Hi, im a 21 year old female with a high hairline. Are there any non-surgical solutions to make it lower?
- bangs (see example on right)
- hat
- bandana
- wig
If in fact intercytex is only a few years away from a permanent fix for baldness, when is a good time for us bald guys to invest in their stock so we can not only get hair but also make a absolute killing on the stock market ?
Good question and I wish I knew the answer. This company has many good products and appears to be a good investment on their main line offerings. Be sure to check them out properly. If you believe that the company will live or die on cloning hair, don’t hold your breath.
Hi Dr. Rassman. Which hair transplant surgeries can I have with local anaesthesia? I don’t want general asaestesia. Can I have hair transplantation without being knocked out? Thanks.
Yes, that is the only way I do it. It is done with local anesthesia (like a dentist does with your teeth). I can use some sedative or narcotic to make the day more pleasant. Most people find that the entire process is very easy. I had it done and it was a snap.
Take a look at the very early growth in the first photo below, which reflects the first wave of growth following a hair transplant procedure of 2730 grafts. The new short hairs are easily covered by the hair from behind. When combed forward, the new hair blends with the old hair nicely. I’ve also included the before photo and a photo from 2 weeks after his procedure, just to be complete and so that you can get the full scope of what was done. Some of the short newly transplanted hairs have already fallen out and others that appear to be pointing the wrong way are actually about to fall out. Click the photos to enlarge.
5 months after procedure:
2 weeks after procedure:
Before procedure:
For an example of a past patient with similar results (but further along), please see radio host Steve Hartman‘s results. I’ve posted 3 photos of Steve below — the first photo is before the procedure, the middle photo is at the 5 month mark after his procedure, and the photo on the right is at around 14 months post procedure. I apologize that the angles are slightly different, but they illustrate the point that the above patient still is in the early stage and has a lot to look forward to. Click the photos to enlarge.
Hey Doctor. Just wanted to know if there was a system you use for demonstrating to a patient what the result of your work will look like when it is completed? Particularly in a restored juvenile hair line case.
Although some doctors may use programs to simulate the anticipated look after hair transplant surgery, we feel that the use of these programs rarely reflect the end results of what you would actually look like. For example, coarse hair will show a very different frontal look than fine hair. Computer simulations show just one look and although it might be a reasonable prediction for a person with coarse hair, it would not reflect the final look for a more see-through fine haired person that might require more than one session. Hair restoration is a complex process and there are several factors that could influence the final result.
So although using a computerized simulating system sounds like a neat idea, in reality the pictures are misleading at times and the final results may be considerably different from those shown on the computer screen. When used as a selling tool, it is great, but I don’t want to face the patient if the results do not compare to the ‘dream transplant’.
I am suddenly losing my hair, particularly in the temples. I have been considering hairtransplant, but I have read that they are very painful and the transplanted hair may work.
Also, I am creeped out by having skin cut off of my head. Seriously, I think I am going to throw up thinking about it. Do they put you under to do this, or is it local anesthesia?
Is there any other way of getting hair in the front with out cutting my head up?
There is a procedure called FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction), which is minimally invasive and allows the movement of hair without a linear cut in your head. You may be overreacting to the pain issue. If you came to a free Open House event you could see the surgery for yourself (we hold the events every month). There you can talk with the person having the surgery and meet with others who had the surgery so you can really explore the pain issue in great detail. We have an office in San Jose (I understand that you were in Northern California) with an Open House event coming up on Wednesday, March 21st from 5-7pm. You can call 800-NEW-HAIR for more details or to RSVP. I hope to see you there.
I am a male, age 59. Have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and control it with Diovan and Lasic. My father is near bald.
What if any products, medicines might I take to control the loss and hopefully regrowth of the hair I have lost?
THank you.
If you want a medical treatment for your hair loss, you should start by seeing your doctor and asking about medications such as Propecia or Rogaine. Propecia and Rogaine are the only two medications proven and approved by the FDA for the treatment of hair loss. There are also surgical options such as hair transplantation surgery. For more information you can visit NewHair.com.
If you are asking if there are any blood pressure medications that do not produce hair loss at all, the answer is probably no as a class of drugs, but yes for individual drugs that may have to be tested in you. This is something you need to work out with your doctor. Your blood pressure and heart should be more important than your hair.
Although there is few questions i have that cannot be answered somewere on this site i seem to have one in which i cannot find an answer. It is stated that the hair loss gene comes from your mothers genes(hence if your mothers father is bald you will be bald.)If this is fact i have a question with a certain situation. If my father started balding early(about the age of 23-24) But my mothers father started around the age of 55-60, what is in store for me? My hairline is as my mother’s father’s was but it is not the same as my fathers, also my hair color and texture is like my mothers fathers. What is your opinion?
Hair loss is genetic, but it does not follow a specific predictable genetic pattern. It has been observed that the hair loss gene seems to favor the mother’s side (about 52%), but this is not always the case. While scientists can say hair loss is genetic, they still have not found the specific gene for hair loss because it probably reflects a series of genes. In addition, carrying the gene does not mean that the gene will be expressed and you need to express the gene to be balding. So when we get smart enough to learn how to control the ‘expression of the gene’ then the solution to hair loss may be at hand.
There is an old joke known in this industry — A bald father with a heavily balding son complains to his wife, “Look what you and your family gave him” (pointing to the son’s hair loss). In our male dominated society, we tend to blame women for every conceivable problem with the children, because we know that as men, we are just perfect.
I hope the sarcasm comes through to the casual reader.
My understanding is that for those who suffer MPB, that “miniturazation” is inevitable. Finasteride is used to stop or slow that process. My question is can Finasteride actually reverse “miniturazation” in other words thicken back up the hair shaft as it grows vs. just stop/slowing it? Thanks in advance.
I believe that Propecia can reverse miniaturization in some people and that would easily explain the results we see in young men (in particular) who have increased fullness, not just associated with hair count. The best hair that responds to Propecia are those that are not near the end stage of miniaturization. This does not occur in everyone.
i have been taking propecia for 2 and 1/2 months my dermatologist said there were no side effects. I have been experiencing low libido, no sensation when i orgasm, and watery semen. i still have erections though. I quit after the 2 and 1/2 months and the side effects are still here even after four months. I consulted a doctors and they tell me to wait.how long do i have to wait and is it possible that these side effects our permanent?
Propecia (finasteride 1mg) is out of your blood stream in a day. Tissue fixation can occur, but that is gone in a few weeks. You may have to see a urologist about your problem, as it may not be Propecia connected.
I am a 25-year old male and just recently started using Rogaine foam. I have rather severe seasonal and some food allergies. When I use the Rogaine and stay “dry” all day, I have no allergic reaction. But when I go to the gym and sweat I leave the gym an allergic mess. I’m sneezing wildly, my nose won’t stop running, and lately I’ve started to break out on my face. I’m curious if it is the Rogaine that is causing this by me running my hands through my hair and touching my face? Any way to determine if it’s that or something at my gym?
Thanks!
You could try stopping the Rogaine Foam to see if the problem goes away after your next gym workout. If it does, your explanation would suffice. I’m not really sure what other advice to offer at this stage.
I am often asked if Propecia can really make a difference. I want to state that I am not a salesman for Merck. I own no stock in the company and my only focus here is to educate the readership and share the things I see in my very large hair practice in the hope that I can help people.
Here is an unusual response from Propecia in a 49 year old man who had been on Propecia for just 3 months. The hair in the frontal area filled in very nicely and will probably fill in further. If the drug works, most of the results are usually seen in the first 8-9 months when the hair has had the opportunity to grow some length and pass through a hair cycle. In most cases, some continued growth can be seen as far out as 2 years into the treatment process. What makes this unusual is the patient’s age. When I see such results, they are more often in young men in their 20s, but periodically I see them in men 40-70 years old as well, just less common.
I suggest that those readers that find this of interest to zoom into the photos and actually look at the hairs to estimate hair counts on their own. The darkness of the picture on the right is a photographic problem and I apologize for it. I am trying to get this patient back to get better photographs and a more advanced view of his growth over more time.
Before photo is on the left — after photo is on the right. Click to enlarge.
Can the possibility of genetic balding be prevented when you are still a child? I was trying to find a clue to how balding progresses in our family. i looked at my grandfather’s pictures when he was young and at my father’s pictures too. They are both bald now. I am 22 and i am somewhere between class 2-3 hair loss pattern.
I have a brother who is now only 6 years old. What could be the right way for him to keep his hair, knowing that every man in the family is balding after a certain age (19-20)? Or there is nothing he can do? thanx.
The answer to your question is yes, but not with current technology. Discovery of the human genome has opened a new horizon to treatment of different diseases in humans using gene therapy. Gene therapy one day will treat diseases by manipulating human genes (blocking genes that cause diseases and stimulating necessary genes that are suppressed). Baldness is known to be a disorder with a strong genetic influence. It means that there are genes involved in the balding process and once they are identified and can be ‘fixed’, balding may become a historical notation in human history. In theory, if the gene of balding was found and addressed with genetic tools, we could potentially treat baldness before it started.
(female) The hair on one side of my head has thinned considerably over the last 8 years or so. (I am currently 40 years old.) This is probably related to a port wine stain that covers the right side of my neck and continues up onto my scalp on the entire right side of my head. When I was first born, the doctors warned my mother that I may not ever have hair where the birthmark is located but luckily, this wasn’t the case. I couldn’t distinguish a difference between the stained area and the rest of my head until the last 8 years. Is this a typical response for this type of situation?
I have had laser surgery performed on the birthmark a number of times over the years, first with the argon laser and more recently with the pulse dye laser. Most treatments have focused on the visible areas of my neck but a couple pulse dye treatments were carrried up into my scalp. This may or may not coincide with the hair loss. I’m really not sure. (Both happened within the last 8 to 10 years but I just can’t seem to sort out which came first.)
Is Rogaine effective in this type of situation? Is there some other treatment option I could pursue? Like most people, I am limited to treatments that aren’t extravegently expensive or are covered, at least somewhat, by insurance.
I am not aware of any association between hair loss and port-wine stains. On the other hand, high energy lasers have been used successfully for removal of unwanted hair. It is likely that the laser treatment has caused or accelerated you hair loss in the area of treatment if the area of hair loss conforms to the treatment area. You might want to slow down the laser treatments. If your hair loss is because of laser treatment, your hair may grow back within next few months. Find out from your laser doctor the depth of penetration of the laser. If it does not go deeper than 2mm, chances are that the hair will grow back.
Dear Dr. Rassman,
I’m very interested in getting my hair mapped, but I can’t find anywhere near me that does it and I really have no clue where to look. What would be a good place to start?
Go to the ISHRS.org and use their physician search to check with the doctors near you. When calling the various doctors’ offices, ask their staff if the doctor will check out your hair for miniaturization to make sure they actually will map your hair, rather than wasting your time.