How did 16th Century playwright William Shakespeare lose his hair? I’m sure you find yourself pondering that question every waking day of your life. Well, perhaps not. At any rate, I stumbled upon this year and a half old article that has an interesting take on why Shakespeare possibly lost his hair. The title of the article gives away the punchline, but enjoy…
Ouch.
People are so worried about detection of their hair transplants. A patient who sent me this comment is a few months out of surgery. No one detected he ever had a transplant, and after his last transplant, he gave me the following update:
“Like last time, no one noticed as far as I can tell — although my sister-in-law (who’s sly-as-a-fox) caught me off guard last week when she said that my hair looked fuller. I responded that I hadn’t had a hair cut in awhile (true), and that I was taking Propecia. (I am taking Propecia as you directed, and will continue doing so).”
Another patient who was bald just 9 months earlier, came to dinner at his daughter’s home with a reasonably full head of white hair. His daughter commented that he looked foolish with that wig on, so she insisted that he take it off. He told her it was not a wig and allowed her to pull on his hair. Surprised, she asked where it all came from and he commented that he started taking Rogaine 8 months before. She was a nurse and replied: “I never knew Rogaine grew hair like that.”
Try Hare Club for Men, where you can get a nice hare to show off to you friends. The Hare Club for Men package includes 10 Gummi Bunnies and a fun collectible sticker in the fancy box shown below. About 300 calories for the whole box and zero grams of fat, it works for the diet conscious person. Our society exploits the balding process as illustrated here in this cartoon. Some of my readers are too intense so this entry will better prepare you for the more serious entries below.
Oh yes, this candy is legit and although I can’t find any mention of it online, I do know from the box that it is a seasonal Easter candy made by a company called Galerie out of Kentucky. I thought people would get a kick out of it… Ha!
Click the photo to enlarge.
Dr. Rassman,
Recently I noticed that my hair has a slimy feel to it when it gets wet, and then it will dry as if it has gel in it, very hard. I have always lost hair in the shower, but it seems that this is increasing with the slimy hair problem. Another symptom that I’ve had is extreme scalp itch, but no more than normal dandruff visible to be the cause of it. I have recently spent a great deal of time in the swimming pool, but no one I’ve been with is experiencing similiar problems. Also, I’m taking Adapex for weight loss and wonder if this might have some correlation with my symptoms. I’ve tried researching my slimy hair and came up with a process used on wigs called decutilization, where layers of the hairs cuticle is removed for some reason. However, I can’t find anything to do with my own hair having this problem or how to fix it. A friend suggested that my hair had lost it’s acidity, but home remedies and ion hair strippers have not helped. Please help me figure this out. I want to solve the problem so my normally soft healthy hair will return. Thanks so much.
The need to have luxurious hair is a quest that many people have and that is why the TV ads fill the airwaves with shampoos and conditioners, potions and lotions that are focused on people who do not like the texture of their hair or the dryness of it (or in your case the slimy nature of it). Hair does change texture with time and stress. It also changes if we expose it to the sun (drying it), chlorine from a swimming pool or other things. As we get older, hair clearly changes its character and its thickness and these two are absolutely related. I looked up Adipex and found references to a drug called Phentermine which is sold without a prescription. In the look-up, I also saw a link to this drug and hair loss with the Microsoft Diet on Google, and I got excited that Microsoft has found some magical cure to weight loss which I could tell my readership. Now is that getting us somewhere or isn’t it? I wonder if we can download a cure for hair loss from Microsoft if we buy into their diet (see Microsoft Diet working for many in Seattle. I hate to point out my sarcasm, but that was a joke.
There is no doubt that weight loss can cause hair loss if the weight loss is aggressive and if there is any vitamin or nutritional deficiencies associated with the weight loss process.
Hello Dr. Rassman,
I Recently had a Hair transplant that was performed back in July of 05. I started taking Propecia a month before surgery. I must say I am extremely dissapointed in the results of both. I feel as if the head trauma that was endured during the surgery made me lose more hair. When I inquired with the doctor he said the hairs that fell out will regrow. My hair gets thinner by the day and I dont see Propecia working from keeping the hairs I already have. My question is, there is a laser therapy used for a skin disease that also helps alopecia patients regrow full heads of hair. Is this a something I should test out? It is not covered by insurance because it would be considered cosmetic. And in the mean time, I have heard of taking daily doses of copper peptides and emu oil help the follicle and assist in regrowth of dormat hairs. Is this another route I should take? Thank you so much for your time doctor.
First I would want to know if your expectations were set correctly. You say you are disappointed, so I ask why?
There is a suggestion in your question that your hair is continuing to appear thinner. Did you experience shock hair loss (rare with a person on Propecia, but more common in young men under 30). I do not know your age and I have no idea where was your starting point and where you are now. I would suggest that you go back to your doctor. Your doctor is vested in making you happy and making sure that what he represented to you was what you got. Your best starting point is a face to face meeting with the doctor who did your surgery. I personally love talking to my patients and although few are dissatisfied, I always feel ownership. I make unusual efforts to be sure that expectations are properly fixed to what the end product will be like and that is the main value of open house events for people like you, to avoid being disappointed, because what you see is what you are going to get. I do not think that playing around with things like lasers or other regrowth formulations have value for you now, that is, until you know what happened and why the surgery failed to meet your needs.
Your a funny guy Dr.Rassman I like the way you put on this innocent act of looking like your not trying to lure people into your office for a Hair transplant. We all know that the most propecia does is stop hairloss and maybe regrows it in a small few then it’ll begin again after a few years and is a poor excuse for hairloss cure. Anyway I just thought I’d say you have the style of a used car sales man you are indeed very cunning.
Telling people HM is 10 years away at least but you know your little comments like this are complete BS. Also I liked that you said something like HM would have to go through congress to get approval very sly indeed the only government organization needing to give it approval is the FDA and thats it period. Anyway I hope HM comes out very fast and puts dishonest doctors like you out of work. I know I won’t be putting my head on your chomping block.
I suspect that the flood of harassment I’ve received through emails and site comments from this person and perhaps one or two other individuals with internet rhetoric and just enough information to become an “expert” makes this site and my job a bit exciting. What you don’t seem to get is that I have everything to gain by hair multiplication when it comes out. There would be few more enthusiastic people than me if it were available for clinical release, because people like me would be expanding their business to offer these services. As a well known person in this industry, I am constantly informed about what is happening out there. I do read a great deal, but wasting my time with focused bigots like the one who wrote this email to me will not consume this blog. I aired his complaints and inappropriate comments, deleting some of the foul elements that are really not needed to get his point over. Maybe he is selling some HM process and is not impartial in the slightest?
By the way, the expression is “chopping block” — “chomping” is something Pac-Man did.
LATimes.com – Gone today, hair tomorrow
The above link to an article in the Los Angeles Times is a nice overview of the status of today’s technology and our understanding of the hair loss phenomenon. The review of the upcoming advances is thorough and worth reading.
I had a quick question for you when you get a second. It relates to Propecia and Avodart, I am taking both. So far, my stomach has tolerated the treatment quite well. However, I have experienced a marked increase in shedding while on it. In fact, I really didn’t ever notice hair falling out until I starting the treatment. The two clear effects seem to be that my hair is thinning out considerably (especially along the frontal hairline, particularly front and center) and all of my hair has gotten considerably lighter (numerous people, including my family members, girlfriend, and coworkers have noticed and asked if I colored it). Which brings me to my question—do I need to be concerned about this? I don’t think I want to continue with a program that will exacerbate my hair loss. Is this shedding temporary (or at least is it temporary with Propecia)? The thinning in the front is made worse by the lighter color my hair has taken since I started the treatment.
Just concerned that Avodart may have been a big mistake. I am tempted to quit. But part of me wants to hold out, especially if the frontal hairs I have shed won’t return once I stop the program.
I would suggest stopping the Avodart, as that is not an FDA approved medication for hair loss. Propecia does contain pregelatinised maize starch and sodium starch glycollate as an inactive ingredient, but if you are tolerating it, then I would suppose that it is OK for you. I would really want to know more about how you know that you are allergic to starch? That would tell me much if I were to really advise you and what to do long term.
If a hair loss product is really effective as it claims to be, in the case Scalp Med, why not give a well known baldy man in Hollywood like Bruce Willis a year supply and let the people notice if there is a chnage in his hair. Unless the Scalp Med do this or any other comapnies, I would remain skeptical.
This is not as easy as you make it. I am answering your question as a businessman, not as a doctor. The rich and famous value their time, privacy and endorsements, and they get big money from it, not a year’s supply of some menial substance that may or may not work. I suspect that you have good common sense and are applying it to things well beyond the movie watcher you probably are. I would do a hair transplant on some famous men for free just to get their endorsement 8 months later, as the world would see the transformation just like those hundreds of men posted on newhair.com. But the rich and famous are not interested in the money or any increased fame, what they are in most need of (if their hair loss bothers them) is the drive to research hair transplants and the courage to face their vanity.
Doctor, I am very impressed by your objectivity and sincere advice. It is very difficult to find ESPECIALLY in the hair restoration biz. Keep up the good work.
Now here’s my question and I’m really putting you to the test. Could you recommend some other web sites which offer the same candid advice found here (Yes, I know you may be encouraging the competition, but I think you’ll agree to the value of other peoples’ advice and experience)
Thank you for your support. This blog site is unique. In fact, it is the first (and perhaps still only) of its kind. If anyone knows of another hair restoration / hair loss medical doctor that has his/her own blog and updates as frequently as I do, please let me know. I post between 8-10 new blog entries Monday through Friday, and it keeps me quite busy in between surgeries (and on my weekends in some cases). That being said, I do enjoy it, especially when I get new and interesting questions from the readers.
So to answer your question, I can’t think off the top of my head of other sites that may be similar to this site. I know HairLossHelp.com has a section of their site where various doctors answer questions posed by people that write in. I think I post much more frequently though. I guess that could be considered similar, but I’d like to think BaldingBlog is much more than that. I do not consider this type of thing as a competition, because this is simply my blog / journal site. I’ll sometimes post random hair-related info or videos, to mix things up from the question/answer style posts. Information provided here should not to be used for any medical treatments or judgements or diagnosis or endorsement. I offer my opinions, but the bottom line is that it is a blog site that I enjoy maintaining as a hobby (and I do like helping people). I have posted over 1350 blog entries in the last year, mostly because I am a crazy and passionate man. Well, maybe not that crazy — but passionate, certainly. I try to be objective and I love what I do I will on occasion refer to NHI if readers want to contact me on a professional basis. Sometimes, if I feel that my services could be of use in a more professional type setting (such as when someone wants to set up an appoinment with me to discuss private medical issues, I will make that time available. I have met a few of baldingblog’s audience since I started the site and their comments on baldingblog’s value have more than stimulated my desire to continue it. The newhair.com site was put together over the course of 10 years and contains writings in many scientific journals that I have contributed to, along with the most extensive patient photo gallery on the web.
Another good resource for hair loss info is American Hair Loss Association.
I’ve noticed that one hair follicle, on my head, can be split into two. In other words, a piece of hair at the end, I see are two pieces, but connected to one. Is there something wrong with my hair?
In the styling industry they call this ‘split ends’. I suspect that the hair becomes drier and more brittle as it grows longer and longer. Hair grows for 2-7 years usually at about 1/2 inch per month. That means that the hair that can last for 7 years, will grow to about 42 inches in length (two year growth will bring it to 12 inches in length, etc.). Women often grow hair to the fullest length that their hair will tolerate and when the hair reaches the final length, the ends often split. The split ends are often what precipitates the stylist to cut the hair back. There is nothing wrong with your hair, but it is possible that your hair is very dry and you may want to use wetting agents, (e.g. shampoos or conditioners for dry hair) or just check with your stylist about recommendations to deal with the split ends.
Look at this monstrosity called Hot Head that I found while looking at a site about stupid patents! I would not be shocked to learn that if this came to market some desparate dudes would try this thing just because it claimed to work, just like the generic Propecia people buy thru the web.
That is quite funny! Thanks for passing the link to me.
This reminds me of all the emails I often receive from readers that want me to give my opinion on certain lotions or creams, many of them found through the internet or TV advertising (especially late night infomercials). Some of these products even have U.S. Patents. For what it’s worth, a patent does not necessarily give credibility to a product. The U.S. Patent Office has thousands of goofy and absurd patents. One does not need to have a U.S. Patent to market anything successfully, but with U.S. government agencies that require “Truth in Advertising” over the airwaves, there is a burden on marketers to keep to some standards. Unfortunately, the government does not budget for enforcement the way they should, so there are many scams out there and many do focus upon the unfortunate people with hair loss.
Drugs and processes that are developed to treat human conditions or diseases require that certain processes get followed to determine what I have stated over and over again — the safety and effectiveness of the drug or process. The research goes through many stages, and when the process reaches the clinical stages, the process gets very complex, expensive, and time consuming. So to elaborate upon what the FDA requires, I researched ‘what happens in a clinical trial’ to help my readers and patients understand what goes on, why it happens, and what is involved that takes so much time and money. I hope that the following piece (gleamed from an FDA publication — Inside Clinical Trials) sheds light on the subject. The question asks, “Why does the FDA slow down the process?” The answer below shows how the safety of the public is secured, defines the risks and benefits of the process/drug under study.
Every clinical trial is carefully designed to answer certain research questions. A trial plan called a protocol, maps out what study procedures will be done, by whom, and why. Products are often tested to see how they compare to standard treatments or to no treatment. The FDA often provides extensive technical assistance to researchers conducting clinical trials, helping them design better trials that can characterize effects of a new product more efficiently, while reducing risks to those participating in the trials.
The clinical trial team includes doctors and nurses, as well as other health care professionals. This team checks the health of the participant at the beginning of the trial and assesses whether that person is eligible to participate. Those found to be eligible–and who agree to participate–are given specific instructions, and then monitored and carefully assessed during the trial and after it is completed.
Done at hospitals and research centers around the country, clinical trials are conducted in phases. Phase 1 trials try to determine dosing, document how a drug is metabolized and excreted, and identify acute side effects. Usually, a small number of healthy volunteers (between 20 and 80) are used in Phase 1 trials.
Phase 2 trials include more participants (about 100-300) who have the disease or condition that the product potentially could treat. In Phase 2 trials, researchers seek to gather further safety data and preliminary evidence of the drug’s beneficial effects (efficacy), and they develop and refine research methods for future trials with this drug. If the Phase 2 trials indicate that the drug may be effective–and the risks are considered acceptable, given the observed efficacy and the severity of the disease–the drug moves to Phase 3.
In Phase 3 trials, the drug is studied in a larger number of people with the disease (approximately 1,000-3,000). This phase further tests the product’s effectiveness, monitors side effects and, in some cases, compares the product’s effects to a standard treatment, if one is already available. As more and more participants are tested over longer periods of time, the less common side effects are more likely to be revealed.
Sometimes, Phase 4 trials are conducted after a product is already approved and on the market to find out more about the treatment’s long-term risks, benefits, and optimal use, or to test the product in different populations of people, such as children.
Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials generally involve a “control” standard. In many studies, one group of volunteers will be given an experimental or “test” drug or treatment, while the control group is given either a standard treatment for the illness or an inactive pill, liquid, or powder that has no treatment value (placebo). This control group provides a basis for comparison for assessing effects of the test treatment. In some studies, the control group will receive a placebo instead of an active drug or treatment. In other cases, it is considered unethical to use placebos, particularly if an effective treatment is available. Withholding treatment (even for a short time) would subject research participants to unreasonable risks.
The treatment each trial participant receives is often decided by a process called randomization. This process can be compared to a coin toss that is done by computer. During clinical trials, no one likely knows which therapy is better, and randomization assures that treatment selection will be free of any preference a physician may have. Randomization increases the likelihood that the groups of people receiving the test drug or control are comparable at the start of the trial, enabling comparisons in health status between groups of patients who participated in the trial.
In conjunction with randomization, a feature known as blinding helps ensure that bias doesn’t distort the conduct of a trial or the interpretation of its results. Single-blinding means the participant does not know whether he or she is receiving the experimental drug, an established treatment for that disease, or a placebo. In a single-blinded trial, the research team does know what the participant is receiving.
A double-blinded trial means that neither the participant nor the research team knows during the trial which participants receive the experimental drug. The patient will usually find out what he or she received at a pre-specified time in the trial.
Hi Dr. R!! 4 months ago I had transplantation surgery with Dr. X [doctor’s name removed]. I have been unhappy with every aspect of the surgery (Hardly any filling of my front hairline) 1600 grafts “supposedly” and the negative responses to my many questions following up. What do you know about him? I am Very discouraged after 4 and a half months and many $$$…Thanks!
I won’t comment on the doctor, but I will say that after 4 1/2 months you will not see the results of your surgery. The first and final element of what Dr. X did for you will be in the results that you get as compared with your expectations at about the 8th month after surgery.
Clearly, you have a problem with Dr. ‘X,’ so possibly you did not do your homework. A caring physician should be a critical qualifier in choosing your doctor. Showing concern means that he/she is making an attempt to establish good communication with you. By listening to you, reading your body language, and being available to you after he/she ‘got your money’, the doctor would be showing the essence of the man/woman. By not doing these things, the doctor would show the “Mr. Hyde” from “Dr. Jekyll”. Any cosmetic surgery, particularly one that is not an ’emergency surgery, is a procedure where the choice of a doctor should reflect good market research on the patient’s part. Things everyone should look for:
Those are things that spell out a good decision in doctor selection. I have always believed that a good decision today is a good decision tomorrow. These types of decisions include the doctor choice.
Now with that said, I suspect that even if you get good results from this surgery (which can be seen 7-8 months after a hair transplant is done), Dr. X just did not make the grade for you.
Hello Dr Rassman,
I read your blog on the “Hair Chair” and you seem to focus on electro-magnetic therapy for bone growth. From my understanding, this is electro-static therapy. Low intensity pulsating static energy to be exact. I called the company that makes the chair www.current-technology.com and they referenced me to an oncology study that’s posted on their website. There was a lot of medical jargon but the general gist is that 12 of 13 women undergoing chemotherapy retained their hair…quite impressive. Also, their chair is medically approved in Europe for hair regrowth. Current Technology referred me to a Dr Morris Westfried in NY who referenced me to an article in DermatologyTimes and pointed me to a salon in NY with a chair:I’m convinced that this technology holds some merit and promise. I’ll let you know the results if your interested.
I’m definately interested, so please do give me a follow-up. I think that I learn as much from my audience as I teach on this site. Thanks for the information.