Doctors Refuse to Transplant Me — What Should I Do?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

went to more than 6 institutes and all of them refuse to do the natural hair transplant because i’m not completly bald. and in new york they told me that my donor area is not strong or not enough. what should i do? would bio fiber be the solution?

Certainly you do not have to be bald to get a hair transplant, as most of our patients show clearly in the NHI Patient Photo Galleries.

There are conditions that may impact your donor supply, either a very low density or a disease called Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA) which may make hair transplants a poor solution for you. Without examing you, I can not tell you why the doctors turned you down, but that is a good question you should ask them. See the ‘Managing the Patient with Diffuse Androgenetic Alopecia, Definition and Types‘ section in Follicular Transplantation: Patient Evaluation and Surgical Planning? for more information.

Tags: dupa, hair loss, hairloss, alopecia, diffuse unpatterned alopecia, hair transplant, hairtransplant

Cycling Finasteride to Avoid Side Effects?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

Two questions,

  1. I started on 1mg propecia a month ago experienced sides in a week, started 0.4 mg propecia have experience sides again. After reading the study on your webpage that said 0.05 mg was good enough and propecia could be dissolved in ehtanol, would it be advisable for me to dissolve a 5 mg tablet in 500 ml of vodka and drink 5 ml everyday?
  2. You said finesteride stays in you hair follicle for a month but your blood for a day, could I just cycle propecia to avoid sides, one week on three weeks off?

I never suggested that ethanol be used. I generally do not like to recommend anything except for the FDA prescribed dose for finasteride, but have shown information that is reflective of my educated readership. If you want to drink vodka, I would tell you that you should do what you want, but do not tie it to your hair loss or your hair treatments.

I really do not understand the cycling you are talking about. I think part of what you are saying is that there are sexual side effects that you are trying to get around by changing or reducing your dose. If that is what you are saying, go for it.

Tags: finasteride, propecia, proscar, hairloss, hair loss, vodka, ethanol

Scalp Reduction After Face Lift?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, ,

(female) I read on your site about someone with hairloss after a face lift. I had the procedure also about a year ago and I am left with big long bald areas behind my temples. My question is can SCALP REDUCTION method be perfomed to remove the bald areas as opposed to a hair tranplant?

Thank you

I think that you are telling me that there is hair loss above your ears and behind the temple hairline. If that is the case, hair transplants are the way to treat it. I have done hundreds of women who have had this type of problem after face lifts and brow lifts and the results of this surgery has been excellent. Scalp reductions in this area, however, will be disasterous.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, facelift, face lift, scalp reduction, hair transplant, hairtransplant

I’ve Had a Bald Spot My Entire Life

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

Hi I’m a 25 year old male and i have a patch of hair on the side of my head that has never grown in… It is approx 2 inches above my right ear, and it is about 3/4″ to 1″ in diamater. I am not asking about hair loss because my whole life, the spot has been there. I can’t get my hair cut certain ways as this spot makes me very self-conscious. My question is: Would i be able to benefit from a hair transplant even if there was no hair in that spot to begin with? As far as I know, there has never been hair there

This sounds like an ideal case for hair transplantation. So the answer is simply, yes. Follow the rules set up here on how to select a hair transplant doctor. With today’s techniques, you won’t even know that you even had a bald spot with the right surgeon and team.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, bald spot, hair transplant

White Hair is ‘Gold’ (with Photos)

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Here is a white haired patient who received 3831 grafts. White hair reflects light and the reflected light makes the hair wonderfully thick in appearance. White hair reflects like gold and this characteristic makes white hair work no matter what the skin color is… but when the skin color is also white, it is just an added bonus.

Click the photos below to enlarge.

Before:



After:



Tags: hair transplant, hairtransplant, white hair, white, photos, hairloss, hair loss

I Have Very Little Hair on My Head — Would Any Hair Loss Treatment Help?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

I’m a 37-year old male, and I have very little hair up top. I began losing my hair at around age 23 or 24, and the only hair on the crown is very fine, and hardly visible. I have never tried any hairloss treatment, but I am curious as to whether anything might help. At this point is there any hope, or would I just be wasting my money if I tried one of the many products available? Do you have any recommendations?

You probably have good hair around the sides and back of your head. I can not really understand what your problem is without seeing you in person… or at least seeing a picture of you. You can send me digital photos and I will keep them confidential. We can talk after I’ve viewed the photos.

Alternatively, you can get to see a good doctor who knows about everything from hair transplants to medical therapies. Then you might understand what your options are. I have written a book on the process, and you can request a copy of it by mail or download it in PDF format here.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, hair treatment, hair product

My Multi-Vitamin Contains Saw Palmetto

/by William Rassman, M.D./2 /,

I have been on Propecia for roughly 4 months now. It is working great. I noticed MPB early, got a scalp biopsy (and consequently a diagnosis), and obtained the finasteride all within 10 days. I am relatively happy. Great blog by the way.

This morning, I just noticed that my multi-vitamin contains Saw Palmetto, 50mg. My dermotologist had mentioned that you should either take one or the other, and not both, but I’m hoping the dosage is small enough to not matter. My question is could this have a stacking effect? How much Saw Palmetto is “prescribed” for MPB? Is this even near a dose? Am I now forced to always take 50 mg of this for life too? Just curious.

Saw palmetto is often ineffective for treating MPB. If it works at all, it is a weak DHT blocker so that there should be no stacking impact with Propecia. If you should stop saw palmetto at any time, there should not be a withdrawal effect, so you can safely stop the saw palmetto at any time.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, propecia, finasteride, saw palmetto, sawpalmetto

Hair Growing Through Scar Tissue

/by William Rassman, M.D./2 /, ,

(female) can hair grow under the skin due to a scar? i have a scar on my forehead in my hairline. about 4 years ago i went bald around the scar and since then my hair has only grown 2 inches, if that. i also had surgery around the same time as well. due to the lack of minerals and electrolytes in my body after surgery i then had an irregular heart beat which almost took my life. could this just be a chemical imbalance?

Yes, hair can grow through a scar. You asked about ‘under’ a scar, but I do not understand what you are asking here. If you had a nutritional cause of hair loss, then if it is corrected and it still has not grown, then you might want to look into a hair transplant to put healthy hair back. Before you would undergo any surgery, you want to be sure that you are healthy.

Tags: hairtransplant, hair transplant, scar, hairloss, hair loss

Can I Wear My Hair System While My Transplant Grows In?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

I wear a hair system. if i go for a transplant, can i still wear hair system till the time the other hair does not grow … i.e immediately after surgery i want to cover it with the hair system so no one notices.

For the first week, I would advise against it. When you use a hair system it needs to be switched to clips. Tape or glues will kill any hair transplant, first by pulling out the new grafts and then by traction alopecia. Be careful that the system does not rub on the grafts and that the system is clean so that it does not increase the risk of folliculitis.

Tags: hairtransplant, hair transplant, hair system, hair piece, hairpiece, wig, hairloss, hair loss

Bumps on Scalp Causing Bald Spots

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Hello,

I have a problem with my hair. It seems that lately I’ve been getting these strange bumps on my head that seem to be pimples only on a very different scale. They are quite rough and I can tell that there is a dense liquid behind them. Out of curiousity I’ve popped them and they usually scab and go away. But about a day or two after they go away, they leave a baldspot, usually the size of nickel or dime. Sometimes the spot is bald for more than a month and sometimes only a few weeks. I’m afraid to cut my hair because I know they will be clearly visible. What do you think this is?

It sounds like you have recurrent folliculitis. See a good dermatologist and get it treated. Infections can produce temporary balding around the infection itself.

Tags: folliculitis, hairloss, hair loss, bump, bald

Hair on Back of 12 Year Old Son’s Head Doesn’t Grow Anymore

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, ,

My mixed race (black/white) 12-1/2 year old son has had a mini afro since he was 2. It is sort of his “trademark.” About 3 months ago, the back of his head has lost its growth, and is much shorter than the rest of his hair. He is devestated, and fearing some kind of baldness issue. Why do you think this happened? Any suggestions?

He should be examined by a good doctor (dermatologist) and get his hair mapped out for miniaturization. I am just guessing here without the benefit of knowing much about your son’s history. Is this hair that is located on the high neck, rather than the low scalp? I clearly need to know more. If you’d like, you can send photos and mark on the photo where the notch is on the back of his skull. All men have a prominent notch on the back of the skull (a male characteristic). Please reference this posting if you do send photos.

Tags: hair growth, hairloss, hair loss, young

Remarkable Before and After Hair Transplant Comparison (with Photos)

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /,

This patient of mine just sent me his recent after photos with permission to publish these for my readers. I was very happy to see his results and the joy it brought to me made my day. As with many of my patients, he elected to show off his hairline in his hair style. He had two procedures totalling 4774 grafts. The change is quite remarkable, and this patient is understandably very excited about his new ‘image’. He says…

“So this has been the first summer since the mid 90’s in which I didn’t spend MOST of my time in a hat! It really says a lot about how the procedures have changed my perception of self.”

Click the photos below to enlarge.

Before photos – taken September, 2004:




After photos – taken September, 2006:




Tags: hair transplant, hairtransplant, photos, patient, hairloss, hair loss, hair restoration, rassman

Stimulate Chest Hair Growth?

/by William Rassman, M.D./25 /

Chest Hairis there a product out there to stimulate chest hair growth?

No. If you are under age 30, you might be having delayed chest hair growth which might yet appear. Give me more details, like your age. I assuming that you are male — chest hair on women is not exactly socially acceptable in our society, of course.

Tags: hair, chest hair, hair growth