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What
are the consequences of whisker type hair developing above and behind
the ear in pattern baldness
Sometimes whisker like hair develops in men above and behind the
ear, as opposed to the normal position in front of the ear up to
the level of ear attachment to the head. This condition was named
whisker hair by Normwood but has also been referred to as "symmetrical
circumscribed allotrichia". The condition involves the development
of coarse hair usually preceding onset of pattern baldness. It's
development is most frequently observed in young men of late teenage
years or early twenties.
Only a few observations on this phenomenon have been published,
but it is a commonly held belief among dermatologists that development
of whisker like hair above and behind the ears is an indicator of
future severe androgenetic alopecia. The underlying cause of whisker
hair development is not known but is assumed to be related to the
influence of androgens. The link between whisker hair and pattern
baldness has not been investigated with any detail.
Some dermatologists believe this whisker hair defect is just a
different presentation of acquired progressive kinking that is sometimes
observed in the initial stages of male pattern baldness. Sometimes
the hair condition is confused with a hair shaft defect called "woolly
hair nevus" that has no association with androgenetic alopecia.
What
are the consequences of whisker type hair developing above and behind
the ear in pattern baldness references
- Norwood
OT. Whisker hair - an update. Cutis. 1981 Jun;27(6):651-2.
- Norwood OT. Whisker
hair. Arch Dermatol. 1979 Aug;115(8):930-1.
- Wantzin GL, Thomsen
K. Whisker hair - a common entity? Acta Derm Venereol. 1986;66(5):457.
- Knierer W. Allotrichia circumscripta symmetrica
capilliti. Dermatologische Wochenschrift. 1955; 151:794-8.
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