Month: June 2008

Posted on

Inflammation and Hair Loss At Vertex Started In My Late 40s – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am 51 years old, i do not have anyone on my parents side that have male pattern baldness. I have always had a lot of hair, about 2 or 3 years ago i started to have this redness, inflame irritation at my vertex on top of my scalp. it has thinned out so much that you can see my scalp and my hair has thinned all over. I have been to several derm doctors but all of them are bald their self and they don’t take the time to help me. one doctor did a patch test on my back but everything was normal. i have oily and hair that has to be washed everyday because it is so fine. I have used head and shoulder shampoo which seems to work, but when i use it i feel a kind of a tingling burning feeling at the vertex, where the inflame, redness is at, but it will go away and feels better. does head and shoulder shampoo suppose to do this? It will return unless i keep using it. Should i continue to use this shampoo? I dont know what to use, Please help.

I have given up on derm doctors because it takes so long for a appointment, and they seem that they don’t care. I even dread to wash my hair everyday, but i have to because it is so fine an sweaty and oily. I have tried rogaine, but it irritated my vertex area so bad that i can’t use it. i am losing a lot of hair in the shower, I don’t know what to use. Right now my vertex is irritated and red. Please help. Thanks

Block Quote

I would like to help, but there is no way to diagnose your problems or even guess at what you may be experiencing without an exam. Daily hair washes with shampoo for oily hair is important for you to use. If your hair is fine, get a gentle shampoo.

I realize a good doctor may be hard to come by, but start with your primary care doctor and ask for a recommendation. I wouldn’t think that any doctor would want to be seen as a non-caring physician so you should try hard to appeal to their caring side. Speak frankly if you feel that they are not paying you the attention you want and need. Being direct is critically important to the doctor/patient relationship.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationHealthy Diet and Telogen Effluvium – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I appreciate your responding to a few of my questions in the past about LLLT. It gave me a bit of an education at the very least.

I do have a question regarding Telogen Effluvium. I have been dealing with TE for approx. 1 1/2 yrs. now (Chronic TE) due to high levels of stress during that time period. I feel comfortable in saying that the shedding seems to be slowing down or may have actually resumed to it’s normal daily shed (approx. 100 hairs/day) due to the decrease in the level of stress in my life over these past few months.

I understand that a healthy diet for someone with TE is important (lots of protein and iron), but are there certain foods that I would want to refrain from? I’ve heard breads, pasta and potatoes quickly convert to sugar which could have a negative effect on a persons hormones while trying to grow hair. Is there any truth to this?

Also, what would you recommend as a daily diet to help with hair growth?

Thank you in advance.

Block Quote

There are no proven connections between different good healthy diets with regard to chronic TE. The one on one connections you discussed are subjective assessments of various people and I would have no way to verify these observations.

Posted on

Transplanting Hair from Body to Face – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Would a body hair transplant work for just facial hair, like sideburns or even eyebrows

I would imagine that body hair transplantation (BHT) would work, but why not use scalp hair? I would match the hair and see what is best.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

Propecia’s Male Breast Cancer Risk – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi, I’m thinking of taking propecia (my trichologist has advised that I would benefit from taking this medication) but, from reading your site I’ve just noticed the issue about risk of male breast cancer. My mum has had breast cancer and I’m concerned that this could cause problems for me now if I start taking propecia. Could you give me some advice on what to do as up until this point I was happy with taking the drug!

There have been two cases in the medical literature of male breast cancer reported with a patient on Propecia. The incidence of breast cancer in men as about 1% of female incidence. This alone may account for the finding in those two patients. It is not a high risk issue, even for those with a history of female breast cancer in the family.

Posted on

Hair Loss Information12.5% Minoxidil? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello. I recently came across a website claiming to sell Minoxidil 12.5% solution. Do you know if this is legit? I haven’t heard of the FDA approving such a solution, and if it is available on this one particular site, why isn’t it available at major drug/retail stores? Also, same question for 5% minoxidil solution w/out propylene glycol (which irritates my scalp)also “allegedly” available at this site. I just don’t want to get scammed if I do decide to purchase either of the above products. Thanks a lot for your time and information.

Block Quote

Note: I can’t really answer your question, as I have not researched the FDA issues and am just pulling from my general knowledge on the laws by which I practice under. That being said, I’m willing to take a stab at it…

Doctors have the ‘power’ to mix up medications for their patients under many state laws. These do not have to be FDA approved because they are not bottled and sold to the public. The FDA does not get into protecting one patient from one doctor, just lots of people from medications. The doctor should generally use medications that are safe and effective and if one doctor is producing 12.5% minoxidil, I would suggest that this doctor has special knowledge on the safety and effectiveness of this drug. Higher and higher doses of minoxidil can drop blood pressure, so it is not without risk when and if it is used. The same applies to the use of propylene glycol in the mix.

A couple years ago, I had a reader write in with a question about 15% minoxidil he could buy from his doctor, so apparently that is also available in some places. I don’t concoct my own minoxidil mixtures, so I’m not unfortunately not the most knowledgeable about this.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationTransplanting Hair Before the Loss is Noticeable – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman:

Thank you for your outstanding blog. I have a question about hair transplants. Most of the before/after pictures that I’ve seen show patients with substantial balding who then receive very noticeable new coverage. I wonder, though, whether it is possible to design and begin to execute a H.T. Master Plan beginning in the very early stages of hair loss, so that — rather than suffering noticeable loss and then receiving visible new coverage in that area — the transplants can instead be inserted into areas that are just beginning to thin but still have substantial coverage.

It seems that people who work in the public eye — television anchors, actors, and so forth — must have a way to plan out their transplants so as to seem simply to retain their hair, rather than seeming to lose it and gain it back. Does transplanting into areas that still have coverage make the eventual loss of the remaining hair in that area transpire more quickly? Can transplants be performed BEHIND a fairly solid hairline if the surgeon determines that declining hair counts make it inevitable that this area will eventually go bald?

I’m a 29-year-old male, and I began using 1.25 mg/day of finasteride eight years ago. I still have quite decent coverage — noticeably thin in the vertex when under bright lights, somewhat recessed temples with miniaturized/vellus hairs at the temple hair line, and a decreasing hair count that is only noticeable to me in the first two inches of the frontal hairline. After noticing fairly quick loss in college, the erosion has been very slow during my eight years of finasteride treatment. However, I am aware of the five-year finasteride studies showing hair counts dropping after two years of treatment and continuing down from there.

I understand the need for conservative transplant treatment at my relatively young age, in order to preserve appropriate reserves of potential donor hair. (This is why I know it would be inadvisable to move my hairline FORWARD toward its adolescent location.) However, I am hoping that I can replace hair BEFORE I entirely lose it — including bolstering the hairline and several inches behind it before the inevitable loss there becomes noticeable. So, I wonder if you could tell me: do HT surgeons ever transplant into an area that still has substantial coverage, so that the loss doesn’t need to become noticeable before it is replaced? In other words, can a Master Plan be devised to prepare for inevitable future loss before that loss actually fully occurs, rather than waiting for visible baldness before surgery takes place? (I wonder how else, say, actors and television anchors are able to avoid the appearance of “losing and regaining.”)

Thanks very much for your time! I appreciate it.

Block Quote

I have firmly established a viewpoint to not transplant people before they are ready. Preventing visible hair loss with transplants is performed by some doctors and those happen to represent the doctors who are more in this for money rather than the welfare of their patients.

As good as you think you might be able to predict what will happen to you, you might be surprised to see that the balding will actually occur differently than you expected. As the supply is limited on everyone who will become significantly bald, you could run out and not complete what you will need if you are too aggressive. I am often humbled by the balding process, but I am also the biggest fan of being conservative.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationTransplanted Hairline Is Coming In Nicely, But the Crown is Growing Slow – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman, I had a hair transplant the first part of october 07 the front has filled out nicely but the top/crown is comming in at half the speed as the front, any ideas? I’m a 57 year old male. Also I would like a bit of your military service bio, I was wounded in 1969 and spent time at the 93 and 24 evac hospitals recouping.

Block Quote

By 8 months, you should have growth in the crown. How much work did you get in the crown? Many times the crown just takes more grafts to get the fullness you need.

Regarding my military service — I was a surgeon at the 24th Evac Hospital in 1970 so you were there before I got there. I hope you did well in your recovery process.

Posted on

What Are These Bumps on the Side of My Scalp 5 Months After Transplant? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hi. i had a hair transplant 5 months ago, using the strip technique, only 1000 grafts due to receding at the temples and slight beginnings of an island forming, nothing too bad tho. i take proscar 1 mg per day. ive noticed lately that i keep on getting bumps and the odd pimple on my scalp. im not talking about the usual acne you get in the transplanted area as the new hairs are forcing their way through, thats been and gone. i mean bumps on my crown, at the side just above the ears, and at the back..whats going on!!!? its only maybe one or 2 a day, but i never had this before. could it be that the proscar is causing regrowth of new hairs in different parts of my hair…or is this just wishful thinking? could it be a bad thing and that follicles are dying?

any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

You should be asking these questions to the doctor who performed your surgery. Without examining you, I can only guess. In general, one can develop folliculitis after a few months from the surgery as the new hairs grow. Or there can be an infection (though rare) which can cause bumps. Or there can be foreign particles (also rare) that may be causing such reaction. Or you may have some other non hair transplant scalp issues. Get the point? I am not trying to brush you off on your issues, but it seems you have a specific concern that needs to be addressed with your doctor one on one.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

Do I Need to Be on Propecia Before an FUE Procedure? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have been losing hair for a long time now. I am 42 and want to start taking propecia. I am also considering FUE. I keep my hair really short (Setting 1 on clippers). My question is do I need to be on propecia before i get my fue procedure done. Will the doctor prescribe me propecia after my procedure. Can I avoid propecia if i get a FUE procedure.

You do not need to be on Propecia before any hair transplant surgery, but in most young men I recommend it and suggest that it is started as early before the surgery as reasonable (minimum 2 weeks). Generally though, it is always a good idea to minimize shock loss and also to minimize further natural hair loss with Propecia. The decision to go on a medication or even surgery is highly individualized to your particular situation, and you need to discuss all these pros and cons with your doctor.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

Adrenaline and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I hear caffeine from coffee i.e. increased adrenaline and you’ve consistently said adrenaline can contribute to hair loss. What’s up with this?

I am not aware of this. I drink a triple espresso every day. Coffee drinkers are not at any higher risk for hair loss than non-coffee drinkers. Genetic balding is the cause of most hair loss.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):