Keracyte

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

Thank you for this very informative website Dr. Rassman. I check this site daily during the weekdays to hear what you have to say in regards to other’s questions.

I know you have said it is a buyer beware market in regards to many supposed hair loss products. I want to ask your opinion on this product called Keracyte. It supposedly thickens the hair shaft and lengthens the time of hair growth. Basically what I gathered is that it reinvigorates the hair follicle. I have supplied the website to Keracyte and also a new article about it. Thank for your time and effort in managing this site!

HairLossHelp – Scientist discovers protein in anti-wrinkle cream that thickens hair and restores natural hair color

According to the product’s website, the ingredients of Keracyte are:

  • Matrixyl 3000
  • Argireline
  • Hyaluronic Acid
  • Tocopheryl Acetate
  • Provitamin B
  • Tropoelastin
  • Germaben
  • ProliSel

The above mentioned ingredients are mostly skin conditioners, proteins, and provitamins. None of these are proven to be effective on hair growth. If you like the conditioner and the price is right, I don’t believe it can hurt the hair you have, but I wouldn’t expect any growth with it.

Tags: keracyte, provitamin, conditioner, protein, hairloss, hair loss

Extracellular Matrix?

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

Hi Dr. Rassman & Dr. Pak,

I saw an interesting item in one of the hair loss forums about a company called ACell, which makes “extracellular matrix” (ECM) products from pig bladders for veterinary use. They are apparently in the process of getting FDA approval for use of some of their products in humans. According to the company’s website, ECM “serves as an inductive template around which around which mammalian tissues grow and differentiate.” There are pictures on this site that are pretty amazing — gaping wounds in animals with insufficient tissue for closure that heal nearly completely, including new hair growth, after application of the scaffolding material. This seems like a pretty exciting development, with obvious potential applications in the HT field. What do you think of this?

Plastic surgeons use this similar type of technology to address open wounds and reconstruct tissue. With respect to the hair transplant field, it may have certain applications in troublesome wound areas (severe scalp injuries) where the tension on the skin makes it almost impossible to close the wound. These wounds can close, but they will not develop hair on the skin and I doubt that the pig model will apply here.

Tags: extracellular, matrix, injury, plastic surgery, hairtransplant, hair transplant, ecm

I Eat a Lot of Junk Food — Is That Where My Hair Loss is Coming From?

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

hey.. i’m almost 19 n i’m pretty sure i’m goin bald..especially around the crown… thing is, my parents hav full heads of hair and no history of hairloss. i live alone since i’m studying in india…. do u think this has anythin to do with my diet? cuz i eat a whole lotta junk food… also..i’m not so sure about the water in this place… quite a few ppl living in the same hostel as me complain of hair loss too… what do u think?

will my hair grow back once i leave this place?

FoodI doubt junk food or bad water are the sources of your hair loss. You may have genetic male pattern hair loss. It doesn’t matter if your mother or father both have full heads of hair. The pattern of inheriting the hair loss gene is not readily predictable.

Tags: diet, junk food, water, hairloss, hair loss

Hair Falling Out in Patches

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

My hair is falling out in patches it’s been about a month now. I’m 54 years old. I’m really stress out right now. Will my hair grow back and should I cut it.

If it is really coming out in patches, it is not normal and may reflect some disease like ringworm, alopecia areata, etc… To make that diagnosis, see a dermatologist.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, ringworm, alopecia, dermatology, dermatologist

Norwood Class 6 Patient Results (with Photos)

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

This is a Norwood class 6 patient with very fine, salt and pepper colored hair. He had a total of 5431 grafts placed in two procedures. His results are fantastic and he excitedly agreed to let me post his results. The after photos were taken just under a year after his 2nd hair transplant procedure. Click the photos to enlarge.

Before:

 

After:

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

If Intercytex Is Successful, Would Propecia Still Be Needed?

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

Hi again, Dr. Rassman. Thanks for the continuous great work on the website. Doctor, my question involves Intercytex and Propecia: assuming Intercytex’ research does generate a successful treatment, am I write to believe patients who get that specific treatment will still need drugs such as Propecia? The reason I ask this is that I believe that even though the “new hair” will not suffer from DHT-related problems, the patient will still lose “original” follicles not related to Intercytex’ procedure. Thanks!

Good question. We really don’t have much information about the quality of the hair that could be produced with this technique. I agree with you that even if you can have an unlimited source of hair grafts for transplanting into the bald area, you still need to keep your natural hair, otherwise you are committed to many unnecessary procedures instead of one. Propecia will most likely hold on to the existing hair and slow down the progression of the hair loss and whatever hair that will be obtained from Intercytex will be focused upon putting new hair into a bald area from (I suspect) a productive ‘hair generating’ source other than excision of strip harvesting from the back of the head.

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

Why Test Dutasteride In Korea?

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

I have been looking into this dutasteride thing and now see that they are conducting tests for male pattern hair loss in korea.

my question is, is it really wise to conduct a test for hair loss in a country like korea? I assume that they are only testing koreans? Koreans dont seem to get as effected by male pattern hair loss as others do. Infact i noticed asians usually have alot thicker hair than most other nationalities (and thast very lucky for them)….

I just thought conducting it in a country like USA or Australia would be smarter since its multicultural so we can see benefits for all ppl. what do u think?

There should not be any racial differences between the way men respond to drugs like dutasteride or finasteride. I asked such a question to Merck, and that was the answer I got. The tests are for safety and effectiveness. Safety includes all types of side effects (for dutasteride this would include impotence, sexual dysfunction, organ dysfunction from any part of the body, interaction with other drugs, and the like). Effectiveness with a classic double blind statistical scientific methodology includes determining the optimum dose to be used and the impact on the target organ (hair re-growth or slowing down hair loss). It is not unusual for tests such as this to be performed in other countries, because costs may be lower.

Tags: dutasteride, testing, korea, hairloss, hair loss

Propecia Stops Working Unless I Double the Dose

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

Dear Dr
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to help us with our fight against hairloss. For close to 6 months I have had my suspicions that the effectiveness of Propecia has been wearing off.I thought it was all in my head but in the last few weeks the miniaturisation of my hairs on the sides of my head have become really obvious.Its a fact,after years of great results my hair had begun to miniaturise again.I was balding again.I increased the dose to half a tablet Proscar a day & after several weeks noticed that my hair stopped miniaturising, infact the miniaturising process is now being reversed.This is great news. However,I am now experiencing an incredibly oily scalp,especially when I wake up in the mornings.My hair is soaked in oil.Are you aware of “oily scalp” being a side effect of propecia use or could it just be a mere coincidence? I know you can’t give a definitive answer unless you see me in person but ANY feedback would be greatly appreciated as the Doctors in my area don’t have a clue about hairloss related issues.
Thanks in advance

Every patient, sooner or later, will see more hair loss even while they are on the drug Propecia. This drug is not a cure all — it slows down the progress of the balding. If increasing the dose helps you stop the balding, then talk to your prescribing doctor about taking a higher dosage. Oily scalp can be managed with shampoos made for people with an oily scalp and more frequent washing (twice a day) may work for you.

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

Propecia Info on the Internet Has Me Worried!

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

Hello dear doc,

I’ve been studying www.propeciahelp.com for a while and I must say I’m a bit worried about finasteride.

The users of that board have got side effects from finasteride use that won’t let go, even though the treatment has stopped.

If these side effects are due to finasteride or other factors, I do not know, but I think it’s worth a discussion.

When one hears or reads that with the drug stopped, sexual dysfunction continues for weeks or months, I just do not know how to respond to your probe here. I would think that if it were a common problem, I would see it in my practice and I can report that maybe one patient talked about sexual dysfunction taking about a month to get back to normal. That is one out of thousands of patients I’ve personally seen. So I wonder if there is a secondary agenda suggested. Did any of these men with sexual dysfunction (real ED or libido problems) have these problem before they started with finasteride? I am not saying that it does not happen, but I can respond to my experience, which is substantial.

Tags: finasteride, propecia, dysfunction, sexual, ed

Female Underarm Hair Loss?

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

What would make a 34 year old female lose underarm hair?

Hair loss in any part of the body could have many causes. If the hair loss is just under the arms, it may reflect some genetic or autoimmune process. Most women would love to lose their underarm hair, so maybe think of this as a blessing.

Tags: underarm, armpit, hairloss, hair loss, female, women, woman

14 Year Old With White Hairs

/by William Rassman, M.D./14 /,

hi. i am 14 year old (male) and i am having a lot of white hairs. My cousin had experience this when she was in teen age but later her hairs turn black again when she grown up. Is it possibility that my hairs will turn black when i grown up?

I have not heard of black hairs turning white and then back to black. White hair in very young people does occur, although it is not common.

Tags: white hair, hair color, teen, age

Physical Activity Immediately Before a Hair Transplant Procedure

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

Hi Dr. Rassman:

I’m having a 3000-3500 graft strip procedure next Monday. I am an avid runner and long distance walker. I understand I should wait until the staples are removed to resume these activities. Is there any issue with running or walking for exercise in the days immediately before surgery?

Thanks

MarathonI don’t believe you can hurt anything by strenuous activities prior to your hair transplant surgery. After the procedure however, you should take it easy for at least a few days. You should completely avoid any activities that can increase the tension on the skin edges for several weeks after your hair transplant surgery. Running does not impact donor wounds, so I generally tell my patients that they can run a marathon after a week if they want. I gave that advice to a man last week and he told me that if his hair transplant allowed him to run a marathon, that was better than he could do prior to getting it. He was not a runner. Ha!

Better check with your doctor, because he/she might not agree with me.

Tags: marathon, runner, hairloss, hair loss, hair transplant, hair transplant, activity

Losing Hair in Center of Hairline

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

I had a question about men loosing hair. My husband starting loosing hair right in the middle of his forehead bewteen his eyes. It was like two wings and then it started receding on the sides and he is also loosing some at the top back of his head. He also gets like these big cysts like pimples on his head, like ingrown hairs that are very painful. There is absolutely no hair loss on either side of his family (mother and father) going back to his “great great” grandparents. Would rogaine help him or could something else be causing this?

Thanks.

I can not recommend starting any medications before having a real diagnosis for his condition. Your husband may be losing hair due to a reaction to local inflammations from folliculitis (a type of acne). If this is the case, his hair loss could be reversible with treatment of the inflammatory condition. My recommendation to you is to visit a good hair specialist for a complete evaluation before starting any medications.

Many people with genetic hair loss may bald from the middle and on the sides, keeping two ‘horns’ of hair at the side of the frontal tuft. This is an easy pattern to recognize and if you send me a picture of his hairline, I can render an opinion for you. Please reference this blog post when sending.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, folliculitis, hairline

Timeframe for Telogen Effluvium

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

Telogen Effluvium Question:

I am a 36yr old male. I went through a long divorce process that ended in March of 2006 and noticed my hair was “thinning” all over my scalp in early May of 2006. I did not know what to make of it so I discounted it as a bad haircut.

On Memorial day of that year, I had to be hospitalized for three days with a bad case of pneumonia, which caused me to have sustained temperatures of up to 105-6 degrees.

In September, I finally found what described my problem on the Internet. It was called Telogen Effluvium and is pretty well documented on this blog and other sites. I did the “hair pull” test and noticed white bulbs on the ends, confirming the description of TE.

It is now been a year and my hair is still uniformly thin. I have a high hairline anyway at the temples so I do not think my hair is receding. Adding to my problem is the fact that I was adopted at 1yr old and I have no family history to speak of.

I went to several dermatologists and each one told me there is no reason to do a punch biopsy at this time, that my hair looks “normal”. Unfortunately, they does not know how my hair normally looks. There are no balding spots on my head, just really thin all over. Are time frames different for each person suffering from TE?

Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide.

I would want to map out your scalp for miniaturization and find out if you have a condition called DUPA (diffuse unpatterned alopecia), which would impact your permanent rim of hair around the sides and back of your head, or if you have genetic balding in a patterned loss. The information you supplied does not help me to help you. Reversal for TE varies with the person, but first let’s get a diagnosis.

Tags: dupa, telogen effluvium, hairloss, hair loss