Beijing 101 Hair Formula

/by William Rassman, M.D./4 /

Hi!

Just wondering if you’ve heard of Beijing 101 hair formula..

They’ve shown plenty of photos, but from your experience, are you able to tell if they’re scammers? I hope I’m not being too forward, but whatever it is, thank you!

It sounds like a foreign language class to me. I am not aware of Beijing 101, but a quick Google search turned up this nugget of information from their website:

The all-natural ingredients of Beijing 101 products include:
Ginseng – Improves blood circulation
Lingzhi – Helps to fight excessive hair loss
He Shou Wu – Fights graying hair
Dang Gui – Helps the hair follicles to absorb nutrients

Great, it says it is 100% Chinese herbs. Ok, so where are the controls and the science? I am not gullible and just do not believe everything I see and read. It is a buyer beware market.

Tags: beijing 101, hair loss, hairloss, hair formula

Mold and Hair Loss

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

On August 17, 2007 we had rain damage to the inside of our new home. We have lived here for 4 months. The rain caused damage in the bedroom were my daughter sleeps. She is an asthmatic and has severe ezcema she has battled this for several years. We have a small area of mold on the ceiling in this room from the rain damage. We have been waiting on the builder to repair this area for 4 weeks now. 1 week after the mold appeared my daugther started loosing her hair after several trips to the Dr. and specialist they determained our daughter has alopecia areata. I’am wondering if there could be any association between the mold and her hair loss.

Thank You

Black mold can make a person sick, and any sickness has the potential to cause hair loss. Molds in walls need to be treated and your daughter should not live in her room until you determine that it is mold free. You might put a dehumidifier in the room to dry it up. If there is a water problem which might promote mold growth, a great deal of water will become apparent in what you collect each day.

For more info on mold, see:

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, rain, water, mold, asthmatic, asthma, eczema, toxic

Sporanox and Hair Loss

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

could you tell me if the medication Sporanox 100mg has a known side effect of hair loss. I have been prescribed this medication for a toenail fungus/contaminant. i’ve read on the internet that certain anti fungals such as oral lamasil can cause or accelerate hair loss. does sporanox fall into this category? Also, are there any contraindications between sporanox and propecia (which ive been taking since May 07)?

Hair fungus itself can also cause hair loss. There are many drugs that may cause hair loss as a rare side effect, but they do not cause androgenic alopecia (AGA) or male pattern balding (MPB).

You and your doctor should understand the risks and rewards of this drug. It is worth reading the following site in reference to Sporanox (itraconazole):

Tags: fungus, itraconazole, sporanox, hairloss, hair loss, lamasil

Dabao Hair Grower

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

hi, I’ve been using a herbal product called DABAO from the Nederlands (ordered via New Zealand) for 12 years. It has been independently tested and really works. I can’t believe it has had such little exposure as it’s been around for years. They keep the ingredients to the lotion a secret and I would love to have it tested. When it originally started to work I was in disbelief as you see wealthy people like Prince William losing his hair when he could afford to bathe in it. I would love to know if you have heard of this product and why it is’nt better known.

Dabao Hair GrowerI have not heard of this product, but did review this page I found via a Google search.

I’m a skeptic and I fully admit that. I have seen hundreds of “hair growers” come and go in the 15+ years I have been in this business, and I’m glad that it’s working for you (or you think it is working for you), but I shall remain skeptical.

Tags: dabao, hairloss, hair loss, hair growth, herbal, lotion, new zealand

Growing Facial Hair Up To My Eyes from Rogaine Use!

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

I have been utilizing rogaine for my receding hairline, but I have noticed a lot of facial growing all the way up to my eyes. I read that facial hair was a side effect for women. If I discontinue rogaine will the hairs go away. I am 22 years old.

Facial hair growth from Rogaine (minoxidil) is a side effect in both men and women. If you discontinue using Rogaine, I suspect the hair would go away. This is a very unusual side effect of minoxidil.

Tags: rogaine, minoxidil, hairloss, hair loss, hair growth, facial hair

If Propecia Does Work for DUPA, How Long Might It Take to See Changes?

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

hello ive been taking propecia for 4 months now for my DUPA (diffuse unpatterned alopecia) problem and was wondering how long i should take it for in the off chance that it might work? thank you

If it works, you should probably see some benefit from Propecia for your DUPA after 8-12 months. Keep in mind that the “benefit” will not necessarily be hair growth, but slowing of hair loss or stabilization of hair loss.

Tags: dupa, diffuse unpatterned alopecia, hairloss, hair loss, finasteride, propecia

How Much Do You Think Hair Loss Effects People Socially?

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

Being a daily reader i enjoy ur blog very much. it has helped me understand the problem better and most of all given suffering people like us ANSWERS! Rarely in this part of the world we find doctors who are willing to explain in detail what the problem is, the science behind it, what are the chances,what should one expect from a drug or procedure in such a clear, honest & explanatory way. instead of wondering “why is this happening to me out of all the people”. just wanna thank you doctor your doing a great job! may god bless you all at new hair.

Doctor from the emails u get on a daily basis how much do think hair loss’s effecting people’s lives? socially & psychologically? i mean do u get a lotta distressed emails? i had freaked out when i first started losing hair after numerous visits to various doctors & surfing the internet i came across to ur site..which has helped me understand the problem so so so much better. thank you once again!

Parliament wigHair loss has been a problem throughout all of recorded history. Wigs have been around for centuries. Samson got his strength from his hair and this is clearly metaphorical, symbolic of virility and fertility in a man. There is good grounds for hair loss being negative in the selection of a husband in the olden days when tuberculosis (TB) ran rampant. Men with TB who were sickly, lost their hair. Unfortunately, men with genetic balding in those days could not be separated from the sick and dying, so women would evade those men as suitable husband choices. Think of the billions of dollars ($19 billion, specifically) spent on hair in the United States alone. Hair is important to many people. For the young man, it is the ‘lion’s mane’ that makes him feel manly. This is not a 100% rule, but look at politicians and you will see that something like 90% have hair (while 50% show balding in the male population). This points to society’s view of balding and studies have polled people who believe that hairy men are more trustworthy than balding men. So, to answer your question, yes, hair loss does impact self-esteem in some men. If you are one of them, the solution may be a good hair transplant (no one should be able to tell that you had it when the procedure is done by a real expert).

Here is an interesting blog post from a couple of years ago that I just found: Jew Eat Yet? – Hair-Brained.

Tags: social, society, hairloss, hair loss, politics, politician

Using Hair Dye After Chemotherapy

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

In April, 2007 my wife completed chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkins Lymphpoma (R-CHOP Protocal) Her hair began to grow back after her 4th of 6 treatments and was coming in well. Once she had enough hair to color she went to a hair salon to have it colored. Realizing it was ridiculous to pay for the coloring for such little hair, she decided to use a store bought permanent color. She has done it twice since and after the last coloring her hair began falling out. She has spoken to the medical staff at her oncologist’s office and was told NOT to use “permanent” coloring but “temporary”. They acted as though she was nuts but no one ever told her not to. Anyway,she was also told it would come back.

Have you ever come across this situation before? Will it come back at a normal pace?

Thanks

We have answered similar questions in the past regarding hair dye causing hair loss, although not specifically about dying hair regrown after chemotherapy. The reality is that dye can cause hair loss by itself, as it can make the hair fragile. These substances can burn the skin and they can work their way through the follicle from the skin pore and burn each and every follicle causing damage. That is why professional hair dyes in the hands of professionals are the best way to have the process done. As your wife’s hair is in ‘recovery mode’ you must be extra careful. Your wife needs to wait a few months and should grow her hair back if there is no other condition causing her hair loss.

Tags: chemo, chemotherapy, hairloss, hair loss, chemical damage, hair dye, dye, stylist

Hair Loss from Basal Cell Carcinoma on Scalp

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

I had a basal cell carcinoma removed from my scalp, directly in my part line, back in January. The incision was closed with staples, but when the staples were removed, it opened back up, then healed as scar tissue. I had a scar revision done 6 weeks ago, where they removed the scar tissue and then pulled the scalp together again and stitched it this time. It looked great this time, but as I was told, the surrounding hairs would eventually go into shock and fall out. They fell out about 3 weeks ago and there is absolutely no sign of hair regrowth yet. What are the chances that my hair will not regrow? I have a fairly large bald patch on the top of my scalp now.

Any skin manipulation can put hair into telogen (resting) phase. The telogen phase takes a few weeks and spontaneously reverses. It takes a few months for new hair to become long and thick to create adequate coverage for your bald spot. In some cases if surgical manipulation and undermining scalp skin damage hair follicles, patients may experience permanent hair loss in the area. Give it a few months and your hair should grow back. If you don’t see any growth after 6 months you may have lost your hair permanently, and in that case a hair transplant procedure can help to fill the bald area if it is cosmetically bothering you.

Tags: carcinoma, hairloss, hair loss, scar, basal, cell, telogen

Can Shock Loss Be Permanent?

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

Hello Doctor

I have a question for shock loss after an HT procedure. You always say that healthy hair (not miniaturized hair that MPB did not so far affect and neither will in the future ) lost due to shock loss should come back after a few months ( even without the use of propecia ? ) Why do you use the word ‘should’ and not the word ‘will’? Is there a chance that shock loss could make healthy hair permanently die , and if so what is that chance ? Let’s of course exclude the case that the transplant doctor makes mistakes and accidently scars the healthy follicles.

The use of the word “should” rather than “will” is a way of predicting the future. Let’s not play language games here. Shock loss, when it occurs in men with genetic hair loss, can (not “will”) accelerate the hair loss process by a few years and this can (again, not “will”) be prevented with the use of Propecia (finasteride 1mg). Each person is different, and as such, each person reacts differently to various drugs, procedures, stresses, etc.

Tags: shock loss, shockloss, hairloss, hair loss, finasteride, propecia

All These Medical Miracles, Yet Nobody Can Clone a Damn Follicle?!

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

They can clone a sheep, replace your heart, separate joined at the head babies, Sew back on a penis…Why haven’t any of you doctors figured out how to cure baldness or at least clone a damn hair follicle yet!

Thanks

Attempts are being made, but keep in mind an undetectable natural looking hair transplant is a medical miracle in itself also. Today’s transplants work now, so waiting for the cloning miracle which may or may not come in your lifetime, will only guarantee balding for many of those that want to wait.

Tags: hairtransplant, hair transplant, hair cloning, sheep, heart

Gaps and Splits in Follicles

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

Hello,
I am an African American with natural hair. I have splits ends, but have also noticed that my hair follicle is also split in the middle of the shaft. There are areas on the shaft where the hair has not completely separated, however gaps are apparent. What is wrong with my hair?

It seems you have brittle hair. Maybe not split ends, but split middles? This can be due to many causes such as over styling or over drying with blow driers, chemical treatments, genetics, etc. Speak with your hair stylist about the use of conditioners that hydrate your hair shafts.

Tags: split ends, split, follicle, conditioner

In the News – Bald Man Steals Hair Loss Treatment from Pharmacy

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

A bald man went into a pharmacy and stole five bottles of a hair loss treatment but was caught while running away, police said. Mark Hoousendove, 42, was arrested on misdemeanor charges of petty larceny and resisting arrest, Detective Lt. William Sullivan said. The product was worth about $50.

Full article: FOXNews.com – Bald Man Accused in Hair-Loss Theft

Tags: balding, pharmacy, crime, hairloss, hair loss, stealing, stole

I Had a Procedure with You in 1994, But Wasn’t Satisfied

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

Dear Dr. Rassman:

I don’t know whether or not you’d be interested in this message. Nevertheless, I would be interested in your reaction to it …

I was a patient (age 34 at the time) of yours in August of ’94. You transplanted about 2,000 grafts from the back of my scalp to the top of my head. My overall reaction was that the density wasn’t near enough. And there was no way I could afford a second trip through the mill.

While I thought the newly transplanted hairs themselves looked okay, I concluded that your procedure fell far short of my expectation. To be blunt, my head resembled a coconut. So I ended up going to a company that provides rather costly “hair systems” (the gentle term for wigs). They look great – full and natural. It’s an ongoing “expense” that’s become a part of my life. But I thought of you the other day.

The idea of finally just shaving my head and being done with the high cost of masking my hair loss crossed my mind again. So when I took another good look at the white scar that traverses the back of my head from ear to ear, I dropped the shaven head idea.

Maybe when head tattoos are commonplace, I’ll put one right over the scar; a picture of a “bald eagle” or something.

Your reaction to this would be appreciated.
Thank you, sir.

Thank you for contacting me. I had the opportunity to review your photographs and your medical record. Hair loss is a progressive process and it is clear that the communication between us failed. I care about my patients meeting their expectations (first being sure that these expectations are realistic) and following up with a good Master Plan to follow the hair loss over time. I did this in 1994 as well. A single hair transplant procedure of 2000 grafts may have filled in some of your thinning, but it was not enough to cover the complete hair loss pattern that probably evolved. As hair loss is a progressive process and your pictures showed that you were in the process of losing hair at the time of the transplant, clearly you were a moving target. I must have failed to explain that process to you. Drugs like Propecia (finasteride) were not around in 1994, so unfortunately, in those days, I worked with a handicap watching helplessly as people lost their valuable hair over time. As you may know by experience, hair transplants (without the protective effects of drugs like Propecia) can accelerate the hair loss and even produce shock loss, which means that the hair loss process probably accelerated.

I can suggest that you arrange a visit with me and let’s discuss your present status and your goals. There have been many advances in managing scars if that is your main focus today. Nevertheless, I do care and the best I can do is offer my advice and reconnect with you again after all of this time. My office can be reached at 800-NEW-HAIR. Please do give us a call so that my staff will be able to get your next visit arranged.

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

Why Would Shock Loss Cause Permanent Hair Loss?

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

Why does the hair that you lose from shock loss not regrow? I asked my dermatologist about my shock loss and he said he expects that the hair will grow back and that it would be unlikely that the scalp would just stop working and stop growing hair because of the surgery.

Nobody really knows for sure. Shock loss in a man with genetic hair loss often just accelerates the hair loss process. In women, a telogen (sleep) phase occurs and the hair almost always grows back. In men, it is thought that hair lost from “shock” after a hair transplant surgery is mainly the weaker miniaturized hairs that were already predestined to fall out as part of the male pattern balding. The “shock” from the surgery would cause these hairs to fall out earlier than normal just as any stressful event (even an appendectomy). Thus Propecia (finasteride 1mg) has a protective effect on preventing some hair loss from “shock” loss in miniaturized hairs. This is the reason why younger men who are actively losing lots of hair are at an increased risk for shock loss and must use finasteride to protect themselves from the awful complication.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, shock loss, shockloss, hair transplant, hairtransplant, propecia, finasteride