with the scalp. Here are some of the most common causes.

Tinea capitis

This scalp infection spreads when kids share personal items such as combs and hats. It’s also known as ringworm of the scalp, although it’s caused by a fungus.

Kids with tinea capitis develop patches of hair loss with black dots where the hair’s broken off. Their skin may turn red, scaly, and bumpy. Fever and swollen glands are other possible symptoms.

A dermatologist can diagnose tinea capitis by examining your child’s scalp. Sometimes the doctor will scrape off a tiny piece of the infected skin and send it to a lab to confirm the diagnosis.

Tinea capitis is treated with an antifungal drug taken by mouth for about eight weeks. Using an antifungal shampoo along with oral medication will prevent your child from spreading the virus to other kids.

Alopecia areata

Alopecia is an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. Your immune system attacks the follicles from which hair grows. About 1 out of every 1,000 children has the localized version called alopecia areata.

Alopecia comes in different forms, depending on the pattern of hair loss:

• alopecia areata: bald patches form on the child’s scalp
• alopecia totalis: all the hair on the scalp falls out
• alopecia universalis: all the hair on the body falls out

children with alopecia areata may become totally bald. Some lose the hair on their body, too.

Doctors diagnose alopecia areata by examining your child’s scalp. They may remove a few hairs to examine under a microscope.

There’s no cure for alopecia areata, but some treatments can help regrow hair:

• corticosteroid cream, lotion, or ointment
• minoxidil
• anthralin

With the right treatment, most kids with alopecia areata will regrow hair within one year.

Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania is a disorder in which kids compulsively pull out their hair. Experts categorize it as a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some kids pull their hair as a kind of release. Others don’t realize they’re doing it.

Kids with this condition will have patchy areas of missing and broken hair. Some children eat the hair they pull and can develop big balls of undigested hair in their belly.

The hair will grow back once children stop pulling it out. Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches kids to become more aware of the hair pulling. This therapy helps them understand the emotions that trigger the behavior so they can stop it.

Telogen effluvium

Telogen is the part of the normal hair growth cycle when hairs stop growing and rest. Then, old hairs fall out to allow new ones to grow in. Normally, only 10 to 15 percent of hair follicles are in this phase at any one time.

In kids with telogen effluvium, many more hair follicles go into the telogen phase than normal. So instead of losing 100 hairs a day like usual, kids lose 300 hairs a day. The hair loss may not be noticeable or there may be bald patches on the scalp.

Telogen effluvium usually happens after an extreme event, such as:

• very high fever
• surgery
• intense emotional trauma, such as the death of a loved one
• severe injury

Once the event has passed, the child’s hair should grow back. Full regrowth can take six months to a year.

Nutritional deficiency

Good nutrition is essential for a healthy body. When kids don’t get enough vitamins, minerals, and protein, their hair can fall out. Hair loss can be a sign of eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, as well as a side effect of a low-protein vegetarian or vegan diet.

A lack of these nutrients can contribute to hair loss:

• iron
• zinc
• niacin
• biotin
• protein and amino acids

Too much vitamin A can also lead to hair loss.

Your child’s pediatrician can suggest a healthy eating plan or prescribe a supplement to make up for the nutritional shortfall.

Hypothyroidism

The thyroid is a gland in your neck. It releases hormones that help control your body’s metabolism.

In hypothyroidism, the thyroid doesn’t make enough of the hormones it needs to function properly. Symptoms include:

• weight gain
• constipation
• tiredness
• dry hair or hair loss all over the scalp

Hair loss should stop when your child is treated with thyroid hormone medication. But it can take a few months for all of the hair to regrow.

Chemotherapy

Children who receive chemotherapy treatment will lose their hair. Chemotherapy is a strong medication that kills quickly dividing cells in the body — including cells in the hair roots. Once the treatment’s finished, your child’s hair should grow back.

Sometimes, children lose their hair for reasons that aren’t medical. Common causes include:

Newborn hair loss

During their first six months of life, most babies will lose the hair they were born with. The newborn hair falls out to make way for mature hair. This type of hair loss is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.

Friction hair loss

Some babies lose hair in the back of their scalp because they rub their head repeatedly against the crib mattress, floor, or something else. Children outgrow this behavior as they become more mobile and start sitting and standing. Once they stop rubbing, their hair should grow back.

Chemicals

Products used to bleach, dye, perm, or straighten the hair can contain harsh chemicals that damage the hair shaft. Try to avoid using these products for young children or ask your hairstylist for recommendations on nontoxic versions made for kids.

Blow-drying

Excess heat from blow-drying or straightening can also damage hair and cause it to fall out. When drying your child’s hair, use a low heat setting. Don’t blow it dry every day to minimize heat exposure.

Hair ties

Pulling your child’s hair back into a tight ponytail, braid, or bun causes trauma to the hair follicles. Hair can also fall out if your child brushes or combs it too hard. Be gentle when combing and styling your child’s hair and keep ponytails and braids loose to prevent hair loss.

Losing hair can be upsetting for anyone, at any age. But it can be especially traumatic for a child.

Explain to your child why the hair loss happened and how you plan to fix the problem. If it’s the result of a treatable disease, explain that their hair will grow back.

If it’s not reversible, find ways to conceal the hair loss. You might try a:

• new hairstyle
• wig
• hat
• scarf

Get help managing hair loss from your child’s pediatrician, as well from as a hairstylist trained to work with kids who’ve lost their hair. If you need help paying for a wig, contact an organization such as Locks of Love or Wigs for Kids for help.

Counseling can also help kids cope with hair loss. Ask your pediatrician to recommend a counselor or therapist who can help talk your child through the experience.

Often, hair loss isn’t serious or life-threatening. The greatest impact is sometimes on your child’s self-esteem and emotions.

Treatments for hair loss in children are available but it can take some trial and error to find the right one. Work with your child’s medical team to come up with a solution that helps your child look — and feel — better.

Why does a teenager girl’s hair fall out? – Publications – An-Tek Laboratory

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Teenagers are quite often exposed to the problem of hair loss. For both girls and boys, this becomes an unpleasant discovery – the hair looks worse, becomes greasy or dry, split ends. This problem is especially big for teenage girls who are preoccupied with their appearance. During the period of life, when liking the opposite sex becomes a necessity, hair causes a lot of trouble – it quickly gets fat, fades, splits, breaks at the roots or in the middle.

The peculiarity of adolescence is that the development processes proceed unevenly, and organs and systems do not always keep up with the rapid growth of the body. As a result – metabolic disorders, hormonal surges, and last but not least – a change in habits, sleep and rest patterns, a “rebellion” against useful, previously instilled nutritional principles. All this in a complex is reflected in the condition of the hair.

However, hair loss does not always have harmless causes that can be ignored or rely on the self-regulation of the body and the normalization of the hair without intervention and help. Hair loss can be very serious problems – diseases, developmental disorders. A doctor with a narrow specialization can identify them, and a trichologist will refer him to him, to whom adolescents with hair loss first of all turn. Turning to such a specialist, you get professional advice on the condition of the hair, the rules for caring for them, as well as a hair treatment regimen, if necessary.

Causes of hair loss

Why does hair fall out?

Minor causes of hair loss in adolescence:

• strict calorie restriction diets;
• improper care;
• taking certain medications.

The main causes of hair loss in teenagers:

• hormonal changes in the body. Adolescents in the period from 11 to 17 years old are experiencing a rapid restructuring of the body. The body grows, the sex glands begin their work, the endocrine system is rebuilt. Shows a special activity of the male sex hormone, dihydrotesterone. Hair can fall out due to its aggressive effect on the follicles. Excessive production of dihydrotestosterone and its effect on the hair is inherited. Girls also experience hormonal changes that degrade the quality of their scalp;
• stress. The psyche of a teenager is unstable, and the ability to resist stress is reduced. As a result, nervous tension can increase even for no apparent reason. Change of mood, the manifestation of strong emotions is the norm for a teenager. But the state of stress causes vasospasm, as a result, poor nutrition of the hair follicles and hair loss, even outwardly healthy ones;
• environmental factors. Hair has a porous structure and easily absorbs harmful substances contained in the air. Not every teenager will have enough consciousness to refuse experiments with cigarettes, and smoking, both active and passive, worsens the quality of hair nutrition;
• power imbalance. In conditions of rapid growth, the body of a teenager is especially vulnerable to a deficiency of vitamins and minerals. At the same time, persuading teenagers to eat properly and fully is not an easy task. Their diet is dominated by fast food, carbonated sweet drinks to the detriment of healthy proteins, vegetables, and cereals. Lack of iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus leads to the fact that the hair becomes dull, brittle, brittle and begins to fall out.

How to deal with hair loss in adolescence

Recommendations for hair loss are aimed primarily at stopping this process, and both adolescent girls and boys need to follow them. Hair falls out gradually, and therefore it is important to ensure that the following conditions are observed:

• use of hair care cosmetics selected in accordance with the characteristics of the hair;
• combing only dry hair, or wet – but in the shower, along with balm and only a wide comb;
• refusal of a hair dryer, curling iron, ironing;
• selection of natural styling products;
• masks and other products on the recommendation of a trichologist;
• regular trimming;
• weather-appropriate hair protection against frost or sun.

These measures will not stop, but will significantly slow down teenage hair loss and allow you to keep your hair style during the period of investigation and treatment if hair loss is associated with health problems. Even if hair loss was the result of less serious reasons – excessive dieting or improper care, then recovery will also take a month or two, and following the rules will minimize damage to the hair during this period.

Alexander Alekseevich Leibman

Chief Scientific Consultant
Master of Medical Science
Founder and founder of the An-Tek Laboratory in Russia

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Hair loss in children: possible causes

The Cosmedica Team

We are an international team committed to providing the best hair transplant services on the market and to informing and educating people around the world about hair loss and its treatments.

Contents of the article

When children lose their hair and develop bald spots, both the child and his parents may experience great anxiety. However, hair loss is not a disease, but a symptom of a problem. Usually the disease in question does not affect the scalp alone, but is an integral problem with the skin or other organs.

Therefore, when a child’s hair falls out, it is necessary to see a doctor , ideally a pediatric dermatologist should perform a thorough examination to find the underlying cause. In this blog post, we have listed the five most common problems that can lead to hair loss in children. However, this post should not be taken as a medical resource – if your child is experiencing hair loss, see a doctor .

Hair loss in girls and boys can manifest itself in different forms. As mentioned above, the possible causes are numerous. It could be diseases , genetics or psychological stress s. The following diseases can – under certain circumstances – cause hair loss in a child.

Tinea capitis – brittle hair and infected skin

This fungal scalp infection often occurs in children during puberty (teenager hair loss). However, younger children (hair loss at 3 years of age also occurs) or older children can also suffer from it. The symptoms of tinea capitis are itching and redness of the scalp, sometimes dandruff may form . The hair shaft in the affected area may become brittle .

Hair on the scalp in affected areas may break or fall out completely. The disease, which is highly contagious , is treated with antimycotics antifungals, often in the form of a cream. It may take up to three months for the infection to be completely cured .

Alopecia areata – patchy hair loss

Children’s patchy hair loss (alopecia areata) is surprisingly common. Typical symptoms of this disease appear almost overnight. These are round or slightly oval bald patches on the scalp.

The causes of this autoimmune disease are not yet fully understood. It happens like this: the body’s immune system suddenly identifies the hair follicles as foreign bodies and attacks them accordingly. This, in turn, leads to inflammation, which causes the hair to fall out. Children may experience the following types of circular hair loss:

• Alopecia Areata Circumscripta – hair loss in the form of circular spots . In addition, eyelashes and eyebrows drop out.
• Alopecia Universalis – complete baldness
• Alopecia areata totalis – hair falls out all over the body .

Many children grow hair within a year without medication . Sometimes steroid injections are used to suppress the local immune response. Alopecia areata can also be hereditary . Most young children suffering from circular hair loss are relatively calm about this condition. However, during adolescence, the situation can quickly change.

Psychological reasons – e.g. stress

Children can also lose their hair due to psychological disorders. For example, children who are often subjected to severe stress often suffer from diffuse hair loss.

Prolonged stress can cause the patient to enter the telogen phase. This means that the hair falls out evenly over the entire head.

This form of hair loss is reversible. When the stress factor is removed, the hair grows back.

However, stress can also manifest itself in various forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, in which children deliberately ruin their hair.

Trichotillomania – hair pulling

In trichotillomania, which refers to obsessive-compulsive disorders , patients pull out their own hair . Often this happens unconsciously, children do not think about it. The short-term pain of pulling out the hair and the relief thereafter is an outlet for those suffering from this disorder.

Stress is often the cause, such as school fears or the stress of a parent’s divorce. Very often plucked hair is also swallowed. This, in turn, can lead to other illnesses such as nausea, vomiting, pain, and digestive problems.

Trichodarkness

In case of trichotemnomania, children cut their hair, but do not tell anyone about it . The causes are often similar to those of trichotillomania: stress, the loss of a loved one, or even a family divorce. Trichotillomania or trichotillomania should be dealt with by an experienced child psychologist or psychiatrist.

Traction alopecia

Traction alopecia is a special case. It often occurs in children who often wear tail too tight or chignon . The constant mechanical tension of the hair can cause it to fall out under certain circumstances. Other causes of traction alopecia are brushing too often, blow-drying too hot, or even some shampoos that are aggressive to the hair roots.

Wrong diet

Another cause of hair loss in children can be malnutrition. Both deficiency and excess of certain vitamins and minerals can lead to hair loss.

What can be done against hair loss – is hair transplantation possible?

As mentioned at the beginning, in most cases, hair loss in children disappears by itself, and hair growth returns to normal.

Sometimes, however, this is not the case, mainly when the hair roots have been irreparably damaged. In this case, Hair Transplant in Turkey for young people is possible with all important precautions.