Articles

Customer question - itchy scalp and thinning hair

Author: Jacob Lagercrantz

Published: 2021-12-21

Question

“Hello! I’m a 30 year old man and recently I’ve had a very stressful period. I feel that my hair has become thinner and also that my scalp is extremely itchy, sometimes so much so that I find it difficult to sleep, for example.

Do you think my hair has become thinner because of the stress itself or because I scratch my scalp so much? Is there any medicine or treatment for this?”

Answer

Stress is a relatively common cause of hair loss. However, stress-relatedhair loss is most common among womenas they are more physically sensitive to stress. The hair loss is then general and often affects the “whole hair” and not specific parts of the head. Even bouts of itching can be a result of stress, we simply react differently to different things. And then we simply have different sensitive scalps, just as we have different characteristics and properties of the hairs themselves.

If you scratch your scalp extremely often, you can certainly imagine that some of the hair is damaged simply by the external wear and tear, but itching alone cannot be said to be the cause of very noticeable hair loss.

Number one for a sensitive scalp is to use a good and adapted shampoo for this. Some people always need to use this, but sometimes it’s enough to replace their usual shampoo during the itchy period. In addition, there are over-the-counter solutions for scalp eczema at the pharmacy that can provide relief.

If the itching is very bad, for example when you go to sleep, you can get anti-histamine tablets prescribed by your doctor, such as Atarax, after an examination. These are very effective but can make you feel a bit tired for a while after taking them.

Then, of course, we have the PRPmethod that we work with here at the clinic. This treatment is both stimulating for the hair follicles but also very healing. The growth factors injected are the substances that rush to the area when you get a wound on your body and help it heal by stimulating cell renewal and cell formation. Many people who report that they have suffered from itchy scalp in the past find that this has been alleviated while hair growth has improved.