I have used laser to remove body hair. Can laser have an effect on DHT levels in the body?
I do not believe that a laser that was used to remove your body hair will have an effect on your DHT levels.
Improper Shaving Techniques Causing Damage to Follicles? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
I am a 31 year old Caucasian male. My facial hair is most prominent around the mustache and chin areas of my face.
I am concerned about what I perceive to be irreversible “damage” to some of the hair follicles on my face from shaving. I now seem to have small “bald” patches from improper shaving techniques (shaving against the grain, shaving without allowing enough hot water to soften the beard).
These bald patches in my beard show up pretty well as my facial hair is dark and I seem to have 5 o’clock shadow even after shaving.
Will these hair follicles ever repair? Can I use Rogaine to revive them? Are there any other suggestions you can offer me (besides being more careful with my daily shaving routine)? Help!
Unless your shaving technique involves cutting into the skin by 5mm and shaving off the the top skin layer, you cannot damage your hair follicle.
The bald spots on your face were likely there before and you are just noticing them or you have a disease like alopecia areata that is causing these bald spots to appear.
Could Propecia Completely Reverse My Crown Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
I’m a 52 year old male in good health. I had a series of small transplant sessions – first 3rd of the head with last one being 8 years ago. Was completely satisfied until the last year when hair throughout scalp has become thinner and crown more “shiney”. Could propecia reverse some of this change over the last 18 months or so?
Finasteride (Propecia) is well known to slow down or even reverse thinning of hair in the crown area. While I have seen patients with (as you call) ‘reversal’ of balding in the crown area, it is patient specific. Every patient is different and results will vary.
In a previous post, we have shown such a patient who maintained the full reversal of his hair loss for 10 years on Propecia. Of interest, this patient still has 40% miniaturization in the crown hair even though it is not visible with the naked eye.
Hair Loss InformationDermaRoller – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog
Can you please comment as to your opinion of the dermaroller? Thank you
Honestly… it looks painful. Its a roller with little spikes on it to open the scalp so that it can absorb minoxidil better. The site claims that it is pain-free though. I cannot really comment on how much of a benefit (if any) it has or if it really works, but the theory and concept seem valid.
Actually, I have one next to me as I am writing this blog. I ordered one to see it for myself. While the idea sounds good, like many good ideas, they often fail during the implementation. I’ve seen these for sale at a variety of online stores, from Amazon to Saks Fifth Avenue, so I’m sure there are plenty of users out there. If anyone has had experience using the Derma Roller, please write in to share your findings.
Propecia Causing Tinnitus? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog
Hi Dr,
I’m a bit concerned about a seemingly undocumented side effect of propecia, and I am hoping you can help shed some light given your extensive experience with this med.Have any of your patients experienced tinnitus as a side effect? I’ve been on propecia for about 5 weeks now, and I believe that I have developed tinnitus as a side effect.
As a note, I spent some time on prozac several years ago. For me, tinnitus was a definite side effect of that medication. After years off the medication, the ringing subsided. As far as propecia goes, is this sort of side effect indicative of a poor tolerance scenario that could degenerate to someting worse?
In searching for more information this, I found this article, upon which I will withold judgement and analysis due to lack of understanding: http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/neur-sci/2004-August/058929.html
Thanks!
Tinnitus or ringing in the ears is not a common side effect of Propecia (finasteride). In fact, I have never heard of such a complaint. Your tinnitus may be a symptom of something completely unrelated to a medication you are taking. Rather, it may be a warning sign of other medical issues. You should explore these possibilities with the doctor who prescribed you the medication.
With respect to your article, I do not think it has any significant relevance to your question at hand. Furthermore, it is a study done on mice and the chemical pathways and the questions posed, although interesting, may be an intellectual argument. At best, more research should be done.
Will Propecia Make My Gynecomastia Worse? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
Dr.Rassman, I have had mild gynecomastia since child hood. Am I going to be more vulnerable to worsening it if I go on Propecia?
You can try it and if it makes your problem worse, you can stop it. Not much risk for the short term.
Laser Comb and Miniaturization? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
In the past you were evaluating the laser comb. What was your impression? Do you think the laser comb would have any effect on hair miniturization?
There is no evidence that I’ve seen one way or the other that the Laser Comb will help with miniaturization. I did review the studies on the Laser Comb on the product’s official website and developed some opinions worth reading. See Analyzing the Results of the HairMax Laser Comb for the analysis of the Laser Comb’s photo before and after results.
Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):
I Was Unaware of the Maturing Hairline Process – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
Hello Doctor,
I’m 24 (male) and noticed my hair thinning around my temples and a bit in the very front less than a year ago. At first, I wasn’t accustomed to the new hairline and worried that I was beginning MPB. I was unaware of the “maturing hairline” between ages 19 and 29 and feel better knowing this. However, I recently noticed what seems to be minaturization in the front of my scalp. My hairline is still defined, but the hair in the front seems finer and a bit more separated (to me). I notice about 15-20 hairs coming out after washing and more coming out throughout the day. Could this be just a cycle, part of the maturing process, or the beginning of Type IIA. Also, I just began Rogaine Foam as a preventative measure and heard shampoo containing Panthenol without sodium laureth sulfate is good. Would Propecia be good to take or am I overreacting? Your thoughts?
Generally, I like to get a map of your scalp hair to examine for miniaturization and only prescribe Propecia (finasteride 1mg) if there is miniaturization present (meaning, if genetic balding is present). If there is no genetic balding, then there is no point to the use of Propecia. I am not certain if Propecia stops the maturing hairline from happening, but it probably slows that process as well.
Do Transplant Yields Vary Per Physician? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
Dr. Rassman:
I’m a 32 y/o physician and have had a high temporal hairline for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, over the course of the last few years it has gotten higher. I’m thinking about doing something about it but have concerns about transplantation. My concenrs include the durability of transplantation and the potential need for more and more procedures as time goes on. I also wonder about the variability in outcomes from physician to physician, even in your group. Do you keep track of graft yield/take statistics within your group, do you know who the best is as far as the above is concerned, and do you share this information? After deciding on proceeding with transplantation, can one ask that you specifically be the one to do it and, if so, do you charge more? Thanks.
Wow, that would require a long dissertation to answer it all. Yes, there are differences between medical groups in the survival of grafts and the yield of hair as it relates to different procedures. As you may know, there are many techniques being used today. The golden standard is Follicular Unit Transplantation, a process which we pioneered. See Follicular Transplantation: Patient Evaluation and Surgical Planning? and The Aesthetics of Follicular Transplantation for more.
Hair transplants, once grown out, are quite durable and they should last your lifetime. The issue you should be concerned about is the progressive nature of hair loss in the balding man. Propecia (finasteride 1mg) is a good way to address this problem and in most men with a good Master Plan, they (in conjunction with a good doctor) should be able to define what will happen to your hair situation over time. Good miniaturization studies are critical to the development of a Master Plan for hair loss and treatment.
The average clinical doctor does not keep records on graft survival, but the different doctors have learned over time that they must have graft survival if they are to survive in the competitive marketplace. So what they have done is modify what they can do effectively. Some doctors do not do Follicular Unit Transplants (FUT) and instead have developed modifications of this technique so that their survival will be high. But, in my opinion, the FUT standard is the Golden Standard and has been so since the day we first published the article on it 9 years ago. The reason that it is the golden standard is simply, it produces the best and most natural results possible.
Pricing does vary between medical groups and even within my medical group by doctor (my price being higher than the other doctor because of availability issues). I suspect that the quality of work in any one medical group should be consistent with doctors in that medical group. Dr. Pak, for example, does as fine work as I do as he uses the same staff and the exact same techniques. As you should realize, the crux of the quality of the work you get is tied to the staff as much as the medical group, something we proudly show off at our monthly open house events, where our patients come to meet with prospective patients.
For further reading, here are some past blog posts that I’d recommend:
- Doctor Availability
- The Truth About Cheap Hair Transplants
- How Do I Know I’m Getting the Amount of Grafts I Paid For?
Diagnosed with Alopecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
Does propecia effect blood test in anyway.Also I have had a scalp biopsy and was told I have anadrogenic alopecia.So now I have been on propecia for 11 months and now I’m losing hair all over my head like D.U.P.A or something.Also for the last month or so I have been losing my eyebrow hair and eyelashes. I have been to the doctor so many times and they cant find out whats wrong with me.Please help I’m so scared of waking up one day with no hair on my entire face.
It has been long thought that finasteride 5mgs can reduce an elevated PSA (prostate specific antigen test for cancer of the prostate). For this reason, we always ask men over 50 (over 50 because they are at risk of prostate cancer) to get a PSA test prior to starting Propecia. As cancer of the prostate is almost unheard of in a man younger than 50, we do not require a PSA test before starting Propecia. With that said, recent publications indicate that Propecia (1mg dose of finasteride) does not impact the PSA test, even if it is elevated. To my knowledge, only the PSA blood test has been associated with Propecia.
It is impossible to diagnose your condition over the internet. BaldingBlog is not a place to make a medical diagnosis (which you may need). Aside from a scalp biopsy, you may benefit from a scalp hair miniaturization study so that a good doctor can put a listing of possible diagnoses before you. You should get a focused answer. If you are not satisfied with the information your doctor has provided you, see another doctor.