What to Do About Hair Loss After Gastric Bypass Surgery?

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

(female) Hi….I’m 29 years African American and lossing hair do to the “Gastric Bypass Surgery”.What can I do to help my hair.I eat the protein like I was told too,can I buy anything…Thank You!!

This topic is also discussed in this post: Hair Loss After Gastric Surgery.

To reduce the hair loss after a gastric bypass surgery, you need to stick to your doctor’s diet recommendations that will help you to maintain your minerals, vitamins, and proteins at an optimal level. Patients need to be tested for several factors including vitamin B12 after the surgery on a regular basis. This helps your doctor to diagnose the deficiencies and treat them promptly before they can affect your hair. Stress can also cause hair loss and these surgeries bring on some stress.

Tags: gastric bypass, gastric, hairloss, hair loss, vitamins, minerals

Iron Deficiency and Female Hair Loss

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

Black 42 yr old female: Have several medical conditions fibroids, take cardia xt for irregular heartbeat. I have been to two dermatologist here have had a biopsy of the scalp.The doctor just ruled as thinning hair.?? I have for the past 3 years been balding in the crown of my head and thinning only on the left side of my head. I get the bumps on my scalp with puss. I also have a low iron deficiency. Could all or one thing be making my hair fall out and not grow?

Iron chainsIron deficiency typically causes diffuse hair loss in patients, but be sure that this is all you have by obtaining a complete evaluation by a good doctor. This condition can also trigger pattern hair loss in genetically prone patients. Treatment of iron deficiency is easy with supplemental iron (don’t pick it up at the local scrap iron dealer — wink, wink). You need to complete your treatment course and wait six months to see if your hair grows back.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, iron, female, women, woman

Age vs Hair Cycles

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

Hello Dr. Rassman

I am a 22 year old male who has been having chronic telogen effluvium for almost a year. Now I am finally correcting the underlying condition, and hopefully the 60 % of hair I have lost will grow in.

During this time my hair has gone through short truncated anagen cycles (maybe 2 or 3), does this mean the hair follicles have aged for many years so that genetic balding will start a lot sooner than it is supposed to?

In other words: is it the number of hair cycles or the person`s actual age which signals the onset of male patterned baldness?

I think many men who experience CTE or TE are worried about this, hope you can give a definite answer.

Thanks

Some doctors believe that hairs have a certain number of hair cycles in their lifetime. That would indicate that you are correct — more cycles might mean acceleration of genetic hair loss. Drugs like Propecia and minoxidil are thought to prolong these hair cycles, theoretically keeping the number of cycles lower over a given number of years.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, hair cycle, cycles, age

Am I Experiencing New Hair Growth on the Crown?

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

Dr Rassman,

thanks for all your blog has done, its really a great resource and place for answers. Its been a great help for me.

I am turning 25 soon, and for the past year have been driving myself crazy because my hair has thinned. I did catch it very early, its far from noticable to the naked eye, and ive been on propecia for almost 10 months.

Heres my question, I recently noticed what feels like short spikey hairs on my scalp, my hair is long so i cant see them, only feel them.

would this be considered new hair growth? I know all about miniaturization (thanks to this blog) but these hairs feel very hard and spikey. And im sure they werent there a few months ago. The spikey hairs are only on the crown and other areas my hair has thinned.

any comments you have to help answer my question are greatly appreciated

You could be experiencing new hair growth. Follow it over the next few months and get some good photographs if you can ASAP and then more later on to compare.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, hair growth, propecia, finasteride

Does Brushing Prevent Hair Loss?

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

does brushing help prevent hairloss?

Brushing will not prevent hair loss, but it will cause hair loss if you pull your hair while doing it. Use a brush with tongs that do not dig into the scalp and be gentle. Hair that is miniaturized or near the end of its life, will come out and not return with little coaxing.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, brush

High Hairline on Nicolas Cage

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

Would it make sense to get me “only” back to a higher NW 3 instead of a mature hairline (a forelock with partially receding sides), so as to preserve more hair for a possible follow up hair restoration in the future, or is that not the way it is done? I look at pictures of actor Nicholas Cage, for instance, who was clearly balding 10 years ago into what appears to be my current hairline, but who now has a decent hairline that looks like a NW3. It looks quite natural and very subtle.

Nicolas CageThere is a long story where patients were polled to find out if they would have a preference with hairlines that are high. Those with a normal mature hairline looked better and the patients themselves prefer that look. The mature hairline has a slight corner recession as its natural look — it gives a convex look to the hairline.

Disclaimer: I have no direct knowledge of Nicolas Cage’s hair.

This is purely speculation based on photographs that I have seen, but I am under the belief that actor Nicolas Cage has had hair transplant or uses some scalp coloring agent to make his hairline very strong. In his case, it seems to me that the hairline is clearly not in the correct position and it is very straight without a good transition zone. I disagree with you that it is “quite natural” and if you look carefully at the picture, you will see what I mean. Hair in the high position should be a finer quality of hair, reflecting the thinning process that goes with genetic balding as the hairline rises. His high hairline does not have finer hairs, which draws the attention when looking at his face — my eyes go directly to his hairline, which for its position is far too strong. There is a negative connotation in the minds of many people when they they can detect a transplant. Saving hair for future transplants just to go to a higher than a normal location does not frame the face well. It draws the eye to the hairline. My goals always include having a hairline that no one pays any attention to. I personally think that a thinner, lower hairline looks more natural that a high, stronger hairline.

Tags: actor, hairline, hairloss, hair loss, nicolascage, nicolas cage

Transplanting Hair from Neck to Beard?

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

Hi – I’ve been bumping around your website and I see where jerks must’ve emailed you a million false emails – this is not one of them : )

I’ve got minimal hair in my beard on the sides of my chin, and I would love to find a solution for it so that I can grow a full beard. My little brother had hair transplants from the back of his head to his hairline (receding hairline) – but he shaves his hair closely and the line in the back looks really silly.

I also shave my head closely (not bald, like a 1 level crew cut) – so I’m hoping to find a solution for my beard (have full head of hair on top, so only looking at the beard). I’m wondering if it’s possible to either get the hair from my neck below a normal beard line (that low neck hair 3 inches below the chin where you have whiskers but everybody shaves it off anyway) grafted up into the cheeks/chin area – or if it’s possible to get the hair below my normal hairline in the back and put that in the cheeks near the chin area? I just don’t want that silly line in the back of my head (I call it a “scalp zipper” (privately I don’t make fun of him obviously).

Also, I know it’s a specific cost to the individual based on how many grafts and sessions are required – but if I assumed about 1,000 grafts in 1 session, how much would I be looking at (high and low range)?

Lastly, I didn’t see very many photos on your website of successful beard transplants. Any good websites out there? I’d also love to hear about horror stories from recent years and how to avoid them.

This is a serious email and I am looking to do something in the next few months if I find a good solution – would love to hear back from you.

The procedure known as follicular unit extraction (FUE) was first published by me in 2002 and it discusses minimally invasive hair transplants where individual follicular units are removed one at a time. There is no linear scar with this technique and you can clip your hair short as you want. I would not take it from the neck, because neck hair is not permanent. See:

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

Anything I Can Do Now to Increase My Scalp Laxity for Future Transplant?

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

You have mentioned before that one of the determining factors in a successful transplant candidate is that candidate’s scalp laxity. I am not in need of a transpant at my current state of hair loss, but I can foresee myself needing it some time down the road. Is there anything I can do TODAY to maximze the number of grafts I can get TOMORROW?

A good hair transplant doctor can tell you if your scalp is tight. If it is not, then there is no need to do exercises that may increase the looseness of your scalp. If it is tight, you can put your hands double clasped behind your head and slide the skin up and down. Most people have about 1/2 inch of skin movement, those with tight scalps have less than that. With this exercise done 3-6 times a day for a few minutes at a time, I have seen the scalp laxity go up.

Tags: scalp, laxity, hairtransplant, hair transplant, hairloss, hair loss

Transplanting Patient with DUPA?

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

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I am a 26 y/o asian male who recently sought consultation from a doctor concerning my hair loss. I was diagnosed with diffuse unpatterned alopecia. I also have been on propecia for 8 months and have been experiencing all sorts of sexual side effects. My questions to you are:

1. Will I never be able to get a hair transplant since I do have DUPA?
2. Do people with DUPA at my age generally experience extensive balding, or does it sometimes stabilize?
3. I have heard that the sexual side effects from propecia do sometimes take a while to go away. If they were to go away, would they be gone by now?

I have become very depressed and frustrated b/c from what I’ve read from your blog, only 1% of the male population have DUPA and only 1% of males experience sexual side effects from propecia. I feel like I have no options and no nope in solving this problem. Any advice you could provide would be very appreciated. Thank you Dr. Rassman.

This disease, DUPA, never goes away. In men, it may be a problem similar to female genetic diffuse hair loss and this condition rarely gets better, even spontaneously. If you did not respond to Propecia, you are probably not a responder and I would probably recommend stopping the drug, but it is your decision and one that has to weigh out the benefits and the liabilities. I know that I would rather be bald then to give up my sex life. I am not your doctor and was not there when the diagnosis was made, so it is difficult to give advice. Sorry!

Tags: propecia, finasteride, dupa, hairloss, hair loss, sex

Hair Restoration Doctor Specializing in African Americans?

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

Is there a hair restoration doctor that specializes in african americans. The reason that I ask is that I see that alot can go wrong. And I would really like to find someone that specializes. Thanks.

As far as I am aware, there is no hair restoration doctor who specializes in African American patients. Hair (without regard to race) is hair. Transplants can be more difficult when transplanting African American patients, but any good doctor who does hair transplantation should be able to address your needs. Go to ISHRS.org to locate a doctor near you.

Tags: ishrs, african american, african, hairloss, hair loss, hairtransplant, hair transplant

Should I Take More Finasteride After a Few Years of Use?

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

Dear Dr. Rassman, thank you for your blog. It’s really a big help.

My question is regarding the effectiveness of Propecia. Why does Propecia’s benefits diminish as time progresses? Is this situation similar to antibiotics, where the body eventually becomes immune to the drug? If, after 3-5 years or so, the effects of the drug die off, can we boost our dosage of Propecia to compensate for its ineffectiveness?

Propecia does not become less effective, but the progressive nature of genetic hair loss is on-going. The drug is about 80% effective, which means that the 20% that continues to be impacted, builds with time. More Propecia does not make for a better DHT block.

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

Where Can I Buy Apple Polyphenols and Procyanidin?

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

Hi Dr. Rassman,
Could you please suggest places that someone could find apple polyphenols and procyanidin capsules and topical solutions? I have only been able to identify one supplier and I cannot tell if their prices are reasonable. Thank you!

There appears to be a complete listing here: HairSite – Where to buy apple polyphenols or procyanidin B2?

Tags: apple, polyphenol, procyanidin, hairloss, hair loss

Losing Arm Hair

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

i am losing hair on my arm. i do not have none. my hair on my head is getting thin also. could you give me some idea of what i can do. they aint no were i can go out here. please help me out.

Without examining you I can not tell you very much. Are you taking medications? If so, these must be looked at as a cause. Arm hair? Well, I just do not know.

Tags: armhair, arm hair, bodyhair, body hair, hairloss, hair loss

Nervous About What to Expect from a Hair Transplant

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

I have a question about hair transplants. I am a 22 year old male. I have some hair loss on my hair line, a little recession. I have plenty of donor hair and would like to possibly have a transplant. I would like to create a plan where i could stay on top of my hair loss with a transplant/propecia etc. I am very nervous about scarring etc. and I have hear horror stories about transplants. I would like one but not if it causes any risk of disfigurement. I don’t mind traveling to find a good surgeon. I am in front of the camera quite a bit, and would really like this procedure done. Can you provide me some with the risks, as well as realistic gains to expect, i would like a thick transplant that looks natural? Like I said, I have plenty of donor hair, and my loss is not significant. Let me know what you think

Firstly, I would suggest that you go to the New Hair Institute site and educate yourself on the various subjects there. As well, an important blog entry to review is Maturation of a Hairline — Moving From Juvenile to Mature. Read through that and tell me if those photographs apply to you. If you wish to send me a set of good photographs, I will then engage you over the phone for a telephone consultation (any photos you send are absolutely confidential as required by law for a doctor’s office so your picture and identity is totally protected). In this way, I can personalize many of the questions you posed. Today’s modern hair transplant produces a totally normal look. The risks of disfigurement are virtually nonexistent. If you elect to come to one of our open house events, then you will be able to observe a surgery and meet a dozen or so patients who had it done. In this way, you can see the results first hand on actual live patients, for there is no fooling a viewer, and you do not have to take my word for the naturalness of the results.

At only 22 years old, you may be too young to do a transplant if you are not far along and Propecia may be the only thing you need. At the time of a visit, I can map out your hair and scalp for miniaturization which is the cardinal sign of genetic hair loss and a predictor of what the future may hold for you.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, hairtransplant, hair transplant

Hairs Per Square Inch Seems Lower on Sides and Top of My Head

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

22/male. My individual hairs don’t seem to be thinning all that much (meaning the diameter) except the overall thickness i.e. hairs per square inch has drastically lowered especially on the sides of and top of my head. Is this just a normal part of my body changing? In addition the spot of hair that juts out on the right side of my head (near the temple) is turning more into like peach fuzz but it is not quite like that on the left side. Are these the signs of MPB, I’m confused and worried. Thanks

It is impossible to answer your question without a formal physical exam and microscopic assessment of your scalp area by area. What you are describing does not particularly sound like a pattern consistent with MPB. The sides of the head are often less dense than the back of the head in non-balding people. There are other conditions such as diffuse alopecia areata (as an example) that may cause asymmetric hair loss in different parts of your scalp. You should see a qualified doctor who can perform a miniaturization study and density measurement to obtain a good diagnosis.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, alopecia