I caught this on the news: Beard envy? Hipster trend sparks interest in facial hair transplants

I saw this article and knew that is what I wanted. My beard has never been very full and my mustache is almost non-existent. I am 28 years old and there has not been any significant thickening of my beard or mustache in the past 3 years. Should I go to a plastic surgeon for this?

Here’s a snippet from that article —

“Hipster beards are no longer confined to the streets of Brooklyn, N.Y. — they have made their way into the mainstream as actors, politicians, athletes and other men are sporting their own scruff. That’s giving some follicularly challenged men enough serious beard envy to seek a facial hair transplant.”

With the exception of the handful of dedicated plastic surgeons who manage to have a sizable hair practice, most facial hair transplant procedures would be right out of their depth. Most plastic surgeons tend to avoid such reconstructions, which are best performed by a hair transplant surgeon with experience.

In our practice, we have done mustaches, beards, sideburns, eyebrows, pubic hair, chest hair, hair into scars from brain surgery, etc. In other words, we specialize in hair transplants, and all parts of the body require similar technology and skills. See some of our other hair transplants here.

I’ve been taking Propecia for over a year now and had a blood test recently done. It shows that my serum creatinine is in the slightly above normal zone which is an indication of possible kidney dysfunction.

Can propecia cause kidney damage? If not, can I still continue taking it?

As I’ve written before, there is no documented adverse effect of Propecia on the kidneys.

Elevated creatinine is something that you should understand. I’ve written about that before as well, here. What I generally do is first repeat the test in the case that the lab test is in error. Then your doctor will dive into it more deeply. Ask your prescribing doctor if you should continue taking the medication, as I cannot give personal medical recommendations.

Snippet from the article:

None of this year’s major Oscar nominees are from Chicago, but some of the losers may be making the trip here post-awards show. No, not to film a new movie, but rather to get hair transplants.

This year, the notoriously extravagant gift bags for Oscars losers include a voucher for Chicago surgeon Dr. William Yates’ hair restoration procedure. Dr. Yates says he is one of the few surgeons in the United States who performs the procedure using the new-age equipment known as ARTAS, and he wants to share the love.

Read the rest — Oscar Nominees’ Gift Bags Include Free Hair Transplants In Chicago

It’s award season, so companies are giving away everything from organic pet shampoo and hair transplant surgery to Las Vegas and Japan travel vacations. For those curious, the full list of free stuff is here.

Hi,
firstly, I’d like to thank you very much for your awesome blog.

I am a 17 year old male. I recently started taking Finasteride and after taking 0.5 mg for 3 days in a row, I stopped because of the decreased libido and sexual side effects but after a month of further hairloss, I decided to go back on the drug. This time I started taking 1 mgs per day. On day 3 of taking finasteride, I experienced some pretty bad chest pain and burning and itching in my breasts so I immediately stopped taking the drug as I was concerned about gynecomastia but two days after stopping, my erectile problems got worse and the burning/pain in my chest didn’t go away.

I am almost entirely unable to maintain an erection now and my erections are almost always soft. I also feel like there is fat gathering up in my breasts. I am very concerned and was wondering if these side effects will go away any time soon? And if there is any medication (such as Tamoxifen) that I can take to stop gynecomastia (if I have it). I also always feel very tired and depressed. it has been three days since my last dose of Finasteride.

I thank you in advance for your reply and wish you a very good day.

While it is possible, it is highly unlikely that all of what you are experiencing is due to the actual side effects of the drug itself. I mean, you’re talking about developing gynecomastia in 3 days after taking Propecia, which is hard to accept from a medical point of view. It would likely take weeks to months before this could occur on a full dose, not just a few days (and you’re taking half the dose to begin with). Please see the doctor that prescribed the medication to you and discuss these issues with him/her.

Your symptoms (real or imagined) sound serious, so you need to see a doctor in person. I really cannot help you on via the internet without an examination and knowing more about your medical history. This can be the result of the power of suggestion and if you look for these symptoms, you might find them. Most of what you are experiencing may be psychosomatic.

I’m currently 9 months into my hair transplant, I’m certain the left side is thicker than the right side!

Is this normal?

It may depend on what your doctor did during the surgery. I would follow up with your surgeon.

If the growth is equal in numbers of hairs, you probably will see the two sides equalize over the next month or two. It’s important to note that once hair starts growing, it grows at about 1/2 inch per month.

What is your recommendation for using laser immediately post hair transplant surgery; either hair brush or professional low laser systems?

I don’t have a recommendation for you. Some doctors or medical clinics promote low-level laser therapy (LLLT) to increase hair growth, but we believe that it does not work. We haven’t seen the results to back up the claims. It’s one way for generating revenue for doctors with the power of the MD behind it.

(female)
I would like your expert advice for a product called Estradex. I know you have ingredients already. I have been using this product for a yr and I’m happy with results but I’m worried if any side effects long term could happen? It’s a very expensive product. When I tried to ask my doctor she didn’t even want to know about ingredients and said only recommended product for hairloss is Regaine. I’m just paying every week with no one checking me. Thank you in advance.

Your doctor is correct in that the only proven recommended treatment for female hair loss is Rogaine (known as Regaine in some countries). The generic name for that medication is minoxidil. Now I’ve written about Estradex before, but quite simply, it’s not something that I’m too familiar with because I don’t think it’s sold here in the United States.

I am having a tough time finding an exact ingredient list, but it seems that Estradex is just a boutique version of minoxidil. So essentially, you’re paying for a more expensive version of the product your doctor recommended. Since I don’t know what the exact ingredients are, I’m not sure of long term side effects.

I also don’t understand who you are paying every week or for what reason. If your doctor is going to analyze your hair loss, it doesn’t need to be done on a weekly basis.

Hi, i started taking finasteride around august 2012, and half a year later i got chronic sore throat. The pain starts when i talk, and my question is could finasteride cause this? Or do i have a low immunity like my gp suggested.

I got antibiotics which helped greatly but after a week it was all pain again. What is your opinion about this? Finasteride or weak immunity.

A sore throat and finasteride are unrelated, unless perhaps you have some sort of allergy to the pill. If you didn’t experience anything for the first 6 months of taking it though, I think it would be highly unlikely that it was even an allergy. I’d follow your GP’s suggestion about low immunity (which is also not caused by finasteride).

If you really think it is finasteride, then consult with your doctor about stopping the medication.

Snippet from the article:

A new study recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that taking high doses of selenium and vitamin E supplements may increase the risk of prostate cancer, depending on a man’s selenium levels prior to taking the supplements.

The research team, including first author Dr. Alan Kristal of the Public Health Sciences Division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA, analyzed 1,739 patients with prostate cancer and 3,117 matched controls from the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT).

According to the investigators, previous research has suggested that men who already have an adequate intake of selenium would not benefit from supplements of the nutrient.

Read the rest — Selenium and vitamin E supplements ‘increase prostate cancer risk’

Studies have shown that large doses of supplements that offer far more than the daily recommended intakes can increase cancer risk.

I am just curious to know because I have heard and read about this before, once a mans temple points are gone that is when the final balding pattern is achieved. Is there any truth to this or is it just internet rumors?

Cheers mate.

Seems to be just internet misinformation.

Traditionally, there is a pattern to men’s hair loss (which is why it is known as male pattern baldness), and the Norwood classification chart shows those various patterns. The Norwood chart is not meant to be seen as a progression of hair loss from 2 to 7. In most cases, men will fit into one of these patterns.

If your temples are gone and there is no other evidence or pattern to the hair loss under a microscope (via a miniaturization study or bulk analysis), then you can assume you are not undergoing traditional balding. Temple peak loss is a separate balding characteristic from male pattern baldness.