Positive Impacts on Hair Growth?

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

Do the following have POSITIVE impacts on hair health?

  1. head massage – No.
  2. other techniques for increased blood flow to head – Nope.
  3. healthy diet, if so what foods are important to eat and which to avoid? – You should have a balanced diet.
  4. use of dandruff shampoos – No, sir.
  5. use of any particular shampoo or conditioner – No impact.
  6. vigorous exercise – No.
  7. any activity that promotes increased cardiovascular health – Nope.
  8. use of dietary supplements (vitamins and minerals) – No impact in moderation.
Tags: hairloss, hair loss, exercise, massage, blood flow, dandruff, shampoo

I Burned Myself and Lost Hair

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

after face lift surgery I rolled my hair in hot rollers and used hot iron . being numb i didnt know i burned myself. My hair fell out in the sink. I have cried, i went to a doctor that said it will more than grow back. i had blisters. im near bald on top. im on antibiotic and ointment . i need some honesty also comfort

I can not give you an opinion based upon this history without examining you myself. I don’t really know how bad the burn was. If your doctor told you that it will come back, then I would assume that the burn was at most a partial second degree burn, in which case the hair should return in under 6 months.

Tags: burn, hairloss, hair loss, facelift, face lift

Merck’s Finasteride Infertility Studies Were Less Than a Year Long

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

Hello Doctor .
My wife and I have now been trying to conceive for 12 Month without any luck. I have been taking propecia since almost 4 years now. I did two “spermogram” at 3 month intervals. Results were really different from one period to the other but both time it shows a lack of “motility”. I also read the official Merck reply here on your site regarding this question. Merck did two studies with men age between 19-50 years alors but I have been astonished to see that both time the studies were not longer than 48 weeks, less than a year . Do we have any other “longer” studies done by merck ?

Studies showing the impact on spermatogenis on a 24 month period at least would be to my opinion more relevant.

I look forward for your reply. Thanks and Best regards.

No longer studies that I’m aware of, but I will forward this question to Merck for their reply. In the meantime, you should be discussing this with your doctor who can ask, with more authority, the same question. I did post about Propecia’s link to infertility recently (see here).

Tags: propecia, finasteride, merck, infertility, hairloss, hair loss

I Studied Biology, So I Know Masturbation Causes Hair Loss

/by William Rassman, M.D./20 /

Overdoing self-manipulation (masturbation) converts too much testosterone into dihydrotestosterone(DHT). High levels of DHT overload the body causing baldness and possible prostate enlargement if blood circulation is poor in the prostate area causing a build-up of the compound. Reducing the frequency of your self gratification will help maintain low levels of DHT and avoid hair loss.

Im sorry Dr. Rassman but i study biology and im interested in hair loss and there is mountains of evidence to prove it. You dont even need evidence, its common sense. And heres why. If castration stops you from going bald, then anything that can get as close to the castration effect, to the point of almost castration such as no sex, masturbation, no erections, clearly DHT levels will be incredibly reduced.

UghSome people know just enough to be dangerous. Whether you decide to masturbate or not, your testicles will put out testosterone which will be converted to DHT. Nothing you can do short of real castration will stop that process and I am not recommending that you get yourself castrated.

If the way you love your life makes you happy, by all means do not masturbate as there is nothing in that act that is necessary for maintenance of your health. To everyone else, there is no connection between masturbation and hair loss. If you believe the old wives’ tales, I’m not going to change your mind. I haven’t been successful in the previous messages about this, and I doubt this will change your tune. I think that you have exhausted this subject.

Tags: masturbation, masturbating, hairloss, hair loss, sex, dht

Betamethasone Dipropionate to Treat Hair Loss?

/by William Rassman, M.D./11 /,

I found the website of a certain Dr. Sandra Brown MD, a dermatologist practicing in Southfield (MI), who claims she has developed a “proprietary and patented gel that has successfully reversed many types of hair loss in hundreds of [her] patients”.

According to Dr. Brown, this gel “thickens and lengthens hair and reverses many types of alopecia (hair loss) such as genetic thinning (e.g., male pattern baldness), chemical and stress related hair loss and other types of hair loss”. The treatment “is applied daily to the scalp” and “stimulates hair follicles causing hair to grow thicker and faster. Additionally, after the gel is discontinued the hair that you have re-grown does not catastrophically fall out (in contrast to the only commercially available product currently approved by the FDA which must be used forever to prevent hair loss).”

This gel contains bethametasone dipropionate 0.05% and tretinoin (all-trans-retinoic acid) 0.0125%.

The patent can be viewed at PatentStorm. Some quotes from the patent: “An application of betamethasone dipropionate and all-trans-retinoic acid is made to the patient. The betamethasone dipropionate and all-trans-retinoic acid are administered together in a compound applied topically to the scalp. The compound and method have been found to effectively restore hair growth even after discontinuance of use of the compound.” “Betamethasone dipropionate is a steroid and has a tendency to thin the dermis. All-trans-retinoic acid is also administered in combination with betamethasone dipropionate. However, one of the well-known side effects of all-trans-retinoic acid is that it acts to thicken the skin. Thus, when used in combination with each other, the negative side effects of betamethasone dipropionate and all-trans-retinoic acid act to cancel each other out while synergistically producing a large amount of hair.” “Outstanding results, including hair growth within one week of applying the compound, were observed.”

I also found a newspaper article about Dr. Brown. During the interview with the journalist, Dr Brown said: “85-percent of the patients that we treat can see the hair growing back thicker within 21 days.”

Now, what do you think about all this?

Bethametasone and tretinoin are very common and cheap drugs and can be easily obtained in any drugstore. So, it wouldn’t be difficult to try this treatment. However, I’m skeptical, because:

  1. There are no scientific studies to support Dr. Brown’s claims, only her clinical experience.
  2. It all seems too good to be true. As I said, the treatment is based on well-known and common drugs. If it really worked, it would have become the standard hair-loss treatment all over the world.
  3. Although dr. Brown says that tretinoin counteracts the side effects of bethametasone (and this claim seems to be backed up by some research, I’m still concerned about the negative effects of long-term use of a corticosteroid.

I’d like to hear some opinions before trying this treatment.

Betamethasone dipropionate is a steroid which I believe does require a prescription. I personally use it occasionally to treat my psoriasis and for that it works well. The application of steroids for various forms of hair loss has been proposed and it works in mild autoimmune diseases that may be responsible for hair loss, but it is usually not strong enough for these diseases. The use of retinoic acid could burn the scalp and cause blistering for repeated heavy use, partly controlled by the steroid effects of betamethasone dipropionate.

There is nothing new here, just some possible misrepresentation on the use of these two drugs in combination. And the 2nd point you made at the bottom of your email is spot on — common sense would tell most people that if some common medication turned out to be the greatest hair loss treatment ever, it’d be a standard treatment.

Tags: betamethasone, dipropionate, steroid, hairloss, hair loss, tetinoin, retinoic, acid, diprosone, diprolene

Giving Birth a Year Ago or NuvaRing Causing Female Hair Loss?

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

Hello Dr,

I am writing to you today because I am desperate. I am a 26 yr old woman. For as long as I can remember i have had thin hair. It runs in my family. I had a baby oct 1st of 2007 and noticed that my hair started falling out more than usual a couple of months ago. I don’t know if it is because of giving birth or because i started using the birth control NUVARING. I believe one of the side effects is hair loss but i am not quite sure. I am going crzy because as days progress my hair keeps falling and i don’t know what to do. I have not taken anything because i don’t know what to take or what shampoos or treatments are good for you. I don’t have insurance and i don’t have a lot of money where I can afford a visit to a dermatologist or even a doctor. I have been doing research and I came across alopecia areata (i think) and I actually think i might sufffer from that or maybe it’s the childbirth or even the birth control or even a combnination of all! Please advice me in what i should do. Thank you so much

We have discussed the NuvaRing birth control causing hair loss (see NuvaRing and Hair Loss). I can not advise you on what you should with with your birth control treatment, because if I tell you to stop using something which may be the cause of your hair loss, I would be taking on the role of your doctor (which I am not). Alopecia areata is probably not what you have here, unless you have distinct bald spots. There is no substitute to seeing a good, caring doctor.

We are both in California and you indicated that you live about 50 miles from my office. I see women for hair loss, and still do this free of charge (I do not expect to charge for these visits at least for the remainder of the year). I’d be happy to examine your hair to see if it is alopecia areata, at the very least.

Tags: nuvaring, bcp, birth control, hairloss, hair loss, female hair loss

What Might a Hair Loss Cure Do for a Norwood Class 6?

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

Concerning the previous questions i’ve read about future advacements and the hairloss gene found.. say in the near future, we find a “cure” for baldness. Does that neccecarily mean you can “cure” someone with a norwood 6 with great thick hair again?

Or is the cure coming too late for men already bald and at a good time for men with balding in their future

Thanks!!

Of course this is all hypothetical, but sure, if there is a “cure” for hair loss then a man with a Norwood Class 6 could get his hair back. If there’s a hair loss vaccine, he could never lose it to begin with. It’s all just guesswork at this point and way, way, way too early to tell. I wouldn’t hold your breath just yet, though. In the meantime, drugs such as Propecia (finasteride 1mg) can definitely help slow further hair loss and hair transplant surgery can certainly give you a non-balding look. It may not be a complete cure, but its as close as we have right now.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, cure, norwood, vaccine

Sea Kelp for Female Hair Loss?

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

(female) I am 51 yrs. old. In the past 6 months I have lost 33 pounds in a healthy slow pace. In the last 3 months I have had alot of hair loss along with scalp itching. It has clogged my bath drain in 3 months and feels about 1/2 the thickness it use to. The weight loss, a new shampoo and conditioner and having my hair streaked with blond every month ( I have had it colored for years and streaked but only every 3 months rather than streaked every month. These are the only 3 new things that have happened. I have started taking sea kelp with no help for 2 months. I have had all the normal medical tests done to make sure there isn’t any health issue here. The results were all normal.

Weight loss can cause hair loss although the slow weight loss you had should not be a cause. You could perhaps have an allergy to something in your new shampoo or conditioner, or even a reaction to the chemicals used with your hair coloring. It’s difficult to tell for sure, so I’m just left to guess. Sea kelp probably has little value to you for regrowing your hair.

Tags: female hair loss, sea kelp, shampoo, hairloss, hair loss

Could Any Surgery Trigger Acceleration of the Balding Process?

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

You’ve mentioned numerous times on this blog that certain surguries which cause stress to the body may “flick the hairloss switch” and accellerate the balding process. Does this hold true for every surgery? I have a hydrocele testis, and my urologist said it’s not urgent, but he can remove it. Would this surgery be considered a “stressful” one in your book? You’ve used appendectomies and heart surguries as examples, I’m just wondering if a simple hydrocele surgery would also be included. Do you have any patients who’ve had this surgery while on Propecia?

I’ve been on Propecia for over a year now, and I’m pretty sure it’s doing its job keeping my hair. I’ll find out for sure though when I come see you this January to refill my prescription.

Can’t wait for the miniaturization test!

The issue that connects hair loss to a surgical procedure seems to be stress. A local surgery as you describe should not cause hair loss, especially since you are taking Propecia. Even with stress from surgery, Propecia will probably protect you.

Tags: surgery, stress, hairloss, hair loss, shock loss, propecia, finasteride

Losing Mustache Hair?

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

Is it normal to lose a few hairs from one’s mustache each day ?

Hair, even in the mustache, does go through cycling, so some loss each day is normal provided that it is not so great as to cause defects in your facial hair.

Tags: mustache, moustache, hairloss, hair loss, facial hair

Will Propecia Diminish My Body Hair? I Hope So!

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

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I would like to ask you 4 things about Propecia.

  1. I am not worried much about the sexual side effects of this drug. I am worried, though, about the possibility of getting gynecomastia – as I already have it to some degree from my teen years and I am very self-conscious over it. I know what the percentages are for getting sexual sides, but do you know what the risk is for possibly getting gynecomastia?
  2. Also, do you think I may be at an even higher risk – since I have already acquired it once? I wouldn’t want to make it worse and if I decide to get surgery to reduce it, I don’t want to spend the money and get it again!
  3. Is there any type of test, whatsoever, that might show if I am at risk of getting this condition from the drug before I take it?
  4. I noticed when I started to thin about 5 years ago, I also started growing more ear, nose and chest hair. I guess this is the “DHT Paradox.” I am wondering….if I take Propecia to regrow my scalp hair, do you think it will diminish my ear, nose and chest hair? I am hoping it will, because the only place I want to be hairy is my head. I had heard that dht causes hair-loss on the head, but actually stimulates it pretty much everywhere else (the paradox.) If this is true, do you think I’ll stop growing excessive hair in my nose and ears by being on it, in addition to helping with hair-LOSS on my scalp?

Thanks!!!!

The side effect of gynecomastia is hormonal when it occurs from Propecia. If you had it before, I do not know if it will happen again, but if that was in your teen years, the risks (although present) should not be great. I wouldn’t worry about the other side effects, as one of the great advantages of this drug is if you try it and experience anything untoward (other than gynecomastia), the side effects go away very quickly since the drug is largely out of your body in 24 hours. There is no test that I know of that will tell you if the gynecomastia will return or if you are sensitive at this time in your life to getting it back.

With regard to ear hair, nose hair, and body hair, this is caused by DHT… so welcome to the world of many curses. Propecia can slow or stop these in some men, but as it works differently in each person, I couldn’t say for sure how it will control your non-scalp hair, if at all.

Tags: propecia, finasteride, gynecomastia, hairloss, hair loss, dht

When Does Propecia Shedding Stop?

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

Dear Dr. Rassman-
My question is I used to take propecia, total about 9 months, shortly after I started taking it my hair was falling out like crazy, it didnt really before but I was overly paranoid etc, and decided to start taking it. After 9 months id had enough and stopped taking it only to see it get worse. My questing is, and although i know your a big supporter of the drug, when does the shedding stop. Could it be caused by my body getting used to the decreased dht and then it came back with a vengeance. Also how does adderal and stress factor into hairloss?

best

If you stopped the Propecia (finasteride) and the hair loss got worse, then what you were experiencing when you went on it was a spurt of accelerated hair cycling, not shedding. When/if shedding really occurs, it does not last more than a couple of months, and the rest is probably a bad hair loss situation. Propecia can be your best friend here, because it will slow down the accelerated shedding. Yes, I am a big proponent of this medication, but that is because I’ve seen what it can do for treating male pattern baldness (unlike any other FDA approved treatment for this). There is no connection with consistent hair loss and the drug Propecia (finasteride).

As for how stress factors in, I recently posted something about that here. Some mild hair loss has been reported from Adderall, but these are unverified claims.

Tags: propecia, finasteride, adderall, stress, shedding, hairloss, hair loss

Stopped Using 5% Minoxidil Due to Severe Reaction, But 2% Doesn’t Really Help Me

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

Hello doctor, I have had diffuse pattern thinning since I was 15 years old. my hairloss slowed down considerably and I am now 23 and still have decent coverage. However my hairloss has not stopped completely. I began using 5% minoxidil/azelaic acid compound a year ago with which I achieved good results. My hair was much stronger and i noticed some regrowth. However i developed a severe reaction to it after some time and was prescribed a topical steroid and advised by my doctor to stop using it. My hairloss has now comeback and i started using 2% which has not really helped but ive had no reaction to it. I have now tried 5% minoxidil without the azelaic acid for about a week and I’ve had a noticable slowing down of hairloss and so far no reaction. I would like a better coverage of my scalp and I went to see a reputable transplant clinic who advised me I was too young to consider surgery, but prescribed me propecia.

After reading certain forums about propecia i am very nervous to start taking it and if I want better coverage would I be better sticking to minoxidil or taking propecia, or even using them both? I apologise for such a long message, but any help would be much appreciated. I would prefer it if you wouldn’t post my mail and reply to me via my email address. Thank you very much for your time Doctor.

With regard to posting on various forums, you will note that you are just a voice out of the crowd without identifying references. Propecia is far better a solution than minoxidil for the young balding man, assuming that you really have genetic hair loss. I have mentioned over and over again that you need to establish a baseline measurement (metric) for the degree of miniaturization before you start drugs like Propecia, because you need to know what the benefit is over time. These miniaturization measurements are invaluable for that purpose. Minoxidil with acid compounds tend to irritate the skin over time. The use of steroids work to manage the irritation, but chronic use of them will cause hair loss. Get a doctor to work with you so you know what you are doing.

Tags: propecia, minoxidil, rogaine, finasteride, hairloss, hair loss

Taking Propecia — Is Breast Pain Going to Mean Breast Enlargement?

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

Hi Dr.,
I am taking finastride 1.25 mg daily splitting the 5mg. tablet. I have been taking it for 5 months. There were no side affects, but recently i am experiencing some pain in my right breast. I am 24 years old and i have a very tight and manly figure. my breasts are tight and hard. The pain in my breast can go away in future i think. But my question is, does the pain is correlated with breast enlargement or any breast problem?

is there any problem regarding sex related issue with wife if i take finasteride? Finasteride is working great for me.

Thank you Dr. Your blog is very helpful.

Propecia (finasteride) might cause breast pain, often around the nipple area if at all. If it does not lead to breast enlargement, then you may have to put up with the pain to keep the benefits of the drug on your hair, but give it some time and hopefully the pain will subside. See you primary doctor for an examination of your chest.

As for any problems for your wife from you taking finasteride, I wouldn’t be concerned. See Official Word from Merck Regarding Propecia’s Effect on Sperm and Pregnancy for information on that.

Tags: propecia, finasteride, chest, pain, breast, gynecomastia

Why Does More Hair Come Out in the Shower?

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

Hi

I searched your blog and read that it’s alright to wash my hair every day and washing gently does not increase hair loss. I’m in a hairloss support group for women and so many of us are afraid to wash our hair because we see so much shedding with each hair wash. It’s depressing and can really get to us.

Would you kindly explain why there is so much more visible shedding during hair wash and the gentle managing/drying of it after the wash?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

The washing action will bring out those hairs that would have probably fallen out on their own in the wind or when you do other things throughout the day. Washing will not bring out any more hair than the normal cycling would have brought out on their own.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, shower, female hair loss, washing