Accutane and Hair Thinning?

[virgo_chinwe]

Of those that have taken accutane? How badly did your hair thin? How did you recover from this hair setback and what preventives can I take to prevent too much thinning of my hair?

Thanks for your responses in advance!

[Precious_1]

virgo, i have heard stories of hair thinning due to taking this drug. I read about it on www.heralopecia.com (http://www.heralopecia.com) you might want to go there and do a search on this topic. I am here to tell you hair loss and thinning is no joke. I suffer from hair thinning due to alopecia. I am surviving this though, but the things i have to do to maintain my hair and keep some hair is well... exhausting. so if you can avoid this drug, i think i would. the skin care line dermalogica is great by the way. maybe you should look into that for your skin care on the outside, but maybe there is something else you can take internally. Take care

[Allandra]

Fortunately, my hair didn't thin a bit. It stayed just as thick as it always has been. I made sure to keep my hair moisturized because Accutane can make it dry.

[Allandra]

There are several members here who have taken Accutane. Hopefully, they'll chime in on this thread.

[Softresses]

My hair did not thin from the Accutane. I took 80mg/day for 6 months from last December to May of this year.

I think that women get a double whammy of chances for thinning because you have to be on birthcontrol in order to get Accutane, I did and I am abstinate. Starting and stopping birth control is a big shedding stimulus. I had to start the birth control a month before being allowed Accutane and I got shedding then, after the Accutane I stopped the BC and have not suffered any more shedding than is normal, I don't think my hair is any thinner either.

I have read about people (men and women) shedding and loosing hair, because of Accutane, but I know personally 6 people who have taken it and had NO thinning problems at all.

That being said, this really may not help you any because people can have totally different reactions to medication. I hope your experience is as good an experience as I had.

[SweetNic_JA]

My hair thinned a lot. It has gotten better but my hair still sheds A LOT. I mean, it sheds every time I wash, comb, plait, or cornrow. For instance, if I wash my hair in the morning - it sheds, and if I comb my hair after it dries - it sheds.
My hair is natural now and I'm 4a/4b so it's hard to tell exactly how thin it is, but it is a lot thinner than my pre-Accutane days.

[virgo_chinwe]

bumping for more responses! Thanks to those for their input!

[OneShinyface]

I took Accutane from August 2002 until February 2003. I lost about a third of my hair. My skin was flawless, but I was SO upset about my hair. It was this event that actually led to me finding LHCF. Since then, my hair has grown back and then some. I was careful to keep my hair moisturized and to take B complex, biotin, vitamins C and E, plus MSM, but it was all to no avail.

I'd battled acne for 28 years and this was the first time in that long that I didn't have some type of blemish on my skin. I was VERY glad I took Accutane. In fact, after 3 1/2 years of crystal clear skin, I'm starting to get breakouts again. Granted they aren't as bad as they were, but I'm not happy about it.

Just this week, I went back to my derm and she took bloodwork to see if I can go back on it again. I will be watching my shedding very carefully and will lower my dosage myself if I see the slightest hint of shedding over and above the norm.

I took 40 mgs for the first month or so, then moved up to 60 for the duration of my treatment.
HTH!

[SweetNic_JA]

Virgo, I bumped a couple threads for you. One may not be as obvious...it's titled "Well I've Started"

[adf23]

I took accutane for 8 months about 6 years back. My hair thinned alot. Other people claimed to not notice, but I did. I will say my hair thinned by about 1/3. I cried everyday looking at my hair. It was relatively long so that helped to cover the thinning a tad, when I wore it back.

If you have disfiguring cystic acne, I still recommend Accutane 150%, as it really helped my skin. I looked HORRIBLE pre-accutane. But if you have any form of acne that could be possibly controlled with either an antibiotic or topical solution, I recommend exhausting all other options first.

Its been years and while my hair doesn't come out in clumps like it used to, it still is not 100% where it was before Accutane. My hair is still thin along the edges, all around.

[Plenty]

My hair never thined, in fact it was supper thick.

I had read before the treatment that experiences may vary. Also if you do experience thinning, I believe it may only be temporary.

[Plenty]

I took accutane for 8 months about 6 years back. My hair thinned alot. Other people claimed to not notice, but I did. I will say my hair thinned by about 1/3. I cried everyday looking at my hair. It was relatively long so that helped to cover the thinning a tad, when I wore it back.

If you have disfiguring cystic acne, I still recommend Accutane 150%, as it really helped my skin. I looked HORRIBLE pre-accutane. But if you have any form of acne that could be possibly controlled with either an antibiotic or topical solution, I recommend exhausting all other options first.

Its been years and while my hair doesn't come out in clumps like it used to, it still is not 100% where it was before Accutane. My hair is still thin along the edges, all around.

:eek: I took it for half that time.

[lthomas1]

I took Accutane back in 2004 for 5 months. I did not have alot of acne, but very oily skin. I did not lose alot of hair at all. I just stuck with the baggie method and wore alot of buns during that time.