AI suggests drug for hair loss

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

In my weekly MIT Review, the following statement was found:  “Since the 1980’s, there have been few advancements in treatments for hair loss and thinning.  Thanks to Revela’s proprietary new search engine, we now have a revolutionary new formulae. The Secret? The worlds first new molecule, discovered by AI, to help encourage follicle health regardless of the cause of hair loss. ProCenilyl ™, helps activate dormant hair follicles to stimulate growth. In clinical trials, 97% of users saw fuller hair and brows in as little as 6 weeks. Just message a few drops into your scalp, it is that simple.”  

I never heard of this before, so I am a doubter as this was a sponsored advertisement.  

Transitioning from a hair system

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

Since there’s a bit of back and forth between hair systems and transplants on here, just wondering if anyone that previously had a hair system ditched it for a transplant?

It is hard to switch off of a hair system once you establish the look of a full haired individual. At the moment you might decide to take it off and abandon it, your head is partially shaved and everyone you know will ask you what happened to you. The transition off of a hair system requires a careful plan, allowing your hair to grow out, switching to clips from glues, and then the big reveal. That is when you want to get a hair transplant as it takes months for a hair transplant to take over to give you the look you may want. The problem, in summary, can be spelled out in two words: TRANSITION PLANNING

Exercise and hair loss

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

I want to start going to the gym but I heard that doing exercice can accelerate my hair loss and therefore making the finasteride useless.. Is that true or can I start going to the gym?

Exercise all you want while on finasteride. No problem

 

Hairline lowering surgical scar in a male (photo)

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

This man’s photos shows two problems.  (1) above the scar, there are areas of balding which indicate that the scar will become obvious, and (2) the stitches were placed far back creating a railroad pattern which will (a) cause hair loss and )b) probably keep elements of this scar.  This man will need a hair transplant to fix this once it is healed.  Why would any man do this when a hair transplant alone would have solved his hairline recession?

Microneedling before and after (photo)

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

The use of 1 or 1.5mm needle length will produce bleeding. Healing is slow and if you repeat this every week, the pink color may persist over the entire week depending upon your skin characteristics.  Be prepared to have a pink color show here after the microneedling has healed a few days. 

Minoxidil benefit, will it get better?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /
I have used minoxidil for twelve weeks and now just started on finasteride.  Will my hairline return to its normal shape on the finasteride?
The medication restored your forelock, not your frontal hairline in its normal shape. A hair transplant is the best option if you are not satisfied with your nice achievement so far. Finasteride rarely restores the normal hairline in men who have completely lost it and are over 26 years of age.

Is this a hair system? (photos)

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /
The photo on the left: Some good laced systems have some fiber/plastic leading edge that create a good frontal hairline that looks completely natural. These system are generally very expensive but still must be changed every couple of weeks as the patient’s own hair grows out from under them. From a close up view, you almost always can detect the laced element of a hair system. I can’t see close enough to determine if this is a very good laced system as this man claims it  is. If this is a laced  hair system, then this is what I believe that Donald Trump uses.   
The photo on the right, is a more typical hair system.  Most men never show the hairline of a hair system because of the obvious lack of a good transition zone between the bare forehead and the hair.  With the hair combed over the hairline, this hair system on the right can look good.  All hair systems need to be adjusted for hair growth every few weeks which makes the user dependent upon the hair system folks who sold it to them.  
Both of these hair systems are glued to the scalp.  

Stopping finasteride

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

Just had a question about finasteride. I have to get surgery and needed to stop finasteride. If I’m off finasteride for a month or 3 weeks will there be a lot of catch up loss making my finasteride use worthless?

Usually, finasteride stays in your hair follicles for about 2-3 weeks.  Ask your doctor about reducing the period to 2 weeks for the holdout.