February 2008 – Page 5

February 22, 2008

Using Minoxidil on Bald Spot from Trichotillomania – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman,

My question is: might minoxidil work for a bald spot caused be trichotillomania? Is this worth a go? If so, have you heard of the product ‘Kirkland Signature’ who are a cheaper alternative
to Regaine?

Many thanks.

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Trichotillomania produces hair loss from traction, which can kill the hair follicles that are under constant attack. Once they die, I would think that the follicles can not be brought back to life, and as such, I would not expect that minoxidil will have a benefit in the areas where balding is produced from trichotillomania. I have heard of the Kirkland brand, which I believe is just a generic minoxidil.

February 22, 2008

Hair Loss InformationPeriodic Shedding from Finasteride? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i have been taking proscar for probably 7 or 8 years. a few years ago i had a pretty bad shed. freaked me out. however the hair did come back. again, i am having another shed and i\’m pretty stressed about it. is it normal to have sheds periodically even while on proscar?

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It is important to realize the the genetic hair loss has its own course, independent of the effects of the drug. What you think is shedding from finasteride, is probably more genetic hair loss. Hair loss goes in waves and cycles of loss (shedding) most likely be due to your genetics, not the finasteride. You should discuss this with your prescribing doctor.

February 22, 2008

I’m Male to Female Transgender and Was Told a Hair Transplant Is Not an Option – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am transgender male to female, and have male pattern thinning. I have been on hrt and antiandrogens for 2 years and Proscar and Minoxodil for 8 months. I consulted a hair transplant surgeon about transplants on the crown and top of my head, and after a video microscope evaluation he said that he cannot do transplants as there is no room for grafts. He stated that I have not really lost any hair and have great density, just that the calibre of the hair had diminished. Do you think given more time on hrt, antiandrogens, proscar, and minoxodil, that the miniaturized follicles may recover to terminal thickness and if not what other options do I have?

If your hair is miniaturizing, then the hormones and complex medications you are taking may be the cause of your problem. Hair transplants, where there are normal densities of hair, may not help solve your problem. I couldn’t tell you if more time will for sure help your hair.

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February 21, 2008

Vitamin B5 and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello,

I have been reading about the supposed benefits of taking large doses of vitamin b5 as an acne treatment. One of the side effects a few people online have mentioned is that they believe is has accelerated/caused hair loss. The only “evidence” that b5 causes baldness are posts on message boards, but some of these posts are by people who swear b5 caused irreversible hair loss. It seems possible that the onset of baldness and the b5 supplementation are unrelated. But assuming this is true and b5 causes hair loss due some kind of imbalance in your system, is it likely that hair loss caused by b5 would reverse once a person stops taking the supplement and their body re-balances itself? Can anything actually cause permanent male-pattern baldness besides a person’s genes? I realize there are no hard facts or actual studies involved here so I hope it’s not too silly of a question.

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Bullet There seems to be a general agreement that vitamin B5 prevents hair loss, but I looked for objective scientific studies and could not find them. Based upon the general sense in the hair industry, I would doubt that it causes or accelerates hair loss though.

Patterned hair loss (as it is defined) is always caused by genetics. Many times, people take medications or have some stress which may precipitate patterned hair loss (like pulling the trigger of a gun — when once fired, can not get the bullet back). Without any objective, scientific evidence of what you are talking about, I can not comment on the validity of the claims or on any of the date in those observations. The Internet has its good and bad points — one of the bad points being that information may be deceiving and yet sound credible.

February 21, 2008

I Had a Microscopic Exam of My Scalp, Followed By Sales Tactics – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi i notice my hair is ” kind of ” thin in the crown area. I went to a hair therapist “hair club” and the guy showed me a micrograph of me scalp and on the crown it shows a grey picture with little dark circle surrounding my hair. then he showed me a pinkish picture of the hair in the back without the dark circle. He is saying the dark circle is causing my hair to thin. He keep claiming it is genetic but no one on either side of my family or whoever has thining hair. All i heard from him the whole time the moment i step in the store before any analysis, is that im thining. And toss me those hair loss solution for 3000 a year. I have a feeling he just trying to make me buy his product see that im only 20. I dont wanna judge him but he dont look like a honest guy from how he talks.

PLz give me some advice thx.

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I am going to assume he did a miniaturization study and if he did, he should know how to read it. You are young and may have male pattern baldness (MPB), but this question should have been answered by the miniaturization study. I would recommend that you see another physician for a second opinion.

If you are having early thinning in the crown due to MPB, then you would likely be an excellent candidate for Propecia. This is the only FDA approved oral medication for treating hair loss. There are thousands of products out there touting hair restoring capabilities, but outside of the ones that contain minoxidil (marketed as Rogaine), none of them really work. Minoxidil is a non-prescription item and many fancy sounding hair loss treatments you see on store shelves or television infomercials will contain this. Save your money and see your doctor about a prescription of Propecia if you are truly experiencing MPB. Good luck.

February 21, 2008

I Want My Head to Always Have a 5 O’Clock Shadow of Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Heres one for you: I wouldnt mind a shaved head if the shadow of existing thick hair wasnt so obvious around the donor areas. It’s like the top is your normal face color, and the donor areas white with potential hair. The shadow where hair grows is just so noticeable. My question is: is there a procedure where you can have implanted just tiny hairs as in a shadow over your balding? So it looks like you only shave your head?

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5 O'Clock Shadow I suppose you can tattoo your bald area, but that’s not the recommended route. I have seen it done in a few patients with reasonable results, but they have done this because of some deforming surgery they had from older hair transplant techniques many years earlier. Alternatively, you can air spray the balding area to develop a subtle shadow. If you’re looking to transplant a “5 o’clock shadow” look to your head (like the facial hair style that became popular in the 1980s), it’s really not going to be possible without having visible scarring to some degree (even if minor from FUE) in the donor area.

In other words, to answer your question — no.

February 21, 2008

I Used Both Finasteride and Minoxidil with Great Results, But I Want to Stop One – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi! About 1 year ago I noticed a bald spot on the crown of my head, typical for Male Pattern Baldness. After reading up on the issue I decided to try the double approach of finisteride tablets (Proscar) and Minoxidil spray. My doctor told me that it was unecessary to use both, but I read a few postings on chat groups about success stories taking this double approach, so I decided on that route. Now, a year later, the results are absolutely fantastic! The untrained eye would probably not notice anything. So now I am considering stopping either the minoxidil or the finisteride tablets. If I did stop either of these, and notice a regression, would resuming the treatment again bring back my now great hair? Which of the two would you recommend stopping as a test? Thanks for your help!

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I don’t know your age or the degree of balding you had. That would make my impression inadequate to help you, based on the scant information you supplied me. If you are young (under 29 years old), then Propecia should be more important than minoxidil. I would get miniaturization studies and map out your scalp accordingly so that if and when you stop minoxidil first, you can follow the results with scientific measurements.

February 21, 2008

Laser to Break Down DHT? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I was contacted today by a person from the hair institute – www.thehairinstitute.com.au who claimed to have a breakthrough treatment for thinning hair. His description was of an “LSD Light Laser” which is applied to the hair scalp over a period of 6 months and breaks down the DHT in the hair follicles. He stated that DHT is built up over years and once it is gone it wont come back to the same extent. (he told me after 30 years old you don’t produce much DHT). He claims the results to be amazing, as shown here: thehairinstitute.com.au

Is this yet another scam?

Please help! I’m a musician!!

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Lots of claims, not much basis. If this worked, there would’ve at least been discussions about this among the prominent people in this field. Unfortunately, I’ve not been part of – nor have I seen any discussions about this so-called DHT effect from lasers among my fellow physicians.

A cure for hair loss is essentially what this is claiming to be — and claims like those that are made on that site are worth potentially billions of dollars, if it worked.

February 21, 2008

Could Conditioner Applied 10 Days After My Hair Transplant Lead to Problems? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

POST-OP CONDITIONER WASHING TECHNIQUE CAUSING GRAFT FAILURE?

Dr. Rassman,

After reading about using a gentle conditioner to aid in the removal of post-op scabbing in the recipient area after surgery on a popular hairloss forum, I applied a conditioner to my recipient area for 20 minutes on Day 10 post-surgery. (It was Haircylce Conditioner that I purchased over the Internet prior to my surgery!)

But, I foolishly applied the conditioner to my dry scalp, which made removing the conditioner nearly impossible!

Finally, after 20 minutes of constant rinsing with a cup of water, I was able to remove the conditioner by gently dabbing the area with my fingertips in between rinses. There was no bleeding or noticeable irritation afterwards. Is it possible that this constant rinsing could have damaged the grafts? Please advise because I am worried that my physician may use this information against me, if I have a poor result.

Thanks in advance

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If you did not pull out the grafts in the process, I would doubt that any problems would have been produced by the conditioner you used after 10 days have passed.

February 21, 2008

How Much Dutasteride Could Make Me Sterile? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I take dutasteride (generic avodart), I think its 0.5mg or 1.0 mg…either way its one pill. Will this potentially cause sterility or would I need a much higher dose?

I doubt that doses of 0.5mg or 1mg would have any certainty with regard to sterility. The information on this complication is presently not very plentiful.

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