Children and teenagers

Hair loss in children
and teenagers in
Columbia, SC.

A young person losing hair is usually carrying more than the hair. They get the same magnified analysis, the same written finding and the same private room an adult gets, with a parent beside them and the explanation given to them in words they can take back to school.

Book a consultation Call (803) 477-5243
Parent or guardian present throughout  ·  Private room  ·  Columbia, SC
The follicle, and the skin it sits in
01
01  —  What I look at

Hair and scalp changes in young people.

Early-onset alopecia

Gradual or patchy loss, sometimes linked to autoimmune or genetic factors.

Scalp sensitivity and flaking

Redness, itching or flaking from dermatitis, often what they feel most self-conscious about at school.

Hormonal thinning

Changes that arrive with puberty and growth. Common, often temporary, and worth understanding.

Shedding after illness or stress

Thinning after an illness, emotional stress or a big change at home. It has a recognizable pattern.

Oily scalp and buildup

Clogged follicles leading to irritation or breakouts along the hairline.

Texture change and breakage

Hair that is breaking rather than shedding. Those are two problems with two answers.
02
02  —  How the appointment runs

What is different when the client is fifteen.

STEP 1

A parent or guardian is there.

For the whole appointment. Nothing is looked at, discussed or recommended without you in the room.

STEP 2

I talk to them, not over them.

They get the explanation in words they can use, and they get to ask their own questions.

STEP 3

A plan that fits a school week.

The same analysis an adult gets, then, at the complimentary follow-up within two weeks, a plan that is age-appropriate and easy to keep up between visits.

“The owner of the salon Cathy Mack has been servicing myself as well as my daughter for the past 20 years.”
Brittany
Google review  ·  5.0 across 27
03
03  —  For parents

Before your visit.

Allow two hours. You consent to the analysis and anything after it, and nothing is photographed or published without your written permission. Booking terms are on the policies page.

Sudden or rapid loss, a sore or spreading patch, or hair that is being pulled goes to your pediatrician first. I will say so on the day.

  • Their pediatrician’s notes
    If you have them, uploaded through your secure client portal.
  • Medications and supplements
    Including anything started in the last year.
  • Photos from before
    Uploaded through your secure client portal. School photos are perfect.
  • Their own questions
    They usually have one they haven’t asked you.
04
04  —  The one I see most

Where traction alopecia starts.

At the edges. Traction is hair loss caused by pulling: braids, weaves, extensions, beads, locs, tight ponytails and buns. None of them is wrong. It is about how tight, how heavy and how long a style stays in before the scalp gets to rest.

Caught early, it can recover, because the follicle is still there. Left long enough, the follicle scars over, and nothing brings it back. That is the reason to look at a young hairline early.

A thin row at the very front
Short hairs hanging on at the hairline while the hair behind them thins.
Tender bumps after a style
Sore spots where the style pulls, or a head that hurts that night.
A part that keeps widening
Same part, same direction, every time.
A hairline farther back
Compared with last year’s school photo. Edges move slowly enough that family notices last.

Nobody is told to stop wearing their hair the way they wear it. They are told what it is costing them and how to pay less for it.

05
05  —  What parents ask

Questions parents ask me first.

How old does a child have to be?
Old enough to sit still for a camera on the scalp, which is usually around three. Teenagers up to seventeen are seen too, always with a parent or guardian in the room.
Does a parent stay in the room?
Yes, for all of it, and the parent consents to what happens in it. What a teenager gets is the part of the conversation that is theirs, said to them rather than over their head.
My daughter’s edges are thinning from her braids. Is it permanent?
It depends on whether the follicle is still alive, and that is visible under magnification. Caught while the hair is only thinner, the odds are good. Caught after the skin has gone smooth, they are not, which is why edges are worth bringing in early.
What should I tell my child before the appointment?
That someone is going to look at their scalp with a camera, that nothing will hurt, and that they will hear the answer at the same time you do.
What if the cause turns out to be something medical?
Then you get it in writing and it goes to their pediatrician, and I say so on the day, not after a course of anything.

If they need hair now:  Non-surgical hair replacement  ·  Who you are bringing them to:  About Cathy

They are old enough to be told what is happening.

Most young people have worked out that something is wrong long before an adult says it out loud. Naming it is usually the relief.

Book a consultation (803) 477-5243