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.

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]

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.

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. 

The arrow suggests where the hairline should be, so when he went on oral minoxidil it grew in the area where the arrow points.  The growth will only get better. 

This appears to be a hair transplant. This is so because the hairline is straight (reflecting a poor surgeon without artistic judgment), and there is no transition zone in front of this straight hairline. In addition, the hairline is more than 3/4 inch above his highest crease, and the hairline is solid. A receded hairline that goes up that high is always thinner. In other words, the surgeon didn’t put the hairline in the right position, just a bit too high.

I remember when I was on a jury, and when the judge first came in, I saw a straight, solid hairline that was probably 2 inches higher than the highest crease of the furrowed brow. This told me it was a hair transplant, just poorly positioned (too high). I couldn’t tell if the surgeon put a transition zone in front because I was too far from the judge but the judge just didn’t look normal.  He was over 60 years old and his hair was probably died black.