September 2007 – Page 6

September 19, 2007

Does Better Blood Flow on Side of the Scalp that I Sleep On Lead to Thicker Hair on that Side? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

After 4700 FUs one side of head is clearly thicker then the other.

Hi Doctors,

I’m curious to see if you’ve heard of this before. I had two hair transplant sessions totalling 4700 FUs in the past 2 and 1/2 years. I’ve been noticing that the hair on the right side of my head are much thicker than the ones on my left. Someone said that it is because much more blood flows to my right side, since that’s the side I sleep on. I thought this was foolish, but I’ll try anything to get the left side as thick as the right. So I started to sleep on my left side and I’m hoping this will help. Do you think it is because more hairs ont the left side are going into the rest cycle? Any suggestions?

Thank you.

I do not believe that there is any difference with respect to sleeping on one side versus the other. What I do know is that in a hair transplant, the right side often grows more hair than the left. This is related to the teams of people placing the grafts — right handed people place more efficiently on the right side of the head and the left side is often a slower process. Most technicians are right handed and prefer to work on the right side. This is an important element in the quality control of the doctor’s team.

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September 19, 2007

Chemical Burn from Antifreeze Caused Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have a patch baldness on the front left side (left side of hair line)on my head. I have gotten burned there a few years ago by antifreeze, fresh from the car radiator. The result was after a good half hour, the skin began to peel off at the spot the antifreeze touched. I was wondering, will my hair ever grow back again or do i have to take another route to solve this issue? I have another issue, I am losing hair on top of my head, I do not know why it is happening but I want to solve this issue too. It is said that it runs in the family. Do you have any suggestions in solving both problems? If so please inform me along with prices. Thank you.

It sounds like you have a couple of things going on. The chemical burn might be secondary to genetic male pattern baldness. To get the diagnosis of genetic balding, you should get your hair mapped out for miniaturization and consider taking Propecia (finasteride 1mg) if indicated by your doctor. I really can’t tell you if the hair will grow back after the chemical burn, as I haven’t seen the area you’re talking about. You may be a good candidate for hair transplantation, but again, there are some factors in play that I don’t have the answers to yet without knowing more about you.

If you are in California (or willing to travel), I have offices in Los Angeles and San Jose and can be reached at 800-NEW-HAIR if you’d like to setup a free consultation. If you are not in California, you can send me photographs here (please reference this post when sending).

September 18, 2007

Weightlifting = Accelerated Balding? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Sir,

I have been doing weight lifting exercises for the last one year, I heard that weight lifting exercises increase the testosterone levels by 40%; it will in turn produce 40% more DHT, there by baldness accelerate. I like to be a body builder, please suggest me.

I also heard that finasteride helps to decelerate bald ness by 30% only,as it inhibit 5AR-2 by 70%, but, how can I stop, the baldness aggression, more than 90%,

I would like to ask you two options, which one is better to supress baldness as much as possible

Taking finasteride two tabs (morning & night)

Taking Dutasteride

Please suggest me. Waiting for reply…

Thanks

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The data on dutasteride for treating hair loss is not available although many doctors feel it is more effective than finasteride. The dose response relationship between finasteride and hair growth shows that the maximum impact occurs at the 1mg level. There is no evidence to show that the higher dose is better, but other than sexual side effects, there is no problem doubling the dose.

I did have a patient come into my office today who was on Propecia for a year with no sexual side effects and then switched to Dutasteride (Avodart) about a year ago with significant libido and Erectile dysfunction reported. This is not an unusual report, but he personally did not care about his sex drive, while most of my patients do express sex as one of their priorities and would not accept the decreased libido.

With regard to weightlifting, I am unaware of any direct connection to normal increases in testosterone from physical activity and hair loss. Many of the hair loss related complaints tend to come from men who take supplements that have some steroid type substance in it.

September 18, 2007

Born with a Cleft Palate – My Moustache Has a Gap – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I was born with a bi-lateral cleft pallet and althought I am able to grow a decnt looking mustache and goatee, I am unable to grow hair on the area directly under my nose, which causes a gap and my mustache cannot connect straight across. My whole reason for growing out my facial hair is to hide my scar from the cleft pallet and also to hide the lack of “fullness,” of my upper lip when I am seen from a profile standpoint. Is there anything that I can do to facilitate the growth of the hair in that area so that my mustache will connect? If you have any suggestions and/or ideas as to how to correct this please let me know. Thanks

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This is a great application for a hair transplant into the moustache scar. It may take two sessions to get the fullness you want. We have transplanted quite a few people born with a cleft lip and palate.

September 18, 2007

Resuming Rogaine After Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr Rassman,

Thank you for a world class question forum for balding, it is certainly one of the benchmark site for balding issues!

My question is, after a hair transplant on the frontal area/temples only, can one resume Rogaine on the vertex immediately? Since it is applied locally at the vertex and should not affect the frontal area. Also, when is a good time to resume Rogaine on the temple/frontal area after transplant in that area?

Once again, a million thanks for your insight!

Yes, you can resume using Rogaine on the crown immediately. I generally ask my patients to hold off on putting it directly on the recipient area for 5-7 days, though.

September 18, 2007

Male-to-Female Transsexuals and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am very happy to have found your website which clearly has much to offer for people trying to tackle hair loss. I am writing to you because my question about male pattern baldness is rather specific and perhaps more unusual in your pile of e-mails. Also, I want to obtain further expert advice.

I am a 25-year-old transgender identified person. I noticed some signs of hair loss when I was seventeen, as such, I believe that I started to go bald earlier than many men. I have been on Propecia for nearly ten years now and I have been able to keep my hair, probably because of the drug. A dermatologist examined my scalp and confirmed that I am a male pattern baldness patient (receding hairline is the only presentation at this time). He suggested I continue to take finasteride to prevent further loss of hair.

I have been thinking about a hair transplant to fix my hairline. My hair loss is still not visible without close examination, so I think I will wait and see what the situation is like a couple of years from now.

Because of my transgender identification I am looking into the possibility of receiving hormone treatments (feminising hormones and anti-androgens) and perhaps sex reassignment surgery. Do you think this treatment will have an impact on scalp hair growth? I am told many male-to-female transitioners stop losing hair along with hormone reassignment therapy. Also, please comment on your experience with creating female hairlines.

I realise that you receive a lot of questions from people, and I believe your blog is a very helpful forum for discussing hair loss. I greatly admire you for all you do to help people combating hair loss. I never thought I would respect hair loss professionals as much as I do now.

Male-to-female transsexuals who have hormone reassignment may slow down the hair loss. The chemical castration that is obtained with antiandrogens should augment your present Propecia (finasteride 1mg) intake and it may be effective enough to eventually stop Propecia altogether.

I have done hair transplants for many male-to-female transsexuals with good results and it is a reasonable solution to the receding male hairline. Creating a female hairline can be easily done with a good hair transplant when and if you find it appropriate and timely for your life’s agenda. The creation of a female hairline is common in my practice as I repair many plastic surgery disasters that have wiped out the hairlines in women (complications of traditional brow lifts).

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September 18, 2007

Losing Hair from Laser Brush – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Is it possible that the laser brush can cause hair to fall out? I have use one for three months and it seem my hair is falling out faster than before use?

The laser brush/comb probably has nothing to do with your hair loss and is probably either coincidence or just the normal progression of your hair loss. However, I suppose it could be possibly linked to a loss of hair. I have read a great deal about laser applications to hair. The Europeans have been using it for years, but no there’s been no satisfactory science produced. Nobody really knows if it works (it is all conjecture and subjective). We do not know the mechanism for its action (good or bad) so there is nothing more I can tell you.

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September 18, 2007

I Lost 80% of My Hair in 6 Months! – Balding Blog

Hello Doctor,

I am 26 years old guy from India. I am facing a very severe hair loss problem. I have lost almost all my hair (about 80%) in just a gap of six months. Is this normal or there is something else behind this?

I have a very severe dandruff problem as well, the skin from the scalp keeps on coming like anything and no matter how freuently i shampoo, it comes back. I had jaundice an year ago.

It is not common to lose 80% of your hair in only 6 months. I do not have the luxury of examining you, but it sounds like you may have underlying medical problems that are contributing to your hair loss. Your history suggests a severe liver problem (jaundice is not normal — it usually indicates problems with your liver) that could have kicked in the genetic elements of MPB on an accelerated basis). I would certainly see a physician in person for a full exam.

September 18, 2007

Can Scratches on My Shaved Head Cause Permanent Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

A couple hours after shaving my head I was walking in the woods and tripped. My upper neck/lower head landed on a log, which scratched my head. There were raised red scratch marks and I don’t think they were bleeding, if they were it wasn’t a lot because when I put my hand back there, no blood was visible on my hand. My question is can scratches like this can cause permanent hair loss?

If there was no infection, the scalp should heal completely and the hair should grow out well. Deeper scratches can produce scars.

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September 17, 2007

Hair Loss InformationHair Cloning in Italy? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

is this real?

AssociatedContent.com – Cloning Hair: Good News for the Balding

This link says hair cloning starts..

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There have been good scientific studies with transecting the bulbs of individual hairs to obtain more than one hair from each bulb. None of these scientific studies were successful. There does not seem to be any ‘magic sauce’ in this report, so I am skeptical of it, but I would remain open minded if it is real. What was reported here as cloning, is not real cloning so even the terminology is off.