LaserComb is a Direct Threat to Your Practice, Where You Charge Thousands of Dollars

/by William Rassman, M.D./7 /,

Read your blog questioning the LaserComb. I have been using it for a year and have had substantial regrowth. I can understand why you want to sow doubt in peoples’ minds. This $575 device is a direct threat to your practice where you charge each patient thousands of dollars. Why don’t you also note that there is a 20 week return privilege?

LaserCombThat’s great for you! I am publishing your comments since you claim the LaserComb had value and I believe that sharing your experience with others is important. I wish I would receive more such positive comments about this type of technology and maybe your “insightful” note will get others to write about their experiences. I don’t think that you should be angry with me for voicing my opinion, as I am not angry or threatened by yours. I find it funny that some anonymous people feel they need to attack me for voicing an opinion on my own website. Unless you’re an employee with the manufacturer or investor in the product, I don’t understand why you’d be so personally connected that you think you need to defend it.

I’m trying to keep an open mind that it may work, and if I see good firsthand scientific proof that it works, my attitude can change. I have two lasers in my Los Angeles office for patient use and I’m unfortunately just not seeing any substantial growth in those patients that use it. I am not so ready to believe in a cure that may not be there and I don’t want to produce hope that is hollow. That is why I allow my surgical patients to use the laser at no charge so I can get their feedback on its value. We take photos of some laser patients periodically to note whether it is effective or not over time. Most people are ‘iffy’ about its value as they report it to me, and the pictures I have viewed are not showing much change over time. Do you know many doctors who have a $50,000 laser in their office and do not charge for its use?

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, laser, laser comb, lasercomb, hairmax, hair growth

Any Particular Post-Op Shampoo for Long Term Use?

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

Dr. Rassman,

I am in the process of researching surgeons for a possible transplant. I have learned from your website that post-op care is just as important as the care you receive on the day of surgery. It seems that many doctors have different post-op washing strategies.

What shampoo and conditioner do you recommend to your patients for long-term use after a person has had a transplant. In addition, what is your opinion on using NANO Shampoo and Conditioner or Dr. x’s Regrowth Shampoo (containing Nizoral 2%/Salicyclic Acid 1%) after a transplant? Would either of these selections be harmful? I use both on alternate days and want to make sure that these formulas would be okay after surgery, since I feel they are beneficial to my current progress.

Lastly, do you have any events in Texas planned for 2008?

Thanks in advance.

The value of the shampoo is in the mechanical cleansing of the scalp. Our practice has been to wash the hair thoroughly on the day after the transplant surgery to clean up any scabs that are present. Most people who do this and maintain almost any shampoo that is gentle, will see fast healing on the surface. What happens below the surface should not be impacted by the shampoo you use. Daily or twice daily washing is critical to an undetectable post operative course and most of our patient are so clean within a few days, that the transplant visibility is practically insignificant.

Tags: shampoo, cleaning, hairtransplant, hair transplant

Any Hair Restoration Advancement Predictions?

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

How much advancement do you predict will be taking place in the science of hair restoration within the next 5-6 years? Do you think that a male with a class 6 on the norwood scale would have any chance of getting the majority of his hair back? And i’m not talking about your regular hair transplant where the majority of men still look thin on top, i’m talking about the real deal thickness as on the sides and back of the head

Thanks DOC

The exciting happening from last week was the recent discovery of what may be an important genetic marker for causes of hair loss (see In the News – Hair Loss Gene Identified?). The hairs in a Norwood Class 6 pattern balding person are probably still there in some involuted state, possibly at a cellular level. With the right approach, my great hope is that there is a possibility that this hair in your bald area can be stimulated to grow. I couldn’t pinpoint a timeframe for you, though.

Many people will point and shout about how hair cloning or hair multiplication is the next big thing, and more recently people were doing the same jumping up and down for the hair lasers, and many years back there were various tonics and elixirs that were claiming to magically regrow your hair. When any new methods for regrowing hair or preventing hair loss are proven safe and effective, I’m sure you’ll learn all about them — the mainstream media will be all over it.

Tags: hair restoration, hairloss, hair loss, cloning, laser, gene, genetic

My Doctor In Mexico Gave Me Aminexil, But I Don’t Have Any Directions

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /,
BLOG POST #5000
I just wanted to point out that this is our 5000th post! Ok, back to our regularly scheduled blogging…

 

Hi Doctor
i noticed that one of your messages answer a question that is somewhat similar to mine…I am using Aminexil SP94 i bought it in D.F, Mexico the doctor told me that it thickens the hair follicles but i was in a hurry and left without asking this important question…i read throughout the whole box and theres no instructions on how long your suppose to leave the liquid on your scalp my question is is how long are you suppose to leave it on and if you dont have an answer to that can you please tell me or estimate a time length so my hair doesnt get damage by the liquid?

To my knowledge, Aminexil is similar to minoxidil, but as I do not prescribe it as a treatment for male pattern hair loss and I am not your doctor, I cannot give you any solid information. Particularly, I can’t give you any information on a medication that you were prescribed by a different doctor in a foreign country.

Tags: aminexil, hairloss, hair loss, prescription, mexico

Vitamins for Healthy Hair Growth?

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

Dr Rassman,
I have been reading your blog and I generally know your feeling about ‘natural cures’ for hairloss, and the claims the sellers make. I have been on Minox/Fin for a few months and I have seen very good results, so I intend to continue. My question is, do you have any recommendations for nutritional supplements or multi-vitamins that help promote healthy hair growth? I’m not looking for a natural ‘cure’; just some information on vitamins that would promote healthy hair growth.

Thanks

I do not have specific recommendations for diet or nutritional pills. It may be a different story if I was selling any of these products myself, which for me, would be a conflict of interest. Point being, a lot of the recommendations various sites make about vitamins or other pills will also include a link to buy those same products direct from their online store. Just be cautious that you don’t get duped.

Tags: vitamins, pills, nutrition, diet, hair growth, hairloss, hair loss

Propecia and Provillus Combination

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

ProvillusI would really like to know if its a bad idea to take propecia and another hair loss treatment Provillus at the same time. I’ve been doing it for a month now and hair loss has only increased. Provillus has saw palmetto in it, a DHT inhibitor, could all this be too much and making things worse. I’m using rogain as well.

I have reviewed the ingredients in Provillus and there is nothing in it that should react with Propecia (finasteride) or Rogaine (minoxidil) adversely from that I can see.

The claims by the company are hard to believe, because they lack scientific study. The FDA may gripe over the claims of DHT blocking, but I am not a government agency.

Tags: provillus, propecia, finasteride, hairloss, hair loss, dht, saw palmetto

The Study That Was Submitted to the FDA Before Approving the LaserComb

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

I was looking at a site called hairlossadvances.com and on it they show a study that they claim is the actual study that Lexington submitted to the FDA for the lasercomb’s 510k SE clearance.

What I found odd was that the study was completed some 9 months before it was submitted, one of the exclusion criteria for participants was having a buzz cut, (you’d think that having shorter hair would allow more ” nourishing laser light” to penetrate the scalp and provide better results) and the person producing the study claimed that the study wasn’t required by the FDA. Have you seen this study, and if so, what are your thoughts.

I have seen the original study and I have published my opinions on the matter:

I tend to agree with your astute observations and criticism. This is a subject that I can not fight over. There seems like there is some evidence in the study that it works, but I frankly don’t believe it. It is hard for me to believe that there is almost 100% more growth after a few months. The FDA study is what it is.

Tags: lasercomb, laser comb, hairmax, lexington, fda, hairloss, hair loss, hair growth

Laser to Break Down DHT?

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

I was contacted today by a person from the hair institute – www.thehairinstitute.com.au who claimed to have a breakthrough treatment for thinning hair. His description was of an “LSD Light Laser” which is applied to the hair scalp over a period of 6 months and breaks down the DHT in the hair follicles. He stated that DHT is built up over years and once it is gone it wont come back to the same extent. (he told me after 30 years old you don’t produce much DHT). He claims the results to be amazing, as shown here: thehairinstitute.com.au

Is this yet another scam?

Please help! I’m a musician!!

Lots of claims, not much basis. If this worked, there would’ve at least been discussions about this among the prominent people in this field. Unfortunately, I’ve not been part of – nor have I seen any discussions about this so-called DHT effect from lasers among my fellow physicians.

A cure for hair loss is essentially what this is claiming to be — and claims like those that are made on that site are worth potentially billions of dollars, if it worked.

Tags: laser light, laser, dht, hairloss, hair loss

Could Conditioner Applied 10 Days After My Hair Transplant Lead to Problems?

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

POST-OP CONDITIONER WASHING TECHNIQUE CAUSING GRAFT FAILURE?

Dr. Rassman,

After reading about using a gentle conditioner to aid in the removal of post-op scabbing in the recipient area after surgery on a popular hairloss forum, I applied a conditioner to my recipient area for 20 minutes on Day 10 post-surgery. (It was Haircylce Conditioner that I purchased over the Internet prior to my surgery!)

But, I foolishly applied the conditioner to my dry scalp, which made removing the conditioner nearly impossible!

Finally, after 20 minutes of constant rinsing with a cup of water, I was able to remove the conditioner by gently dabbing the area with my fingertips in between rinses. There was no bleeding or noticeable irritation afterwards. Is it possible that this constant rinsing could have damaged the grafts? Please advise because I am worried that my physician may use this information against me, if I have a poor result.

Thanks in advance

If you did not pull out the grafts in the process, I would doubt that any problems would have been produced by the conditioner you used after 10 days have passed.

Tags: hairtransplant, hair transplant, conditioner, problem, haircycle

Does Dying Gray Hair Lead to Faster Graying?

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

How true is it that when you color your grey hair, you will grow more grey hair faster than not coloring. I have been getting different answers from the web. I need your opinion. Thank you.

DyeIt’s not true at all.

Hair color is the result of pigmentation due to naturally occurring chemicals (primarily melanin). These chemicals are present at different levels, thus giving hair its distinctive color. The more melanin present, the darker the hair; the less melanin, the lighter the hair. Hair color changes as we age, going from their natural color to gray and then white. The color change occurs when melanin is no longer produced in the hair root and new hair grows without pigment. Coloring the hair has no effect on the rate of graying and on the deposition of melanin in the hair shaft — it just affects the hair above the skin.

Tags: gray, grey, hair color, dye, greying, graying, aging

Use of DermMatch for Managing Thinning Hair in Women (with Photos)

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

This patient has classic female patterned balding with hair loss behind the frontal 1/2 inch. The thinning is worse in the frontal area and is more manageable in the top and back, but still thin and see-through. I have given this patient DermMatch, which is a cosmetic powder that colors the scalp and sticks to hairs to make them thicker. The contrast between hair and scalp is lessened with this product and when combined with good styling, products like this (see also, Toppik) can work to make the transparency of the hair less so. The photos below show how big of a difference a topical camouflage can make.

The photo on the left is before, on the right is after DermMatch. Click photos to enlarge.

 

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, female, women, woman, photo, styling, toppik, dermmatch, dermatch, ludwig

FlutaGel

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /,

What can you tell us about FlutaGel?

Flutagel is a gel that contains 1% flutamide as the active ingredient, a drug that is used to treat prostate cancer. It acts by inhibiting the uptake and/or binding of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to the target cell receptor. To date, no clinical studies have been done to prove its efficacy in MPB. In theory it sounds great, but this does not always translate into the clinical arena. It needs to be studied further to evaluate its safety and effectiveness.

The website for this is at Sinere.com if you want to try to find more info.

Tags: flutamide, flutagel, hairloss, hair loss, flutamin, eulexin, gel

Hair Wax and Clogged Follicles?

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /

Hello, ive been using styling hair wax for awhile now, and have been reading from individuals on random forums that styling wax can clog hair follicles which would eventually lead to hair loss. So i have been wondering if this true or is it just a hair myth??

I dont leave the stuff in my hair for 3 days straight like some people might do. I shower twice daily, so is hair wax safe to use? I would love to have this myth cleared up!

Thank you for your time!

I would seriously doubt that hair wax will cause hair loss by clogging the hair follicles.

Tags: product, wax, hairloss, hair loss, follicle, clog, shower

Can Minoxidil Be Taken Internally?

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

Dear Dr. Rassman and Medical Staff

I had used minoxidil 5% for 2 years without good result So I switched to Provillus a month ago. Can minoxidil be taken internally? Most of them are sold as topical product. Would Scalpmed work for me? Thank you

Minoxidil was originally an oral preparation for the treatment of high blood pressure. It was unreliable for its intended use, but the observation that some women grew facial hair while taking this caught the attention of the drug company. Good drugs are often discovered this way and through serendipity, the observations are made and new applications evolve. The oral form of the drug is not available nor is it approved by the FDA today.

Provillus and ScalpMed apparently use minoxidil as their active ingredient, and both products have been discussed on this site before.

Tags: minoxidil, rogaine, oral, hairloss, hiar loss, blood pressure, scalpmed, scalp med, provillus