Recommending Counseling to Men That Are Anxious About Their Hair Loss

Hi Dr Rassman,

I’m fairly concerned about losing my hair, to the extent where I’ve been taking Propecia for a couple of months in a bid to slow down the hairloss process.

I’ve noticed a lot of men emailing you who are very, very anxious about losing their hair. While I would much prefer to keep my hair, I draw the line at having grafts etc. If my hair loss became that bad I would simply accept it and shave my hair Bruce Willis style.

My question is this-when would you recommend counseling to men who are profoundly anxious about hair loss? I think there should be a time and place for this. Sometimes, perhaps it’s a case of come to terms with it and age gracefully!

Stress contributes to hair loss in those genetically impacted. Finasteride (Propecia) works to block the hair loss and prevent it from happening in most men. Anything that reduces stress is also a good idea, so if counseling work for you, then go for it. The fear of hair transplantation is something that reflects general ignorance. My job is not to convert you or get you to reverse your opinion as to what line you will not cross, but my two hair transplants were the most non-events of my life (in regards to the actual procedure). Most of my patients tell me the same thing, and the benefits certainly deal with the stress directly. One of my patients is a psychologist who had 18 years of psychoanalysis to help him deal with his hair loss. The first of two transplant procedures yielded wonderful results. He said to me that he wasted his money for 18 years, when in one day he solved his problem and the stress went away as the hair grew in.