Hair Loss After Bump on Child’s Head

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

Hello the question i have is about my six year old son. He fell and hit his head causing a large bump. After the swelling went down we noticed his hair fell out in the same spot. Is this normal and should we be concerned? I greatly appreciate any feed back.

Any trauma on the scalp skin can force hair follicles to enter the telogen (resting) phase. The telogen phase may last up to 6 months, so you should expect that your son start growing the lost hair back in about 3 to 6 months in that area. I am assuming that there is no laceration which caused a scar.

Tags: telogen, hairloss, hair loss, trauma, bump, child

I Was Prescribed Propecia, But What If It’s Just a Maturing Hairline?

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

hello,
i recently became worried that my hair may be thinning so i saw a doctor in san francisco who quickly looked at my hairline and told me that i had signs of male pattern baldness and prescribed propecia. i wanted him to determine whether i just had a mature hairline or if it was in fact balding because my hair is very thick and i have a lot of it. i want to make sure that i actually need the propecia before i begin taking it. i had hoped to get a miniaturization exam to be sure but he seemed certain that i was thinning. can you give me some advice on how to get a hair miniaturization exam somewhere in the bay area. also, i am tempted to just begin taking the propecia, if i find out later that i didn’t need it, do i risk any irreversible damage to my hair? thanks

Your questions should be easily answered, but without knowing or seeing what you are talking about, I can’t help very much! Propecia should not hurt you if you have a maturing hairline and do not have genetic male pattern balding developing, but the real issue is why take drugs if you are not balding. Telling the difference between a maturing hairline and frontal balding is a bit of an art which hopefully your doctor will have. An ethical doctor is also critical, because you would not want a surgery if your hairline will stabilize at the mature level. I have an office in San Jose, CA — come pay us a visit.

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

Stopping Rogaine Lost My New Hair Growth

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

I used rogaine, it works on my both scalp and crown well. and then i used tricomin with stopping Rogaine and get a special treatment. however i lost my hair after stopping Rogaine in 4 months. If I use rogaine one more, will there be hair-regrown? or not anymore?

You probably will not get all your hair back, but it is worth a try. If minoxidil was working so well for you I am curious to know why you stopped using it…

Tags: minoxidil, rogaine, hairloss, hair loss

My Front Is Thinning — The Wonder Potion From the Beauty Supply Store Didn’t Work

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

Dr. Rassman
At 32 I know what I’m facing down the road. My father is bald. In the last few years I’ve noticed my front starting to thin but considerably much more in the last 6 months. I was using a topical serum called FNS which had little or no effect despite beauty supply stores claims it’s the “wonder potion” for thinning. Recently, I started using Rogaine foam. I’m skeptical of any benefit due to claims it only works on the crown. My next step is Propecia. My question is, is there anything either medication can do to thicken up the front or am I just wasting money. I do plan to get a hair transplant down the road but heard it’s a bit early now due to the fact I’m still losing hair and I should wait until it stabilizes so I’m not playing catch up.

We all want to believe in miracles and hitting the lottery (in this case the hair lottery). It is no surprise that fancy potions did nothing for treating your hair loss other than get some of your money and your pride. You need to see a hair specialist (transplant doctor) to discuss your options and create a Master Plan for your hair restoration process. If you don’t, you will waste more and more of your money… and to compound the problem, lose your hair while you are wasting your money. You have many good questions and concerns that cannot be answered with a simple answer by us on this site. Sometimes I feel like a preacher rather than a doctor with the recommendation that you need to start with a good examination by a competent doctor and get evaluated scientifically. See miniaturization . The Baldingblog shows many people with problems like yours and as you review this site, you will make yourself more informed while you go through the evaluation process.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, potion, lotion, rogaine, propecia, topical

Hair Dyes

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

The following came from Dr. Bradley Wolf located in Cincinnati, Ohio in response to one of his patient’s questions on hair dyes, mechanisms of actions and safety issues. Thanks Brad.

—

Coloring hair to cover gray is a common practice. As hair continues to grow, color touch-up processes are performed so the new growth of gray hair matches the rest of the dyed hair. This touch-up process is normally performed on a 3-6 week basis.

With respect to the chemistry and hair damage – any type of processing of the hair leaves the fibers in a compromised state. The main culprits of colorants are high pH and hydrogen peroxide. These two components are responsible for the breakdown of keratin proteins inside the fiber. Extensive processing can lead to porous hair that feels rough, brittle, and unhealthy. The hair also takes on properties of being more hydrophilic.

Colorants are pretty mild these days and achieving damaged hair from usage is not prevalent. But you indicated that treatments were performed on a weekly basis. There is potential that excessive damage is occurring or may occur very soon if the practice continues which can lead to hair breakage.

Recommendations:
Undergo color treatments on a less frequent basis – every 3-6 weeks. Apply colorant product only to areas of hair that need color – roots. For more frequent treatments – use a semi-permanent level 1 or level 2 dyes which are much less damaging.

Tags: wolf, hairloss, hair loss, hair dye, safety, cincinnati

Female Patient Still Hasn’t Grown Back Her Hair After Chemotherapy 3 Years Ago

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

(female) I am a 45 year old lung cancer survivor. I had chemothrapy and 2 surgeries. The chemo was taxotere and cisplatin this was 3 1/2 years ago.i lost all of my hair including eyebrows and eyelashes as of today my hair on my head has not grown fully back nor the rest of my body. The dermatologist I have visited do not know what to make of it.

Thanks

Congratulations on surviving lung cancer! Unfortunately, hair loss from chemotherapy is common. While your hair should return/grow back to its original state, sometimes it takes much longer (over a year) or for reasons unknown hair does not grow back to its original state. If your hair has not come back in over 3 years, there is a good chance it will not return. There are no known medications or treatments to grow back that hair.

Tags: chemo, chemotherapy, hairloss, hair loss, female, women, woman, cancer, lung

Ervamatin, Revisited

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

Dear Sir,
Ive been doing a product research on Ervamatin as a hair growth formula. I suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome due to which I have developed male balding patterns. Are you still wary of Ervamatin as a drug? I noticed your caution in a previous answer to a user. Please advise.

Thanks and regards

As I’ve stated before, Ervamatin is a herb. And as I have stated repeatedly with all herbal/natural products, it is a “buyer beware” market and it is up to you, the consumer, to do your research and make an informed decision. If you are looking for a medical endorsement, I do not endorse any such products.

Tags: ervamatin, hairloss, hair loss, hair growth, pcos

Aromatase Inhibitors and Finasteride

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

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I just started taking Propecia a few days ago and have noticed some soreness in my chest/nipple area. I did a search of the web and see that Anastrozole might be a good option for those few folks that suffer from Gynecomastia. What’s your take on aromatase inhibitors as a method to deal with Gynecomastia while sticking with Finasteride?

Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience with this class of medication. For those interested, you can research this at Wikipedia and talk with your doctor.

Tags: finasteride, aromatase, inhibitor, hairloss, hair loss, gynecomastia

Telogen Effluvium of Donor Area

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

I had loss of hair below the donor strip. Will that be permanent.

TE, when it occurs after the donor strip was removed, almost always returns (most of the lost hair), because this donor hair is not miniaturized unless the patient has DUPA (Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia) or there is vascular compromise of the skin around the wound.

Tags: telogen effluvium, hairloss, hair loss, donor

The Patient’s Dilemma

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

George Bernard Shaw in his preface to his play ‘The Doctor’s Dilemma’, said: “If we pay doctors to take legs off, would it not stand to reason that we will then see more men with less legs?” Shaw clearly held physicians in poor regard.

Hair transplant surgeons are trained and compensated to do hair transplants. Unfortunately, these doctors are the most knowledgeable doctors who understand hair loss and much of its nuances. Why do I say unfortunately? To answer that, I pose another question: Why is there no group of doctors who specialize in hair loss and get compensated for it? Think about it and you understand the dilemma for the hair loss patient.

1) Why would anyone pay a doctor to diagnosis genetic male patterned hair loss when you can do it yourself and treat it with internet acquired finasteride or grocery store purchased minoxidil? That is what is done today for many hair loss sufferers.

2) Only the hair transplant surgeon has the potential to profit from the diagnosis and treatment of hair loss because a few of the many balding men followed by a good doctor will eventually become hair transplant patients. As a good will gesture, our clinic has waived clinic charges for consultations.

3) I generally tell patients that a doctor’s ethics may be determined by how he ‘sells’ his service. Find out if your doctor uses a salesman to front for him or does he/she invest his own quality time to diagnose your problem and communicate his suggestions to you?

So to answer my own question, a good doctor must always be able to put his patient’s welfare above his own interests. How common is it that doctors can put their patient’s interest above their own? We can not answer this question because we can not easily count those with missing legs (metaphorically speaking). I have taken from memory an old Jewish proverb which states that you can tell the fabric of a man by one who treats his business clients in a manner that he treats his own family. That applies equally to cutting off legs or doing hair transplants. Integrity can be a rare commodity, even amongst doctors who took the Hippocratic Oath to serve his patient’s interest above everything else.

Besides DHT, Is There Something Else Responsible for Hair Loss?

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

If blocking DHT close to 90% still doesn’t guarantee a patient to save their hair, is it possible that perhaps there are things other than DHT responsible for hair loss? It seems a bit counter intuitive that even if DHT formation is halted significantly that one still continues to go bald. I understand that small bits of remaining DHT still slowly destroy the hair, and that Finasteride and Dutasteride cannot guarantee 100% inhibition. Why do some not respond to this drop in DHT at all? Perhaps we are attacking hair loss from a biologically inefficient angle?

Why is there no guarantee?

(Consider a 19 year old male, who went bald in a year, even while using propecia.)

This is a great question. Unfortunately, we don’t have a quantitative measurement of the DHT effect on hair. We are also not aware of all possible mechanisms of male pattern hair loss. That is why we will still see some degrees of hair loss despite the DHT blocking effect with high dose of medications. The information we have on the effect of alpha reductase inhibitor medications such as finasteride is based on the scientific quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the patients’ hair and not the microanalysis of the hair follicles at the molecular levels. Further advances in molecular biology should be able to help us better understand the complex mechanism of hair loss. Other causes of hair loss include other male androgen hormones, time (as it is progressive), and stress.

Tags: dht, hairloss, hair loss, finasteride, dutasteride

When Transplanting, Do You Plan for Future Hair Loss?

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

Dear docter, great work on the website

I have a question concerning the long term results of a hair transplant patient and how you look at the long term when you transplant them.

Do you take in account how much balder the patient will be, in other words, if you continue balding after a transplant will it still look like a natural balding progression? Or will it not matter because if the patient is unhappy ten+ years later you know they’ll be coming back for another transplant.

thank you

You asked a very important question. If you have been following this site you would know the importance of the Master Plan when planning for hair transplant surgery. While it is difficult to predict how much hair you will lose, proper examination such as a miniaturization study and careful medical history will clue the doctor into the patient’s possible future hair loss. With that information, the surgeon can plan the surgery accordingly, which includes eventually transplanting into where the hair is miniaturized (planning for the inevitable hair loss) when balding occurs in that area. The patient may choose or need surgery in the future, but these are the things the doctor and the patient must review before the surgery.

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

Your Reply Was a Sarcastic Brush-Off!

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

THAT WAS NOT NICE!

Hi Dr. Rassman, on my daily visit to your site, I was disappointed for the first time.

That poor young woman looking for “Non-Surgical Solutions for Lowering Hairline in Women”. I don’t think she was looking for cosmetic suggestions such as were provided (bangs, hat, bandana, wig. As a female who suffered hair loss at her age, I think I know how she feels.

I could be wrong, but the reply to the young woman came across as a bit of a sarcastic brush-off. The poor thing was likely hoping for something like minoxidil or vitamins, etc. Perhaps she should have been told that FUE would be good or whatever. I hope her feelings were not hurt.

Thanks for your continued work on this blog, and keep well.

This is the post you are referring to — Non-Surgical Solutions for Lowering Hairline in Women

I agree that there may have been a sarcastic undertone and I could have taken a scientific approach to the question.

But simple (not thought out) questions deserve simple answers, especially if you haven’t done any reading or research on your own. Out of 3700+ entries here on BaldingBlog, I have answered this question countless times (search is in the top right of every page).

I apologize if I have offended any readers.

Tags: sarcastic, hairloss, hair loss

Dying Transplanted Hair

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

Hi, thx for this great site, it is very useful to me.

I have a question regarding dying grey hair. I am thinking about using the just for men 5 minutes dye for my grey hair. I am 30 and had 2 hair transplants which I’m satisfied with. I use propecia and rogaine daily to maintain my hair. In the past, when I was not on any medications, dying my hair seemed to accelerate my hairloss. I have 3 questions:

  1. is dying my hair with just for men, or any other formula, safe for remaining hair and transplanted hair (considering I’m on medications now)?
  2. would using minoxidil (rogaine) regularly affect the color and make it look bad?
  3. Also, what would you personally recommend for my particular case?

Thanks in advance!

  1. You can generally dye your hair without worrying about hair loss.
  2. Minoxidil should not affect the color of your hair or hair dye.
  3. For your particular case, you can do whatever suits you. You can color your hair and/or you can use minoxidil. I do not endorse any particular products. If you are concerned about hair loss, you can see a doctor for a good examination and a Master Plan.
Tags: minoxidil, hairloss, hair loss, dye, hair dye

Increasing Press About Hair Restoration Resulting in Rush for Hair Multiplication?

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

Do you think that all of the press about hair restoration on tv and in newspapers is increasing? If you do, do you think that it could cause a rush for hair multiplication?

Thank you doctor!

Your questions are really not related. Hair multiplication is not a science we can offer people today. When we can and know that it works, then yes, more people will probably come for the procedure and there could be a ‘rush’. Unfortunately, today we only can perform hair transplants.

Tags: hairtransplant, hair transplant, hair multiplication