Upright regrowing Hairs in Telogen Effluvium

Upright Regrowing Hairs (URH) in Telogen Effluvium: Many per Field of View

Seeing new pointy hairs is potentially good news as it indicates that a hair has regenerated after falling out just a few weeks prior. There are quite a few hair loss conditions associated with new hairs (what the public frequently likes to call “baby hairs”). The presence of many many new sprouts in close proximity to one another may be a sign of telogen effluvium (hair shedding).

Numerous upright regrowing hairs in a patient with telogen effluvium.

Telogen effluvium can occur from over 2000 potential triggers. Triggers like stress, low iron, thyroid problems, diets, medications, scalp diseases and internal disease are among the more common categories. In the case of a telogen effluvium, these tiny pointy hairs are formally known as “upright regrowing hairs (URH).” They indicate that previously shed hairs are doing their very best to regrow. They do not however, mean that whatever caused the hair to shed in the first place is gone and that the underlying cause is solved. They just mean that some hairs are able to recover despite the trigger.