Acquired Progressive Kinking of the Hair

To the Editor.—  Mortimer and colleagues,¹ in reporting on acquired progressive kinking of the hair (APKH) in the August 1985 Archives, have performed a service by reminding us again that "common things are commonest." However, I suspect that to dismiss all cases of APKH as an early stage of androgenetic hair loss is too sweeping. The kinky, lusterless hair on affected areas of the balding scalp is, I think, familiar to most dermatologists and is recognized for what it is. Norwood,^2,3 whom they cite, described a similar change involving the hair above and behind the ears. This, too, is quite common in my own experience as a sign of an early balding tendency. Undoubtedly, Bovenmayer's case,⁴ reported as APKH, represents this phenomenon, and I agree with Mortimer and co-workers that at least five of their six cases do so as well.In the case we reported,⁵