Month: July 2007

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Hair Loss InformationHow Do I Know I Am Getting the Number of Grafts I Am Paying For? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Thank you for your time in answering these questions. It is hard to find anything on-line about hair transplants that isn’t a biased sales pitch.

How does a person know he is getting all the grafts that he is paying for? I am going in to get 900 grafts. This alone concerns me because I was originally going to get 800 but they are “throwing in” another 100 grafts because I was made to wait two hours to meet the doctor. So how do I know if I am getting 900, or 850, or for that matter 600. I have a hair-line like Bill Murray and I am trying to take some of the edge off of it.

Thank you in advance.

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Honestly, you really don’t have anyway to know! Aside from having a good rapport with your doctor and being comfortable with the reputation of the medical group, the accounting process of dissecting grafts is highly variable. You may start by asking the medical group or your doctor on how the counting of the grafts are done and if you can see the sheets of paper which has the numbers of grafts cut by each technician.

Also, be aware of “graft splitting”. Sometimes a doctor may require making single hair grafts by splitting a two hair graft so that he/she can transplant it to the frontal hairline. But there should be no need to split a 4-hair graft into two 2-hair grafts or a 2-hair graft into 1-hair graft just to push up the total number of grafts. That would be like double charging you and I do believe that this is sadly quite a common practice! It may seem a bit complicated, however, your doctor should be able to produce and explain the exact number of cut grafts and how the numbers were totaled.

Bottom line, you need to have an honest doctor who you trust.

For more information, please see:

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Hair Loss InformationI’m a Breakdancer, and I Spin On My Head – Now There’s a Bald Spot! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear experts,
I’ve been a breakdancer for over 5 years now and I spun on my head for the past 4. About 4 months ago I decided to cut my hair really short for the summer and noticed I have about a 2 inch by 1inch spot on the top of my head where the hair has thinned out, (obviously from the constant rubbing). Even after 4 months the hair hasn’t grown back very much and Im guessing I might have built up some scar tissue there even though I would always wear a hat. I don’t spin on my head anymore and would like to continue to wear my hair short, but it feels a little awkward with this slightly bald spot on my head. Are there any solutions you could recommend so I could wear my hair short without feeling self-conscious about the bald spot on my head?

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BreakdanceI didn’t realize break dancing could be hazardous to your hair.

You describe a condition known as traction alopecia, where repeated rubbing and/or pulling of hair will cause hair loss. This type of hair loss is usually permanent. There is not much you can do other than to grow your hair out longer or perhaps use a beanie/skull cap. You may try minoxidil (Rogaine), but I doubt most of your hair will grow back. You may also consider a hair transplant, but you would need to be evaluated by a qualified physician first.

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Hair Loss InformationIsn’t New Hair Grown from Rogaine Still Effected by DHT? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Doctor,

I do not understand this dependability of my new hair grown on rogaine, isn´t this new hair also affected by DHT? what a I mean is: will my new hair fall even if I take propecia? why is this new hair different from the ones being saved by propecia?

thank you doctor

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BikeRiding a bike or driving a car may get you to where you want to go, yet they work very differently… just as Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil) work differently to treat hair loss. Propecia blocks DHT production and by creating this block, the genetic element for hair loss is ‘subdued’. Minoxidil may work by extending hair cycles and/or moving hair into the anagen cycle. DHT can still do its dirty work.

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Hair Loss InformationDoctor Just Put 65 Year Old Woman on Propecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

What can be done to stop or reverse miniaturization. I am a 65 year old female. Just in the past year, my hairs are so thin, you can barely see them in the sink. I’m on 5% minox with propecia added (my Dr.just started this 3 wks ago).

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Female genetic balding is a process that does impact women of your age. It starts with miniaturization of the hair. Minoxidil does slow it down, but there is no evidence that Propecia (finasteride) will have any effect. I have reviewed a number of studies on Propecia in women and the general conclusions by respected researchers and clinicians is that there is no benefit for women except those with known Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which is not the case here.

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Hair Loss InformationLaser Comb, Provillus and Procerin – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ve used the laser comb for several months, and cessation or regrowth of my hair didn’t happen. Then I wanna try other methods. I’ve searched in Internet, and found that Provillus and Procerin are effective and convenient for use. I do wanna know ur recommendations. Could u please help me do the choice? Thanks a lot.

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I would have expected the results you reported. Look up the other products here on this site (use the search box in the top right) and you may see similar predictions. Why not do it the right way and get your hair mapped out for miniaturization and then get a competent doctor to make the diagnosis? Then with the correct treatment, rather than waste all of this time and continue to lose hair, you might get some control of your problem.

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Hair Loss InformationMy Son Scraped His Hairline on the Bottom of a Pool After Diving In – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My son dove head-first into a swimming pool, and he grazed the bottom of the pool with his head/face. He seems to have lost some hair(about 1/2″ diameter) from his hairline just above his forehead.

I feel VERY fortunate that he didn’t break his neck, but do you think his hair will grow back after the wound heals?

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DiveMaybe! It is difficult to say. A significant wound may have damaged the hair follicles and your son may have a bald spot on the area of trauma, but usually such trauma will produce only temporary hair loss. I would wait 8 months to see if hair will grow. If hair does not grow, he may be a candidate for a small hair transplant procedure.

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Hair Loss InformationMy Donor Scar is Visible When My Hair is Wet – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

I’m a 40 year old male. The scar (which almost encircles my entire donor area -sides and back) left from my transplant (which was done 2 years ago) becomes visible when my hair is wet or if I cut my hair at the length I’d like to wear. I read an earlier question regarding the visibility of scars. Will Mederma help – or is there some type of procedure which can alleviate this problem? There are no keloids, but, rather, no hair is growing on the scar, nor, it seems, around it.

Thanks

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What you tell us about the visible wounds is distinctly different than what we may judge when we examine you. There is a more see-through appearance when fine hair is wet, so I would not be surprised to see a very small scar. Assuming that the scar is not small, we would want to know the measurements of the wound (length and width), the size of the donor strip that was taken, and how many grafts you actually had done. Wounds have a pull which ‘want‘ to stretch and good wound healing gets around that pull as strong supportive tissues are laid down by your body to bond the wound together. Assuming that the techniques used were modern techniques by competent doctors, then we would want to know how tight your wound was at closure and what is the laxity (looseness) was at the time of surgery and now. Tight scalps may have a tendency to widen scars (by increasing the pull on the edges) when placed under tension.

Each of us is put together with different types of collagen. Those of us who have extra elastin put down by your body in the healing process have a tendency to stretch a wound more than those of us with less elastin. Simply excising the scar may or may not address the defect and my experience in some of these wounds is that they may return at the same level that they had reached prior to excising them. On some patients, scar revisions have been able to reduce wound width.

There are two factors you must consider for revising a scar:

  1. Your body’s inherent ability to heal and deal with scars, which no one has control over
  2. The surgical techniques used to minimize the scar

I can offer you the best surgical techniques available, however if your body does not heal what I do, you may not achieve the results you are looking for — so you do have a risk here. I have rarely, if ever, seen a scar worsen on an attempted repair. Repairs can be done with a scar revision and trichophytic closure or a transplant (could be an FUE) into the scar.

It is important to be aware that any cut on the skin will leave a scar in 100% of patients. If you are going to shave your scalp completely or cut your hair too short, there will almost always be a detectable scar even with the best case scenario.

To see an example of a great result from a trichophytic closure, check out the post from a couple of days ago — Result from Trichophytic Incision.

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Hair Loss InformationIs Finasteride Making My Eyes Sensitive to Light? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,
I saw my Dermatologist recently and after a quick scan of my hair, he prescribed me Proscar for early stages of MPB. I’m 28 now. I started taking 1/4ths and after 3 months decided to cut
it into 1/8ths to stay below 1mg per day.

About a month in, I noticed a few things with my vision. I noticed a couple of floaters, I was more sensitive to light especially at night with headlights and street lights and my eyes
were more dry. A trip to the eye doctor revealed no issues, but the effects still persist periodically.

In your experiences, have you had any patients report any changes to their eyes/vision? I’ve read some posts on message boards with the same issues but don’t find them reliable.

Many thanks! and this is a great board!

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LightFirst, I commend you in having the skill to break such a small pill into 8 equal pieces.

Second, I doubt finasteride is the cause of your eye problem. I’ve not had any reports of this from any patient I’ve prescribed finasteride to and I haven’t seen anything in the medical literature about vision issues from finasteride. It is unclear if you were seen by a optometrist or an ophthalmologist (the latter is a physician who specializes in eye problems). Seeing “floaters” may be benign, but it may also herald other medical issues.

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Hair Loss InformationDo Spicy Foods Really Put Hair on Your Chest? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

This might sound like a joke, but something I’ve always been curious about. Does eating spicy foods really put hair on your chest? If not, I’m curious as to where a phrase like that would come from. You can laugh if you’d like. I feel foolish for even asking.

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Spicy foodI did a Google search for the phrase “put hair on your chest” and found that this idiom is use in many situations and many cultures. I really do not know the answer about where the phrase came from, but I did enjoy the threads as I searched for an answer. I hope you know that if anything really put hair on the chest, then it would be marketed as a cure for hair loss in some circles.

Somewhat related, here’s a list of other “hair” related idioms, from TheFreeDictionary.com.