I’ve Been Rejected By Hair Transplant Doctors and I’m Desperate!

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

I am a 19 year old male, with a naturally high hairline. You can also call it receding if you like, it goes beyond that curve. It’s been like that since I was born. My hairline from centre of my brow is 5cm, top of my brow is 4.5cm. I do not suffer from genetic hairloss, nor does either my family bloodline. When I say genetic, I say this, because when I took minocycline, an antibiotic to help with acne, it made my skin very weak, dry, and fragile, thus some hair fell out because of this. I went off the medication, and I stopped dropping hair. Problem is, I’ve lost the hair I had while on medication, and hasn’t grown since. But I can live with that. It’s only a minor thinning area. No biggie.

I am the only one cursed with this dreadful big forehead in my family. My dad’s forehead is a bit bigger than normal, but mine surpasses his. I have to cope with this everyday of my life, and I finally decided to take up the courage, fight my embarassment and ask doctors around my area. When I finally gained the courage to pick up the phone, I was deeply disappointed as I was excluded, turned down, and rejected hair transplant.

I have contacted numerous hairloss centres and they rejected me for a hair transplant operation to lower my hairline. I feel truly disappointed at this point in time. They only offer treatments for people have lost/losing hair. She only recommended me rogaine, which is unnecessary in my case. I still have a clear vision of a lower hairline of about 2cm-2.5cm.

I am not doing this because I want to look pretty, I want to have a lower hairline, because I no longer can cope with the comments I receive from people. It really affects my daily life. I was made aware of my forehead from my sister, which I never was aware about, and ever since, I have been getting more comments. When I meet people, they would look up at my hair line, not at my face when talking. It makes me so uncomfortable, and the rest of the day I feel so bad and cannot stop looking in the mirror, thinking “I will never get help, even the doctors rejected me”. How many times must I be rejected because of my hairline? Friends, family, now doctors?

I guess in the end, my question is: Can I get hair transplants to lower my hairline from elsewhere? Are there any other possible ways to lower my hairline by 2cm to 2.5cm?

Hair loss is indeed a dreadful situation for those who are afflicted with the unfortunate fate of the hair loss gene. Add to that a congenital high hairline and it can certainly impact a person’s view of themselves. While I sympathize with the negative social implications of a high / receding hairline in your teenage years, hair transplant surgery is permanent. It is not a short, quick fix. In other words, at your age it is almost impossible to predict how much balding you will have and a quick fix may just accelerate your hair loss. You need to start by getting your hair mapped for miniaturization and have a Master Plan of how to tackle your hair loss problem. You may be a candidate for medications such a Propecia. Propecia will not lower your hairline, though. Your “clear vision” of a 2cm to 2.5cm lowering of your hairline may be attainable, but the timing may not be right due to the risk of further hair loss.

Finally, you can probably have a hair transplant elsewhere by doctors who will gladly accept your money. But, that would be in the doctor’s interest, not yours. Whatever you do, even if you find someone to do the surgery, please get another opinion and just don’t get on the first bus that comes along.

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

Dr Cole’s Body Hair Transplant Instrument

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

Dear Dr. Rassman,
I am interested in body hair transplantation. Dr. John Cole does this procedure using special instruments he invented that have improved the results of BHT somewhat. What is your opinion of this procedure and how well do you think it works?

Body hair transplantation is still considered experimental in my opinion. Furthermore, body hair does not have the same growth cycle as scalp hair and most of the body hair is dormant (not growing). Thus, the success or growth of a body hair transplant is highly variable and rarely will more than 50% of the body hair be growing at any one time. Body hair also has a finite length of growth and a different texture than scalp hair. These factors make body hair transplants somewhat controversial. With respect to the instruments, there are many doctors who invent specialized instruments for their practice. I do not know enough of Dr. Cole’s particular instrument to comment on its efficacy other than to quote Shakespeare, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” — From Hamlet (I, v, 166-167).

Tags: hairtransplant, hair transplant, body hair transplant, bht, body hair, hairloss, hair loss, cole, instrument

20 Year Old Just Had a Hair Transplant to Cover a Scar

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

Hello Doctor,
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I find your site highly informative and at times humorous. I’m a 20 year old student; recently I had a hair transplant (around
1000 grafts) at the back of my head to cover an old scar. Judging by my close relatives, I will not inherit hereditary baldness.

It has been four months since the transplant and the grafts are growing quite well. However I have fairly long hair and the growth is slower than I would like. Could I use minoxidl to boost the growth rate? Also can you please explain the initial loss of hair that occurs with minoxidil usage, what causes it?

Once again thank you for reading this.

I am pleased that you enjoy reading my blog and that your hair transplant went well. However there is not much you can do in accelerating hair growth. Rogaine / minoxidil will not boost the growth rate. As you are only 4 months from surgery, I would expect more growth over the next 3-4 months, so be patient.

With respect to the hair loss that sometimes occurs with the use of minoxidil, it is believed that the hair loss occurs from the “resetting” of the hair cycle.

Tags: hairtransplant, hair transplant, hairloss, hair loss, rogaine, minoxidil

Dry Skin Build-Up on Scalp

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

Dr Rassman,
I am 24 years old and have been experiencing hair loss since last Sept. I have been on Propecia since Oct. and have since seen less shedding and some slight improvement. What is the most distressing is that I have diffuse thinning all over the top and crown of my head and, most terrifying, no family history of hair loss. My question is this, I have a lot of material build up in my scalp, what I think is white, dry skin, or it could be i’m just not washing my hair thoroughly enough, whatever it is, it’s very noticable and when i try to brush it out, hair sheds along with it, especially when I try to style hair in the front and on the bangs. I have been using T-Gel and the amount of build-up is less however there is still some on the scalp. Is this affecting my chances of hair regrowth? And do you have any recommendations?
Thanks

Sorry, I cannot diagnose your condition over the internet with just descriptions. You need to see a doctor who specializes in hair (like hair transplant doctor) or a dermatologist if you feel you have a skin problem.

Tags: skin, dry skin, scalp, hairloss, hair loss

Where Did My Hair Genes Come From?

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

Hi Doc, I am 34 and I have receded about an inch at the temples. By this age, my father was at a much further along in the balding process. My maternal grandfather receded but never went bald. I’m just trying to figure out who’s “hair” genes I might have inherited. If it was from my father, would my balding develop at the same age and at the same speed as him? Is the next most likely person to pass on the hair gene my maternal grandfather? I hope so!

I have answered this question many times, but I will briefly summarize again: genetic hair loss does not follow specific predictable patterns. Many have hypothesized and observed that male pattern hair loss is slightly more dependent on the mother’s side. In the end if you have the gene, you will go bald according to the genetic balding pattern you inherited. As there are probably many genes involved in the inherited pattern, until we can define those genes and quantify how many there are and how they work, we can not predict what may happen to you as you age and may bald. Someday, everyone will have their genes mapped out and with that mapping, we will be able to tell much about what will happen to us in the future, not just with regard to balding, but to predicting diseases like cancer in their earliest stage. I hope that this all unfolds in my lifetime, but clearly for the young man like you, I am sure that it will unfold in your lifetime and when your children ask this question, my replacement will answer it with precision.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, genetic, gene

Joint Pain from Propecia?

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

by taking propecia(1mg per day) i was having knee joint pain & it was getting normal after 4-5 days of stopping the intake of propecia. this i have tried after a gap of few days,still the effect is same.i am regular user of minoxidil 2% since last 2 yrs. earlier before that for 1 yr i had applied minoxidil 5% & have satisfactory results out of it. please advice.

I have never had any of my patients experience joint pain from the use of Propecia. I will make a note to ask the Propecia drug representative from Merck. Aside from the medication side effect, have you explored the possibility of an inherent joint problem such as arthritis that may be coincidental with the use of Propecia?

Tags: finasteride, propecia, joint, pain, hairloss, hair loss

Hats and Hair Loss

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

My question is: can hats cause baldness? I have heard that they are in no way related to losing your hair unless they are too tight and cut off circulation. However, I heard someone explain that if you wear a hat, sweat can accumulate in your hat, and your sweat contains DHT and if you have a predisposition to Baldness all the DHT coming into contact with your scalp can make you lose your hair even quicker than normal. Any truth to this?

I was on a TV program a few years back called the Big Urban Myth Show on MTV and answered this very question. Hats causing hair loss is an urban myth. Men wear hats to cover their baldness.

So to repeat — hats do not cause hair loss.

Tags: hats, hat, hairloss, hair loss, mtv, myth, urban myth

In The News – Viagra for Hamsters?

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

This isn’t hair-related, but I can stray from hair stuff just for a moment or two. From the article:

The “little blue pill” given to treat impotence might also help people overcome jet lag faster, a new study in rodents suggests.

Hamsters that received small doses of sildenafil, sold under the name Viagra, adjusted more quickly to laboratory simulations of a six-hour time-zone change than animals in the control group.

and also…

But in the jet lag experiment, the tiny doses given to the hamsters were too small to trigger erection.

Read the rest here — NewScientist.com – Viagra reduces hamster ‘jet lag’

Maybe someday soon you’ll take a smaller dosage of Viagra to avoid jet lag and not have to make excuses. Interesting stuff.

Tags: viagra, sildenafil, hairloss, hair loss

Follica

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

Dear Dr.,
I see that Follica Inc. have lincensed a technology developed at Penn university. The research suggests that new hair follicles can be produced in the skin with the protein wtn. Apparently this protein can make lots of new follicles in the skin. If this is the case would it lead to an end of male pattern baldness? Surely, any new follicle made would be affected by DHT. What are your thoughts on this new approach? Many thanks

Yes, I read of them as I was skimming the Scientific American website. It seems the research is relatively new with good potential. There have been many that promised the world, but delivered little. With regard to the ‘new hair’ I really don’t know the answer to your question. Lets keep our fingers crossed!

Scientific American – Bye-Bye Comb-Overs? Hair Follicles Found Able to Regenerate

Tags: follica, hairloss, hair loss, regenerate, follicle

Dealing with Unhappy Patients

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

Dr. Rassman, how do you deal with patients that are not happy with their results, or suffer complications, such as shock loss, grafts not growing, and incorrectly misplaced hair. How often do you encounter this? Thanks.

My philosophy on patient care is that a doctor and patient relationship should be a partnership. Both parties should understand one another and treat one another with respect. I found that through the years from my days as a surgeon, mutual respect and partnership have always kept my patients happy. Setting realistic expectations are much of it, and listening to what people are telling you helps work through the partnership. We have had monthly open house events for the past 14 years where patients who have had surgery show off their results and prospective patients can talk to them and see what they got. Prospective patients can also see a live surgery (just imagine that we were doing this for 14 years on monthly basis in every office we had). Of course there have been unhappy patients along the way, but the partnership and respect goes a long way in resolving any unforeseen issues and a good dialogue usually does not pit one side against the other.

Tags: hairtransplant, hair transplant, hairloss, hair loss, patient, doctor

Masturbating to Avoid Acne While Taking Finasteride?

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

Hi Doctor,

I’m 23. I’ve been taking Proscar 5mg for over 6 months and see some improvement. However, I keep getting mild acne. When I stop the medication, the acne stops. However, recently I started masturbating observed the acne stopped even during medication. Are the two activities connected? Do I continue masturbating to avoid acne? Please advice, thanks.

That’s quite a question…

If you are taking Proscar (finasteride 5mg) for the treatment of hair loss you are over doing it and overdosing. You should take one quarter tablet of Proscar a day. You will not gain any benefit by taking the extra dose.

I do not see any correlation between acne and masturbating. And I highly doubt you just started masturbating to observe this phenomenon and must be pulling my leg on this aspect of your question.

Tags: masturbation, masturbating, acne, propecia, proscar, finasteride, hairloss, hair loss

Virtual Reality Hair — The Adhesive Makes it Sticky

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

DenverChannel.com – Company Claims Hair In An Hour, No Joke

From the article —


“It’s paper thin, it’s a membrane. The hair is injected or looped through it so once it’s on, you can’t feel any types of bumps or ridges like conventional hair pieces used to be,” said Alan Humphreys of Virtual Reality.

Just to be clear, this is not a hair transplant with permanent hair that grows. It is a taped-on hair product that costs $3000 to $6000 per year. At times it is difficult to tell the difference between wigs and medical treatments or surgeries (just look at the ads in the Yellow Pages and you will see what I am talking about), but in the case of this product, even the article has quotes from people on the street that provide mixed reactions. At least this news article is balanced.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, wig, hair system, membrane, virtual reality

Eyebrows Overplucked

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

Im trying to grow my eyebrows back as i want them reshaping due to overplucking how long would they take to grow back?

Overplucking your eyebrow or any hair may cause permanent damage and the hair may never grow back. At that point, the only solution to get eyebrow hair back is hair transplantation. If you’re looking for a temporary solution, I found an overplucking remedy at About.com. No idea if it works — I don’t pluck.

Tags: eyebrow, eyebrows, overplucking, overplucked, hairloss, hair loss

I Want to Grow Chest Hair!

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

I am 22 yrs. and I have very little hair around my nipples but no hair on my chest. Is there any way I can grow chest hair?

No. There is no practical way to grow chest hair. I guess you could try minoxidil, which is known to grow hair, but it might get you a big dose of the medication if you apply it all over your chest. At your age, I would advise you to wait it out. If you have any Native American lineage, you may not grow chest hair at all. And some men just don’t have much chest hair.

Tags: chest hair, hairloss, hair loss, nipples

Female Hair Loss While Trying to Conceive

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

I’m 32 yo woman trying to conceive. What options are open to me in stopping hair loss and stimulating regrowth? My dermatologist tells me its hereditary and I’m out of luck until birth. Any suggestions?

The only medical option is Rogaine. If it is hereditary or genetic, there is not much you can do. Any medication is dangerous for a new fetus and it is not something I would recommend until you deliver your baby (a long waiting period, I know).

Tags: rogaine, minoxidil, female, women, woman, baby, pregnant, pregnancy