I used Tretinoin gel and started losing hair
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Fri Dec 16, 2011 1:50 pm

re-posting for EthelM

EthelM wrote:

I also experienced hair loss after using tretinoin cream that I bought from alldaychemist.com....AND I had this hair loss every time I began using the tretinoin cream (I stop using treinoin during the summer months and restart in the fall). I don't think it is a problem specific to alldaychemist.com tretinoin products, though, as I had the hair loss when I used Rx tretinoin from my US pharmacy. Excessive vitamin A can cause hair loss, and some of us are more sensitive to vitamin A. When I stopped using tretinoin, my hair loss stopped as well. I now know that I simply cannot use tretinoin.

free skin care · Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:58 pm

I, too, experienced significant hairloss whenever I have used tretinoin (both tretinoin from the US by Rx and from ADC). The hair loss stops when I stop tretinoin. This has happened to me repeatedly, so I'm 100% certain it was the tretinoin causing my hair loss. Now, I use topical estriol cream every other evening and I find the results to be noticeable, whereas the tretinoin caused my fair, sensitive skin such redness and irritation that I felt it was actually counterproductive for repairing skin damage (since inflammation is damaging to skin). By the way, I am not post-menopausal (nor even peri-menopausal) and the estriol cream hasn't caused any problems whatsoever in regard to my cycle.

free skin care · Sat Dec 17, 2011 4:04 pm

Oh, thank you for reposting for me, havana8. I thought my earlier post got lost somewhere in cyberspace, as I didn't see it, and so I just rewrote and posted the same info a moment ago.

Wed Feb 01, 2012 3:05 pm

I'm posting back to update on my hair loss, which began after tretonoin use and has continued for two years. A baldspot is visible at the top and makes me very self-conscious. The facial hair I experienced was because vitamin A blocks estrogenic activity, so you have more testosterone. But if someone is vitamin D border-line deficient, it might also cause hair loss because vitamin A is antagonistic to vitamin D. I am now taking 4000 u of vitamin D per day and will post back after a month. Vitamin D is also a natural anti-dht as is high iron.
I hope this helps someone and I hope finally after two years that it helps me.

Wed Feb 01, 2012 8:28 pm

I'm in my mid 50's and had noticed that my hairline had thinned considerably and receded but assumed it was part of menopause (erratic periods for about a year).

After seeing this thread I decided to stop using the retin A I had been using for the last couple of years, off and on. Well, after almost 3 months I have quite a bit of hair growing back along my hairline! I'm thrilled to say the least but really do miss the glow I had from using the retin A.

Thu Feb 02, 2012 6:42 am

Hi,
I last posted in December, 2011. Had been using tretinoin for 20 years with great results for my sun-damaged skin. Sudden hair loss beginning September, 2011. Update: I stopped tretinoin, been taking 5,000 mcg biotin for 2 months now. I have baby hairs where I had a quarter sized bald spot on left temple. I seem to be shedding a little bit less, but it's still too much as far as I'm concerned - 50 hairs the day after shampoo, then 75-100 next day, then third day I shampoo and lose 200 hairs Sad

Do you think this is still excessive hair loss or do you think the "average" over the 3 days is ok? Tx.

free skin care · Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:15 am

Two suggestions:

For the hair loss, stop using tretinoin immediately (obviously) and try using a drop (s) of Latisse (or a generic) on the balding places. Latisse is currently in clinical trials as a hair loss treatment. My understanding is that some doctors have used Latisse off-label for hair loss and patients have had great success.

For the skin, and the complaint of "loss of glow" do try Algenist. It is truly amazing and doesn't cause hair loss. Remember, Vitamin A in high doses (or in those sensitive to Vitamin A) is a known cause of hair loss! Find a tretinoin alternative for your skin. Algenist is one such product.

free skin care · Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:26 am

Interesting.So would natural vitamin A sources like rosehip oil cause hair loss too? Shock

free skin care · Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:39 am

Rosehip could, theoretically, but it isn't likely because the Vitamin A levels are far lower than tretinoin, or even retinol. I've nevr experienced hair loss from rosehip oil.

free skin care · Fri Feb 03, 2012 11:28 am

Vitamin D is also a natural anti-dht as is high iron.

Neither Vitamin D, nor high iron, are dht blockers. Neither plays a role in androgenic hair loss, which is the type of hair loss involving dht. LOW ferritin stores (stored iron) can cause hair loss and often supplementation to bring ferritin levels into a normal range will stop shedding, but high levels of iron are dangerous and certainly are not hair loss preventative at all.

free skin care · Fri Feb 03, 2012 11:38 am

EthelM is quite right about high levels of iron and hairloss. Low iron can cause it but so can very high levels of iron. I experienced this myself about 10 years ago when I was taking too much iron to combat very low iron stores. When my trichologist and I got the level of iron right, the hairloss stopped

free skin care · Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:39 pm

EthelM wrote:

Vitamin D is also a natural anti-dht as is high iron.

Neither Vitamin D, nor high iron, are dht blockers. Neither plays a role in androgenic hair loss, which is the type of hair loss involving dht. LOW ferritin stores (stored iron) can cause hair loss and often supplementation to bring ferritin levels into a normal range will stop shedding, but high levels of iron are dangerous and certainly are not hair loss preventative at all.

Hmmm...not sure why the quote feature didn't work on my above comment, but to clarify, I was commenting on the QUOTED statement made by hobuk that "Vitamin D is also a natural anti-dht as is high iron"...I didn't write that sentence, hobuk did. I quoted it (or rather, tried to quote it) so to comment on it. Sorry for any confusion.

Sun Feb 12, 2012 3:30 pm

I failed to add in my earlier post last week that I have never been anemic. My ferritin iron is usually between 100 and 150. I do avoid the sun, however, and my recent test for vitamin D levels was 30, this after two weeks of supplementation. Although, not an extremely low number, my doctor wants me at 50 and recently put me on 5,000 iu a day for a couple of months.

Everyone, don't begin vitamin D supplementation without getting levels tested first.

As far an D and iron being anti-DHT, I'll get back to this on another post.

For now, reversing D-deficiency just sounds like a good idea.

Tue Feb 14, 2012 8:56 am

I have been using Retin-A for about 4 or 5 years. I noticed my eyebrows thinning a few months ago. The outer 1/3 of each eyebrow is just about gone. Now, my hair is thinning. I have a very small bald spot on my left temple. Also, the hair on my legs has quit growing. I am discontinuing the Retin-A to see if it helps after reading the stories here. I have been using Latisse for my eyelashes & eyebrows which seems to help, but still are not back to normal.

I was going to make an appt w/my doctor to have my hormones/thyroid checked. Should I instead go to a dermatologist? Will he order bloodwork?

free skin care · Sun Jan 27, 2013 9:36 pm

Are you all taking other sorts of medication which could be causing hair loss? or could it be hormonal?

Wed May 29, 2013 5:30 pm

I've noticed graying hair on my temples when I increased my Retin-A micro usage. I definitely have thinned hair since about ten years of use.
Oddly I am thinning more on the crown rather than the front near where the retin-a is applied on the face.

We should take into account the other ingredients in Retin-a tretinoin preparations. EWG shows Butylated hydroxytoluene as having the following concerns:
Cancer, Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

I am surprised no company had introduced a boutique tretinoin product without any of the garbage ingredients.

free skin care · Wed May 29, 2013 8:18 pm

EyesWithoutaface wrote:

I've noticed graying hair on my temples when I increased my Retin-A micro usage. I definitely have thinned hair since about ten years of use.
Oddly I am thinning more on the crown rather than the front near where the retin-a is applied on the face.

We should take into account the other ingredients in Retin-a tretinoin preparations. EWG shows Butylated hydroxytoluene as having the following concerns:
Cancer, Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

I am surprised no company had introduced a boutique tretinoin product without any of the garbage ingredients.

how old are you? as a person ages the hair thins out. it is hormonal and part of old age. sadly this happens to women too.

Thu May 30, 2013 12:39 pm

I just turned 40.

Something to keep in mind is vitamin a/retinoic acid accumulates in the liver with extended use.
I wish I could get a test but no insurance.

Someone with hairloss + tretinoin use should get a Vitamin A toxicity test it could be revealing.

free skin care · Thu May 30, 2013 8:09 pm

EyesWithoutaface wrote:

I just turned 40.

Something to keep in mind is vitamin a/retinoic acid accumulates in the liver with extended use.
I wish I could get a test but no insurance.

Someone with hairloss + tretinoin use should get a Vitamin A toxicity test it could be revealing.

roaccutane could. my pharmacist say normally they order a vitamin a test for oral tretinoin but not retin a.

vit a toxicity comes with more side effect other than hair loss. i personally feel hair loss is caused by lots of other reasons. look at drug addicts some of them have more hair than anyone of us with a whacked face. i think those harmful drugs ate worst than retin a

Fri Jun 14, 2013 3:41 am

Did everything go back to normal after people stopped using the retin a?

Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:45 pm

Been using Retin a for +5 years andn never experienced hair thinning , even applying Retin a in my hairline.

Sun Apr 05, 2015 8:00 am

Chronic TE that will last for years.

Sat Jun 27, 2015 8:12 pm

I started .025 Renova (bought in US) in Jan. 2014, and by March 2014 was losing hair. Not to the degree that it was visible to others, but I could tell I was losing it way too quickly.

Not realizing tretinoin could be the problem, I continued to work my way up to Retin A 1% (bought via Medsmex) and by July 2014, I was losing even more hair. Specifically started on both temples, as well as on the lower half of my head right above the nape of my neck, as well as the crown. It was a diffuse hair loss, not in patches.

To stop it I tried:

- avoiding heat styling
- taking Biotin 5000 mcg for 3 mos
- using prescription shampoo to treat possible sebhorrheic dermatitis (my dad is an MD and said it could be attributed to this, since I had the symptoms for a while)
- medical lab tests (thyroid, etc all came out normal)

None of these things worked. It's been nearly a year and my hair is still thinning.

Like others reported, since the hair loss started, my hair definitely feels dry, coarse and strawlike - which is unlike my normal texture. I also thought it was because of protein based hair products I was using. But I haven't been using those either for several months now, and noticed no improvement. Seems like it's not growing any longer on the sides, either. My shorter layers near my face haven't gotten any longer it seems, in about a year.

The women in my family DO have thin hair (mom's hair and grandma's hair, both very thin). My doctor said most likely it's genetic. This whole situation started when I was 40 (now 41). I'm also under a lot of stress right now so that could be a factor as well. Regardless I am going to stop Retin A for 6 months or so and see if that helps.

Septembergirl did your hair eventually grow back??

free skin care · Fri Jul 03, 2015 11:58 am

I just want to say for people who read this in the future.. and for you

I do believe that some people have reactions to medications

However, there is a possibility that you had onset of androgenetic alopecia, coincidentally, at this time.

You should go to the derm and get a scalp biopsy to find the reason for the loss, because if its AGA, you need to halt it, and even reverse it.

You can try reducing carbs/insulin levels to lower production of androgens and nizoral shampoo as a topical will help.

Everyone should get a biopsy so they know exactly how to treat it

Sun Jan 31, 2016 9:18 am

Please share your recovery stories after stopping retin-a. How did your hair recover in terms of shedding and then also in terms of volume/thickness? what timelime? what if anything helped? thanks!

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