I keep showing these photos to reinforce that these medications work for many young men. I hope you get the message.
Between 2022-2044, I saw hair loss which I initially thought was male-pattern balding. I took medications like finasteride and minoxidil that most men my age take; however, as this progressed, my eyebrows, beard, and chest hair became targeted with hair loss. I was on minoxidil, but it didn’t help. The doctors are now telling me that I might lose all of the hair on my body; everywhere. This is tough!
What do you think about UVB Xtrac (excimer laser) that is supposed to kill down the inflammation of the scalp. I have severe sebhorric dermatitis and had 15 sessions of that laser when my itch was unbearable, it made the itch go away, but I wonder if the UVB itself shrink down the hair follicle or makes it age very fast where it slips out of the hair bulb ?
There are reports that the excimer laser can produce hair loss as its wavelength is in the lower ranage, outside the range recommended for hair regrowth. The excimer laser is used for inflammation with a wavelength of between 193-350 nm. The UV wavelength of light for hair loss is not recommended, but rather the higher wavelengths of between 600-1200 nm, as shown in the chart below.
Hair that grew or would have fallen out but did not as a result of finasteride will fall away within weeks of stopping it.
Hey i started topical 0.03%fin month ago , and since i can buy fin without a prescription i was thinking of adding 0.25 orally to my routine, what do you think?
If you are going to go oral, then go entirely oral. Topical finasteride gets absorbed, so much of it is systemic. If you only take oral medication, you will know exactly what goes into your body. Slowly increase it from 0.25mgs (50% as effective as the full 1mg dose) to 0.5mg (which is 82% as effective as the 1mg full dose)
[If you have any questions, you can reach me at williamrassman33@gmail.com]
So I’ve been on topical minoxidil for about 2 years and I’ve finally decided to switch to oral, tired of dermatitis and partially because of laziness. I’ve microneedled for a while on topical. Now since I’m switching to oral, is there any point in microneedling without topical Or should I use topical once a week a day after microneedling? Does one day of topical make a difference or will it just make me shed for no reason?
When Microneedling is done properly, it generally works with or without minoxidil. 60% of men will not respond to topical minoxidil, but 100% should respond to the oral form. I would continue microneedling for 6 months and expect to see some results by then. Recent shedding suggests that the oral minoxidil is now working for you.
[If you have any questions, you can reach me at williamrassman33@gmail.com]
I’m scheduled for a transplant in a few weeks. I wanted to back out, and the surgeon sent me before after pictures of a case he thought was similar to mine that they “worked on last year.” We’ve never discussed my case being two procedures.
But the before picture he sent me was one he posted online in 2016. So either he misled me about it being a one procedure case, or lied about it being last year right? How can you honestly mistake an eight year old procedure for a one year old one? Do I have this right?
You got it right! When you first met with the surgeon, did he come off as knowledgeable and honest? Was he trying to sell you a hair transplant, or was he acting as an impartial surgeon who offered you various options? You can seek other surgeon’s advice. I always tell patients to shop around. To understand the “Two procedure issue” I would need more information, so if you would like another opinion, send me photos to williamrassman33@gmail.com
I wanted to know your opinion on whether this genetic testing service (rootsbyga.com) is worth while. Supposedly, they analyze your DNA from a cheek swab and come up with a custom topical formula based on the result.
If you follow your “balding pattern” as it appears and then the degree of miniaturization you develop (as offset with appropriate medications), you will know where you might go if you see evidence of genetic balding. Many previous offerings like this give you a statistical likelihood that balding might be in your picture. With 50% of men balding to some degree within their lifetime, a testing system has a 50/50 chance of accuracy.
Unfortunately, there is little I can do for your graying other than recommend that you have your hair dyed by a professional to meet your needs. You had great results from your single surgery.
It is essential to know that 50% of men were balding to some degree in the 1700s. In the nobility, add Syphilis to the formulae for many wealthy and aristocratic men, as this disease contributed to balding. Around the mid-1600s, at almost the same time that King Louis made wigs popular in France, his cousin King Charles II of England also began wearing them to cover his prematurely graying hair — both monarchs’ hair conditions are believed to have been caused by syphilis and its treatments. According to some scholars, these unfortunate side effects didn’t necessarily leave sufferers cowering in the shadows—in some cases, fashion may have evolved to help hide the signs of late-stage syphilis. (Source: History Facts)
[If you have any questions, you can reach me at williamrassman33@gmail.com]
It will only get better
I was hoping to get your thoughts on an issue related to the use of finasteride while trying to conceive.
There is no clear evidence that taking finasteride will cause problems at conception or with pregnancy. What I have told my patients that asked, if they were concerned, then could go off finasteride for one week before and one week after ovulation. Two weeks off, on a temporary basis, should not be a problem. As I have not seen lawsuits against Merck for baby problems that are proportional to the millions of men who have taken finasteride and gotten their wives pregnant without stopping the drug, I think that it might be safe; however, I would go to Mercks (original manufacturer for Propecia) and look up on the Propecia website, advice on pregnancy and finasteride. Keep in mind, that much of what they say was likely written by their legal department to protect them.
These results would have happened with finasteride as it did with dutasteride. The key for this man was minoxidil which was very effective even as early as 4 months, just better at 8 months.
This is a great result; however, some of what is seen has to do with hair length as a factor. In addition, the results on the crown are far better than the front, which actually only got thicker and, unfortunately, was only partly restored. Topical use of these two drugs, without a doubt, went systemic, but the value is clearly shown in the photos.
I get this question often, too often. Young men send me pictures like the one shown below as if I have magical insight to offer. They are frightful because of the familial balding present in their families and project what they see upon themselves. My answer to this man is to purchase a hand microscope from Amazon and determine if significant miniaturization is present that predicts the balding process.
[If you have any questions, you can reach me at williamrassman33@gmail.com]
