Low Sperm Count from Propecia?

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

I’ve been using Propecia for a year and I have recently experienced mild side effects. As a result, I searched online for information on Propecia side effects and came across a new and very significant side effect of Propecia, which I have not experienced, but that has certainly made me extremely anxious about Propecia. I found it at the following link:
AskDocWeb

It comes from a woman named Lynda who claims that her husband’s sperm count has been significantly lowered since using Propecia and as a result he is not able to get impregnate her. The writer, Lynda, also mentions that she has come across other Propecia users with the same problem. This is a very serious issue that should be addressed and I would like to know your view on this issue and if you have ever heard of this side effect.

SpermScientific research and a woman named Lynda’s comments are two totally different things. While anecdotal reports may have some utility, they are often sources of misinformation and unfounded concerns.

I do not know if the AskDocWeb site is maintained by a medical doctor (it doesn’t indicate on their site), and I cannot comment on a woman named Lynda’s experience, because frankly, I do not know the full medical history.

One of the side effects of Propecia can be a decrease in semen volume. It should not decrease sperm count. That being said, I will inquire my contact at Merck (the makers of Propecia) about your concerns and will post any new findings here.

Tags: merck, propecia, finasteride, sperm, semen

Hair on My Legs Stopped Growing

/by William Rassman, M.D./6 /

(female) why would the hair on my legs just stop growing at my age of 58?

Our bodies do change with age. In women, after menopause, there are lots of hormone changes and some of these may impact your leg hair, as would the genetics you inherited. Count your blessings, you don’t have to shave your legs anymore if you are an American (culture pushes shaved legs), but in some European countries, hairy legs are better, so there you would be an unfortunate woman. I think if you could find the cause of your problem, I think that I could sell it in North America and we can make millions together.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, leg, legs, women, female, woman

I Want to Have More Chest Hair

/by William Rassman, M.D./8 /

I’m a 48 year old man with a very fuzzy belly and sparse chest hair. I’d like to make the set a bit more balanced, especially between my pecs. Will minoxidil make the hair on my chest denser?

You can try minoxidil, but be careful not to overdose yourself, as it is a hypotensive agent and it will get absorbed into the body through the skin. Hair transplants work well for transplanting hair from the head to the chest — and it is medication free. With hair transplants on the chest, the hair should last your lifetime.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, chest hair, hair transplant, hairtransplant, body hair, bodyhair, body

Losing Pubic Hair After Menopause, An Herbalist’s Opinion

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

Dear Dr Rassman:
I just read the article about the fifty eight year old woman who was losing pubic hair. She had gone through menopause at forty six and was wondering why she was losing (pubic) hair suddenly. Your suggestion was a good one…see a physician. God only knows what medical problems she may have.

However, as an herbalist, I find that most women do lose hair after menopause. (pubic hair not the norm) Quite obviously after menopause there is a significant decline in estrogen. Vaginal areas do become somewhat dry and lubrication during intimacy sometimes becomes necessary.

If after a proper medical examination nothing significant shows up I would recommend taking 800 to 1,000 mcg of BIOTIN daily. Biotin (a simple water soluble B vitamin) does promote growth of hair on the scalp. It also stimulates the growth of both finger and toe nails.

My ninety-six year old mother had mild dementia she proved allergic to ARICEPT. (She had spots on her chest and back!) I started her on a regime of 400 mcg FOLIC ACID and 1,000 mcg BIOTIN daily. Her memory has greatly improved and boy does her finger and toe nails grow. The hair on her head looks nice as well.

I hope you look into this approach after menopause. It is a more natural way of bringing the body some of it’s natural B vitamins. (plus promoting mental agility) As with any medications, this should be followed up with blood work. (between 2 and 4 weeks). Best regards

I appreciate your insights. I do not know a great deal about the impact of folic acid and biotin on pubic hair loss, but I can not see a problem with their use. Unfortunately, the formal medical literature does not give us clear scientific information to prove value of these natural vitamins with hair loss.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, pubic, herb, biotin, folicacid, folic acid

I Had a Temple Transplant, But Left Side Hasn’t Grown

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

i did a temple transplant a year ago, the left side hasn’t progressed at all. it is just light red, but no hairs. on the right side it has grew alot but it is still a bit red. how is it that i can’t see any progress at all on the left side?

You should speak with the doctor who did the surgery. At a year out, there should be full growth and no discoloration of the skin.

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

Do Apples Help Hair Growth? Quite Possibly, Yes.

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

Hello Dr!

I hope I don’t disturb you, I only e-mail you when I believe my content is of value to you/the community.

Please comment this article about apples and hairloss:
Natural Hair Loss Remedy Discovered in Apples

AppleI appreciate that you brought this to my attention. Very interesting stuff. I decided to research this a little further and found Procyanidin B-2, extracted from apples, promotes hair growth: a laboratory study, originally published in the British Journal of Dermatology in 2002.

The articles speak to the relationship between apples and Procyanidin B-2, extracted from apples. I am impressed with the published article in the British Journal (Br J Dermatol. 2002 Jan;146(1):41-51), which is a credible scientific source. Rather than rephrase what these articles said, I suggest that you read them and draw your own conclusion. I like apples and perhaps the old adage an apple a day keeps the doctor away may change to an apple a day keeps the hair transplant surgeon away.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, apple, procyanidin

Waking Up Each Morning With More Eyebrow Hair Gone

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

I have a boyfriend who has been waking up each morning with more of his eyebrow hair missing. We don’t know what is going on. He went to the doctors and they just looked at him and told him it was stress related and sent him home. I don’t believe it’s stress related. Could there be something wrong with him. Only 1/3 of his eyebrow is left. The other looks like someone shaved it off. some of is hair is there the other is not.

The obvious answer is to see a good dermatologist. If the hair loss is very short term, it may come back, but a good doctor will check other parts of his body for hair loss (scalp, body hair) to make sure that this is not a systemic or autoimmune problem. Stress could cause him to pick out eyebrow hair, so be sure that this is not what he is doing.

Tags: eyebrow, hairloss, hair loss

Low Hairlines of Celebrities

/by William Rassman, M.D./4 /

Why do movie star’s like Ben Affleck have such low, obtrusive hairlines? I found this site all about balding movie stars. Moviestar.nu

I think that some of these celebrities wore wigs for certain movie roles (probably the makeup artists did them for the character they had to play), and the site is confusing hairpieces in movies and hairpieces in real life. Your thoughts?

What you see is often an illusion that is created by the actor (or even their stylists) through hair pieces, make up, or even good hair transplants. Taking what I had said about John Travolta or Matthew McConaughey in the past, it is evident that these men would not be the sex idols that they have become if their hairlines rode high on their face. Actually, I don’t know if Mr. Travolta is still a sex idol, but he certainly was considered one in the past.

Paul NewmanThere are actors that transcend this low hairline sexy paradigm, such as Paul Newman (see photo at right), but they developed their careers and their sexy images when their hairlines were low and they were able to establish their sexy image without fighting hairline recession. Unfortunately, our society is superficial and it is easier to project the correct first impression from the frontal look. So sexy is the childhood frontal hairline in a man with a lean face and body. It takes just a second for most people to know if a man looks sexy, and that look is always associated with a youthful childlike hairline in a young maturing body.

Many times, I have had the opportunity to put back the youthful hairlines on male models or soap opera stars who started to lose their youthful hairline and develop a mature (non-balding) hairline. For them, the youthful hairline is job security. They do not want, nor can they tolerate the normal mature hairline, which still looks good. However, our society tells us that the sexy man image is the young man’s look. I am sorry to say that these young men with their youthful hairlines are like young meat for the females who fantasize on their ability to lure such men into their bedrooms.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, hairline, celebrity

5 Days After Transplant, the Wound Still Bleeds While I Sleep

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

Hi Doc. I recently had a strip procedure (1400 grafts) to my front hairline area. Its now 5 days post op, but I have soreness in the back of my head (donor scar area). There is a good amount of dried blood and when I sleep, im guessing its pressing on my head, re-aggreviating that area. Anything I can do to get rid of the dried blood without injuring the scar any? I’ve read somewhere that I can soak my head in warm water for 20 minutes (the back of my head), will that help?

Thank You

You should be able to wash your donor area easily and you can gently rub the dried blood off. It should clean up easily. If not, see your doctor for wound care instructions and inspection of the donor area for fresh bleeding, which should not be present after the first day post surgery.

Tags: hairtransplant, hair transplant, wound, blood, bleed, injury, donor

Scars from FUE

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

I may have heredity loss or loss as the result of medication. I just wanted to confirm that the Fox procedure does leave tiny scars at the donor area (where the hair is taken from)? Also, does the fox procedure also leave tiny scars where the hair is implanted. Please review and let me know of your thoughts.
Thanks in advance


1 Year After FUE – Parted
1 Year After FUE – Shaved

 

At the point where the follicular units are removed, there may be small punctate scars, but not at the recipient site, as the skin is trimmed once the grafts are outside the body. The skin disc that was removed in the FUE from the above photo were created by a 1mm punch, today the punch size measures 0.9mm. Trimming of the excised FUE grafts are critical to minimizing the transplantation of skin for the recipient area, which is clearly not the objective. When these FUE grafts are trimmed, the skin disc is reduced to 0.1-0.2mm in size, thereby minimizing scars at the recipient site.

For more on FUE / FOX Procedure, please see:

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, hairtransplant, hair transplant, fue, follicular unit extraction

I Lost Hair After Using Hair Dye

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

I used hair dye a few time to much in a one month period and i ran my hands through my hair and it came out in clumps. I was wondering if it would come back. Its been about a year since i last used hair dye and i dont see more hair loss or notice any more falling out. But its hard to notice if its getting better. I’ve been to so many doctors and they never tell me anything helpful. Is there anything i can do? I tried rogaine but didnt notice any difference with it. what should i do? help please. thank you

If you have been evaluated by many doctors and have come to a dead end, I doubt I can be much help either. Hair loss from hair dyes are a difficult problem, because it is difficult to treat or even understand why it happens. You may have induced genetic hair loss with the use of chemicals, but the chemicals themselves may have worked their way down the hair shafts into the growth center of the hair and killed or damaged it. As long as you have ruled out any medically related causes of hair loss, there are no proven treatments available (many products claim to reverse hair loss, but it is a buyer beware market and it targets the desperate consumers in a society obsessed with personal appearance and image). Minoxidil may help and is worth a try. With respect to hair loss after using a hair coloring dye, your hair should have grown back after a year.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, hair dye, dye, minoxidil

Minocycline and Hair Loss

/by William Rassman, M.D./26 /,

hello. I was taking minocycline for about 3 months due to acne. 10mg total a day. I stopped the treatment and through out I noticed that my hair was falling out, but not too much to cause concern. during this past 2 weeks my hair is falling out in big patches and i don’t know what to do? what do you recommend? thank you!

As I’ve said before, many drugs can cause hair loss, but if you are losing big patches of hair, then you need to be evaluated by a doctor (dermatologist) and can not assume that this is caused from the drug you had taken. You need to get a complete physical exam and history reviewed by this doctor. With all of that being said, I do not know of a direct link between minocycline and hair loss.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, drugs, minocycline

Stem Cell Treatments to Regrow Hair?

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

I’ve heard stem cell treatments can regrow hair. Is this correct. And can you give details please.

“In fact, many of the experiments that are successful in producing some hair, also produce other organ tissues like bone and muscle.” This quote came from an article you published. It says many experiments are successful in producing hair. Where and when can we get this treatment? Thank you.

Cloning, new drugs and stem cells are no where near for the treatment of hair loss. This article from 2004, despite the misleading title, does summarize where we might be down the road — Hair Cloning Nears Reality as Baldness Cure.

Tags: hair cloning, cloning, regrow, hairloss, hair loss, stem cells

Persistent Juvenile Hairline (with Photos)

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

This 27 year old man came to see me with this interesting hair loss pattern worthy of sharing with the BaldingBlog readers. Note that the first 3/4 inch of the frontal hairline is normal, but the thinning picks up just behind it and goes all the way back. If he let his hair grow longer, he might have been able to cover it with his hair combed back. Sooner or later he would lose more of it. Of particular interest, that frontal hairline may last his lifetime, while he could be completely bald behind that hairline if he does not treat it with finasteride. In taking the drug, he may actually return the thinning hair behind the frontal hairline, and if successful, no surgery would be required to accomplish this goal.



Tags: propecia, finasteride, hairline, photos, hairloss, hair loss

How Bald Will I Become?

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

Dr. Rassman – I went to a dermatologist today and she did a tug test on my hair and looked at my head and said i’m a class 3, althouh a bit abnormal since my hairline hasn’t receeded at all. She said I’m a good candidate for Propecia. BUT, she never said anything about miniturization. Am I to assume that my hair (thinning in the crown) is as a result of miniturization, and if that’s the case, then I will be bald, for sure at some point?

I guess I’m trying to understand – and would follow-up with the dermatologist, but she was pretty rushed with me – if my hair has miniturization in that region, and if that’s the case, then the hair loss will continue?

Is miniturization test the true way to determine whether I’ll be bald or not, and if she didn’t do a miniturization test then is she just giving me her gut instinct on what she can see with the naked eye, and thus should I get a 2nd opinion?

Thanks for your input.

Miniaturization mapping is a predictor of future hair loss, but by itself, the mapping will not tell you how fast your hair loss will advance. There are other factors that I use to determine this, and they include:

  1. Rate of progression of the miniaturization
  2. Distribution and pattern of the miniaturization
  3. Family history
  4. Your age and the pattern you are now showing
  5. Response to medications like Propecia (finasteride)

With that knowledge, I can make an educated guess. As an expert doing this for 15 years, I have built some good judgments in making such assessments and therefore it is something that I am comfortable with.

Tags: miniaturization, hairloss, hair loss