Month: July 2005

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Hair Breakage – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have bleached blonde hair which I have been bleaching for about 1.5 years now. For the past 10 months or so I have only bleached the roots and experienced the regular breakage associated with bleaching. It has all been quite normal and certainly nothing to be alarmed about. However for the past 2 – 3 months I have noticed a large amount of hair loss at least 50 hairs a day which is very unusual for me. The other unusual thing is that for example at the moment I have brown regrowth of about 1 cm length. If I purposely pull a hair out of my head it is blonde all the way down with 1 cm of brown at the root. However every single hair that comes out of my head on its own has a tiny 1 mm of brown on the end as opposed to the 1 cm of regrowth that I actually have. Every single hair that comes out has this 1 mm of brown on the end which is making me wonder if it is actually coming out from the roots or not as the roots are much longer. I am started to get very concerned and would appreciate any answers you could give. Thanks.

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It is always difficult for me to interpret the meaning of what you are seeing without making my own observations of your clinical examination. I generally employ densitometry (a science I invented and patented) which allows me to visualize the degree of miniaturization of the hair and the area in different parts of your scalp. First, I need to know if you have genetic balding. A good visualization with high magnification would serve to address the diagnosis.

The average person loses 100-150 hairs per day, so your report of 50 is not alarming. Although we undergo asynchronous hair growth, many people do see some cycling of the hair loss, not to the degree of animals with synchronous growth (shedding), but certainly what you describe could be present on a temporary basis. Time will clearly tell us and after you get a good diagnosis (reassuring yourself that you do not have genetic balding), then waiting this out is a reasonable next step. The hair character does change with age, and it is possible that you are changing the character of your hair which makes you more conscious of your recent past history of hair loss and hair breakage. You might consider letting your hair go natural brown and see if the hair loss slows down, but the first thing to do is to get a good examination and diagnosis.

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Missing Hair on Side – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i have hair missing on one side of my head and i am only 26 years old please advise what i should do?

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I am not sure what side hair you are missing. A diagnosis on the cause of the hair loss is critical. If the temples are receding back above your ears and it is part of the genetic balding process, then you need to treat it as part of that process. If you have defects in the temples since your youth, it may be another type of balding, something we call triangular alopecia. Send me a good set of pictures and I will give you an opinion if you can not come in person to one of my California offices. If you’d like to email me some photos, my email address is on the Contact page.

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Hair Loss InformationPropecia and High Blood Pressure – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

First of all, I’d like to say that this site is very informative, and thanks for providing it. My question concerns Propecia. I take high blood pressure medication, specifically a beta blocker (Toprol XL) and a diuretic (Triam-Hctz, the generic of dyazide). Are there any known cases of these types of drugs having an unfavorable reaction with Propecia? I ask only because a friend told me he once knew someone who had to stop taking it after having chest pains that he hadn’t had since he started his high bp meds. I would like to get on Propecia, but I’d rather be bald than have a heart attack. I’m just wondering if my friend was exagerrating.

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There is no impact to my knowledge of Propecia on blood pressure medications or diuretics. The medication minoxidil (brand name Rogaine) may impact blood pressure as it was originally defined as a blood pressure medication. Maybe your friend is confusing the two.

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Hair Loss InformationCheaper Proscar, A Bargain – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Can I buy Proscar instead of Propecia and put it on my insurance? Is it as good as Propecia?

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Finasteride is the generic name for Propecia (1mg) or Proscar (5mg). They are exactly the same medication. The drug company that hold patents on the drug determines the pricing in such a way that the 1mg pill is almost the same price as the 5mg pill. Some people try to cut the 5mg pill into 1/4 or 1/5 sizes, so that it should be the same value as the 1mg pill. Certainly, 5mg pills are far less expensive mg-for-mg than 1mg pills.

With regard to using your insurance, most insurance companies will only cover prescriptions that are for medically necessary reasons, not for purely cosmetic reasons. When I write the prescriptions, if a patient asks me for Proscar, I will write the directions to cut the pill into 1/4 pill. If the drug store gets authorization for Proscar from the insurance company, then so be it, but most of the time they will not abe able to obtain insurance authorization for use by young men. I am not familiar with which insurance companies routinely authorize Proscar.

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Hair Loss InformationFragile Hair and Hair Gels – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr, may I know what is the difference between normal hair gel and alcohol free hair gel? Does alcohol free hair gel provides less damage than normal hair gel?

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Anything that dries out the hair shaft will make the hair more fragile, so the use of alcohol based products may cause more drying in those individuals who already have dry hair. We are all different, so I generally tell people to experiment with the various product offerings and see what works for you. If your hair is in the balding phases, it will tend to dry easier, making it more fragile, so alcohol could be a problem for those with genetic balding.

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Hair Loss InformationHair Cloning & Stem Cells – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am constantly asked about hair cloning, and when I respond to a question where I suggest that cloning is not close at hand, I often get attacked for that view. I am outspoken and critical of over-simplification. There is too much sensationalism — setting up false expectations targeting desperate men who then think that the answers to hair cloning, stem cell treatment, and hair multiplication are around the corner.

The July 2005 issue of Scientific American magazine has a lengthy feature that puts stem cells and cloning into a comprehensive overview for those of you who want to know what is and what is not at hand. Though it doesn’t directly pertain to cloning hair, it is not a far reach to understand hair cloning after reading this series of articles.

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Female Hair Loss and Stress – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 52 year old female. My hair has been thinning since the age of about 35. For the past year I have been using cold laser at a medical facility in Oakbrook, Illinois. My hair seems to be getting worse. I am in the process of adjusting my thyroid medication. I have low thyroid and was taking .05. Now I am trying .75 for the past week. I was also diagnosed anemic in may of 2005, and am now taking a vitamin plus iron supplement. I recently went through a very stressful family situation. Do you feel these are reasons for the further hair loss despite the action I have taken. Also, Do you have offices in Chicago where I could get a blood workup by physicians that understand hair loss in women. My doctors just seem to sluff it off. I would appreciate any suggestions you can give me.

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Most of the conditions you outlined are known to cause hair loss. Add to that, genetic factors which have been present since your 30’s and you are a set-up for worsening of the hair loss. Clearly, you must get on top of the medical problems you are experiencing. The hair loss is a combination of both medical and genetic causes and there is no guarantee that it will reverse, but women often get some reversal of hair loss when the medical (disease) causes of hair loss are brought under control. A good doctor is critical to treating your process. Start off with a caring family doctor.

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Hair Loss InformationEyebrow Transplantation – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Is it possible to fill in a scar on my eyebrow with the hairs from my other eyebrow? If so, would it be a good idea to pluck and collect hairs from my good eyebrow to transplant them later?

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Plucking and collecting the hairs for future transplant is not going to work! When we harvest the donor grafts, we are taking the full follicular unit, something that can not be accomplished with plucking. For eyebrows, we generally take the donor hair from the permanent zone in the back of your head, being careful to match the characteristics of your eyebrow hair. If they do not match, then there may be other options. You would need to trim the donated hair, unless you like the unruly look and want ever growing eyebrows with an unusual look. If you let it grow out, it might grow to pony-tail length, so cutting them is important!

There is presently no proof, contrary to claims by some doctors, that a hair that has been plucked will produce a new hair and another hair will grow from the bed of the plucked hair. That would mean that we could manufacture as many hairs as we need, giving unlimited supplies of hair. We have actually tried it based upon reports by a physician at a medical meeting. The plucked hair did not grow a new hair, but the old plucked bed did re-grow another hair.

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Hair Loss InformationRealistic Scar Revision with FUE – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I had 3 FUT sessions from a respected doctor, about 2/3 of the donor scar turned out acceptable but 1/3 is widened enough to be annoying — I can’t keep my hair any shorter than 7/8 of an inch without visibility, and even then it’s visible when the hair is wet. In a recent follow-up visit, the same doctor said 150-200 grafts in 1 FUE session will take care of the scar. Does that sound realistic?

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FUE is one way to address scars. Depending upon your hair type, one or more sessions may be required to get the needed fullness to conceil a scar. It would be difficult for me to judge how many sessions it might take without examining you, but hopefully you have selected a good doctor who knows what he is doing.

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Hair Loss InformationHair Loss from Illness – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman.

I was hoping to get your honest opinion.

I’m a 23 year old male, in the best health of my life. I work out 6 days a week, and have a healthy diet. But my hair troubles me a lot.

I have a normal hairline, but thin hair, resembling a Norwood 5. My father was bald (norwood 7), and growing up, i kind of expected to go bald eventually. My dad started to lose his hair around 35-40. I have an elder brother who’s 30, and has a full head of hair.

I first noticed the slightest amount of thinning shortly after my 19th birthday. I was in college, and everybody (boys and girls) complained of losing hair, so i thought nothing of it. But the thinning proceeded, till about 2 years ago, when i suffered from a severe stomach infection. unfortunately my university was in a small town in india, so proper treatement wasn’t available. I somehow managed to finish the semester, and return home for treatement. I was diagnosed with systemic edema of the alimentary canal, and had gastritis, oesophagitis, deodenitis, etc. I also had a H. pylori infection. Till then, i was experiencing massive hair loss. I was shedding like a dog on a couch. My pillow and bed used to be literally covered with hair. Thing is, some days into my treatement, my hair stopped falling off. My haemoglobin is slightly low, which my gastroenterologist supposes is due to retarded iron absorbtion due to my stomach condition. However, 10 months later, my haemoglobin is still 12.8, and MCV of 51, and MCH of 51. Not much of a change since then.

I thought my hair would grow back once i got better, but this has turned out not to be the case. Personally, I’m confused as to what i’m suffering from. Is it androgenic, since my hairline is intact? I do have norwood 5 style loss, but it is thinning, not totally gone.

I think 23 is too young for my level of baldness. Maybe at 40, but not 23. I have been seeing a homeopath about this matter for the last 8 months, and haven’t noticed any difference. I’m not even sure if minoxidil will help me.

What do i do?

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It sounds like you had a series of health problems and you also have genetic male pattern loss. Heath problems (just from stress) can accelerate the genetic balding pattern. When the hair is lost from genetic causes in men, it rarely comes back, even if the health problems are ‘fixed’. This is not always the case with women’s genetic hair loss. The key is to go on the drug Propecia (finasteride), as that is your best option to stop hair loss and delay it’s restart. Some men at your age may get regrowth of the hair. There is no down side to this treatment. In the United States it requires a prescription.