1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)

Prednisone and change in hair texture

Posted by jeansg @jeansg, Sep 7 7:25am

I’ve been on various doe3s of Prednisone over the past one and a half years. Just recently my hair has started becoming frizzy and I’m wondering if it could be caused by prednisone. Anyone else have this experience?

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jeansg | @jeansg | Sep 14 6:30am
In reply to @patrish3 "So strange. I developed hair problems over the past 1 1/2 years on prednisone but didn’t..." + (show)
@patrish3

So strange. I developed hair problems over the past 1 1/2 years on prednisone but didn’t attribute it to the prednisone. It got very thin, curlier and frizzy. I started massaging my head, using hot coconut oil treatment, and am letting it grow out because I couldn’t style it worth beans. It is almost long enough to pull back into a bun now which solves a lot of problems. It does feel thicker as I taper, currently down to 3 mg going to 2mg. I am using the tapering schedule shared in this forum that takes about 2 months to fully drop from one dose to the next.

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Thanks, it’s good to have an explanation other than aging

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jeansg | @jeansg | Sep 14 6:32am

Thanks, it’s good to have an explanation other than it’s just something that can happen when you get old.

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bp486 | @bp486 | Sep 14 7:08am
In reply to @sharonmc18 "Thanks for mentioning about changes in hair. Initially at 40 mg my hair became very fine..." + (show)
@sharonmc18

Thanks for mentioning about changes in hair. Initially at 40 mg my hair became very fine and thinner. As I reduced prednisone hair thickness came back but now my hair is very curly. To the point of friends kind of staring at my hair …like something is different 😊 I am still tapering so will see where I land on hair texture. Really odd to have 60+ years of thick wavy hair to looking like I have a perm. Admittedly compared to all the other side effects I experienced at least this seems more cosmetic 😊

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I also have curly hair on prednisone. New to me. My hair dresser can’t believe it!

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besmith57 | @besmith57 | Sep 15 9:41am

My hair doesn't seem to be affected but my skin looks really bad with deep wrinkles on my face and dark circles. I had wrinkles before prednisone but not the dark circles. The wrinkles look so much worse now. Could this be because of prednisone?

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patrish3 | @patrish3 | Sep 15 6:58pm
In reply to @besmith57 "My hair doesn't seem to be affected but my skin looks really bad with deep wrinkles..." + (show)
@besmith57

My hair doesn't seem to be affected but my skin looks really bad with deep wrinkles on my face and dark circles. I had wrinkles before prednisone but not the dark circles. The wrinkles look so much worse now. Could this be because of prednisone?

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Prednisone absolutely affects the skin. Among other things, it causes thinning that leads to fragile skin that tears and bruises easily. I’m not sure about dark circles and more wrinkles.
One way to improve the wound healing is to take 500 to 1,000 mg of vitamin C every day. It might help with wrinkles, too.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9405326/

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besmith57 | @besmith57 | Sep 15 7:06pm
In reply to @patrish3 "Prednisone absolutely affects the skin. Among other things, it causes thinning that leads to fragile skin..." + (show)
@patrish3

Prednisone absolutely affects the skin. Among other things, it causes thinning that leads to fragile skin that tears and bruises easily. I’m not sure about dark circles and more wrinkles.
One way to improve the wound healing is to take 500 to 1,000 mg of vitamin C every day. It might help with wrinkles, too.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9405326/

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Thanks so much for the advice! I know vitamin c serum is supposed to be good for the face too.

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54pontiac | @54pontiac | Sep 16 10:13am

I also take Biotin and D3+K2 for my thin, saggy skin. I can’t say it has helped much, but perhaps I will see a difference as I taper.

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hopeinal | @hopeinal | Sep 16 11:28pm

I have always had thick, straight hair but it began falling out since I starred taking Prednisone. Now it has grown back fine and quite curly.

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