Worried Sick About Shock Loss Potential!

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

Dear Dr Rassman,

I am having my second HT transplant soon to refine my frontal line and to provide more density at the sides. I am worried sick about shock loss. Is there a possibility of this happening with new grafts that will be placed between the newly transplanted grafts that are growing well?

Thank you.

You should not have shock loss with transplanted hair — that is, hair that has been moved from your permanent area to new recipient sites. If you’ve had a previous transplant in the past 3 years or so and are taking finasteride, the risk of shock hair loss is very low.

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

Intercytex vs Follica

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

Doctor Rassman,hi again. I am a frequent reader of your blog and once again I say thanks for keeping such an interesting and useful source of great information. My question is in regards to Intercytex and Follica. I keep reading about these companies and it is hard not to get excited about the possibilities described there even though actual products/treatments may take a while (if ever) to come out. Anyways, my question is which company (between those two) do you find more promising? I know this will be just a guess or opinion, but I would certainly appreciate your feedback! Thanks a lot!

Your guess is as good as mine. We never really know all of the facts and much of what is known appears to be for public relations purposes. At this point, I don’t really have an opinion when pitting one against the other.

Tags: intercytex, follica, hairloss, hair loss

Magnetic Therapy and Blood Supply

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

MagnetIn a recent issue of New Scientist, there is an interesting article about magnets worthy of mention here, even though is isn’t about hair loss. I’ve received all sorts of questions about magnets over the years of writing this site, including whether magnets can increase hair growth (they can’t). Years ago, it was thought that magnetic therapy had an impact on blood supply (which was presumed incorrectly to be the cause of hair loss). Now there seems to be another use of magnets for increasing blood supply to the penis, possibly as a cure for ED. The article suggests that since magnets increase blood supply, it might help in getting erections. Other applications for the magnetic therapy include arthritic joints and circulation problems for extremities. They suggest that an old refrigerator magnet might do the job. I wonder if keeping a magnet on your groin will cause problems with credit cards in your wallet…

The article states that the makers of Magnehance claim “that if you are male you can enhance your organ’s performance by wearing a flexible neodymium-iron-boron magnet in your underpants. If you are a female, the Magnehance website promises that products designed for you will be arriving soon.”

It does seem that we want to find cures for everything — ailments or otherwise.

Tags: magnet, blood supply, magnehance, hairloss, hair loss, ed, erection, viagra, penis

A Hair Tail in the Low Neck (with Photo)

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

A patient presented with balding today and asked about his unusual looking hair tail in the back of his head. I have never seen one as pronounced as this, so I thought I would share it with my readership. This is an unusual genetic variance and of interest, he is losing the neck hair around it.

Click photo to enlarge.

 

Tags: tail, unusual, hairloss, hair loss, photo

Is Propecia Stopping My “Normal” Hair Loss?

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

Hi Iv been taking propecia for about 2 weeks now after seeing alot of hair coming out about a month ago when washing it. I know you lose about 50-150 hairs every day and when you wash it you see this amount come out what sometimes make people think they are going bald. But I havnt been seeing 10 hairs come out now let alone 100 when I wash it could the propecia be stopping the normal hair loss as well?

Finasteride only helps stop hair loss in hair that is at risk from genetic male pattern baldness (MPB), and it should have no effect on normal hair shedding or loss. I would assume the hair loss you thought was normal may have been related to MPB and now finasteride is arresting this process. Remember that it is normal to lose 100 sometime 200 hairs a day. If your hair loss is less than 100 hairs per day, then perhaps you are just not noticing hair that is blown out in the wind or the hair that falls out during the day when you are not collecting it. There have been reports from readers of this blog that they have experienced increased shedding after starting Propecia, which may last a couple of months. I have postulated that such shedding may occur due to cycling of the hair loss increases with the drug, but that is guess work from my point of view as I try to understand what I have been told by these blog readers.

Tags: propecia, finasteride, hairloss, hair loss

Pigtails and Braids Resulted in Missing Female Hairline

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

I wore pigtails as a young girl and braids on my hear in my late teens and early twenties. Now I am stuck with no hair in the front or one the sides.

This question came from a woman that I just met with. It is a complicated case, mostly because the missing hair covers a large area. Her donor density is slightly higher than normal for an African hairline, but there is some miniaturization in the donor area which may impact the total graft yield. Nevertheless, she is committed to having transplantation surgery, even as I explained to her that the result might be less than a full, thick hairline area. Her response to that was, “Any hairline there will be fine”.

Tags: pigtails, braids, hairloss, hair loss, hairline, african american, black, alopecia, density

Is Finasteride Evenly Distributed in a Proscar Pill?

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

I have heard much debate amongst doctors about whether the drug finasteride is evenly distributed in the pill Proscar. Some say that by the very nature of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process it would be almost impossible for it NOT to be evenly distributed, but others say that it is not. Merck (understandably) will not comment since they want their customers paying more for Propecia.

If it’s not, that means on day 1, one might get all 5 mg, and then the next 4 days get 0 mg.

Can you explain the answer to this? Do you know the inherent nature of the pill manufacturing process so as to shed some light on this question?

There is always the chance that the Proscar pill, when divided into four, will have one or more of the pieces contain different amounts of the drug. We have seen patients on finasteride (taken as 1/4 of the Proscar) have results as would be expected from taking the Propecia. Although there is no way to verify the exact drug dose in each section of the pill by weight, from a results point of view, it seems to indicate that the drug is pretty much evenly distributed in the Proscar pill.

Tags: finasteride, proscar, propecia, hairloss, hair loss, pill, cut

Hair Wax and Clogged Follicles?

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

Hello, ive been using styling hair wax for awhile now, and have been reading from individuals on random forums that styling wax can clog hair follicles which would eventually lead to hair loss. So i have been wondering if this true or is it just a hair myth??

I dont leave the stuff in my hair for 3 days straight like some people might do. I shower twice daily, so is hair wax safe to use? I would love to have this myth cleared up!

Thank you for your time!

I would seriously doubt that hair wax will cause hair loss by clogging the hair follicles.

Tags: product, wax, hairloss, hair loss, follicle, clog, shower

Will There Be A Better Medication for Regrowth by 2010?

/by William Rassman, M.D./3 /, ,

Hi Dr. Rassman i recently wrote you about the 19 year old who thought he was a good canidate for a hair transplant. It’s not that I am going to plunge into it i was just wanting more advice. Furthermore i know you have probably had to answer this a million times and your sick of it but like do you think by 2010 that there will be atleast a better medication for regrowth? I honestly can’t go through my life being bald its affecting me so much man. all my confidence is gone. if you could , could you just respond to me in email ? im honestly so bummed out about this ordeal ive went from being so happy to depressed.

I don’t know what advice I can give. I don’t see the average 19 year old as a hair transplant candidate. If the hair loss has advanced to a place where it is stable and further loss isn’t likely to occur, a hair transplant may be a viable option, but without an exam I couldn’t begin to make that determination. Please note that very few 19 year olds would fall into this category.

There is a medication that is in FDA trials for treating hair loss, dutasteride (Avodart), and it has been shown to work better than Propecia (finasteride) in some cases at high doses, but with that comes much greater risk of sexual side effects and possible permanent sterility. It is still in the testing phase, however. You can learn more about dutasteride here — Update on Dutasteride. Note that there is no cure for hair loss.

I understand your confidence issues, and suggest that you may want to seek some help for any depression you may be experiencing.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, dutasteride, avodart, finasteride, propecia, medication

Can Minoxidil Be Taken Internally?

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

Dear Dr. Rassman and Medical Staff

I had used minoxidil 5% for 2 years without good result So I switched to Provillus a month ago. Can minoxidil be taken internally? Most of them are sold as topical product. Would Scalpmed work for me? Thank you

Minoxidil was originally an oral preparation for the treatment of high blood pressure. It was unreliable for its intended use, but the observation that some women grew facial hair while taking this caught the attention of the drug company. Good drugs are often discovered this way and through serendipity, the observations are made and new applications evolve. The oral form of the drug is not available nor is it approved by the FDA today.

Provillus and ScalpMed apparently use minoxidil as their active ingredient, and both products have been discussed on this site before.

Tags: minoxidil, rogaine, oral, hairloss, hiar loss, blood pressure, scalpmed, scalp med, provillus

After Miniaturization Mapping, How Accurate is the Norwood Class Diagnosis?

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

I have ceased to be amazed by the vast amount of information this site provides to all of us hair-obsessed patrons–Kudos to you balding blog!

My question is pretty simple (i think):

How soon is one able to tell what Norwood class he will develop into? Put another way, if you’ve been mapped for miniaturization, how accurate an assesment is this of your final balding
pattern?

I think I understand your question. You want to know if the mapping of your scalp for miniaturization will indicate your eventual hair loss pattern? The mapping of miniaturization will show you more about your balding pattern than you can see with your naked eye. Most likely, you would progress to a higher Norwood classification if there is miniaturization in the areas which appear hairy and the more miniaturization present, the more likely your balding will extend to those areas. You may not completely bald in the areas where miniaturization is present and if you took drugs, that may be more likely then if you let nature take it course. If you did nothing to arrest the process of MPB, the likelihood that you will see a more advanced pattern is high. But if you use medications like Propecia, you will be slowing down the process. If you’re looking for a numerical value to show the accuracy of a hair loss pattern, I unfortunately don’t have one for you.

Tags: propecia, finasteride, miniaturization, mapping, hairloss, hair loss, norwood

The Term “Mature Hairline” Sounds Like Something Made Up

/by William Rassman, M.D./10 /,

The term mature hairline sounds like a cop out to me made up by doctors. Explain if I am wrong here. A mature hairline is considered some slight recession that most men get at a certain age regardless of if they are balding or not. Wouldnt then it follow a NW 7 would simply be a hairline that is more mature then the normal hairline and hence balding would not even exist as a term right?

I do not believe you are understanding the difference between the mature hairline and male pattern baldness (MPB).

Most Caucasians (95%) will have a mature hairline as they “mature” from their teens to twenties, but about half of the men will have genetic balding, otherwise known as androgenic alopecia (AGA) or male pattern baldness (MPB) by the time they reach the age of 50. The term “mature hairline” is not some hype or concocted term, as it does describe what happens as the juvenile (your 12 year old hairline) changes into an adult hairline. Use your eyes at shopping centers and observe men over 30 and you will see just what I am talking about.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, mature hairline, mature, hairline, juvenile

Testosterone Supplement Caused Massive Hair Loss Within 4 Days

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

I’ve been taking propecia and using Rogaine for 8 months now with great results. Recently, I purchased and started to take a natural testosterone supplement. Within 4 days I witnessed an enormous amount of hair loss. I immediately stopped taking the product and since then my hair has stopped falling out. Will the hair I lost every come back? Will I recover from this stupid mistake?

While in theory what you describe is conceivable, it seems very strange a supplement can cause such rapid (in 4 days) hair loss — even if it was a testosterone supplement. I really do not have an opinion on whether your hair will grow back, since I really don’t know what caused your hair loss. You may consider seeing your doctor for his/her opinion and an in-person examination.

Tags: testosterone, hairloss, hair loss, supplement

Very Oily Scalp Is Itchy and Flaky

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

i am 23 male. when i wakeup in morning a oil comes on my head and thats oily material also come on back of my ears too and between those ears and bit on nose. if i dont rinse my hair that oil turns in to flakes and scales on my head and gets itchy. i am losing my hairs too. whats treatment to that problem? what can i use to cure the hair loss and what is that disease?

I could list many disease possibilities that could be causing your problem. Are you really losing your hair? Do you have miniaturization in the hair, suggesting balding? Without being able to examine you, I can not give you a diagnosis. I would recommend you follow up with your doctor in order to properly diagnose your problem.

Tags: scalp, oily, flaky, itch, hairloss, hair loss