Some causes are entirely reversible. Working out which you have is the whole task.
Assessed and treated by a GMC-registered GP
Prescriptions, sick notes and referral letters included
A written treatment plan after every appointment
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
Care led personally by Dr Khan
Attentive, unhurried care that listens properly
Five-star Google reviews from the people we have looked after
Registered with the Care Quality Commission
Losing 50 to 100 hairs a day is normal. Hair grows in cycles, and at any moment around one in ten follicles is in a resting phase before shedding and regrowing.
Hair loss becomes a problem when the balance shifts — either because more follicles enter the resting phase at once, or because follicles progressively shrink and stop producing visible hair.
The most important distinction is between scarring and non-scarring hair loss, and it is the reason this page exists in the form it does.
Non-scarring hair loss — pattern hair loss, telogen effluvium, alopecia areata — leaves the follicle intact, so regrowth remains possible however long it has been going on. Scarring alopecia destroys the follicle permanently. Hair lost that way does not come back, and the only thing that helps is prompt treatment to stop further loss.
The features that suggest scarring — an itchy, burning or tender scalp, redness, scaling, and smooth shiny patches where the little openings the hairs come from have disappeared — need urgent dermatology assessment. Every month of delay is permanent. This is the single most time-critical thing on this page and it is very often missed.
Receding at the temples and thinning at the crown, gradually over years. Very common, and it can begin in the twenties.
Widening of the parting with general thinning over the crown, while the frontal hairline is preserved. Women notice a thinner ponytail before they notice anything on the scalp.
Smooth, round, completely bald patches appearing over days to weeks, with normal-looking skin. Autoimmune. Often regrows spontaneously.
These suggest scarring alopecia and warrant urgent assessment rather than a wait-and-see approach.
Genetic sensitivity of the follicle to DHT, a testosterone derivative, which progressively shrinks it. Inherited from both sides of the family, not just the mother's — a persistent myth.
The pattern of loss, its speed, and the state of the scalp make the diagnosis. Photographs are genuinely useful here, and this assesses well remotely provided the images are good.
We cannot examine the scalp closely, perform a pull test, use a dermatoscope, or take a biopsy. For anything suggesting a scarring alopecia, that examination is exactly what is needed — so we refer urgently rather than treating on photographs. Scalp biopsy is how these are diagnosed, and time matters.
Iron, thyroid, vitamin D and B12 — and reviewing any medication that could be responsible. This is straightforward, often overlooked, and can resolve the problem entirely.
Iron is best taken on alternate days, which absorbs better than daily dosing, with vitamin C and away from tea and coffee. Expect three to six months before hair responds — the follicle has to complete its cycle.
The treatment is reassurance and time, which is genuinely the right answer rather than a way of not treating. Identify the trigger two to three months back, correct any deficiency, and expect recovery over six to nine months. Hair pulled out in this way regrows — the follicles are intact.
Any suspicion of scarring alopecia goes to dermatology urgently. Redness, scaling, itch, burning, a receding hairline in a band, or loss of the follicle openings. Treatment cannot restore what is lost but can stop further destruction — which makes speed the whole point.
Alopecia areata that is extensive or not recovering also warrants dermatology, where treatments including newer oral medication are available.
Hair loss is rarely a medical emergency, but some forms are time-critical because the damage becomes permanent.
Arrange assessment urgently — within weeks, not months — for:
Seek same-day assessment for:
Book a routine consultation for:
Monthly, in the same light, from the same angles. Hair changes too slowly to judge in a mirror, and photographs are the only reliable way to know whether treatment is working — which matters when a treatment needs six months before it can be judged.
Minoxidil is available over the counter and is the mainstay for pattern hair loss in both men and women. It costs modestly, needs to be used indefinitely, and takes six months before any judgement is possible.
The NHS does not fund treatment for male or female pattern hair loss, treating it as cosmetic — so this is genuinely one of the areas where private care is the only route. That is worth stating plainly rather than sending you on a fruitless NHS journey.
Where the NHS does have a role, and where it matters most, is hair loss that is not pattern hair loss — and distinguishing the two is the single most valuable thing a consultation does.
Blood tests are the honest first step: ferritin, thyroid function, full blood count and vitamin D. Iron deficiency without anaemia is a common and entirely treatable cause of diffuse hair loss in women, and it is regularly missed because the haemoglobin was normal.
What needs a dermatologist rather than a treatment: patchy hair loss with smooth bald areas, scaling or redness of the scalp, and above all any hair loss with scarring — which is permanent and where delay costs hair that will not come back.
Where money is wasted: supplements marketed for hair growth, and laser combs.
NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary, Hair loss, and Alopecia — androgenetic, are the principal references. They set out topical minoxidil as first-line for pattern hair loss and oral finasteride for men, and note that NHS treatment is not routinely funded for androgenetic alopecia.
CKS recommends investigating for underlying causes in diffuse or unexplained hair loss — including ferritin, thyroid function, full blood count and, where indicated, autoimmune screening.
CKS identifies telogen effluvium following illness, surgery, childbirth or significant stress, which is self-limiting and recovers without treatment — an important distinction from progressive loss.
British Association of Dermatologists guidelines cover alopecia areata and the scarring alopecias, and are explicit that scarring alopecia requires urgent specialist assessment, since follicular destruction is irreversible.
CKS covers tinea capitis as a cause of patchy loss with scaling in children, requiring systemic antifungal treatment.
Because that is exactly how telogen effluvium works. A shock — illness, surgery, childbirth, severe stress, rapid weight loss — pushes many follicles into the resting phase at once, and they shed together two to three months later. People look for a cause in the wrong period entirely. It recovers over six to nine months.
Ask for the actual ferritin number rather than accepting "normal". The level required for hair regrowth is well above the level a laboratory flags as low, so a result at the bottom of the range gets reported as normal while being nowhere near sufficient. This is one of the commonest frustrations in hair loss and it is entirely avoidable.
No — that is the treatment working. Increased shedding in the first four to eight weeks happens because resting hairs are pushed out to make room for new growth. Stopping at that point is the commonest reason minoxidil is abandoned. Persist and give it four to six months.
It depends entirely on whether the follicle survives. Telogen effluvium, alopecia areata and pattern hair loss all leave the follicle intact, so regrowth is possible. Scarring alopecia destroys it, and that loss is permanent — which is why an itchy, scaly or shiny scalp needs urgent assessment rather than watchful waiting.
Only to correct a proven deficiency. Biotin in particular has no evidence of benefit in people who are not deficient, and it interferes with blood tests including thyroid and cardiac markers, producing false results. Stop it before any blood test and mention it.
Yes. Traction alopecia from tight styling is common, typically affects the hairline and temples, and is fully reversible if caught early and permanent if it continues. Scalp soreness or small bumps along the hairline mean the tension is too high. Loosening the style now protects hair that will not come back later.
For most men, yes, and it is effective. Sexual side effects affect a small proportion and generally resolve on stopping. Two things must be known: it halves your PSA reading, so anyone interpreting a prostate test must be told; and pregnant women must not handle broken tablets.
Not only. Pattern hair loss is inherited from both parents, and the idea that it comes solely from your mother's father is a myth. Family history on either side raises your likelihood.
August 23, 2026
Ongoing
Time to be seen
Appointment length
Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
Cost
Same day, usually
20 minutes
Yes, with your consent
Included
Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
Yes, your full record
Not routinely
Usually
Free
Same day
Often 10 to 15 minutes
Usually not
Sometimes charged
Varies by provider
Often a subscription
Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
Patient reviews
