May 2008 – Page 8 – Balding Blog

May 15, 2008

Nisim Biofactors – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Doctor:

Can you please give me your incite into the Nisim Biofactors product line. The company itself verbally offered me an non time limit money back guarantee and the clinical study, albeit from 1993 was exciting to read. I have been told that I am not a good transplant candidate at the moment due to the fact that I still have hair throughout most of my head. I have been taking apple Poly for almost 10 months and although the supplement has helped me reduce belly fat and feel great, my hair remains a problem. Please help if you can.

All the best

I looked over the Nisim site and I’m afraid there is nothing in the listed ingredients that will grow hair. The Nisim product is a gel that contains saw palmetto, which apparently works as a weak DHT blocker (see Using Saw Palmetto to Treat Hair Loss), but no medication is scientifically proven to regrow hair other than topical minoxidil (Rogaine) and oral finasteride (Propecia)… and even these PROVEN products have limitations.

There are thousands of products that promise hair growth and offer money back refund guarantee. Most people try it with the allure of the money back refund guarantee, but in the end many of those people forget or just don’t want to go through the hassle of spending a bunch of time on the phone fighting to get a refund. The companies that sell these products count on this (same goes for mail-in rebates).

Ultimately, you can try anything and if it works for you… great!!! I suppose you have nothing to lose other than money and time. These are just my personal thoughts.

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May 15, 2008

I’ve Read that DHT is Critical for Numerous As Yet Unknown Functions of the Male Body – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’ve been on Propecia for about 5 years and am concerned about research showing up online, especially about the drug crossing the blood-brain barrier.

According to what I’ve read, medical research shows DHT and 5AR Type-II are absolutely critical for male libido (sex drive), maintenance of proper genital tissue structures/size/function,
seminal fluid production, keeping Estrogen/Estradiol levels in check, mental clarity/function (via assisting the conversion of various neurotransmitters/neurosteroids in the brain), and
numerous other important and as-of-yet unknown functions in the male body.

Do you feel this is all hogwash, or is the hair loss community in for a big change of opinion about the wonder drug Propecia?

Propecia (finasteride 1mg) does not block 100% of DHT. The effectiveness ranges between 60-80% of DHT blocked, which means that DHT is still around and working in the various functions you outlined. I am sure that there are many things we do not know about DHT, but we are using Propecia for what we do know. I can not give you an all clear on side effects on anything that I don’t know. If you don’t trust the FDA’s clearance, that is your prerogative. I’ve had many patients on Propecia for over 10 years now without negative issues and I can only tell you what I’ve witnessed or experienced myself.

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May 15, 2008

I’ve Had a Bald Spot Since I Was Born — Will Medication Regrow Hair? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have had a 0.5″ bald spot on the side of my head about 2″ above my right ear since I was born. Would Rogaine be a viable option to growing hair there?

If the bald spot was with you at birth, I doubt that anything short of a hair transplant into the bald spot will help. Rogaine (minoxidil) will not grow hair where none had been before.

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May 15, 2008

I’m Stopping Minoxidil After 2 Months — Is My Hair Dependent Already? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I am a 27 year old male that has had some diffuse thinning for about 2 years now. There are presently no bald spots on my head, but the hair around my crown and around my hairline has been slowly thinning. I have been using minoxidil (combined with finasteride, progesterone and retin A) as a spray 2X/day since March of this year. It’s far too early to say if this has helped, but I have been thinking of starting propecia. However, I was hoping to stop the minoxidil to see if I would receive any benefit from the propecia alone. In your opinion, do you suspect I would lose hair from stopping the minoxidil, or do you think it’s still early enough that I have not become dependent on it yet? Your opinion is much appreciated.

regards

Two months of minoxidil use should not produce dependence, unless you saw an immediate benefit directly from it. You’ll get confused by playing around with these drugs, as you don’t know really what you are doing. If I were you, I would:

Get your hair mapped out for miniaturization to determine the degree of hair loss by area. This is a base like measurement so that you can see the impact of change over time.
Start off with one medication if you do have male patterned baldness. Propecia/finasteride is probably the best one to start with and wait 8 months on this one drug before doing anything else. This way you will have a better idea of which medication is working for you.

Good luck.

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May 14, 2008

Hair Loss InformationScabs After Hair Transplant (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

So I think I am finally ready to have a procedure, on average, how long does it take for the scabbing to go away? I do not want to go back to work before it does.

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The last two patients done this past week had no scabs when they left surgery or on the days following surgery. This is what we expect in over 90% of patients and most can go out into the real world without a hat on. Some people keep the scabs longer. The length of time relates to the:

size of the wound (the smaller the wound the shorter the scab period)
washing skills
patient variables

Two of these are in control of the doctor and the patient, while the third is not controlled be addressing #1 and #2 alone.

Update: Here are 2 photos of a patient — the photo on the left was taken under an hour after the surgery of 1500 grafts was complete; the photo on the right was taken 11 days after surgery. This is the typical post-operative appearance of our patient surgeries. Click to enlarge.

May 14, 2008

Young vs Old — Who Gets More Finasteride Side Effects? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr. Rassman,
In your extensive experience, have you noticed if younger men have had more side effects from finasteride than older men? Thanks.

I don’t know the answer to this question. I would expect that the young man with a typical initial high testosterone level would have less side effects (of sexual nature) than older men who are more complex with erectile dysfunction (ED) problems that come with age.

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May 14, 2008

I Used Laser Treatment to Remove Back Hair, But I Don’t Want Propecia to Regrow It! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I do laser treatment to get rid of some back hair. Now i take propecia for hair loss. Does propecia make the hair growth on my back worse?

Propecia will not make the hair on your back grow. If anything, there are reports that it can decrease body hair in some men.

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May 14, 2008

Are Thinning Hairs Likely to Become Stronger with Rogaine and/or Propecia? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am 22 and my hair has always been really thin, from the time I was a baby. Lately I have noticed that the left side of my temple looks pretty normal, but the right side appears to be receding. Although the area that seems to be missing hair has thin blond hair covering it. If there is still thin hair there, would Propecia and/or Rogaine possibly help to grow it back?

I style my hair using a strong gel and blow drying it. Could this be an issue?

I found pictures of myself from 18 months ago, and the left side of my head does not seem to have any loss from that time. Unfortunately I cannot find any pictures of the right side. Typically how quickly would I notice hairloss if it was a major problem?

Thank you for your time.

At 22 years old, men can develop genetic hair loss which is often worse on one side until the other side catches up. Propecia (finasteride 1mg) can increase the size of the hair shaft (making it thicker) if it is miniaturized, particularly in someone of your age. Rogaine (minoxidil) seems to work by prolonging the hair cycle, but while it might also increase shaft thickness, I can’t find evidence for that and I just don’t know. Hair gel and styling are not causing your hair loss and there’s no timetable for how fast your hair falls out (it will differ in each person depending on genetics).

Here’s what I’d suggest you look into: get your hair mapped out for miniaturization, get a diagnosis and a metric for your hair thinning, and then your doctor will probably put you on Propecia, which directly addresses the balding problems in genetic hair loss.

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May 13, 2008

Does Minoxidil Lose Effectiveness Over the Years? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Doctor,

I have been on minoxidil 5% for about 6 years. It has been alright this while holding on to the hair i have without much regrowth. Recently, i feel that my scalp starts to get immune to minoxidil and i can see patches of baldness. Do you know if the effectiveness of minoxidil actually decreases over the years? How long can the effectiveness sustain?

So far, this is the only treatment i have received. Could you kindly advise me on what i can/should do?

For you advice and opinion please. thank you

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People who have benefited from minoxidil will continue to sustain some benefit over time, but if your hair loss is progressive, the benefits vary with the status of your hair loss. I don’t know anything about you, so I can not advise you on what you should or should not take.

May 13, 2008

Sperm Quality and Finasteride – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hey Doc

You run a super little website on the gamet of hair topics. If I could pick your brain or seek your opinion.

Merck wont be too forthcoming. Obviously there is some info floating out there that there is no real toxicological risk if man conceives with a woman. However are there now reports out there stating that the “quality of the sperm” is affected by taking finasteride. Meaning number of sperm, motility and I even wonder if you have a higher ratio of having a female birth over a male

What are your honest thoughts on this topic? Mighty thanks

From what I am aware of, finasteride 1mg does not affect sperm quality or have a propensity to increase the chances for conceiving a female child. There is no scientific basis behind this.

As I am not adding much information for you, I will write to Merck for a response to your question and appropriate references and then post the answers that they send me.

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