Hair loss in Japan

[Terek_XVI]

Hello there,

I've been studying abroad here in Japan for the past 6 months (3 months to go), and I have recently been experiencing hair loss.

My scalp has been very dry, dandruffy, and shedding hair like never before. I have used 3 different shampoo's and none of them seem to relief my dry ichy scalp or stop my hair from falling out. The hair seems to be diffusely falling out.

Since I have been in Japan, I have lost about 10 pounds, started smoking, and have had a change in diet. Also, around the time my hair began falling out, I injured my back while lifting weights. My back still hurt, and I am starting to wonder if it is my kidneys that are sore.

So my questions are:

Can my hair loss be due to my weight loss and change in diet? It has already been 6 months since I have been here and my hair loss only began about month ago.

Can my hair loss be attributed to my dry scalp or my prolonged exposure to Japanese shampoos?

Could a condition of the kidney's cause hair loss?

Could seasonal allergies cause my hair loss?

Does hair naturally shed during certain seasons?

As you can see, I am quite lost! I am in a foreign country, and I am not sure where to in consulting doctors about my hair loss.

If you know anything that could help me in diagnosing my problem, I would greatly appreciate it!

[Mark]

Hello there,

I've been studying abroad here in Japan for the past 6 months (3 months to go), and I have recently been experiencing hair loss.

My scalp has been very dry, dandruffy, and shedding hair like never before. I have used 3 different shampoo's and none of them seem to relief my dry ichy scalp or stop my hair from falling out. The hair seems to be diffusely falling out.

Since I have been in Japan, I have lost about 10 pounds, started smoking, and have had a change in diet. Also, around the time my hair began falling out, I injured my back while lifting weights. My back still hurt, and I am starting to wonder if it is my kidneys that are sore.

So my questions are:

Can my hair loss be due to my weight loss and change in diet? It has already been 6 months since I have been here and my hair loss only began about month ago.

Can my hair loss be attributed to my dry scalp or my prolonged exposure to Japanese shampoos?

Could a condition of the kidney's cause hair loss?

Could seasonal allergies cause my hair loss?

Does hair naturally shed during certain seasons?

As you can see, I am quite lost! I am in a foreign country, and I am not sure where to in consulting doctors about my hair loss.

If you know anything that could help me in diagnosing my problem, I would greatly appreciate it!

There's a good blog post here that generally gives answers to some of the questions you bring up. (http://www.baldingblog.com/2008/09/29/high-fat-diet-and-hair-loss/)

Male Pattern Baldness is by far the cause of the vast majority of Hair Loss in men, however there are some other biochemical reasons for hair loss as well. Standard blood tests should be able to confirm or rule these out.

Good blog post about that here. (http://www.baldingblog.com/2006/02/07/hair-mapping-for-miniaturization/)

-Mark