What Does Auto-Cloning Mean?

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

Admittedly, I’m not too bright – It sounds like hair is plucked form the back of the head and transplanted in the scalp? Then the plucked hair grows back? Does this mean there would be no need to cut a strip from the back of the head and there would be an unlimited donor supply?

Actually, your conclusion is right on. If this process becomes a standard treatment for hair loss, then the need for a traditional transplant would not be needed as long as you’re willing to go through a procedure that involves plucking many hairs and have them placed into another part of the scalp, one hair at a time. It takes patience, but the hope is that the donor supply is unlimited. This assumes, of course, that the hair that grows from the original plucked hair will regrow and cycle as it did when it was in the donor supply (where the plucked hair came from).

So that’s what we’re referring to when we mention the ACell product and auto-cloning. There are a lot of variables still unknown, which is why we’re going to be studying it.

Tags: auto-cloning, autocloning, acell, hair multiplication, hair loss, hairloss

Electric Pulse Treatment for Hair Loss?

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

ElectricityHi,
have you ever heard about electric pulse treatment for hair grow?? it works??

Since its invention, electricity has been marketed for treating ailments ranging from cancer to hair loss. We have seen many benefits of electricity in healing wounds, ulcers, bone that will not unite, etc… but I don’t know of any proven value for the electric pulse therapy and hair loss. This fits into my usual dictum of “buyer beware”.

Tags: electric pulse treatment, hairloss, hair loss

In the News – Head Paint for Cancer Patients

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

Snippet from the article:

Before cancer treatment could take her hair, a Greeley [Colorado] woman decided to give cancer a new look.

Kay Anderson was declared cancer-free in February, 15 months after discovering a lump in her breast. Just before she started cancer treatment, prior to losing her hair, she took control of her situation. “We all went out to the garage and had a head shaving party,” said Anderson.

Soon after her treatment ended, instead of letting her hair grow back, she let her daughter, Tiffany Koehn, paint it back on. Koehn paints different designs on her mom’s shaved head every two or three days.

Head paintingRead the full story — Woman Gives Cancer Recovery Colorful Look

For those that go through chemotherapy, as if the cancer itself wasn’t traumatic enough, losing your hair can be even more devastating. These women are not letting cancer take away their spirit, and so I wanted to share this inspiring story.

Photo source: Citizen-Times.com

Tags: chemotherapy, chemo, head paint, hairloss, hair loss, cancer

Hair Stands Straight Up After Transplant

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

I had a procedure of 3000 grafts placed in the front and now 8 months later, the hair that grew out stands straight up like toothpicks coming out perpendicular to the scalp. Can this be fixed?

ToothpicksThe direction that hair grows after a transplant is determined by the transplant surgeon. Some doctors place the hair straight upward reaching for the sky like you reported, while others place them in a radial direction so that the hair looks like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. Some hair restoration procedures (like those of flaps), have hair that grows 90 degrees off pointing to the side. In all of these situations, the transplants or flaps permanently point the direction of the hair.

These are tricky repairs and most of the time the repairs are not able to correct the entire directional issue. I would advise setting up a consultation with me or a good hair transplant doctor in your area with lots of experience (I’m not sure where you’re located) to ascertain what, if anything, can be done to correct the problem.

Tags: hair transplant, hair direction, hair restoration, repair

Can I Reach My Full Pattern by 21 Years Old?

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

Is it possible for someone to reach their full pattern at 21? My hair started thinning rapidly at 17. I am 22 now, and for the last year I have been a NW 2a, so it is not just a mature hairline. There has been no change in my hair over the last year and my remaining hair is thick (verified by a doctor that there is no miniaturization).

Both of my grandfathers had the exact same pattern, and going by photographs, they both reached by their late twenties. I know you can never be certain, and that hair loss is complicated and unpredictable, but is there a decent chance I have inherited the same pattern? It just seems very early for my hairloss to reach its full extent.

Thanks for the great blog and all the time you spend helping people with their hair problems!

It’s possible to reach a pattern you’re going to stick with forever by 21, but it is really difficult if not impossible for anyone to definitively say what your future pattern will be by just examining your scalp at such a young age. I realize you would like some words of comfort, but unfortunately I cannot give it to you.

The best thing to do is to keep an eye on it, but the try not to obsess over it. You can always be followed by a doctor who can establish a Master Plan, figuring out where you are going and what you can do about it.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss

Topamax is Thinning the Hair on the Sides of My Head

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

I am on a medication called Topamax for a mood stabilizer. I am on 100mg, got cut down and going to gradually cut down even more. My hair is thinning really bad on the sides and it is shortening on the sides. What can I do? If I stop the medication will it eventually stop the hair loss? I need some type of hope, it is thinning where you can see my scalp.

You really need to talk with your doctor who is prescribing you Topamax (antiseizure medication). The most common cause of hair loss is genetic balding in 99% of men, though hair loss on the sides of the head isn’t common for genetic loss.

Hair loss from medications like Topamax is possible, but I can’t advise you on whether stopping the drug will regrow your hair, as I don’t know your hair loss history and am not clear as to the cause.

Tags: topamax, hairloss, hair loss

Would Minoxidil Be Helpful for the Frontal Hairline?

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

I am in the very early phases of hair-loss i.e. slight recession at the temples and general shedding. I was wondering whether topical minoxidil may help me.

Regards

Many people confuse the term “temples” with what is actually the corners of the frontal hairline, so I’m going to assume that is what you mean since you said it was an early phase of hair loss.

Minoxidil most likely will not impact the receding hairline, but finasteride (Propecia) can halt the progressive loss in young men and in rare instances show benefits to the hairline. Talk to your doctor about a prescription.

Tags: minoxidil, finasteride, temple, hairline, hairloss, hair loss

I Now Have Bald Spots Where I Applied Minoxidil

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

Hi. I’m a male in his late 20s and noticed a couple of years ago that my hair wasn’t as thick as it used to be so I tried Minoxidil. After two months of using the product there was extreme shedding so I discontinued use. Keep in mind I had no bald spots before Minoxidil but now there are several and it looks as if I burnt my scalp. I didn’t use the Minoxidil on my hairline which is still completely intact. But any spot where the Minoxidil was applied looks awful. It’s been over a year and there has been no improvement.

How could Minoxidil turn hair into no hair? Is there a warning on the product that says to not use on areas you already have hair? Is there anything I can use to reverse this damage caused by Minoxidil?

MinoxidilI’ve not seen a case like you’re describing, so it’s difficult for me to point the finger at minoxidil for bald spots that have lasted over a year. Even if there was a topical allergy to the medication, I’d expect you should’ve seen some regrowth by now in the impacted areas. It’s worth noting that a disease like alopecia areata can cause bald spots like you’re describing, though the more likely thing is that you were going bald in that area with or without the medication.

You used minoxidil because you saw your hair thinning, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that minoxidil caused shedding in the already weak areas you applied it in. I have heard many patients complain about increased shedding in the first months of using minoxidil, but this generally stops as you continue to use it. I just haven’t seen a patient with bald spots strictly in areas where minoxidil was applied.

You need to consider paying a visit to a physician for an examination if you’re really concerned. I hope you have before and after photos you can show the doctor, plus he/she can learn how you were applying the minoxidil, how much you were applying to each spot, and if there was anything perhaps unusual about the way you used it. There’s only so much I can offer online without actually seeing what you’re talking about.

Tags: minoxidil, rogaine, hairloss, hair loss, bald spot

My Grafts Started Growing a Month After My Transplant, Then Stopped

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

Dear Dr. Rassman/other doctors at Balding Blog,

I have gone through a FUE hair transplant 2 months ago and I have some concerns. I appreciate and look forward to your answers. (I have directed them to my surgeon already and just want to get a second opinion from a reputable source)

Around 1100 grafts were transplanted to my temporal area (to fill up the balding area in my left and right front part of my head). A few days after the FUE surgery, I noticed that all my grafts were around 2mm long. It has been 2 months since the surgery, and I noticed that around 5% of the grafts kept growing (at 2 months now, they are around 2cm long). At the 4-week mark, around 85% of the grafts have grown to 5-6 mm long but have stopped growing since then (so they experienced no growths since 4 weeks ago) and 10% of the grafts never grow at all since the surgery (still at their original transplanted 2 mm length).

Would you please tell me if the above situation normal or not? Assuming the 5% that keep growing will still continue to grow, for the rest of the transplanted hairs, after they shred, will they come back? I am a bit concerned that for the 10% that experienced no growth at all since the surgery, they will never come back after shredding. And is it normal for around 85% of the transplanted hairs to grow from around 2mm to 5mm after a month, then stop growing at the 1-month mark and begin their shredding phase and then come back a few months later?

Thanks.

Sometimes after a hair transplant surgery it may seem like the hairs are growing a few millimeters, but they are usually just hairs being pushed out before they fall out (since a hair shaft can be as long as 5mm beneath your scalp). If you gently tug on those hairs you may notice how easily they come out. Otherwise, I suppose anything is possible.

With regard to your observations on the rate of growth, I would wait another 2-3 months and then reassess your situation, hopefully with your doctor. At that time, please feel free to send me a follow-up if you’d like to update our readers.

Tags: hair transplant, hair grafts, regrowth

Would ACell Be Like Going Back to Old Plugs?

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

Can you explain how these ACell hair transplant procedures most likely will be performed?

In my mind, the strip option would be leave a scare too big for the ACell’s MatriStem product to heal/regenerate with out stitches , and If you take a strip of skin out, and stitch it together, there will not be alot of room for regenerating. A standard small FUE scar would be less time efficient and more costly for the customer. I guess, if donor supply is becoming unlimited, customers will demand higher density,more coverage and less conservative hairlines, which would make for more “mega session” type surgeries. As a 24 yr nw3 stable due to proscar, hair transplants never seemed like an option for me, just because of available donor hair – future balding, as I am pretty sure I will end up at Nw6 or 7 if science doesn’t beat genetics.

So If ACell’s MatriStem products turns out to be the standard, do you think we will go back to the old school butchering plug extractions? Since the sessions will be longer and more of them as well (I guess clients will ask for masterplans to have 10,000-20,000 or even 30,000 grafts! Instead of 3,000 – 7,000). And with the healing more forgiving, Would the ACell’s MatriStem product allow the surgeon to butcher the back of clients heads?

Your thoughts on the subject would be very interesting to read.

This is still a very early stage of trials and development. New ways of doing old things will arise. If the new technology works as planned, it will certainly not be like the old days of the bulky hair plugs. It should not produce scarring, as there is no surgery here.

I’d prefer to not get into too much detail here at this time, so please follow our announcements to come. You can see all of our recent posts on this subject in the new ACell category.

Tags: acell, hair multiplication, hairloss, hair loss

Rogaine Liquid vs Foam

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

Hi, Does using Rogaine 5% liquid has a better absorption into the scalp than Rogaine 5% foam ? which one do you recommend?
thanks

It has generally been said that the 5% Rogaine Foam absorbs better than the liquid. I suspect a possible reason for this is that it stays on your scalp better as a foam rather than a liquid that could run off.

Tags: rogaine foam, rogaine, minoxidil, hair loss, hairloss

Why Didn’t Dr Rassman Have Catch-Up Loss When Stopping Propecia?

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

Hi doctor,

you said before that you took propecia but when you stopped you did not have catch up loss. Why is that? shouldn’t the hairs propecia was keeping be lost when you stopped?

Dr RassmanI previously wrote about why I stopped taking Propecia, and for those curious about my own hair loss I explain here and here.

When I (Dr. Rassman) started my hair transplant process for my thinning crown, Propecia was not available. As the medication made it to market, I took it with hopes that I’d grow back some hair, even though I wasn’t actively losing any hair at that point. My hair loss had been negligible at the time and it still is… and I doubt I will lose more hair in the future. So I stopped taking the medication, as it really didn’t add or regrow hair for me. In the end, there was really nothing to “catch-up” with.

For those who are actively losing hair, Propecia should slow it down and in some instances regrow some hairs. Over the course of time, the hair loss will continue at a slower rate. This does not mean Propecia has stopped or will stop working, and for those men that decide to stop the medication, the “catch-up” hair loss will bring their hair loss to a state as if they never took the medication in the first place.

Tags: catch up hair loss, propecia, finasteride, rassman, hairloss, hair loss

New to Hair Loss — Which Products Work?

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

Hello,

I currently think I’m in the early stages of hereditary baldness. I have recently been researching if there is any products I can use early to prevent it from getting worse. Is there any products you would recommend?

I have recently read a about a product called “Profollica” which seems to have legit reviews but I’m skeptic. What is your opinion? Will this product work? I have also read about a product called “Procerin” & “Provillus”. Do any of the above products work?

I have Also red websites that have Said to get plenty of calcium in your Body as this helps the hair folicle. Your advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

There are 2 medications that are proven to work — finasteride (Propecia) and minoxidil (Rogaine). Minoxidil is available in a generic form and over the counter, so it may be included in various products sold in stores as boutique brands. These brands are sometimes mixed with vitamins that likely won’t help treat your hair loss (particularly if your loss is due to genetic causes). Propecia is still a prescription medication and you’ll need to talk to your doctor about it.

As for the products you mentioned, if they contain finasteride or minoxidil they’ll probably help to some degree. If not, there’s no scientific proof that they’ll do what they claim. I’m sure I’ve written about each of them before if you use the search box in the top right of the site. Also, calcium won’t prevent genetic hair loss.

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

I Have a Tumor in a Testicle, Will That Effect My Hair Loss or DHT?

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

firstly thanks for spending so much of your time giving us advice we can trust this really is a great resource.

ive been on propecia for 3 years with good results. ive been diagnosed with a tumour in one of my testicles and need to have it removed next week. Could you please tell me if you think this will have any effect on my hairloss and DHT levels. would just like to know what to expect be it good or bad thanks again.

Lance ArmstrongI would defer this question to your doctor who is treating you. Personally, I would worry more about the tumor on the testicle over hair loss.

Take a person like bicyclist Lance Armstrong who had one testicle removed for cancer. I’m sure the second testicle got larger and compensated for the body’s need for testosterone. One testicle will produce the same amount of hormones that two testicles would produce if one was removed for any reason.

Tags: cancer, tumor, testicle, dht, hairloss, hair loss

Could ACell Theoretically Solve the Infinite Donor Supply Problem?

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

hey Dr Rassman

In a recent post you discussed Unihair a Japanese company working on a different cloning procedure for androgenic alopecia then what experts in North America are hoping to achieve with ACell.

My question is what are you guys planning to do with ACell? the newness of the procedure has caught a lot of people by surprise in my opinion. If ACell does replicate hairs even to a moderate degree wouldn’t that theoretically solve the issue of finite donor supply as well as offer patients an ability to wear shorter hair styles due to its extraordinary healing ability ?

We really don’t know what to expect just yet. We are trying our best to carry out a study to find out if there is a foundation for a new way of treating hair loss. Ideally, if ACell works with plucked hairs and our clinical research shows this, then the infinite donor supply could be a reality. But let us not get ahead of ourselves.

We promise to keep everyone informed!

Tags: acell, hairloss, hair loss, donor supply