Can dying your hair whilst taking propecia effect it from working properly?
Nope. Propecia has nothing to do with the external hair shaft.
Last week, I met with two patients who came to me with thinning hair. One was 19 and the other was 22. The 19 year old had very early miniaturization, evident by the measurements that were taken of his scalp, and I built a Master Plan for him and advised him to go on Propecia. The 22 year old had clear thinning in the frontal 2 inches of his hairline with 40-50% miniaturization and a thin type hair shaft. The thin hair shaft made his miniaturization look worse than if his hair had been more coarse.
Both of these young men went to these doctors before they came to see me (and no, I won’t name names). In my opinion, both patients should not have hair transplants at this time; certainly the 19 year old is not a candidate at all and probably will not be for years, and the 22 year old may become a candidate if the Propecia does not stop or reverse his hair loss to meet his goals. However, the 22 year old might be able to avoid a hair transplant if the Propecia works well for him. The lack of ethics of the two doctors who viewed both men and gave them both recommendations of 3000 grafts each reflect the ‘scum’ of the hair transplant industry. I know I’ve written on this topic a few times before, but it truly outrages me and demands this repetition. Performing surgery when it could be avoided with a simple daily medication shows that the doctors were chasing their patient’s pocketbooks, not pursuing their patients best interests. Fortunately, both patients liked my advice and will see me for a follow-up in a year or so. I am sure that they will get calls from these two doctors and/or their sales staffs and I strongly advised them to resist sales pressures to sell them what they do not need.
To make matters worse, in my normal examination I measured the hair density of the donor hair on these patients and found them both to be lower than average. That means that they might be limited as to what they can expect from a hair transplant when and if they balded. Both of the doctors that they met with just ran their hands over the patients’ scalp in the back of their heads and magically reported that they were unusually blessed with “lots of donor hair”. Neither of these doctors made a measurement of the donor density on either of these patients and as if by magic — *poof* — they had enough hair to meet the doctor’s income requirement. These scams are unfortunately common in this industry and I always warn patients that if the doctor does not precisely measure the donor density, they should run for the hills when told that their donor supply is good. Worst of all is the fact that if these men had undergone hair transplantation, their donor hair (which was limited in the first place) would be depleted, wasted, and worse yet, put in the wrong place. Over and over again I warn patients to do their diligence on the doctors they see and choose. This again, is a Buyer Beware market.
My husband has been taking Propecia for about 3 years or so. He is a relatively moody person in general, but nothing out of the ordinary. In the past few years it has been pretty bad to the point where he has tried antidepressants, tried seeing psychologists, etc. Then, this past summer, we went on a vacation and he forgot his Propecia. That was the best week I can remember him having. He felt good and it showed to those around him. I didn’t think much about it except that when he began using Propecia again, he went back to how he felt before and I noticed changes in him right away (within a day or so). When I made the connection that the main difference was that he was off of the Propecia when he felt and acted better, he acknowledged it, but was pretty adament that he would rather be in a bad mood all of the time then lose the rest of his hair. Just this week, I had noticed a difference in his mood and demeanor. I didn’t say anything though…hoping it would last. He then mentioned that he hadn’t taken his Propecia for 4 days. He said he felt really good and it shows. I guess what I am asking, as have others on your site, could there be a connection with Propecia and Mood Swings/Depression? At least with certain people’s chemistry? I would love to know more about this.
Although rare, there have been concerns that finasteride (Propecia) or dutasteride (Avodart) may have some impact on personality or emotions. That would not surprise me as we have seen changes in brain function with testosterone and women have seen hormone cyclical changes that affect mood. The good news is that very few patients out of my large practice have seen significant changes and reported them to me. The literature does have mention of occasional depression which may have been caused or influenced by these medications. I would suggest that if any person has mood alterations with these drugs, they should consult with the doctor who has prescribed it.
Hi Doctors,
I’m new to this blog, as I just started noticing my hair loss about 3 months ago. I’m a 30-year-old woman, and 3 months ago I had a healthy head of hair. Now it seems that every time I look in the mirror, more and more is thinned out along the part. I have a bald spot now. I’ve seen a couple dermatologists and one GP, and they’ve wavered between diagnosing me with just stress-related hair loss, or androgenetic alopecia.
I’m a little skeptical about the alopecia diagnosis because the hair loss is so fast. Like I said, 3 months ago, I was fine. I was wondering if it is possible that I may have a fungus or bacterial infection on my scalp? I travel a lot and have just returned to the US from living in Africa for the past year. It would not be the first time that I’ve somehow contracted a fungus or some sort of skin infection.
I mentioned this to my doctor and he may do a scalp biopsy. Do you happen to know, whereabouts, how much such a procedure costs? I have no insurance at this time, but regardless, it would be worth it to get it done to save my hair.
Thank you so much for any information you could provide.
You clearly have a problem and you need a good, knowledgeable doctor to manage your situation. Much can be learned by getting a hair pull test and a miniaturizationstudy. This can be done at the time the doctor visit occurs. Cultures of the scalp (to check for diseases that you may have contracted in Africa) need to be assessed as well as looking for chronic telogen effluvium, diffuse alopecia areata, and others. Good luck.
In an earlier post you said “With regard to the change in hair character from straight to wavy, it is not unusual for hair character to change as we get older…”
Why does this happen?
As our body ages, we see changes in our hair character. The hair of a newborn is very soft and very fine, the child’s hair becomes thicker and as we age, we might peak with our hair shaft thickness in childhood or early adolescence. As we move into adulthood and then older ages, the hair again changes. All of these changes are genetically programmed. Unfortunately, we do not know much about the programming, but one day we will learn more as we command the issue of hair growth, balding, and hair thickness.
my son is a 7 years old african american. he is having the worst problem ever with his scalp. i have tried every kind od dandruff shampoo there is and still no relief. i wash his hair 2xs a week now because the flaking and the scabs are so embarrassing. after i wash his hair its looks clean and free of scales and flakes but his scalp is red. usually after 2 days of washing this whole process reoccurs with the itchy, scaly flakyness. what should i do?
If I had a 7 year old son, I would want an expert to examine and diagnose him. You need to take him to a pediatric doctor, one with an interest or experience in dermatologic conditions. There are many causes of flaky scalps and you need to consult with a good doctor.
I have been on Propecia for 10 years. I was out of the country and lost the bottle, so was off of it for 5 weeks. When i got back I started up again, but now obe month into restarting I am losing a ton of hair throughout the scalp. It is now very noticeable. Does that mean I lost the “propecia hair” for good after stopping for only 5 weeks? Will it come back now that I am back on it?
It may not all come back, but hopefully most will. The important lesson here is to stay on Propecia unless you want to undo the hair maintaining or regrowth benefits you received.
Doctor,
Having GI problems wondering if they’re related to Propecia. My doctor is not aware of a connection and I don’t see it listed as a common side effect. But you’re much more familiar with the drug in clinical practice than my MD. Symptoms are diarrhea and heartburn. Is cutting back the dose to say a quarter and try slowly increasing it an option?
Thanks.
I have never heard of diarrhea and heartburn complaints from Propecia.
doc with all the posting of rogaine and how rogaine is destroying people hair ..do you still see rogaine as a safe product…i have found in my case rogaine not only destroyed a other wise heathly head of hair but i lost eyebrows nad eyelashes as well… the makers of rogaine cannot say for certain how this drug works therefor cannot know all the sideeffects. Minoxidil. has been known to cause heart problems.. so please explaine how or if you endourse rogaine.
I only report what I see. I do endorse the use of minoxidil, as it is one of the two FDA approved drug treatments for hair loss. However, it is not for everyone. There is propylene glycol in most preparations of Rogaine and some people develop allergies to it. Rogaine contains minoxidil and as many people know, minoxidil was developed originally as an antihypertensive agent (hair growth was just a side effect). Some people get light headed when they use it, because it can drop blood pressure.
As for discussing Rogaine destroying your hair, if you had a problem with it, you should have stopped using it. There are many people who get skin allergies to this medication and continued use can cause problems. If you are self medicating, then look in the mirror and ask yourself why you are taking it.
I was wondering what is your opinion on Bohemeria Niponivea:
PDF file – The Effect Of Herbal Extract On Hair Growth In Female Androgenic Alopecia
Many thanks and have a wonderful day.
An excerpt from the article states, “A specific extract from leaves of Boehmeria nipononivea (a plant of nettle family from Japan and China, well known in traditional medicine) has a very effective 5-a-reductase inhibitory activity for the presence of several specific fatty acids.”
While this is an interesting article, I really know nothing about this herbal plant. I am concerned that the authors show a connection between DHT and blocking DHT with the relationship between sebum production and hair loss. Some of the material is suspicious and I had problems connecting the dots on the logic. If the herbal is safe (I don’t know that it is) then trying it may be worthwhile.
I have psoriasis and have had a reactivation of the disease right after a hair transplant. The disease is now worse than it ever was. Do you have any advice?
When trauma (surgery is a trauma) occurs in the psoriasis skin, a Koebner reaction may occur. This requires a good dermatologist to manage the process. It is a complex management problem. Please read the following sites for more info:
Im a 21 year old guy currently studying in Malaysia.i have been suffering from hairloss since a year ago most prominently around the temples and vertex of my head.I started using regrow a generic drug for minoxidil 5% 4 months ago.My friends commented that the centre of my head and frontal appears to be thicker.However around the temple region not much growth has been seen.Is minoxidil not effective at all for hair loss around the temple region?Whenever i bathe i notice small fine hair around the forehead area just beneath the temples.This could be from the minoxidil that leaked from the temples when i aply the medication.Could this be a sign of regrowth.However it is really hard to appreciate if there is any new hair growing around the temple regions.I would like to describe that my temples are not exactly bald.They just have very much less hair compaired to the rest of my head and are much further apart.And i also noticed that a yellowish solidified oil like structure is usually found on the distal part of shedded hair.could this mean any pathologic symptoms?To add on , i noticed flaking of the skin around the temple region where i applied my medcation.is it advisable to continue?
Any minoxidil leakage can cause hair to grow on the area it leaked to, but it would have to be done regularly. This drug was originally introduced as a treatment for hair blood pressure and it is known to drop the blood pressure when it is absorbed. When given to the patients for high blood pressure, hair grew on the face and other body parts, particularly detectable in women.
Minoxidil does not always work for the treatment of hair loss and when it does, it can sometimes take a year or so to see the results. With any of the hair loss treatment drugs like minoxidil or even Propecia (finasteride 1mg), they are not predictable in any absolute sense. You must be patient.
(female) I just noticed this past week that I have a bald spot in one area of my head, the top left. The area is smooth and tender. (Tenderness may be a result of the products I’ve been applying to stimulate growth.) I am assuming that this baldness occurred after a no-lye chemical relaxer was applied, since I now vaguely remember a patch of hair coming out at that time. How can I know what caused this area to become bald and when will the hair grow back if it will? By the way it looks, it seems that nothing is happening.
Smooth skin suggests a burn (it could be other conditions, but with your memory of history a burn sounds likely). See a good dermatologist and you may get some good insights into the bald spot. If it will grow back (not a third degree burn or one that killed the hair follicles) it may grow back in 3-6 months.
Since shock loss is caused by inflamation and swelling, do you think ibuprofen (600 – 800 mg doses) could be as effective at preventing shock loss as propecia?
Do you think that there is any adverse interaction between ibuprofen and propecia? Thanks.
There is no connection between ibuprofen and preventing shock loss after hair transplantation. To my knowledge there is no connection between Propecia and ibuprofen either.
hi can propecia protect your hair from hair from stress.. please let me know…
The relationship between stress and hair loss varies a great deal. Propecia certainly protects the hair from those factors that cause or accelerate hair loss — and stress is one of those factors.