Hi guys,
I have exactly the same hair loss as you - sometimes red dots, a few hairs that look broken in half, symmetrical bald patches on the legs on the lower half and outside of the calves.
Please let me know what the doctors say as it's too expensive for me to check with a doctor here (Rep of Ireland).
My partner doesn't care for me to shave my legs, or I wouldn't have noticed this, and I feel well. I do have pretty dry skin though.
I wonder how many other women would notice they had this problem if they didn't shave their legs?
I had my two children recently - one's five, the other's six months - and pregnancy can affect hair loss - but that obviously isn't what's causing it for you guys!!
Please let me know what the doctor says
I have exactly the same hair loss as you - sometimes red dots, a few hairs that look broken in half, symmetrical bald patches on the legs on the lower half and outside of the calves.
Please let me know what the doctors say as it's too expensive for me to check with a doctor here (Rep of Ireland).
My partner doesn't care for me to shave my legs, or I wouldn't have noticed this, and I feel well. I do have pretty dry skin though.
I wonder how many other women would notice they had this problem if they didn't shave their legs?
I had my two children recently - one's five, the other's six months - and pregnancy can affect hair loss - but that obviously isn't what's causing it for you guys!!
Please let me know what the doctor says
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PS Also got total hair loss on the outside of both thighs (didn't realise for a while as those hairs were so blonde and miniscule to begin with) and at the back and inner side of both upper arms - to go with the hair loss on the outsides of the calves.
Who can tell me what this could all be?
Who can tell me what this could all be?
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I too have experienced hair loss on my calves, and I would like to post my story here in the hope that it might help anyone else suffering from this problem.
My condition first started when I was 31 years old. Basically, I had itchy skin around my ankles. My first thought was that the place where I was living had somehow gotten fleas. I even went so far as to have an exterminator come and spray for fleas.
I never actually did see a flea, and, of course, the pest treatment had no effect on my ankles. After a month or two of constantly scratching, I started to worry that I might have eczema. I gave up and finally saw a dermatologist. At this point, the skin on the outside of my calves was slightly flaky – basically, it looked like I had dry skin. Unlike dry skin, the affected area was highly localized with a clear delineation (border) between affected and unaffected skin.
When the dermatologist first saw my legs, his first comment was "that's interesting"! He said it MIGHT be eczema, but then again, it might not. He prescribed me a steroidal cream. I applied the cream once or twice per day, and it did help with the itching. If I forgot to apply the cream for a day or two, the itching would come right back. This carried on for about 6-8 months or so.
Gradually, the itching and dry, flaky skin cleared up. I was able to stop applying the cream because the itching had vanished. At this time, the skin looked normal except that there was no longer any hair growing out of it. It was very smooth, and looked like someone had shaved a few patches of hair around the outside of my calves.
There was also another symptom: the skin’s sense of touch was different. If you have ever had any type of nerve damage, you know the feeling when you touch a part of your body that no longer has any sensation: it is a strange creepy feeling like you are touching somebody else. This is not exactly how my calves felt, because they did still have some sensation, however, it is the closest I can get to describing it.
I have seen many other posts here where people have blamed this problem on tight socks, pants rubbing against the skin, etc. I am positive that these are NOT the causes for this problem. Here are three reasons why I believe so:
1) I have muscular thighs and sometimes, when wearing tight jeans, I do have minor hair loss around the tops of my thighs. After wearing tight pants for a day, the constricted parts of my thighs feel chaffed and sore, however, there is no itching. Also, the hair loss is not complete: some hairs are pulled out, some are broken off about half way down, and others are largely intact. When I wear looser pants, the hair grows back just fine after two weeks or so. The look and feel of this is completely different than what I am experiencing around my calves. My calves are perfectly smooth: if the socks or pants were pulling out the hair, I would be able to feel some stubble as it tried to grow back only to be pulled out again. There is no stubble whatsoever. There is simply no more hair.
2) When I first had the itching, I tried to wear socks as little as possible. Since it happened over the summer, I pretty much wore sandels, sneakers without socks, or went barefoot. I did this for several months, and it did not fix the problem.
3) I actually still have nice thick hair growing BELOW where the hairless regions on my calves are. I even have hair growing rather nicely on my toes and feet. If it were do to socks, there is no way I would have hair around my ankles and on my feet. Also, the inside of my calves is completely unaffected.
My wife pestered me to see another doctor about it, and a month or so ago, I saw another (different) dermatologist. His first reaction was that my symptoms matched those of a common type of male hair loss that occurs when men get older. This condition usually starts as men get older, and first begins on the lower, outside parts of the legs (calves).
Although this description does somewhat fit my symptoms, I don’t believe it is the anser. This is because:
a) The problem the dermatologist described usually does not begin until men are in their 50s or 60s. He admitted that it would be highly unusual for someone to experience this problem when there are 31.
b) As I understand it, the problem is usually associated with a slight thinning of hair (not loss) elsewhere on the body. This is a natural consequence of hormonal changes in men as they age. Once again, 31 years old is extremely young for this to start. Also, the hair on the rest of my body is as heavy and thick as it has ever been. I have no other symptoms, and, in general, and extremely healthy.
c) The hair loss condition the dermatologist described is not associated with a rash or skin sensitivity changes. When I pointed this out to him, he had no answer.
At this point I have a theory. My theory is that the problem is some type of auto-immune problem, similar to eczema, except that the immune system is specifically targeting hair, i.e., hair follicles, hair cells, or some component of skin involved in hair production. This would explain the initial itchy rash as the hair components were being destroyed, as well as the subsequent absence of any hair. Once the hair components were gone, the immune system felt its job was done, and of course, there was no more itching / flaky skin.
You may think that it is not possible to have such a localized auto-immune response, and that if my immune system were destroying hair, it would do so everywhere on my body. In fact, it is very common to have patchy auto-immune responses that are localized to specific areas and have well defined margins. Examples of such diseases are eczema, vitiligo (loss of pigmentation cells), and alopecia (loss of hair). Google this conditions to see pictures: often these diseases exhibit themselves as patchy areas.
Also, auto-immune diseases tend to run in families and be more common in people with other auto-immune diseases, such as allergies. Although I’m not aware of any family members who have hair loss, severe allergies do run in my family (in fact, I have severe allergies).
Perhaps what I have is a form of alopecia. When I have researched alopecia, I have never been able to find the itchy / flaky skin symptoms.
As of today, I have not experienced these conditions anywhere else. The outside of my lower left calf is more affected than the right, and extends to about 3-4 inches below my knee. It does not appear to be spreading.
My condition first started when I was 31 years old. Basically, I had itchy skin around my ankles. My first thought was that the place where I was living had somehow gotten fleas. I even went so far as to have an exterminator come and spray for fleas.
I never actually did see a flea, and, of course, the pest treatment had no effect on my ankles. After a month or two of constantly scratching, I started to worry that I might have eczema. I gave up and finally saw a dermatologist. At this point, the skin on the outside of my calves was slightly flaky – basically, it looked like I had dry skin. Unlike dry skin, the affected area was highly localized with a clear delineation (border) between affected and unaffected skin.
When the dermatologist first saw my legs, his first comment was "that's interesting"! He said it MIGHT be eczema, but then again, it might not. He prescribed me a steroidal cream. I applied the cream once or twice per day, and it did help with the itching. If I forgot to apply the cream for a day or two, the itching would come right back. This carried on for about 6-8 months or so.
Gradually, the itching and dry, flaky skin cleared up. I was able to stop applying the cream because the itching had vanished. At this time, the skin looked normal except that there was no longer any hair growing out of it. It was very smooth, and looked like someone had shaved a few patches of hair around the outside of my calves.
There was also another symptom: the skin’s sense of touch was different. If you have ever had any type of nerve damage, you know the feeling when you touch a part of your body that no longer has any sensation: it is a strange creepy feeling like you are touching somebody else. This is not exactly how my calves felt, because they did still have some sensation, however, it is the closest I can get to describing it.
I have seen many other posts here where people have blamed this problem on tight socks, pants rubbing against the skin, etc. I am positive that these are NOT the causes for this problem. Here are three reasons why I believe so:
1) I have muscular thighs and sometimes, when wearing tight jeans, I do have minor hair loss around the tops of my thighs. After wearing tight pants for a day, the constricted parts of my thighs feel chaffed and sore, however, there is no itching. Also, the hair loss is not complete: some hairs are pulled out, some are broken off about half way down, and others are largely intact. When I wear looser pants, the hair grows back just fine after two weeks or so. The look and feel of this is completely different than what I am experiencing around my calves. My calves are perfectly smooth: if the socks or pants were pulling out the hair, I would be able to feel some stubble as it tried to grow back only to be pulled out again. There is no stubble whatsoever. There is simply no more hair.
2) When I first had the itching, I tried to wear socks as little as possible. Since it happened over the summer, I pretty much wore sandels, sneakers without socks, or went barefoot. I did this for several months, and it did not fix the problem.
3) I actually still have nice thick hair growing BELOW where the hairless regions on my calves are. I even have hair growing rather nicely on my toes and feet. If it were do to socks, there is no way I would have hair around my ankles and on my feet. Also, the inside of my calves is completely unaffected.
My wife pestered me to see another doctor about it, and a month or so ago, I saw another (different) dermatologist. His first reaction was that my symptoms matched those of a common type of male hair loss that occurs when men get older. This condition usually starts as men get older, and first begins on the lower, outside parts of the legs (calves).
Although this description does somewhat fit my symptoms, I don’t believe it is the anser. This is because:
a) The problem the dermatologist described usually does not begin until men are in their 50s or 60s. He admitted that it would be highly unusual for someone to experience this problem when there are 31.
b) As I understand it, the problem is usually associated with a slight thinning of hair (not loss) elsewhere on the body. This is a natural consequence of hormonal changes in men as they age. Once again, 31 years old is extremely young for this to start. Also, the hair on the rest of my body is as heavy and thick as it has ever been. I have no other symptoms, and, in general, and extremely healthy.
c) The hair loss condition the dermatologist described is not associated with a rash or skin sensitivity changes. When I pointed this out to him, he had no answer.
At this point I have a theory. My theory is that the problem is some type of auto-immune problem, similar to eczema, except that the immune system is specifically targeting hair, i.e., hair follicles, hair cells, or some component of skin involved in hair production. This would explain the initial itchy rash as the hair components were being destroyed, as well as the subsequent absence of any hair. Once the hair components were gone, the immune system felt its job was done, and of course, there was no more itching / flaky skin.
You may think that it is not possible to have such a localized auto-immune response, and that if my immune system were destroying hair, it would do so everywhere on my body. In fact, it is very common to have patchy auto-immune responses that are localized to specific areas and have well defined margins. Examples of such diseases are eczema, vitiligo (loss of pigmentation cells), and alopecia (loss of hair). Google this conditions to see pictures: often these diseases exhibit themselves as patchy areas.
Also, auto-immune diseases tend to run in families and be more common in people with other auto-immune diseases, such as allergies. Although I’m not aware of any family members who have hair loss, severe allergies do run in my family (in fact, I have severe allergies).
Perhaps what I have is a form of alopecia. When I have researched alopecia, I have never been able to find the itchy / flaky skin symptoms.
As of today, I have not experienced these conditions anywhere else. The outside of my lower left calf is more affected than the right, and extends to about 3-4 inches below my knee. It does not appear to be spreading.
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1 more here.
started a little higher than one knee, then another one on the other-leg (a little higher than the ankle), then started on other knee, same location.
Now first one getting bigger.
guess I'm seeing a dermatologist
started a little higher than one knee, then another one on the other-leg (a little higher than the ankle), then started on other knee, same location.
Now first one getting bigger.
guess I'm seeing a dermatologist
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Hi..I noticed that the hair above my 'outer' ankles measuring about 2"x2" slowly disappeared. I assumed that because this was an area that had been itching for a while I had caused it by being too rough(I often made it bleed). I also assumed that either the washing machine was no longer rinsing my socks thoroughly enough of all the detergent maybe because I was overfilling the machine, or I had changed washing powder and was having a reaction to that and of course that area that was itching was where the socks were tightest.
Although I have not mentioned it to my father I had noticed when I was younger that he too had the same 'bald' areas in exactly the same places. So yes I assumed that as he was nearing 80 now there can't be much wrong with me and after changing washing detergent and not overloading any more the itching and hair loss stopped. Maybe coincidence? Oh and I was 48 then and am a few months off my 50th now.
Now I have found some tiny cyst like lumps just below one of those bald areas on my right leg where it meets my foot at the very lowest part of the front of my leg. I have no pain and what concerns me is that 2 of them are about half the size of a pea but another which seems deeper is about the size of a big pea :-(
It looks like they may be cysts as I have a couple higher up (one on my calf and another on my thigh) but those are virtually on the surface and noticeable unlike these new lumps which can only be felt and not seen.
I suppose I had better see a doc and get them checked out!
Although I have not mentioned it to my father I had noticed when I was younger that he too had the same 'bald' areas in exactly the same places. So yes I assumed that as he was nearing 80 now there can't be much wrong with me and after changing washing detergent and not overloading any more the itching and hair loss stopped. Maybe coincidence? Oh and I was 48 then and am a few months off my 50th now.
Now I have found some tiny cyst like lumps just below one of those bald areas on my right leg where it meets my foot at the very lowest part of the front of my leg. I have no pain and what concerns me is that 2 of them are about half the size of a pea but another which seems deeper is about the size of a big pea :-(
It looks like they may be cysts as I have a couple higher up (one on my calf and another on my thigh) but those are virtually on the surface and noticeable unlike these new lumps which can only be felt and not seen.
I suppose I had better see a doc and get them checked out!
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Hey guys I think I might have the answer. I know the problem I have is because of pant rub. The hair where my pants always rub when I walk is gone. This started what I was about 16. I’m now 25 and the hair on the back of my legs where completely gone. As everyone else has said I also have the red bumps where there was hair. And I had extremely dry scaly skin all over my body. But that has changed now.
You might have essential fatty acid deficiency (omega 3 being the main one). I got sick of the dry skin and read on the net what I could do about it. And I read some articles about essential fatty acid deficiency. About a month ago I got some of the food they recommended and its working. My skin is smoothing out, I don’t feel all stiff like my skin is about to crack. And last week, I noticed some hairs re-growing on the back of my leg. I eat an 8 to 10 oz salmon falay every night and throughout the day I snack on nuts that are high in omega 3 fats and minerals (Walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and Brazil nuts are some of the healthiest nuts you can eat. The websites did not say anything about it re-growing hair, but apparently I had some deficiency somewhere. Also about the salmon. The best kind to get is wild Alaskan sockeye or king salmon. They are also the cleanest with low mercury levels. They are kind of pricey. But it’s worth it. Farm raised salmon taste like c**p and don’t have as much omega 3 that wild salmon do. I’ll report back in a month or so to let you know how the hair on my legs are doing.
You might have essential fatty acid deficiency (omega 3 being the main one). I got sick of the dry skin and read on the net what I could do about it. And I read some articles about essential fatty acid deficiency. About a month ago I got some of the food they recommended and its working. My skin is smoothing out, I don’t feel all stiff like my skin is about to crack. And last week, I noticed some hairs re-growing on the back of my leg. I eat an 8 to 10 oz salmon falay every night and throughout the day I snack on nuts that are high in omega 3 fats and minerals (Walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and Brazil nuts are some of the healthiest nuts you can eat. The websites did not say anything about it re-growing hair, but apparently I had some deficiency somewhere. Also about the salmon. The best kind to get is wild Alaskan sockeye or king salmon. They are also the cleanest with low mercury levels. They are kind of pricey. But it’s worth it. Farm raised salmon taste like c**p and don’t have as much omega 3 that wild salmon do. I’ll report back in a month or so to let you know how the hair on my legs are doing.
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Wow...
Everyone with the same problem and no one has figured it out yet? I guess I'll tell you want the problem is for most of you. You're all going to die very soon from cardiovascular problems.
Just Kidding.. :-D
The condition is called keratosis pilaris and it is one of the most common skin problems on the planet. Especially among people from northern european descent or nothern european decent. The disease is genetic follicular condition which keratin forms in the hair follicles forming plugs which damages the follicle, eventually causing hair loss.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratosis_pilaris
Everyone with the same problem and no one has figured it out yet? I guess I'll tell you want the problem is for most of you. You're all going to die very soon from cardiovascular problems.
Just Kidding.. :-D
The condition is called keratosis pilaris and it is one of the most common skin problems on the planet. Especially among people from northern european descent or nothern european decent. The disease is genetic follicular condition which keratin forms in the hair follicles forming plugs which damages the follicle, eventually causing hair loss.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratosis_pilaris
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I'm 28 and I've been losing hair on the inside of my calves for years now. I always thought it was peculiar, however the same exact thing happened to my dad, so I figured it was just genetic. It could very well be that my pants are rubbing against my calves, although I can't say I've ever noticed it. I'm also missing the hair on the inside of my thighs, but it's obvious that's from my legs rubbing together when I walk.
My legs were once extremely hairy, but I now have a big bald spot on the inside of each calf, and it's starting to spread downward on my right leg. What's odd is that the way it's spreading, it doesn't make sense if the cause is from pant friction. It's like a bald line running down the back of my lower leg, about an inch wide. If it were caused by my pants, I would tend to think it would be larger.
I've also lost a pretty decent amount of hair on the top of my head, so ultimately I think it may just be related to my genetic hair loss in general. No doubt I will be completely bald in another 20 years. C'est la vie.
In addition, I exercise an hour a day, my diet is pretty much immaculate and I take multivitamins. The balding on my legs started back before I began exercising regularly and eating healthy, and it's getting worse now, so I'm not thinking that, in my case, it's not related to diet. It'd be nice to find out what's causing it though - why that specific area is balding not the rest of my legs, or my chest, or whatever.
And I'd be surprised if it's a skin condition, as my skin is not particularly dry, itchy, or anything else that would indicate a problem in that way.
My legs were once extremely hairy, but I now have a big bald spot on the inside of each calf, and it's starting to spread downward on my right leg. What's odd is that the way it's spreading, it doesn't make sense if the cause is from pant friction. It's like a bald line running down the back of my lower leg, about an inch wide. If it were caused by my pants, I would tend to think it would be larger.
I've also lost a pretty decent amount of hair on the top of my head, so ultimately I think it may just be related to my genetic hair loss in general. No doubt I will be completely bald in another 20 years. C'est la vie.
In addition, I exercise an hour a day, my diet is pretty much immaculate and I take multivitamins. The balding on my legs started back before I began exercising regularly and eating healthy, and it's getting worse now, so I'm not thinking that, in my case, it's not related to diet. It'd be nice to find out what's causing it though - why that specific area is balding not the rest of my legs, or my chest, or whatever.
And I'd be surprised if it's a skin condition, as my skin is not particularly dry, itchy, or anything else that would indicate a problem in that way.
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I have the same thing going on. I just noticed that I'm losing hair on both legs in identical spots. It looks like someone shaved down the middle of both calves and looks very funny.
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wow yeah i just noticed it on my legs
basically symetrical
im overweight but i do a lot of walking around all day (i work at a retail store)
im hoping its just too much pant rubbing
basically symetrical
im overweight but i do a lot of walking around all day (i work at a retail store)
im hoping its just too much pant rubbing
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I have the EXACT same thing.......noticed it about one year ago; basically the front of my calves a couple of inches below the knee have loss most of their hair. It's fairly identical in both legs but one appears to worse. I've also developed a perfect oval shaped eczema patch just above the ankle on one leg that won't heal.
I've never had eczema before but do have bad allergies for which I've been tested. My calves also now often get bad cramps sometimes.....not always just sometimes; this is also new.
I believe it's auto-immune related but there's also a cardiovascular element like poor blood circulation. I gotta get my ass to a doctor and get some blood tests done.
Aside from everything else it simply looks freaky and I'm no longer comfortable wearing shorts. I doubt the hair will grow back. However, there are people with far bigger problems than this like guys coming back from Iraq minus arms, legs and faces so have a proper perspective.
I've never had eczema before but do have bad allergies for which I've been tested. My calves also now often get bad cramps sometimes.....not always just sometimes; this is also new.
I believe it's auto-immune related but there's also a cardiovascular element like poor blood circulation. I gotta get my ass to a doctor and get some blood tests done.
Aside from everything else it simply looks freaky and I'm no longer comfortable wearing shorts. I doubt the hair will grow back. However, there are people with far bigger problems than this like guys coming back from Iraq minus arms, legs and faces so have a proper perspective.
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All,
I don't think most of these cases is a medical condition, simply the following:
I live in the South and during the spring, summer, and fall, the hair on the back of my calf muscles is fine. I typically wear shorts most of the time. In the winter months, when I wear pants, the hair disappears. I think it is a result of the leg hair drying out and breaking off because of friction with the pants.
Most people probably notice this when they reach their 20s because they get into the real world and wear pants all of the time.
This has been my experience. Hope this helps some of you.
I don't think most of these cases is a medical condition, simply the following:
I live in the South and during the spring, summer, and fall, the hair on the back of my calf muscles is fine. I typically wear shorts most of the time. In the winter months, when I wear pants, the hair disappears. I think it is a result of the leg hair drying out and breaking off because of friction with the pants.
Most people probably notice this when they reach their 20s because they get into the real world and wear pants all of the time.
This has been my experience. Hope this helps some of you.
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I'm 46 and have grown back my leg hair. I started losing it when I was 40 and have very hairy legs, so the loss on the back of my calf and where my sox are during the winter months looked very silly.
I grew it back by doing the following - although I'm not sure if it was one thing or probably a combination.
1. Do not put soap or detergents on your legs AT ALL. Use a soft cloth and hair conditioner only.
2. Take Borage Oil Capsules- High in Omega 6 AND Linoleic Acid (LA) also high in Gamma-Liolenic Acid (GLA) **IMPORTANT**
3. Take some kind of high potency Methyl-Solfonyl-Methane (commonly called MSM) and Glucosamine supplements.
4. I also take Folic Acid along with a multi-vitamin.
5. I put something called Pure MSM Lotion made by TriMedica - although maybe and lotion with MSM in it would do. This is also very important since it seems the hair on my legs gets brittle and breaks off.
I started doing this and within a few months all my leg hair was back. I stopped for a few months - and lost my leg hair again, so I guess it is going to be an ongoing process.
I grew it back by doing the following - although I'm not sure if it was one thing or probably a combination.
1. Do not put soap or detergents on your legs AT ALL. Use a soft cloth and hair conditioner only.
2. Take Borage Oil Capsules- High in Omega 6 AND Linoleic Acid (LA) also high in Gamma-Liolenic Acid (GLA) **IMPORTANT**
3. Take some kind of high potency Methyl-Solfonyl-Methane (commonly called MSM) and Glucosamine supplements.
4. I also take Folic Acid along with a multi-vitamin.
5. I put something called Pure MSM Lotion made by TriMedica - although maybe and lotion with MSM in it would do. This is also very important since it seems the hair on my legs gets brittle and breaks off.
I started doing this and within a few months all my leg hair was back. I stopped for a few months - and lost my leg hair again, so I guess it is going to be an ongoing process.
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What the heck. I have hair loss just like you all. It really sucks in the summer because I can't wear shorts. And again, there is no help out there with what to do. Sonofa!
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EXACTLY what I think it is. I walk a lot with my current job, and I have to ware long pants... loss of hair in exact spot. It's got to be the friction. lol
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