Smelly Hair | WRassman,M.D. BaldingBlog

Smelly Hair

Dec 19, 2005/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /Other

i have hair but it smells awful i wash it daily but the smell goes away for only a few minutes, anyway it keeps me from doin stuff like datin hangin out, simple things.

You might want to get a doctor to examine you to understand the problem. I can imagine many conditions that may contribute to this, but a good examination is the best approach if you wash it thoroughly. I might wash it in my office, and then observe what good washing can do versus what you are doing; maybe there is a difference just on that level. Our office has good washing facilities for our patient hair washes which we do after all surgeries.

2005-12-19 14:48:162005-12-19 15:21:14Smelly Hair

December 19, 2005

Hair Problems from Bleaching – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a male and I did a bad job of bleaching my hair and it burned my scalp. When I used the bleach I used it only on the top of my head. The hair on the top of my head seems to be growing slower than the back and sides where I applied the bleach. I am only 18 so can the hair loss be due to the bleach?

It would be unusual for any long term damage from a single bleaching episode on your hair. Assuming that you wait a year or so, everything should resolve. Make sure that you do not have male genetic hair loss, by getting your head mapped out for minaturization. If you do have genetic hair loss, thinning could have been precipitated by the bleaching and proper medications may be in order (like Propecia). Get a good doctor to evaluate you.

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December 19, 2005

Hair Loss at 19 from Vitamin Imbalance? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi, i first noticed that my hair was thinning when i was 17. Around the same time, i got this weird rash on the back of my head due to poorly cleaned clippers at a barber shop. Now i’m 19 and it’s really noticable that i am going bald. I can now see my scalp and my hair line has receded at least an inch and a half. I am very young. I believe it has to be a vitamin inbalance. Right now i’m taking ULTRA HAIR, which is filled with Biotin. I’m too scared to take rogaine or propecia, becuase i read that propecia can stop a man’s erection. What should i do? Who should i talk to? And do you think the rash has something to do with all this? The rash is still there. Thank you

If you review the Age category of this blog, you will learn that 17 year olds can get male pattern genetic hair loss. Assuming that you are male and receding, that is the most probable diagnosis. You need to get a diagnosis; you should have your head mapped out for miniaturization and attempt to get proper control of the hair loss with a drug like Propecia. If you have lost the first 1 1/2 inches of hair line, then you will go bald if you do not take a real proper action and get control of your hair loss. Playing with vitamins when you are losing your hair like you described, is like looking for fleas when a herd of elephants are chasing you. You should be running for you ‘life’ (and by that, I mean ‘hair’).

Propecia side effects have been covered on this site before: here, here, here, and here.

December 19, 2005

Good Scalp Shampoo? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hey doctor, what would you suggest as a good shampoo to use with thinning hair, i am currently using rogaine and have been using the loreal hair thickiner shampoo with it, is there something better out there for the scalp, thanks

I do not recommend one shampoo over another. I generally experiment with many before I find something that feels right for me. As I do not believe that shampoos can bring back the hair, the value is in the styling and looks that the shampoo gives you.

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December 16, 2005

Size of Miniaturized Hairs – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi there,
I have read your explanation of hair miniaturization, and have a question. I am a 30 year old female and I am experiencing hair loss. My hair loss seems to be diffused, with areas that are worse which are my hairline, as well as the crown (alot of my scalp can be seen at the crown). I have been obsessively reading about it on the internet and have found it helpful but confusing information. Anyways, back to the question. I have alot of miniaturization hairs throughout my hair. By alot I mean alot, they stick up everywhere. Do these hairs every stay at a certain size, or do they always end up being very small and thin? Some of mine are extremely thin, and others are thicker. Thanks in advance

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This is a good and insightful question. The general belief is that miniaturized hairs are impacted by hormone and genetic influences. As some hair is impacted and others are not, I would think that the impacted hairs (the miniaturized hairs) remain impacted and thin, unless things change like hormone balance, or the effects of medications such as Rogaine/minoxidil. As no one has ever actually tracked a single hair in a follicular group when cycling occurs (anogen through catogen phases), one really can not tell the actual answer to this question other than make a good guess (like I am doing here).

Follicular units usually contain a number of hairs. Mature healthy hairs are called ‘Terminal Hairs’ while the small hairs in a follicular unit are called ‘Vellus Hairs’. Miniaturizated hairs are thought to be ‘sick’ terminal hairs, not vellus hairs. Does a terminal hair become a vellus hair or visa versa? I doubt that, but do not know for sure. Do the hairs in a follicular unit play musical chairs (opps hairs) and change their appearance over time in a single hair cycle? I can have fun with these types of questions, but that is my intellectual exercising of random thoughts that you stimulated have no particular value to help you with your question.

December 16, 2005

Hair Loss InformationLost All Body Hair After Infection – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

12 years ago I had a long term infection after an operation. Soon after that I began losing hair all over my body: pubic, anal, chest, under arms, even nasal hair. Beard and mustached nowhere near as thick as they used to be. Please help me; what could cause this?!?!?!

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The absence of body hair is alopecia universalis, an autoimmune problem which is most frequently genetic. Clearly your infection precipitated the condition but the genetics were hiding under the surface. You need to see a good dermatologist. Visit MedlinePlus and DermNet NZ for more information about alopecia.

December 16, 2005

Provillus – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Doc

I have been reading info on Provillus a DHT blocker that is said to work for as long as i take it unlike other drugs (propecia) that stops working after 5-6 years. Do you know if this is true as i dont look forward to start losing hair again and be back were i started.Could you also tell me any info on Provillus tnat you have. thanks

This sounds like a load of bull. Claims like this are not only illegal (from an FDA point of view), but unethical as well. This opinion seems to be common from reviewers of the product on the web.

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December 16, 2005

Propecia and the Penis – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I took propecia for around three months and stopped taking it around 86 days ago. I am experiencing side effects from it. I have soft morning and night errections. In order to get my penis hard, I have to touch it. And even then it does not get as hard as it used to get prior to I used Propecia. I also feel slight pain in the base of my penis and testicles. Can you please give me an idea that approximately how long will it take for me to get normal. And what are the chances that I will get normal again.
Thank you.

Propecia side effects have been covered on this site before: here, here, here, and here. It is important to note that many people who complain about decreased sexual drive with Propecia are actually having erectile dysfunction (ED). In men in their 40’s, it has been estimated than almost half have ED problems at some level. As men age, the penis blood flow and responsiveness of testosterone change as well. Most men deny changes, but deny it as they may, it happens.

Fondling the penis is an important part of stimulation for obtaining an erection. This is more important as you get older. Very young men barely have to think about sex to get an erection. I am a bit concerned that you may be obsessed about your penis function. If you are with a partner, is there a problem? Sexual stimulation between two people will produce a stronger erection than by yourself, particularly if you have ED. In the Wall Street Journal some years ago, the day after Viagra was first sold, a urologist was interviewed about the drug. He told the story of a man and his wife who thought that Viagra did not work for them. On the only time he used it, the patient took a Viagra at about 10pm and he and his wife lay on their bed watching his penis and waiting for it to become erect. They both fell asleep by 11pm and nothing happened. The urologist told them that Viagra will not work unless he became sexually involved with his wife. The next night he tried again, and with some amorous involvement, they had great sex and he had a wonderful erection for the first time in years. Maybe this story will point to a problem you are having in a different light.

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December 16, 2005

Kevis, Avacore, Regenix – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman,

I am 25-years-old and for a year or two my hair has been thinning along the hairline (just above the forehead). I can see that it is not nearly as thick as it used to be, but it is not yet noticeable to others. About ten months ago I started taking Propecia and using Nizoral Shampoo, but I am not satisfied with the results as I have only seen a moderate slowing in the rate of hair loss and no detectable re-growth.

I want to take further action and would like to know what options I should consider. I am currently looking into Avacore, Kevis, Avodart/Dutasteride, a laser brush, and Regenix. Are any of these products worthwhile? Are there others I should know about? I feel like I need to do something fast before it looks like I am losing my hair. What should I do?

I look forward to hearing form you. Thank you for your help and for the website. Best regards.

I have a somewhat standard answer to your question. First get yourself analyzed for miniaturization with your scalp mapped out so that under a good doctor, you can have your hair progress or lack of progress measured over time as you move between different treatment modalities. With this mapping, you will (at the least) know if anything is really working and put numbers to it.

Of the suggested treatments you intend to try, some have minoxidil as the active ingredient, but at a much higher price than you can purchase it a Walmart or other discount stores. If you like paying more then by all means go for it. Avodart (dutasteride) has been discussed on this site in great detail. The laser comb is not well documented for benefit, but there is clearly a lot of hype and only costs between $500-800, so again, if you feel that spending money might help, by all means try it. I have had good reports about Regenix, but no objective measurements for hair regrowth.

If you are in the Southern California area, I would be happy to see you if you’d like to setup a consultation for your problem. The alternative is going bald, unless you can gain better control of what is happening to you.

December 16, 2005

Hair and Love – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Will my wife love me the same after a hair transplant?

On first blush, this could be conceived as a funny question, but I thought hard about it and looked back on my experience with hair restoration and relationships. There is clearly a connection best exemplified by one patient story, which says it all…

A 50 year old successful, powerful bald man (Class 6 pattern with a runway on his head) had two hair transplants, each time accompanied by his caring and loving wife. I got to know them personally and his personality was the type that would stand out in a room with 100 other men. He had a dynamic character with a warm side to his powerful presence. After two transplants with me of around 5,000 grafts, he finished his restoration and appeared happy. A year after I last saw him as a patient, his wife came to my office when she was on a business trip to Los Angeles. She said, “I owe you an apology”. I could not understand the statement and probed her for clarification. “I do not know if you realized that I was against the hair transplant from the onset, but I would never challenge him in public so I kept this a secret between he and I. I loved him without hair as much as I did when I married him with hair years ago. Now that he has his hair back, I realized that the bald man I was married to had changed over the years, but with his hair back he became more like the man I married. I realized that this hair transplant was about him, his vision of himself and not about me at all. I was selfishly looking at the inside man I love, but his pain was created by the outside man he saw in the mirror. The man I married came back with the hair transplant and it made our relationship far better than I could remember in years. I never realized the pain that his balding caused, and that is why I am apologizing to you.”

This story has always stuck in my head, because it reflected the reason men have their hair transplanted in the first place. A woman who loves her man, cares about what is important to him. To conclude with an answer to your question, she will love you more if you love yourself more and are more self-confident. Men who are free to love and who are not burdened with an image of themselves that interferes with who they are, make better lovers than men with an image problem of themselves, no matter how small. Loving these men with their freedom is easier than watching them be less than they can be.

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