Permanent Hair Destroyed By Accutane
Hi doc
I want to know if there is medication that can cause hair transplants to fall out. I know you’ve said that transplanted hair is permenent but is there any cases where medication can result in that not being the case?
I recently performed a hair transplant procedure on a patient that I had initially transplanted 17 years ago. He had good results at that time, but slowly over the years, the 2500 grafts he had transplanted in 1995 had died off. When hair transplant surgeons say that transplanted hair never falls out, one is reminded of the old saying, “Never say never”.
The permanent hair I transplanted for him 17 years ago was slowly destroyed by the drug Accutane (isotretinoin), which he has been using for years. Of interest, his donor area is also damaged with much less density than I measured 17 years ago and the Accutane clearly impacted those hairs as well. I suspect that the transplant will be possibly more successful this time around, as the hairs that he had in the donor area survived against the Accutane attack.
So while it is true that in most cases the grafts taken from the donor area for transplantation aren’t susceptible to hair loss, it’s possible that some medications could cause continued loss. It’s not very common though, and in the majority of cases the transplanted hair is permanent.
Why on earth has your patient been on accutane for years? Accutane is normally taken for 3-9 months, not years. I know tons of people who have taken accutane and never had any issues with their hair. I even took it and never had any issue.
I took it when I was 19 for nearly 8 months and it cured my acne although the last few months I started shedding a lot of hairs but it stopped right away after I finished the drug. Some people take it long-term for either very oily skin control or in rare cases some acne just can’t be beaten with several courses of accutane and docs give low dose of acctuane indefinitely.
Um..no…There is no research that proves accutane causes hair loss. In fact, I would be privy to think that it would actually help with hair loss based on my own personal experience with it. It truly has made a difference in my life (eliminated my acne and oily skin) and I’ve had scalp surgery (forehead reduction) while on isotretinoin with no problems! So I’m surprised you would blame isotretinoin so quickly. Isotretinoin is also antifibrotic and anti-inflammatory…both of which are good for hair loss. It certainly is not a direct treatment to hair loss, but I find that as someone who takes isotretinoin at a low dose continuously, that it has helped my hair majorly in conjunction with other treatments. Keep in mind that all retinoids may cause initial telogen effluvium and I would not take isotretinoin for hair loss unless you have either oily skin, acne, or rosacea in addition to the hair loss. (But I believe most hair loss suffers would fit into that group as well).
People can be on accutane for years as an ultra low dose which is pretty common now in Europe. I was on accutane as a teen and i recall never needing to wash my hair for an entire summer working outdoors because it was just never greasy. It was amazing, I never lost any due to it though.
where are you guys getting your facts from? everyone knows accutane has hairloss as a side affect in some people.
I also never had any hairloss when I was on accutane. I actually found the drug to be a miracle. My acne was never bad, but my skin was super oily (persistent mild acne). The only side effect I ever had was slightly dry lips. I never got any of those side effects people always talk about on forums. I took the drug 10 years ago and still have a full head of hair.
‘never say never’ oh unless were talking about finasteride !
I’m in that boat. Accutane should not cause hair loss unless the blood levels of carotene get too high. Dietary intake of vitamin A can be a factor.