There are diagnostic tests that can help to pinpoint the trigger of hair loss. The tests can help to exclude the possibility of certain conditions that may be causing the hair loss and perhaps aid in the search for a cause.
Many of these tests will come back with a ‘normal range’ result, but the way to approach female hair loss would usually be to start with the “process of elimination.”
Lab tests that can be done:
- Hormone levels (DHEAs, testosterone, androstenedione, prolactin, follicular stimulating hormone, and leutinizing hormone)
- Serum iron
- Serum ferritin
- Total iron binding capacity (TIBC)
- Thyroid stimulating hormone (T3, T4, TSH)
- VDRL (a screening test for syphilis)
- Complete blood count (CBC)
Scalp biopsy
- This method requires removing a small section of the patient’s scalp usually 4 mm in diameter, and examining the piece of scalp under a microscope in search of the cause of hair loss.
Hair pull
- It’s normal to shed up to 100 hairs per day, this hair pull test is a diagnostic test to help the physician find out if the patient has excessive hair loss. The physician will lightly pull a small amount of hair simultaneously (approximately 100 hairs), and if only one to three hairs fall out per pull, the loss is normal.
Densitometry
- Thinning of hair can also contribute to the overall “bald” appearance of a scalp called miniaturization (reduction in hair shaft length and width). There is a handheld magnification device called a densitometer that is used to check for miniaturization of the hair shaft.
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