In the News – Bald Barbie is Coming Soon

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

Snippet from the article:

In response to an inspirational online campaign urging Mattel to make a Barbie for kids with cancer, the toy maker announced on its Facebook page today that it will introduce a bald Barbie.

The doll, who will be a friend of Barbie, will be donated to hospitals treating children affected by hair loss throughout the U.S. and Canada. The company will also give dolls and monetary donations to CureSearch for Children’s Cancer and the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

Mattel posted on its wall:
We are pleased to share with our community that next year we will be producing a fashion doll, that will be a friend of Barbie, which will include wigs, hats, scarves and other fashion accessories to provide girls with a traditional fashion play experience. For those girls who choose, the wigs and head coverings can be interchanged or completely removed.

Read the rest — Barbie will go bald for kids with cancer

We wrote about the campaign earlier this year, so it’s good to see Mattel was paying attention and willing to step up to support these kids.

Tags: bald barbie, alopecia areata, toy, barbie, doll

Do Bald Guys Have a Full Head of Hair That Just Won’t Grow?

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

hello dr

i just want to know if the hormone just kills the follicles or just makes the hairs very small. so does that mean the the bald guy has a full head of hair but they are extremely small that we cant see it?
thanks

I believe that after many years of being bald, the follicles on the scalp essentially die. I could be wrong.

The “infrastructure” that supports hair growth is atrophic (very thin) in the very bald man and has less active blood vessels, less fat, and less glandular tissue. When we transplant into this atrophic area, a miracle occurs and the thin scalp becomes thicker and more normal like (more blood vessels to nourish the new hair that we put back).

Some people believe (I am one of them) that hair growth and cycling depend upon chemical pathways controlled by genetics. If something is missing in one of the pathways (possibly more than one), the hair “seed”‘ disappears, but if the chemical pathway defect is fixed, I believe that the hair will regrow and a bald man will become hairy again. This is not a common conception, but research is being done to define the pathway.

Tags: bald, hairloss, hair loss, hair growth

My Donor Scar is Still Partially Pink 18 Months After My Surgery

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

Hi. I have had 2 transplants including one with NHI. Both went well with great results however in both cases my scar was wider than most results I have seen (my scalp is not tight) and my scar is still very pink (at the back of the head but not on the sides) 18 months out from my last procedure. I will be getting further procedures at some stage & am wondering if it is likely that my scar will eventually fade (do you have patients that have scars that stay pink?) & if you have any recommendations for reducing pinkness after future procedures (any particular creams or potions?)

Thanks!

If you are one of our patients, you should come in for a visit when you are in the US, or send me a photograph and then we can speak over the phone.

Yes, there are treatments for very red scars that persist for long periods of time such as topical steroids. Their chronic use, however, could produce problems if it gets absorbed into the body with prolonged use, but for a short term use (a week), it should not be a problem. Most of the redness will continue to fade over time.

Tags: hair transplant, redness, surgery, scarring

My Crown Pattern Isn’t a Typical Swirl

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

If I don’t have the typical “swirl” pattern on the crown of my head, does that mean I am bald or going to become bald?
Thankyou

The swirl pattern in your crown does not predict hair loss. The swirl is just a swirl (or whorl). Most people have just one swirl, but others have two or three swirls which create havoc on their hair style. The multiple swirls can also be troublesome for hair transplant surgeons if they have to address more than one.

Tags: crown, hairloss, hair loss, whorl, swirl