Month: December 2005

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Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hiya, I am a 35 year old female and heartbroken. January of this year my hair changed from healthy, quite greasy really, to dry as a bone and unmanageable. Getting worse at every wash, dryer and dryer. Had all the tests done by my gp. Hormone, thyroid, everything was ok. Now my hair pulls out with the gentlest of brushing, snaps in my hands, and my scalp is showing on my part. My fringe has shriveled to nothing and my hair looks like it has been burnt mainly at the front. I have developed a receding hair line in a classic M shape, and have thick black hairs that seem to just grow everywere all over my head. The texture is that of pubic hair. My hair no longer feels like hair, it is so dry when i touch my scalp it crunches. I have conditioner on it, but nothing seems to help. I have started taking vitamins and my hair feels like it is coated with a sticky dry residue now. Seems to be able to help. I am not a vain person, I am nothing special, but to see myself like this is breaking my heart. Please can you offer some idea as to what the problem is? I am spending hours just sitting in front of the mirror in tears. I no longer recognise the person looking back any more. My marriage is suffering and i am finding it difficult to go out. I feel like everyone is looking at me. My self image is on the floor. Please please can you give any ideas as to what the problem is? My hair seems to be shrinking, not growing, apart from the back which seems to be unaffected. So far you are my last hope. Please please can you help?

This is not something that I can manage over the phone or through an email. You need to be managed by a competent doctor and possibly a good/great hair stylist for the topical management of the fragile hair. Please, find the appropriate people to look after you. Do not become your own doctor or hair specialist. I would suggest using the ISHRS site as a good place to search for a local doctor.

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I’m 21 and Balding – What To Do? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Sir:
I’m 21 years old , i’m suffering from hair loss , its not that much till now but i have a feeling that if i just ignored it , it will be very bad later , & i realy care sooooooooooo much about my Look. So please tell me what can i do , Do you prefer surgery for me , or Drugs ( if yes mention one ) i used to use REGAIN EXTRA STRAINGTH . but i stopped. because i wanted a faster solution . please reply as soon as possible . thanks so much

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It is very difficult to evaluate hair loss without at least pictures, and an in personal consultation is better. I don’t recommend hair transplantation as the first option to solve your balding problem. First, you would have to be evaluated to map out your hair loss as it progresses by determining the degree of miniaturization that is in every part of your scalp. Then, providing you are a male, I would likely have you on Propecia for a year or so, then reassess the miniaturization and your observable pattern of hair loss (if any) or reversal of hair loss. From there, transplantation might be right for you, but only an in-person evaluation will be able to determine this. If you’d like to email photos to me, please use the email address on the contact page.

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Very Short Celebrity Hair Style – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, I am just wondering, I am balding and I want to get a short haircut just like the actor Jason Statham, what number do you think he takes when he buzzes his hair? Thank you very much. All the Best

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Here’s a photo of Jason Statham I found on IMDB, for those that are interested in who we’re referring to. I don’t know the particular number clipper that he uses, but I’d suggest that you buzz your hair with a high number first (try a 6), then go one level down at a time until you get the look you want. This way you will not overdo it and lose your chance at your short haircut goal. If I had to estimate though, I’d say that he probably uses a #2 setting (just quess work).

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Waxing Transplanted Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

HI,
I am about a #7 on the baldness scale and I have about 200 (2-3 hair) plugs on the front hairline. I now want to go bald and was considering waxing (although painful) in the plug area. (There is nothing really wrong with my transplant, I just like the bald look better on me). My question: Will waxing do any damage to this area or the plugs themselves? Your advise is greatly appreciated.

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Waxing may eventually produce traction alopecia and as such, it may in the longer term cause these ‘waxed’ hairs to fall out. If the plugs are really plugs in the old doll’s head view, there are better options including excision, FUE extraction, and laser hair removal. The problem with the doll’s head plugs is that there is often skin changes associated with them, such as cobblestoning and depigmentation, which may stand out if you go bald. Take a look at our newhair.com site and search for “plug” to see and learn much from the many pages of information on this subject.

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Hair Loss InformationParkinson’s and Hair Loss in Women – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi
At 40 I got hypothyroidism.The 4 last the labs have come out normal. At 46 I got Parkinsons. Both my neurologist and endocrinologist say my hair fallout is not a result of the health issues I describe. It is getting really thin unlike any of the women in my family we all have thick hair.
Do you think the MD’s are being frank or easing me into the tuffer problems of the Parkinsons. Does your hair product work on women.

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I believe that your physicians are being honest and open with you. There has been no published data that associates hair loss to Parkinson’s Disease. As stress is one of the factors that can accelerate genetic hair loss, it is possible that stress can be a participating cause if you are genetically prone. I would think that Parkinson’s Disease must certainly be a significant cause of stress in anyone who has it.

With that said, thyroid disease may cause hair loss, especially hypothyroidism more than hyperthyroidism, but either one has reported hair loss. It might be worthwhile to rule out other causes for hair loss such as alopecia areata, androgenic alopecia, stress associated with female genetic hair loss, some of the drugs you were or are on, eczema, seborrhea, scleroderma, lupus, hormonal imbalance, psoriasis, fungal, autoimmnune disorders, poor diet, poor nutrients, etc. The common medications which may cause hair loss are beta-blocker, coumadin, oral contraceptive pill, antibiotics and chemo-medications. For female patients, Women’s Rogaine is the best option. Male patients may use Rogaine and/or Propecia.

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Depo-Provera and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I took the depo shot for 3 years, but I haven’t taken it in 7 years and now I’m having hair loss. Could it be from the shot? I did have it after I had my baby 7 years ago.

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The use of such medications may contribute to the onset of genetic balding. The mechanisms are not clear, but once the process starts, it is possible that it may not reverse. This would explain the persistence of some thinning over time.

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Hair Loss InformationHair Loss Worse After Rogaine – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Doc…I’m really scared, confused, and upset with myself.
I had some thinning and receding at the hair line, and a little bit on the crown of my head. I decided to give rogaine a try to improve the situation. I used it about 5-6 times, but also used it on the front of my hairline. After a few days, I noticed that the hair seemed to be thinning a lot, and that my hairline had receded, especially at the temples. So after using the rogaine for a few days, I went from some thinning in the temples and crown to having a receding hairline, with even greater thinness in the temples and top. At this point, when my hair is wet, I see much more scalp, and it makes me want to throw up. It basically thinned out my hair everywhere, especially in the problem areas. Basically, I feel that I took a situation that wasn’t really that bad, and made it much worse. I’m kicking myself for having not just left it alone.

My questions:
1) Since I’ve stopped the rogaine, will the hair that seems to have fallen out return? If it will come back, about how long will it take to go back to the way it was before I used the rogaine? (I’ve read on some forums about rogaine “shed”, but does this hair come back all of the time?)
2) Can rogaine cause a receding hairline? Could I have done permanent damage to any of the hair by using the rogaine (such as if the follicles were already thinning/in trouble)?

Thanks so much for your help. I’m really struggling with this, and I’m looking for some peace of mind.

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Hair shedding from Rogaine is temporary. New hair should grow in a few months. Hair growth works in cycles. When rogaine causes hair shedding it may induce the hair shaft to fall off; the follicle would then enter a dormant phase in the cycle (temporarily) while the matrix is restructured for future growth, hopefully with a thicker and stronger hair shaft. Thus, initially, you may appear to lose more hair, but after waiting for many months you may have thicker and stronger hair with any new hair growth, assuming the Rogaine works. It is very scary for some patients to experience the shedding phase (unusual) and considering the extreme reaction to the Rogaine, I wonder if the statistical probability of working in your situation offsets the risk of continued hair loss. If it works, it generally takes 6-8 months. More significant growth may occur (in less than half of patients) who take this medication. In general Rogaine may cause either more hair growth, stop further hair loss, prolong the hair cycle where hair exists in its best ‘show’ state, or it may be limited to slow down the hair loss process if it works at all.

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Curis and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

How long will you think CURIS take to be produced commercially? Also, does it have capability to grow hair on already balded areas?

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This is a most interesting and exciting technology in its early stages. A great deal of work will be required to take this from the animal study into the human realm and it may not transport easily. What this does show is the many faces of the regrowth phenomenon in hair regeneration. Generally this process, under FDA regulation, will take years. To answer your question, I really do not know exactly how the medication works, but as I find out more, I will let the blog readers know. Thanks for pointing this out to me.

For those interested in learning more, please see Curis Presents Study Showing Stimulation of Hair Growth by Small Molecule Hedgehog Pathway Agonist.

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Blood Pressure Medication and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

is there any blood pressure medication that will not cause one’s hair to fall out. i have been on lisinopril for 6 months and have noticed my hair thinning greatly. i was taking metformin but stopped because i heard it too can also cause hair loss. Is this true? PLEASE HELP!!!!

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My advice is for you to review all of the blood pressure medications through the internet search engines such as Google or Yahoo. The drug side effects on hair loss are clearly published. Your blood pressure control must take a higher priority than hair loss, but moving between drugs with a good doctor helping you is a good idea. It is possible that the drugs are not the cause of your hair loss and you are just experiencing hair loss from an acceleration of the genetic process, so get a hair doctor to help you with that as well.

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From an Irrational, Mad as Hell Doctor – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

As a doctor in the hair transplant field, I take affront to this blog, the general tone of it and your almighty view of ethics that you published last week. You are forgetting your roots. Your ego-centric sanctimonious approach gets me sick. I hope your readers can see your self-serving motives here and I sincerely hope that you become a victim of your words.

I normally would not publish this type of statement, but it looks like it illustrates the points I made in my blog entry from just last week, The Truth About Cheap Hair Transplants. I think that this doctor is forgetting his roots, which lie in the Hippocratic Oath taken when he became a doctor. Maybe his Mercedes and mansion mortgage burdens are clouding his priorities.

I’ve been reminded that my blog posting from way back in June entitled Doctor Availability, may have also contributed to this doctor’s rage.