January 2006 – Page 9

January 17, 2006

Discoid Lupus and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Female. I was diagnosed with Discoid Lupus Erythematosus about 4 years ago. It started out as a little bald spot, now most of my hear on the top is gone. I am not sure what to do, I have at the cortizone shots, I have used the clobex shampoo,noting is working. I am constatly getting new bald spots it appears to always be active. Is there anything I can do to slow down the hair loss? I have kept my hair short for almost 20 years. I am tryin to let it grow back enough to be able to push the front part of my hair back to cover up the spots.

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Autoimmune diseases are a known cause of hair loss and a difficult problem to control. To get control of the hair loss means getting control of the autoimmune disease. This requires the expert hands of a doctor specializing in such diseases, such as a dermatologist with a particular interest in this.

Hair transplantation works if the disease in the scalp has been inactive for a number of years and this is best determined by biopsies along the edge of the bald area where normal hair may exist. The presence of inflammatory cells may show active disease (from your history this is your case) so a number of areas must be biopsied (must wait until the disease becomes inactive). When the disease become inactive in the scalp (it may remain active elsewhere), biopsies will show that it is inactive. With inactivity present for at least 2 years, a series of test hair transplants will show if the skin will support hair transplant. Representative areas must be selected for the test transplants and FUE can be the source of the transplanted donor hair. Before embarking on this process, however, a supply/demand assessment must be made with goals clearly defined. With a disease only 4 years old, it is probable that you will have to wait some time before undergoing any type of restoration assessment and hopefully when it reverses, you will see some hair return in the affected areas as an indication that inactivity in the scalp may be on the horizon for you.

I have successfully transplanted a series of patients with inactive alopecia areata with nice results. I would suspect that you might be a candidate some day if you are fortunate enough for the process to stop progressing in your scalp. I have no other suggestions for the moment other than continue with your treating physician and have hope.

January 17, 2006

What Type of Dermatologist Should I See? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi,

First, thank you for your wonderfully informative blog.

1) I’d like to see a dermatologist about my scalp. Would any dermatologist be okay or should I make sure it is a dermatologist specializing in hair loss? (I’m currently between III and IV on the Norwood chart. Also, I my skin seems unnaturally dry in those areas, and there are two tiny red sores that I discovered about the same time my hair loss began three years ago which have never gone away; so I think there may be a correlation.)

2) I’m in San Diego. Do you (or your associates) or anyone you can recommend in my area accept Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance?

Thank you very much for your time.

Insurance for medical work-ups for hair loss is covered by many insurance companies, but you will have to investigate your benefits from your present carrier. Hair transplants, on the other hand, have not been covered by insurance companies unless there is a burn or accident associated, and again, the benefits are defined as ‘covering’ those injuries for cosmetic surgeries.

If you are a male or female with hair loss, then your doctor should be able to make miniaturization mapping of your scalp. Some dermatologists do this, so you should ask their staff before you set up a visit. People who call themselves hair experts can be found in the physician search on ISHRS.org in your local area. My closest office is 120 miles from you, in Los Angeles.

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January 17, 2006

I Don’t Want to Play Doctor with My Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’m 22 and over the last year my hair has been thinning fast. Thinning, really bad itching all over my scalp and a receding hair line. This last year i have had three major surgerys and one minor one. Also I have been under extreme stress. Plus both my grandfather and father are bald or going bald. So i really dont know were it could be coming from. I have been to hair loss clinics and doctors and been told and given different things. 5% Minoxidil, Enhanced anti-androgenic pill with saw palmetto and other herbs, some shampoo, laser light therapy and just yesterday i got propecia. What should i do? I’m scared that I am starting to play doctor with all these products. PLEASE HELP

It sounds like you are grasping for straws and may or may not find a solution. First you need to KNOW if you have genetic hair loss, like what is in your family. With measurements on miniaturization made, you can then establish a base line from which drugs like Propecia can be valued by comparing the changes in miniaturization over time. I would drop everything else, and focus on getting a diagnosis before the Propecia gets going too far, just for comparisons. Propecia may be your best approach, but you still need a Master Plan to know what is going to happen to you.

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January 17, 2006

Hair Transplant After Alopecia? – Balding Blog

I have several bald spots at the back of my head.I went to see an MD and a blood test was done all are normal and MD said that i am having alopecia. What is the approximate price of hair transplantation? i am only 26 years old / female and i don’t want to be bald this early in life. please respond. thanks

There are many types of alopecia. If you have one of the autoimmune causes of hair loss (that is what it sounds like), then hair transplantation does not work until the disease has burned out (generally you must wait for at least a couple of years and be certain that the autoimmune process has ended often requiring a biopsy). I need more information on the type of alopecia you have. See the Female Hair Loss category for the answers to your concerns that may have already been written.

January 16, 2006

Moser Clinic – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello!

Here in Austria we have a hair restoration clinic named Moser Clinic. This is a quote from their website:

“Unlike scientists in America Karl Moser and Dr. Krugluger integrated the experience and know-how of organ transplantation into their research. They found out that the time when the hair is removed from the donor area until it gets placed into the recipient area is the most critical and the major reason for reduced hair growth after the transplantation. During this time the FUs need a perfect, humid environment.

While other clinics still use a saline solution for intermediate storage, the Moser Medical Group developed its own solution to stop hair loss after transplantations. After the FUs have been dissected, they are stored in this solution where they are treated against disturbance of growth, until they get implanted. ”

Well they claim they know how to make the hair not fall out after a hair transplant. Could such things be true or is it simply a hoax?

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The Moser Clinic is a highly respected organization and the work of Karl Moser and Dr. Krugluger has been presented to the ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery), where I was in the audience. They are credible scientists. Their solution appears to reduce the hair loss shedding immediately after the surgery. I would be interested in trying it, but I am prohibited from using it for many reasons including:

It is not FDA approved in the United States
The technique appears to have many nuances and I would want to master them before trying it on people
I do not perform human experimentation

I spoke to them about the FDA and offered to cooperate with them and help them get it through the FDA process when we met this summer in Sydney, Australia.

January 16, 2006

African American Hair Expert – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m an African American female and want to know which is better for my hair, pressing with a hot comb or using a non lye relaxer (like Precise). Also, I have hair loss and hair is very thin. I had a hair restoration in June 2005 by Bosley. Can you please recommend things I can do to improve my hair? Do you consider yourself an expert in dealing with African American hair?

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I believe that I was the first person to place follicular units into an African American and started the trend that allowed for the use of small grafts in African hair types. As you may know, hair transplantation is a ‘peg in a hole’ surgery, but African hair is curly (like a cork screw) and therefore placing it into a round hole can be a difficult challenge to the inexperienced hair transplant surgeon. I guess that would make me an expert for transplants into African American hair types.

With regard to your other question, I am not an expert in the best ways to ‘relax’ hair, but I see problems with those individuals who have this done improperly. I am an expert in the complications of such treatments. I would have to examine you to make any recommendations.

January 16, 2006

Female Hair Loss from Diet Pills? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am getting bald in the top of my head and also on the left side of my head. Not sure what the problem. I was told that if you took a lot of diet pills in your younger days (of which I did) that would cause it. Please help me on this matter. It is very embrassing to go bald at the age of 42. Not that is matters but I am a black female.

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Actually, race and sex do matter since certain backgrounds tend to produce certain types of hair loss. In your case, diet pills taken many years ago are not high on my list of causes for hair loss, although extreme diets and conditions such as anorexia and bulimia definitely do weaken hair and cause loss. For a final and accurate answer, you would really have to be examined and tested by a hair doctor (get your scalp mapped out for miniaturization) or a dermatologist, but I suspect you might want to review the many previous blog entries about Female Hair Loss to understand the various causes of hair loss that must be considered.

On a more positive note, hair loss in certain hair types (for example African-American hair or kinky/curly hair types) gets better results from replacement surgery and/or other treatments. Depending on what type of hair loss you have, you may still have many options for treatment, so don’t despair!

January 16, 2006

Stopping Further Graying – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have MBP. To add to the trouble, my hair has started growing gray on my beard and sidelocks (age 23). What can i do to stop further graying? Whatever is gray, how can I make it black….are dyes unsafe?

Dyes in the hands of a good hair stylist, are generally safe. There is no safe and effective cure to graying that I know of.

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January 16, 2006

Laser Treatments at NHI – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Greetings!
I had hair transplants last June. They’re growing in great!
I received a letter from you yesterday in which you mention you are experimenting with low level light therapy laser. I’m interested, but could you send me more information? Specifically, what kind of time commitment is needed? The letter says three sessions per week, but not if it’s one week or several weeks.
Thanks!

The recommended treatment by those that are experienced with lasers (not me) are three times a week for 6 weeks, then twice a week for another 6 weeks, then once a week for the remaining one year. If it works, more might be better. I can not attest for its value at this time. You can start it and quit anytime. For our existing hair transplant patients, there is no charge for the treatment.

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January 16, 2006

Is Stress Causing Gray, Lifeless Hair? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello –

Recently, I’ve had a heavier load of stress in my life within my marriage. Last night when I got my hair colored my stylist asked me what’s been going on in my world? The reason she asked, is because I was intensly more grey than normal on the crown of my scalp & the sides, my hair was lifeless and dull and when she washed my hair after coloring, she noticed alot of hair on the drain. I’ve noticed my hair greying much faster and the same thing with washing my hair at home in the shower, lots of hair on the drain. I’m 37 years old and female.
My question is: Is my hair greying faster, texture of my hair lifeless and dull and the hair loss on the drain due to heavy stress? Thanks for any help you can give.

Genetic female hair loss can be precipitated by stress which can also bring on the graying process as well. Changes in the character of the hair also occurs as we age, as well as from the stress. Sounds like you need to surround your stress better. Also see a good doctor for the diagnosis of genetic female hair loss.