I have a great deal of difficulty thinking that a single 1 mg dose of finasteride which is out of the blood stream in under 24 hours, could produce Post Finasteride Syndrome (PFS). Could this be the power of suggestion?
Age Related Thinning (ART) is a new term in our field defined by Dr. Robert Bernstein and I in last months Hair Transplant Forum. This is a very important writing because it addresses the change in hair character that can happen to any person of almost any age.
Age related thinning (ART) is characterized by the progressive, diffuse, uniform
decrease in hair shaft diameter. The key word is “uniform.” Both AGA and ART
are progressive conditions and can be so at varying rates. And both AGA and ART
can be diffuse, with the female pattern of AGA displaying diffuse miniaturization
and men having both diffuse patterned and un-patterned alopecia (DPA and
DUPA).
Hair thinning in AGA is a focal process. It starts with one follicle in a follicular unit
and then gradually involves others, characteristically resulting in hairs of varying
diameters (miniaturized or partially miniaturized hairs). In contrast, hair thinning
in ART is a uniform process. Uniformity is the defining characteristic of ART, where
every hair shaft becomes finer at the same time and to the same degree. ART is
not merely thin hair it is a genetically programmed process that relentlessly
reduces hair shaft diameter over time.
It is important to make the distinction between gross clinical thinning, which can
be due the loss of the absolute numbers of full thickness hairs (telogen effluvium),
the presence of miniaturization (AGA), or the accumulated thinning of every hair
follicle (ART), and the thinness of the actual hair. Thin hair is a characteristic of
every hair in ART, some hair in AGA and not seen in TE, although in all three
conditions ones overall head of hair can look and feel “thin.”
Age related thinning has often been referred to as senile alopecia, but the
problem with this latter term is that the condition can start at an early age (just as
AGA can). ART is truly an age-related genetic process that involves all the hairs on
one’s head. It is not androgenetic. It is can be the only process that is occurring
when a women or man complains that they have thinning hair or decreased hair
volume. But ART can certainly occur along with AGA – and usually does!
The diagnosis of age-related thinning is simple, no matter where you look you
seen uniformly fine hair. When you look at the donor fringe of an 80-year-old man
using dermoscopy and see uniform, fine hair, these changes are from ART, not
AGA.
The implications are real. ART can make a non-miniaturizing, apparently stable
donor area “go bad.” It can result in a disappearing hair transplant, a translucent
donor zone and visible donor scars. Unfortunately, there is currently no specific
treatment for age-related thinning. Only an accurate diagnosis and good surgical
planning will spare the patient these problems.
The importance of the clever paper by Dr. Muthuvel is to alert the clinician to
consider a wide variety of factors when assessing the patients candidacy for hair
transplantation (SDA, DT and RT). Perhaps we can consider one more.
Robert M. Bernstein MD, New York, NY and William R. Rassman MD, Irvine, CA
I read the paper. It is from a good journal, but now I lost respect for that journal. Take the logic one step further, just keep your hair short and you will never lose it. I know many men who have very short hair and keep losing it, so that put the idea in the GARBAGE!
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131030092856.htm
If your hair is important, find a good doctor and get a Master Plan for your hair loss that will address your situation now, and for the years to come. Good planning is critical and wasting your time looking to a non-professional, who does not know how to help you keep your hair for your life, would be a mistake. A good doctor making a good plan for you is critical. That eventually might lead to a hair transplant.
You might think about Scalp Micropigmentation ( https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/ ). Many men like you had it done and loved it, look at the video on the home page and see what this bald man says!
Very nice results show that some people respond well to finasteride quickly.
Over the past week I have seen three young men (17, 22, 22 years old). The same doctor in Los Angeles saw all three before they saw me. The 17 year old was told that he needed 2500 grafts plus stem cell treatment at a cost of $35,000. The second (22 years old) had three surgeries already and was slated for another couple more (medical malpractice because the doctor used up a good deal of his permanent hair) and the third was told that he needed 4000 grafts (I saw him and told him about finasteride, minoxidil and the dermaroller) to avoid surgery at least until he was older.
I have written before about very young men and that they shouldn’t rush to hair transplant surgery here: https://baldingblog.com/22-years-old-with-4-surgeries-and-more-to-come-from-reddit/ and here: https://baldingblog.com/22-year-old-received-a-hair-transplant-of-2800-grafts-from-reddit/
Clearly some doctors are predators and young men are their victims. Beware of any surgeon that tells you that you should have transplants if you are under 25 years old before your balding pattern is clearly identified.
This man has shared some amazing photos of his 6 month course treating his hair loss. I suspect that if he keeps up on this the hair may all regrow. I believe that the microneedling was critical to the benefits he has seen here. He has used:
- microneedling 1x week @ 1.5mm
- .5mm fin (1x daily)
- minox (2x daily)
- peppermint oil (2x daily)
- keto shampoo 2x/week
- dht organic shampoo every other day or so.
The long term question that we don’t know is if the hair does all growS out, how long will it last? The experience is minimal for follow-up of this treatment in men, but I would guess, based upon human skin transplanted in mice with dormant human hair and microneedling, that the hair will last one anagen cycle and then fall out (an anagen cycle in a young man is about 2-3 years on average). At that point the treatment would have to start again, or alternatively a hair transplant may become an option if a restart of the treatment doesn’t work.
I am 20 years old and i am taking 1mg of finasteride for hairloss for a week,i think that i feel more honry than before taking it,dont know why.Nothing else unusual so far.
One of my relatives that I gave Finasteride prescription called me with the same complaint, and it lasted years. He had an agreeable girlfriend and a great sex life. He said he would take finasteride even if he wasn’t losing hair.
Yes, hair transplants are permanent. Yesterday, I saw two patients that came in who had hair transplants in 1994 with me. Both said that they would have been bald, had they not had a hair transplant. One man had a full head of hair in the front (from the transplants but was losing his crown hair, the second guy had lost much of his native hair and wanted it thicker. So, even guys in their 60s (both men were in their early 60s) want more hair to look younger.
The FDA, if it cleared the genetic, believes that there is no difference by law. But sometimes I believe that there is a difference as reported by patients to me. This means that the FDA is not controlling it as it should.
So I am 20, soon turning 21 and I have recently been more and more adamant that a transplant would be the best thing for me. I never did have a perfect hairline since a kid and having a Dad who went bald probably about 30 it was going to happen. But I probably started noticing around 16/17. Then about a year and a bit ago it got really bad. Now I am a constant hat wearer. So my hairs receeded a fair bit at the temples as well as my hairline.
I have looked into transplants and come across various reviews of Turkey. Being a student the cheaper price there sells it immediately. I was wondering if anyone had any advice etc on it and could maybe point me in the direction of well reviewed trust worthy clinics. I have come across this https://www.medaway.co.uk/hair-transplant-turkey/ but just seems bit fishy even with over 3000+ successful transplants???Any advice or guidance would be much appreciated
Yes, don’t do it, not at 20 and not in Turkey. See this blog post here: https://baldingblog.com/22-year-old-received-a-hair-transplant-of-2800-grafts-from-reddit/ This explains the many reasons why you shouldn’t do it now. Get a good doctor who can work with you on a Personalized Master Plan that will insure that you will keep your hair, one way or another, through your entire life. I have had many patients who I worked with (see here for a couple of examples with photos:https://baldingblog.com/difference-between-norwood-class-7-patients-with-photos/ ). Be smart about your hair, please don’t dive into hair transplants now for your own sake.
Again and again we are seeing results from 6 months of microneedling and I suspect as in this man the addition of minoxidil helps move it along. Possibly if he keeps it up, it may get better and better. This man said he got a good result on his hairline. I am surprised that he didn’t get more growth on the crown.
