Can you please comment on the validity of this peer reviewed article into Laser therapy: Study: HairMax LaserComb
This is not new information. I just don’t believe it. Sorry!
Hair Transplant Forum International is the official publication of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), and I’m pleased to announced that I was just named the Pioneer of the Month (Volume 18, Number 1)! The article, written by Dr. Jerry Cooley, is presented below. It serves as part biographical, part information that hasn’t been found elsewhere on the Internet until now. I hope it gives you an insight into my background and goals for the future.
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As a young man, Bill Rassman had “one focus in life, to make a difference.” To say he’s made a difference to the specialty of hair restoration may be one of the greatest understatements ever. Creative and controversial, Bill has made his mark and it’s hard to imagine how hair transplantation would have evolved without him. Because of Bill, our lives are very different indeed.
Bill was born in 1942 in New York. He grew up in Brooklyn, the son of Russian immigrants. After medical school in Virginia, he entered general surgery residency at the University of Minnesota and Cornell. This was interrupted by military service in Viet Nam. Before military service, he did a cardiovascular fellowship where he played a key role in pioneering and commercializing the intra-aortic balloon pump. After returning, he finished his surgery residency at Dartmouth. Bill entered private practice in Vermont where he practiced for six years. He then relocated to Hawaii, practicing surgery there for four years.
Feeling bored and in need of adventure, Bill left medicine and became an entrepreneur, starting a company that developed commercial applications for windmills. After this became a multi-million dollar business, he sold the company. With the money he made, Bill funded his next adventure, a start-up computer software company, which did not progress the way he wanted. After four years of working to develop this, he decided to reenter medicine.
Bill joined Bosley where he soon became its president. Unhappy with the state of hair transplantation at that time, he left Bosley and in 1991 began visiting prominent surgeons, such as Walter Unger and Emmanual Merritt. During this time, he developed his ideas about procedures with large numbers of small grafts, the “megasession.” Bill began doing hair transplants, which in the beginning meant only 400-500 grafts where he did all the cutting and placing himself.
With increasing staff came increasing session sizes. More staff also allowed Bill to focus on further innovations, such as the Densitometer to quantify donor hair and help estimate the number of grafts that could be harvested. It also allowed him to open more offices, including one in New York where he met Bob Bernstein. Together, they developed the concept of using naturally occurring follicular units as the fundamental building block of hair transplantation.
In the mid-90s, Bill’s practice was booming and he was very busy. One issue that became obvious in the “megasession” era was the dependence on large numbers of well-trained staff. To give the surgeon more control over the procedure, Bill began experimenting with follicular unit extraction and new tools to automate the procedure. His interest in FUE continues and he reports that he may introduce a new tool that “reflects a completely new paradigm” for FUE. His interest in automation led to the development of the Carousel Implanter (1997), and instrument he still thinks works great. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful getting a company to manufacture a reliable instrument.
Bill’s current activities include maintaining his Balding Blog on the Internet, he he daily gets 5,000 visitors and 700 emails. Bill also enjoys writing and is currently working on a book entitled “Hair Loss for Dummies,” which is part of the popular consumer book series.
Another current interest is completely outside the field of hair restoration. Bill is founder of a company (Maven Technologies) focused on “personalized medicine,” with proprietary technology used in a diagnostic instrument to rapidly assay thousands of abnormal proteins, glycoproteins, and disease markers in patients for early disease detection and staging. Eventually, he hopes that this technology will become a backbone instrument used by pharma for the development and testing of new drugs. He refers to this project as one of the most exciting things he’s ever done, which is quite a statement in light of all his career accomplishments.
When he has free time, Bill likes to scuba, ski, read, and compose music on the piano, as well as spend time with his four grown children.
I have shoulder length hair that is naturally black and curly i had it chemically straightened two years ago, use a straightener every week and bleached it to blonde in the past 6 months. I take care to use correct treatments etc. What I’ve found is that the hair is growing fine, but it hasn’t changed length this year and i haven’t cut it at all. Obviously it must be breaking off at the ends constantly is there anything I can do to prevent this? Why is it only breaking at the ends so I constantly have the same length of hair all year without cutting it?
The most common cause of breakage is damage to the hair shaft from straightening and chemicals used on the hair. Dyes are in that category. The easiest approach is to stopping doing things that will damage the hair that you are doing. It may mean going back to your original color if your hair cannot take the dye. Dry and damaged hair comes from over-processing and lack of conditioning, so using a good conditioner will help by returning the natural oils to your hair. Try a few different ones and look for those that claim to stop breakage. Check with your stylist, as he/she will likely know what is best on the market. Be sure that your diet is good, that your protein intake is adequate, and that you keep yourself hydrated. The dry hair shaft brakes easier — and the longer you let your hair grow, the more it is exposed to air and heat, which may make the ends more fragile.
A couple months ago I went to your offices for a consultation and was told that I had a healthy amount of miniturization and wasn’t balding. However, everyday more of my scalp, especially on the crown, is showing and I’m obviously losing hair. when I tug strands come out everytime. I have been using minocycline and tazorac for acne. Would this cause significant hairloss and if I stop using these products after the 6 month period to get rid of the acne should the hair grow back (don’t want to stop unless I need to)? Are there any acne meds that don’t cause hairloss? I hear that it’s the vitamin A in the meds that do this.
also my scalp and hair has becoming increasingly dryer from the medication. can a dry scalp and hair cause hairloss at the roots and be potentially damaging. would rogaine help the situation or make it worse due to drying out the scalp more?
Thanks a lot for your time doctor. I really appreciate all the time you put into this blog!
If you are a patient of NHI, please call our office at 800-NEW-HAIR for a private discussion of your problems/progress or lack of it.
That being said, hair loss is a dynamic process and things may have changed. If you are noticing increased thinning at such a short interval, you may be a candidate for medications such as Propecia. Mapping your hair again for miniaturization will show if you have genetic balding that is progressing or not. You didn’t provide your name, so I really am just blindly guessing as to what the situation is/was. Acne medication can cause hair loss with or without miniaturization. Clearly, you have some complex issues that need to be explored.
Hi,
Have you ever heard of Mexis? I have read about it in a couple of magazines, but can’t find much more info than that…it looks appealing as an anti-hairloss solution.
It would be interesting to find out what ingredients are in the product, since their site doesn’t say anything about what Mexis contains. I am always skeptical of anything that guarantees 100% results. They do not quote any clinical studies to back up their claims. This is concerning, yet they state that it is a safe product. Once again, where are the studies to back this up? I would be extremely cautious about this product. Sound like a lot of bells and whistles and no substance.
Just recently I have noticed a rapid increase of thinning on the front of my scalp. I have recently quit using marijuana on a regular basis, could this be the reason for my sudden intense loss?
I am 20 year old, I have been noticing a receding hair line since my late teens. Thank you.
Hair loss is complex. I wish I could just say that this is or is not the cause, but it isn’t that simple. Genetic hair loss has its own cycles and stress can precipitate it. If you found great stress from going off the pot, perhaps the stress induced genetic hair loss. I suggest that you get yourself examined by a competent doctor who can do miniaturization mapping on your scalp. From that, you should have an idea why you have hair loss.
There was a segment on the Today Show today about research involving scar tissue in mice, stem cells, and hair follicle neo-genesis at the University of Pennsylvania. You can see the video clip on the Today Show website. The Today Show medical expert claims that something will probably be on the market in the next few years. The new hair on the mice is white and appears to be very fine relative to the natural/original mouse hair.
I found the video you’re talking about on the Today Show site — here. Unfortunately, I have no real information on this outside of what the references say. I won’t hold my breath for a treatment anytime soon, but I’m not purposely trying to be a naysayer here. It’s just that I’ve seen many “breakthroughs” over the years that have gone nowhere. Let us hope!
Im am nearly 27 and have no facial hair at all, they are small blonde hairs, i have no hair either really on legs, can u explain why this has happened
Genetics, genetics, genetics! I have to admit that I am a bit envious, as I hate my facial and body hair and the daily chore of shaving.
Is this in your family line? Do other males in your family have limited facial hair?
What is the best system of non-surgical hair replacement? And are there any that Are there any that just cover part of scalp rather than try to give you back a full head of hair?
Thank you
You have to look at many factors to determine which one will be non-surgical hair replacement option suits you best. This will include price, quality of product, ease of use, and what creates the most natural appearance.
Hairpiece / hair system:
Hairpieces start with with a section of netting called the foundation, which is cut and molded to the approximate size of the bald scalp area. The highest quality hairpieces are custom made and can cost thousands of dollars each. They might be made of human hair. These usually only last for a few years and need regular maintenance and upkeep, washing, and repairs. Sooner or later (usually less than 2 years) the hairpiece needs to be replaced. Most people have two hairpieces — one to use when the other is being washed or in repair.
Weave:
Weaves are another option. In this method, strands of the client’s own hair are pulled through openings in the foundation (mesh) of the hairpiece, tightly securing it to the foundation. This commonly causes traction alopecia and results in more hair loss from the constant pulling.
I found this video and I thought you might be interested in sharing it on your blog. Its about hair growth after chemo.
Have a nice day.
Thank you for sending this! This is a fantastic photo journal that shows a breast cancer survivor’s hair regrowth timeline after her last round of chemotherapy.
I am a 30 year old, healthy female and I moved house in 2006 – 3 months later noticed excessive hair loss (300 per day at it’s peak!). I had also given birth 15 months previous to a healthy boy. The hair loss started Oct 2006 and by Nov 2006 I found I was pregnant again. By feb 2007 hair loss had stopped and I had some regrowth (although not as thick as it had been). I have since given birth again to a baby girl and 3 months later I’m suffering hair loss again – to the point where I’ve had to have a fringe cut into my hair to cover the thinning hair line!! I’ve been checked by a trichologist for female pattern hair loss and told I don’t have this. Would you expect my hair to return to its former luster? It’s still real shiny and healthy (the 50% I have left!!!) Thank you so much
I would suspect that you have telogen effluvium related to childbirth with your most recent newborn. This usually occurs after you give birth and you can expect hair regrowth from 3 weeks to 3 months. Stress may be contributing to the hair loss of the earlier period. If your hair does not return by the 8th month, you will need to see a hair specialist for a complete evaluation.
Im 24 and I noticed my hair thinning approximately two years ago. However it was hardly noticable. My dermatologist said it was due to hereditary and put me on Propecia. About three months later my hair began to fall out rapidly (about 200 plus hairs in the shower alone) from all over my head. It later slowed down to around 80 plus in the shower and has been consistently falling out at this rate for around a year. It seems to be affecting the top of my head more that the sides but it is hard to tell since it is diffuse loss. I saw a hair specialist who diagnosed me with mild diffuse Alopecia Areata. He prescribed a topical to apply once at night which in a few weeks stopped my hair loss completely. My question is will the hair I’ve lost ever grow back?
The diagnosis of diffuse alopecia areata is best made with a skin biopsy. Have you had that done? You have two diagnosis of genetic balding and alopecia areata…. both are not good from a hair loss perspective, but both can be treated. You need a confirmed diagnosis first and foremost. The treatment of alopecia areata is highly specialized. Some doctors use steroids to suppress the reaction in hope that the autoimmune process can be reversed. I wrote about a special treatment for this disease before — see Alopecia Areata in a Patient with a Miracle Cure (with Photos).
Dear Dr. Rassman
I was curious if one is diagnose with MPB on the hamilton scale. Is it possible for that person to later develop DUPA in the future randomly. Or once you have MPB that the route you will go according to the hamilton scale. Hope that makes sense. thank you (great blog site by the way)
That is a great question. To give you a specific response, I’d need to know if you had miniaturization study done (and the results of this). For a more general answer, although male pattern baldness (MPB) and diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA) are both classified as androgenic alopecia, it is unlikely that you would go from MPB to DUPA — although I suppose anything is possible. DUPA is more common in women.
Doc,
Exactly what is a maturing hairline.. what age does it start.. and where does it stop. Isn’t there usually general thinning of the scalp with a maturing hairline as men age without going bald? I see a lot of guys in the office around 50, who still have hair but certainly not the hair I remember them having 10 years ago. I’m assuming they’ll have much less at 60.
A maturing hairline can start from the teenage years to the late twenties. General male pattern hair loss can start as early as puberty or as late as in the 50’s, but these are not firm rules. The men you see at your office probably have male pattern hair loss or you’re just remembering wrong (10 years is a long time!). Just getting older will not produce hair loss, just as our former president Ronald Reagan demonstrated.
Please see Maturation of a Hairline — Moving From Juvenile to Mature for more.
Hi I was just wondering how long it will take for scalp hair to grow back. I had damage done to my hair a few mos back and had little stray hairs on my head sticking up. I plucked only a few out one time 2 mos ago and not seeing results of them coming back. Will the hairs I plucked come back, I have not touched them since then? Thanks
Depending upon the amount of trauma, plucked hairs usually come back earlier than the normal telogen (rest) hair cycle that the hair transplant surgeon sees when a transplant is done. To determine the answer to your question, pluck out a few hairs and note where they are, then observe when they come back.