Month: December 2006

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Hair Loss InformationLowering Teen Hairline? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female) I am 15, gonna be 16 in march 2007, and i have an extremely high forehead. i would like to get that lowered. about how much can u lower the forehead? i would like 4 inches or so

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To lower the hairline 4 inches can be done, but it would take a balloon expander to do this. That would make your head look like a basketball in front while the expanding balloon is stretching the forehead and scalp. Four inches is a great deal and probably unrealistic. The average female hairlines are lowered by about 1 inch. You need to be evaluated with your parents present, of course. This type of surgery (less aggressive) is done on teenagers.

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Hair Loss InformationThin Pubic Hair from Thyroid Disease – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr:

I was diagnosed 10 years ago with thyroid disease. At that time, my hair came out terribly. I have remained on a maintenance dosage of Armour because my THS levels are always within lower limits of the normal range of functioning. Most of my hair, over the years has grown back, but it does not have the same thickness. Also, the top is thinner than the rest.

Additionally, my pubic hair thinned out years ago. However, it never grew back, and it began to gray. Is there something that can be done to thicken my pubic hair, stop the graying, and thicken the hair in the top of my head?

Thanks

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The use of hair dyes is the only treatment for graying. What you are reporting with the hair in other parts of your body is a consequence of thyroid disease over the long term in some patients.

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Hair Loss InformationI Based My Hair Transplant Doctor Decision on Promotional Materials – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i understand that you are under no obligation to answer my question, but i am a 27 year old male and just yesterday i had my first hair transplant of 1200 grafts. i went with [name removed], and made the huge mistake of basing my decision soley on their promotional material. now, everywhere i look says that theyre crooks and im going to wind up looking like a monster. could you provide any answers?

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Today’s transplant by that particular medical group is much better than their internet reputation indicates. Even the groups which do large scale promotion are now performing much better work. Wait it out and have hope and faith. Next time, follow through with the type of investigation I outline in The Truth About Cheap Hair Transplants. You generally get what you will see when you meet the doctor’s patients and you should see enough of their patients (face to face) to get the type of quality work you need.

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Hair Loss InformationSeborrheic Dermatitis and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr.I wanted to follow up with you. I wanted to let you know what I’ve found out after three trips to my primary care doctor. I gave blood twice and had it checked for thyroid, full panel scan, cancer and HIV to name a few. Plus chest x-rays.I have all normal levels and no HIV. I’ve been diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis on my face and scalp. When I started using the brow conditioner is about the time my eyebrow hair started falling out. The areas it was applied, started flaking bad. I am still having hair loss in my eyebrow and some on my temple areas with itching. I hear hair loss is normal with seborrheic dermatitis? I notice the eyebrow hairs falling often have a piece of dry skin attached to the base. How long can I expect to have hair loss now that I’m being treated with desonide cream? Will the hair grow back once the seborrheic dermatitis clears? If not when can I consider scalp and eyebrow transplants. Will they be successful? Thanks.

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The role of seborrheic dermatitis in hair loss is debated. Patients with seborrheic dermatitis may lose hair indirectly due to the inflammation of the skin that can accelerate telogen effluvium, which is reversible in most cases. The other mechanism of hair loss in these patients is through traction alopecia by scratching and rubbing hair. Traction alopecia is reversible in many cases. A small group of patients with baldness due to chronic traction alopecia may never grow hair back and a hair transplant may become necessary and could be done successfully after the skin inflammation is over. Before embarking on a transplant for the eyebrows, be sure that you have controlled the seborrheic dermatitis. This should be easy for a good dermatologist.

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Hair Loss InformationDepression and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m a 21 year old female and I went through a serious about 6months ago deppression. I’m now loosing a lot of hair. I’m not taking any medication so, why is my hair falling, and what can I do to restore it? Thank you!

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You need to get a good doctor who can map out your hair and scalp for miniaturization. There are many medical conditions that when combined with stress will produce hair loss. There are some blood tests that may have value as you need a diagnosis and then treatment. Please see my list of possible female hair loss causes here.

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Hair Loss InformationPropecia’s Effectiveness on Different Ethnicities – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, I am a 23 y.o. male and I have been experiencing steady hairloss since Jan 2005. Baldness runs in my dad’s side of the family. I have been on Rogaine for the past year and it hasn’t stopped the loss but only slighlty slowed it down. To be fair I have only been using Rogaine once a day for quite a while now. My hair loss seems to be even across the top of the head and I am not noticing too much of receding of the hairline just hair loss on top of the head. The loss has increased in the last three months ever since i started my new job and started getting a little more stressed. While the stress is manageable, hair loss is making me uneasy. I recently got a prescription for Propecia. My questions

  1. Will Propecia be effective given I have been using Rogaine for a while
  2. Does Propecia result in additional stress
  3. I am Indian – is Propecia known to be more/less effective on different ethinicities?

Thank you.

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Here are the answers to your questions:

  1. Yes, Propecia is working through a different mechanism and will have additive effect if being used with Rogaine, and will be still effective if used after stopping Rogaine.
  2. I am not sure if I understand your question, but if you are asking about side effects of medications, it has been explained in several posts in this blog and emotional distress or anxiety is not one of them.
  3. Propecia was not exclusively studied on Indians, but there have been some variations in response to it in different ethnicities. The effectiveness of the medication on vertex baldness has been compared in different ethnic groups as below:
Hair number change in one inch (5.1 cm2) diameter (*)
  Propecia Placebo
Caucasians (1185 patients) +91 -19
Blacks (89 patients) +49 -27
Asians (17 patients) +53 -38
Hispanic (45 patients) +67 +5
Other ethnic groups (20 patients) +67 -15
 
(*) Source Merck

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Hair Loss InformationContraindications of Strip Surgery? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman,

What are some possible contraindications in a strip surgery?

Also, is there any difference in the end cosmetic quality between FUE and strip? For example, would there be any difference in transplanted densities between the two?

Finally, if I were to get an FUE procedure done, would I most likely be able to shave my head later without noticeable “dot scarring”. I read on another forum that FUE creates a “confluence of scarring” where the tiny dot scars seem to merge into one another to create a big scar. Can you possibly clarify this?

Thanks

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See the recent post, Is an FUE Procedure a Less Successful Hair Transplant?, which shows that if the quality of the extracted grafts are good, the end result will be the same for FUE or traditional strip surgery. Many FUE grafts are less than ideal, so there might be a difference if the extracted grafts are not perfect. ‘Dot’ scars may or may not be visible with a shaved scalp (razor shave). If your healing is good and the punch size is very small (0.9mm or less), the ‘dots’ may not be visible unless you look very closely. A short hair clipping (1/4 inch length) will not generally show ‘dots’.

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Hair Loss InformationDoctor for African Hair Type – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m a Afro American 33 y/o woman who in the last year have been experiencing hair thinning ,sever hair breakage and dryness. Can you tell me where I should start? I am not aware of any doc that treat our kind of hair. I just want my hair back…and healthy.

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Start off with a good dermatologist who may have insights into the hair problem and determine if you have hair loss developing. Speak with your stylist and see if the shampoos and conditioners you are using participate in the problem. If you are in Califormia, I would be happy to see you after your speak with the stylist.

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Hair Loss InformationDramatic Change in Hair Texture – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. Rassman, and thanks for your continuing work.

My “shedding” and permanent hair loss started in my early teens. Within about 5 years, my hair went from shiny, heavy wavy hair to coarse, brittle, curly hair (to this day). Everyone and my own mother too thought it was a perm.

What would account for this? I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, however, that was 20 years later after a baby and after enormous stress. My hair got even worse.

Could there be a connection between my teen hair loss and the hyperthyroidism in my thirties?

Thanks, and God Bless.

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Female changes in hair texture that follows medical problems like hyperthyroidism will combine with your genetics to create a new hair (something different than what you had as a child). There may be a connection.