Month: August 2006

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Major Shedding During and After Rogaine Use – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi. I recently tried using Rogaine 5% as a hair loss prevention regiment as I noticed a mild thinning of the crown area. Let me stress that my hair thinning was just mild and that as 28 yrs old, it seemed like it was a good time to start early before it got too late years after.

However I stopped using Rogaine 5% after just 20 days! I was shedding far too many hair and did not like the texture effect it made on my hair. Most of all, I was shedding too much hair! May I add that I have never noticed any shedding of hair prior to Rogaine! However, its been over 15 days since last using Rogaine and I am still shedding like crazy!!! By just running my fingers thru my hair, I see mature hair and younger looking hair fall out.

I am extremely upset by this response. I am a healthy 28 yr old male. I talked with my doc and am now on Propecia. He was not able to decifer why I was still shedding considering everything is normal. My question is whether if you have any information why shedding of hair is still continuing after stopping use of rogaine 15 days ago?? (Also considering I have only used it for just 20 days). Also, if propecia will stop the shedding due to Rogaine. May i add again, there was no blatant shedding or any problem of hair shedding prior to Rogaine.

Thank you so much

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Assuming that you have genetic hair loss, perhaps Propecia would be the better drug for you. I don’t believe Rogaine (minoxidil) was the right choice for treatment and it is known to produce hair shedding for a short while after starting it. The shedding should stop in a month or two.

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What If I Leave Hair Gel in My Hair For Days? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Rassman,
I read one of the questions regarding hair gels, and you stated that good hair gels shouldn’t cause hair loss. I just wanted to make sure if it is alright for hair gel to remain on my hair for more than a day. Could that cause any damage?

Nope, no problem!

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Causes for Miniaturized Hairs in Women – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman:

Does the shedding of miniaturized hairs always indicate AGA, or can the presence of miniaturized hairs be due to another cause of hair loss? If so, what else can cause it?

Thank you for any input

Hair grows in cycles. During the stages of the cycle, individual hairs may go through physical changes often referred to as miniaturization. In normal non-balding people, the miniaturized hairs will represent less than 20% of the hair population. Miniaturization is the process where a normal thickness hair shaft becomes thinner and thinner over time. It can be due to the genetically determined effects of aging and/or androgenic hormones on the terminal (normal) hair follicle or other stress related or medical conditions (physical stress, mental stress, stress from chemicals or drugs, diseases, dietary problems, etc).

Miniaturization does not necessarily indicate AGA. It does not in itself give you a diagnosis, but a general state of hair health. The diagnosis comes from a good history and physical exam with a complete mapping of the scalp hairs for miniaturization.

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Any New Hair Loss Drugs Coming Up? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

have you heard of any new hair loss drugs in the pipe-line;if so what sort of amount of time will they take to become available to the general public

The FDA is the place to go to look for new drugs. These drugs must go through a clinical trial and there is no assurance that a drug that starts the process will qualify to meet the safety and effective standards of the FDA. In summary, I have no way to tell you what may happen. We all have to wait out the clinical trials.

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Allergic Reaction to Hair Dye Causing Thinning in 15 Year Old? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Im am a 15 year old male and have noticed i’ve been losing my hair on a regular basis since i dyed my hair a year ago, i think i might have taken an alergic reaction but its been over a year and im still losing my hair. i do get paranoid and depressed about it as i have longish hair and that is one of my better qualitys. it is receding at the front and strangely the part above the ear doesnt grow in very well. i could really use an opinion either way just to settle my mind. thank you

There is no way to answer your question without examining you. Since there seems to be a one to one relationship between dying your hair and the hair loss, I suspect that the connection may be real and that some damage was done during the dying process. Was it done professionally? Can you go back to those that did it and ask them about it? Generally, good professionals who dye the hair usually know about mixture and concentrations that are safe. If you did it yourself, maybe it was not done safely. Tooooooo many questions that need to be answered here for this to be an ‘online’ interchange for producing value.

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Left Side of Scalp Is Different From My Right Side – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr Rassman,

I am a 26 y/o asian male who started experience significant hairloss in the last couple years. My right temple is receeding and there is slight thinning on the top of the crown. I started taking propecia about 3 months ago. It has been effective in the crown area but not for my frontal hairloss. The odd part is that I do not lose any hair at my left temple (or the left side of my head in general) but I am experiencing significant hairloss in my right temple. I would also like to mention that i have straight hair on the left side of my head, while the right side of my head is more wavy hair. I also notice some dandruff and bulbs in between my hairs on the right side of my head. My hair loss is causing me much emotional distress and i am almost afraid to even touch the right side of my head b/c i am afraid of losing more hair. It depresses me just looking in the mirror b/c my hairline is nothing close to straight. it appears as if i have my hair combed over when in actuality it is standing straight up. I know you mentioned that you recommend being on propecia for 8 months prior to getting a hair transplant. I really would like to get a hair transplant to fix my hairline. If i stay on propecia for 8 months, will I experience any shock loss? I am concerned b/c although there is noticable recession of the right temple, it is not drastic. I appreciate your help, and I do not know what I would do without your blog!

You should be evaluated by an honest and competent doctor. Depending upon the hair loss and what it looks like, a good doctor can usually predict what will happen to you and build a Master Plan around that. Transplants may be in your future, but there is no substitute for a good doctor/patient relationship. Since we seem to be bonding, you can send me photos (good ones) and I will give you an opinion (which will not be posted here without your permission, so do not worry about that).

Timing is everything. Yes, you might be able to get a hair transplant provided that you are on Propecia. There is often a difference between the two sides, one side being more advanced than the other. If you let nature takes its course, the retarded side will catch up, but the key here is to not let it catch up. Stop it with Propecia and eventually (timing is everything) fix both sides of the frontal hairline.

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Indicators of Diffuse Patterned Alopecia (DPA)? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman,
I am a 28 year old male. I have experience hair loss since I was about 22 years old. My hair loss is most evident in my temples and vertex. However, there is significant miniturization on the whole top of my head (excluding the lower back and the sides). Is this a significant indicator of Diffuse Patterned Alopecia? In addition, I have read that men with DPA are to be treated as if they were completly bald (NC VII). Is this the case? How are the results (typically)? What can I expect you would do for me at this time assuming DPA? As a note I am on propecia and 5% minoxidil.

Get metrics (put numbers to it) on the degree and location of the miniaturization by mapping your scalp hair and establishing a pattern for predictive purposes. Propecia is the correct medication for controlling this and you need to compare the degree of miniaturization over time. Diffuse Patterned Alopecia (DPA) can lead to full balding in the pattern of thinning, but it also may not. If the degree of miniaturization is stable, then it is a good scenario — if it is worsening, then where is it getting worse? If it is better, pat yourself on the back for being very smart and thinking carefully through your Master Plan.

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Hairline Lowering Procedure or Hair Transplants? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr Rassman
I am 23 years old and started receding 5 years ago. Being a med student, I had heard of propecia, and started taking it 3 and a half years ago, my doctor also sugested I use minoxidil.

Thankfully, I re-grew a bit of hair, and I have stopped the hair loss. I am quite certain that I am no longer receding, and my hairloss is not substantial. I have naturally had a high hairline, and it bothers me alot, and I was wondering if in my situation, a Hairline Lowering Procedure would be better than a transplant. May I send you some pictures? Thank you for your advice and trouble!

Women with a high forehead sometimes seek hairline lowering procedures. We have had experience doing these procedures, but it is a more extensive and involved surgery, a sort of reversed brow lift surgery. Hair transplants are also used to lower the hairline and the results are just as comparable. There are obvious pros and cons to both procedures and its utility is patient specific. The actual hairline lowering procedure is virtually instantaneous, not having to wait out the normal transplant growth cycle.

For men, hairline lowering is generally not a good idea because of the balding risk that is as high as 40% of the male population. Lowering the hairline and then losing hair again (men with frontal balding) does not do much to permanently solve the problem. You can certainly send your pictures and I would be happy to review them.

Note: The above photo of Tyra Banks is for illustrative purposes only. I do not wish to imply that Ms. Banks had any procedure to her hairline. I also would like to note that she is quite beautiful and that would apply to her wherever her hairline was.

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Counting Falling Hairs – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello, Im a 20 year old male who has short but thick curly hair. Over the past few weeks i’ve started losing alot more hair than usual. I usually wash my hair twice a week and see maybe 20-25 hairs in the bath. Now im seeing between 70 and 200- depending how often i wash it. If I run through my hair with my hands over a basin i will see anything from 30-150 hairs fall out. And i notice that almost every hair has a white tip at the end which im guessing is the root? Its not dandruff. Does this mean that the hair won’t grow back or does the root always come out with the hair? I’ve tried changing my diet but alot of hair still comes out. Im not on any medication , should i be worried about this? I’d be grateful for any advice. Thank you.

Bring in the hairs and have a good doctor analyze it and perform a pull test for the hair that is on your head. Getting your hair mapped out for miniaturization is part of the diagnostic test that should be performed as well. Sometimes, people go through a shedding phase. I recommend that you monitor your hair loss more carefully and put all of them in the bag to be calculated more accurately. Losing more than 150 hairs per day is high if that is actually the number of hairs you are losing. You have to consider that your hair maybe broken into pieces which may falsely increase the number of the hairs you are losing.

Look at the hairs in the picture. Estimating them is like counting marbles in a jar. They often seem more than they are, or is it the other way? I’m confused! So you should be!

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Can Playing with Your Hair Cause Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Does playing with your hair cause hairloss?

I get bored during the day and i have a tendency to twist and pull my hair around my fingers and push it back alot with my hand. does this at all weaken the hair enough to cause any damage or hairloss?

There is a point where traction alopecia develops when there is enough pull on what you are doing. Some people are also pickers and as they pick out their hair they also develop alopecia (alopecia means hair loss). When this happens it is called trichotillomania (obsessive compulsive disorder).