Month: March 2007

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Water Quality Causing My Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

i recently moved to new york, and i noticed a difference in the water quality when showering. the water seems to take longer to rinse of soap and shampoo. after a few days, i notice my hair was much more prone to breaking and falling out. when it falls out, i notice even the root of the hair has fallen. i am 19 years old and have very good genetics for a thick head of hair. i have already switched to a thickening shampoo (l’oreal) and plan on gettinga shower filter.

whats happening and how can i resolve it?

Some parts of the country have hard water, which contains a high mineral content and impacts the way soap suds. Water softeners are commonly sold in those parts of the country where the water is hard. For more on hard water, see Wikipedia.

Don’t jump to conclusions about the water, but you may be correct to change your shampoo and probably use a conditioner.

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Hair Keeps Shedding and Breaking After a Perm – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

(female) Bizarre! I have fairly healthy thick hair. The two major times I have had it professionally relaxed; it starts shedding, then breakage, etc. I come out of the perm and go to pressing. Now I am 40, pretty active and like to swim. My hairdresser put a texturizer on it. It looked great for eight weeks and now the pattern is starting all over. I keep it mosturized, I have it professional done weekly,and do apply alot of heat. One side of my hair grows thick and the left side seems to be hurting. What is the trouble? I sleep with a silk scarf, I exercise, etc. HELP!!

Hair care reflects how your manage your hair as it dries in the environment (sun, wind), with blow drying and washing, perms, etc. As hair become dry, it can become fragile. It sounds like something that you are doing is not going well. Sit down with your stylist and see what changes need to be made to address the problem. Hair breakage is a symptom of a hair management problem. Thinning on one side vs the other could be either a hair management problem or a medical problem in which you could be damaging the root of the hair more on one side than the other.

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Depo-Medrol Injections and Hair Loss – Balding Blog

Hi I was trying to find some info on your site regarding Depomedrol injections and hairloss. I am already losing my hair (I take Propecia). Due to the severity of my allergies, I’ve considered the possibilty of a Depomedrol injection. As it is a powerful steriod, I’m worried about drug interaction and as said before accelerated hair loss. A friend of mine receives a Depomedrol – 80 injection once a year during allergy season and he is rapidly losing hair when no other family memebers suffer from hair loss. Could this loss be related to the injection and are ther eany other radical side effects of a yearly Depomedrol-80 injection – liver damage, ect. ?? Thank very much for your time. I anxiously await your reply.

A single dose of Depo-Medrol should have no impact on hair loss. Frequent use of this steroid can contribute to hair loss.




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70 Year Old Woman Just Started Thinning – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I just found your web site an hour ago. I have a very specific question:

My hair has been thinning at the hairline (above the forehead and can see through to the scalp) Thinning last 2-3 years. The sides above my ears have thinned out also. I am 70 years old, still wear long hair (my previously feminine crowning “glory.”) I take estrogen-all appropriately prescribed by my gyne. Good homeostasis with estrogen!

Why is this happening? My late daddy was bald at age 30. Any genetic connection to me. Anything safe I can use to stop any progression. I notice people look up at my forehead hairline so I know they see the same thinning scalp which concerns me.

Yes, Dr. Rassman, it is just as important at age 70 to be beautiful as age 20. :-)
Won’t you respond to me?

I totally agree with you that “it is just as important at age 70 to be beautiful as age 20”.

Several question and answers are posted about female pattern baldness in the Female Hair Loss category of this site.

You need to be seen by a hair specialist for confirmation of the diagnosis and pattern of your baldness. Women with baldness need to be tested for some medical conditions that may cause hair loss; among those, thyroid disease, iron deficiency, hormonal and autoimmune diseases. Some of these conditions can be easily treated and the process of baldness may be reversed.

You need to know that women do not necessary follow the phenotype of baldness of their male ancestors. Unlike male pattern baldness, female hair loss is generally more diffuse with no preserved area of hair that could be used for transplant. That is why for a typical female pattern baldness, hair transplantation is rarely indicated. Minoxidil is the only FDA-approved medication that will treat hair loss in women, but first you must be sure that the hair loss is not medically induced.

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Woman with Bumps and Hair Loss on Top of Scalp – Balding Blog

I’ve read some of the cases and almost feel that I may have “traction alopecia”. I’m a black female with balding hair for over 20 years, it’s been a very very slow process as you can see. But the top of my head is extremely thin and I have a quarter sized dead spot which has no hair at all. I get tiny bumps, razor bumps, bleeding if massaged on occasions. My hair is very short. It will grow on the sides, but the top front to the crown is stuggling for survival. Any advise? Thank you!

You need to be examined by an expert. Since you indicated you were in New Jersey, Dr. Robert Bernstein in Fort Lee, NJ could help you.


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Woman with Androgenic Alopecia Being Treated with Avodart – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 42 year old female with diffuse hair loss diagnosed as androgenic alopecia from a scalp biopsy. I am currently being treated with Yazmin, continuous active pill, spironolactone 200mg and Avodart since May 2006. I have had significant progress but some reaction (dry and itchy) to the spiro. I am considering trying a different protocol because I don’t like being on 3 meds especially when I am not gettin as much improvement as I would like, and some concerns about being on 3 medications. I looked in to a hair loss clinic that uses the following combination – 1. An herbal DHT blocker that includes many supplements I have read about for hair loss, 2. A topical treatment that include minoxidil in a carrier solution to neutralize the negative effects of etoh on the scalp, 3. Regular in clinic laser therapy that has 70 lasers (as opposed to 1 used in the comb) 4 A co-enzyme to stimulate hair growth. Do you think this regime is a viable alternative to the three medications? I know any of these treatments takes months to show effect so I am trying to make as informed a decision as possible since the prospect of counting 250 hairs in the shower again is very scary to me.

You are on several treatments and are considering more. Of those treatments, some are not proven effective for women with male pattern baldness and some have exclusive and limited indications. The DHT blocker finasteride has been studied in women with androgenetic alopecia. Although effective for men, this medication was not proven to be effective for women. Dutasteride (Avodart), another DHT blocker, has never been studied for this purpose in women.

Using lasers for treatment of hair loss has been controversial and although advertised extensively, is not yet (in my opinion) proven to be effective. If it helps at all, the benefit will be new hair growth in the 10% range. Application of spironolactone for treatment of alopecia is limited to some patients with elevated levels of androgen. Topical DHT blockers have a theoretical value in men, but they have not been studied and should be no better in women than systemic DHT blockers like finasteride.

You seem to be determined to fight the baldness, an admirable trait. The best thing you can do is to find a good dermatologist for a thorough evaluation to be assured that you do not have a medical cause of hair loss which is common in women. Using anecdotal modalities for treatment of your condition may be disappointing at the end, let alone the money and time that you lose.

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Why Do Some React Better to Propecia Than Others? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I read a recent message from a 22 year old who has had a great experience with Propecia in only 3 months. I’m a 22 year old with slight thinning on top/thinning at the crown in the last 15 months and I’ve been on Propecia for 3 months too. BUT I have seen NO noticable difference in my hair density or hair count. Why do some men react better to Propecia than others? (I don’t have massive amounts of testosterone in my body either)

The rate of hair loss differs from individual to individual. The genetic factors vary with the person as well. A DHT blocker only impacts one of the factors that cause genetic hair loss. Unfortunately, not everyone responds to it the same way, but I believe that it has value in every man losing his hair from genetic factors. In some men, it reverses hair loss, in others it just slows it down or stops it, but there is a losing battle here and sooner or later as the genetic factors will dominate the hair loss equation even for those young men with these wonderful results. The goal for the DHT blockers is to alter the natural course of the hair loss (extend the balding process over many more years that it would normally occur). Hopefully, the extra time will allow the next breakthrough treatment for hair loss to become available (whatever it is).

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Shedding Rate of Facial Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Do you have any data on the shedding rate of facial hair in a normal adult male? With citation if available. Thanks in anticipation

I can not find any source explaining the rate of cycling in facial hair. Hair shedding usually happens after the growth phase (anagen) stops and hair goes to the resting phase (telogen). The longer the growth cycle, the shorter is the resting (telogen) phase, and the the longer is the final length of hair. Scalp hair can grow to become very long because its long growth phase (2 – 6 years) and its relative short resting phase (2 – 6 months) when compared to the growth phase. In contrast, eyebrow or body hair with shorter growth, as a disproportional longer resting phase can never grow to become long. Facial hair in men should follow a similar pattern to the scalp hair (short shedding phase and long growth phase). About 10% of the total number of beard hairs present on the face would be my guess for the resting phase, so count your beard hair numbers to make the estimate work for you.

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Propecia Has Given Me Great Results in Just a Few Months – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Just wanted to drop a line. It’s been a weird cycle.

Started Propecia back in October 2006. Was around a NW 2.5, with rapidly fading temples and thinner hair on top. Hair also was easily pulled out. Mid December I saw the hair at its worst….temples thinning rapidly. Mid January was when I first saw tiny hairs on the temple coming in. It’s now March 2007. Temples have come back within this short amount of time, the top is considerably thicker. I would deem this a success.

If the hair continues to come back at this rate, I am optimistic that I will get back to NW 1.5. It also helps that no one goes bald in my family, but have receded hair lines and thin hair up top.

Thanks for everything.

Thank you for sharing this with us.