Are scalp pimples an indication of hereditary hair loss?
Simply put — no. Scalp pimples may reflect small infections in single hair follicles. Most times they take care of themselves, but sometimes they swell, at which time you should soak them to help them drain.
Hello Doctor,
I had surgery to remove gynecomastia caused by Finasteride use for hair loss. I was taking 1.25 mg daily. I have seen great results from medication as regards to my hair loss. I would like your opinion on stopping the medication now because of recurrence or is recurrence not a possibility after surgery. Also can 1.25mg of finasteride be taken once every three days with the same results and less side effects..
thanks for your time
I have very little experience with those few patients who developed gynecomastia (breast enlargement in men) from Propecia other than having them stop the medication and see if the gynecomastia goes away. It usually does. On one patient I remember, I had him stop the medication and then after the gynecomastia went away, put him on a 1/2 dose (1/2 mg) of propecia and the gynecomastia returned. You are caught in a delicate predicament with clear choices. What I can tell you is that it was reported that half the standard dose (0.5mg) of Propecia has 80% of the impact on preventing hair loss and it may work for you, but then again in one of my patients it did not seem to help even at 1/2 the dose.
Your situation is different in that you had surgery once to remove swollen glands that are present in some men (most don’t take Propecia) and maybe it was there prior to taking the drug? If I were you, I might try (speaking as a layman, not a doctor) the drug one more time. It may not cause recurrence, but if it did, then you should be able to stop it and reverse the effects (as most men who stop the drug do). I would speak to my doctor before making that decision and get his sage advice on the matter.
My dermatologist did not feel comfortable prescribing Proscar for my MPB so I have been stuck taking and paying for Propecia.
I know that no generic form is legally available in the U.S. and “Propecia” is strictly used for cosmetic purposes. However, one would think that since most insurance companies don’t cover the drug it would be more reasonable priced for the average Joe to pay for it out of pocket. So I have a two part question:
- Why is it so expensive when most people have to pay for it out of pocket?
- Lastly (and seriously), I don’t know how closely you have been following the 2008 Presidential election but are you aware of any of the two major candidates healthcare or perception drug policies that would lead to lower cost of Propecia (even though it is cosmetic drug).
Love the blog!
Propecia ’08!
I don’t have decent answers to either of your questions, unfortunately… because these aren’t things I have access to. To answer why Propecia is so expensive, you’d have to defer to the company that manufactures it and owns the patents on the drug, Merck. You could speculate all day why drug prices are what they are, but I don’t know of any reason they’ve ever given for a specific price of a specific drug. As far as your second question, who knows if Propecia would be covered by any national health insurance. We have considerable time to wait this one out.
Although you did not ask me about the presidential race, those that play the odds will know that we have not had a hair-challenged president elected to the highest office in the U.S. since the 1950s (Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower), so Obama may be the favorite for those who play “Hairy Politics”.
Do any other androgens other than DHT contribute to MPB? And is there a difference between like injecting testosterone like steroids and rises in natural body testosterone from i.e. going to the gym, eating meat, etc.?
Androgens cause balding. For example, women who have polycystic ovary syndrome / PCOS (who produce androgens) get into the male balding process, plus the appearance of facial hair (though not as much as we men). I think that if you look at the biochemical metabolic pathways, you will see many similarities of testosterone and DHT to other androgens. I do not believe that working out or eating meat will cause you to raise you testosterone (long term) to a point that causes you to lose hair.
For a list of androgens see Wikipedia.
I know you said you had a vested interest in robotic ht’s. I was wondering if there was any kind of eta on when it will be available to the gen pop? Also, how does one get involved in the testing? I’d be interested.
Thanks
The company (Restoration Robotics) is currently conducting limited testing in the San Jose, CA area. I will update you more after the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) conference in September 2008, as I am sure they will have a presentation. Between now and then, I will contact them to see if I can get a real estimate on the release date, as well as a mechanism for volunteers to get into the action.
hello dr,
my question may sound a little funny but it kind of sits on my mind so i would really like to hear your comments. i started using propecia 4 months ago, my baldness still isnt visible and i started propecia because i had hair loss all over the scalp and had seborrhea and pain on my scalp as well. my scalp was checked for miniaturization and was found with 44% of it.so i started to take propecia but i still dont see any change in the hair loss, sometimes i think i do but overall i cant really notice any change aside from that my seborrhea and scalp pain i had subtled almost completely. the thing is, i did not have any side effects at all (and i hope i wont have any too), quite the opposite actually, i think my libido increased and my sex life has improved since! and that is why i have this weird feeling that the medicine just didnt effect me at all (excepts for the things i mention which i dont know if propecia got something to do with it), do you think that there might be a link between no side effects what so ever and the drug not effecting me?
i would really appreciate your comments regarding the issue dr. thanks a lot and please keep up the great work you’re doing!
Although not widely publicized (or criticized), an increase in libido is a more common side effect of Propecia (finasteride) than a decrease in libido. It should eventually return to normal. If the increase in libido bothers you or your partner, you can try taking just a half pill of Propecia daily.
These side effects will not interfere with positive impact of Propecia on hair growth or stabilization of the hair loss.
Hello Doctor
How long after a HT is it safe to wash the scalp with medicated shampoos (such as Nizoral 2% ot salycylic acid shampoos fighting seborrhea )
Thank you
You should refer to your post-operative instructions that your transplant doctor gave you, or ask your surgeon directly. Generally though, you can use your regular shampoo in one to two weeks after a hair transplant.
(female)
I was told by many of my friends that putting birth control pills in my shampoo & conditioner it would help my hair grow. Is this true? And if it is not true will it have any effect at all on my hair? I am worried because I have already crushed and put the pills in my shampoo and conditioner, and now I am afraid to use them. Please help me out
We’ve answered a similar question before — Putting Birth Control Pills in Shampoo to Thicken Hair?!
Unfortunately, as I do not know the absorption of the hormones, I wouldn’t have answers to whether it would be absorbed through the skin, or what amount, etc. Many birth control pills can cause hair loss as an uncommon side effect, and I am not sure why you would put this in your shampoo. Where did your friends get their information? Word of mouth? Salon secret? This is really quite unusual. It is a blind process that probably will do no good and I’d even wonder if it would do harm. If you want the birth control pill in your system, best take it the recommended way. Some of it will find its way into the hair, but it likely won’t do anything for helping your hair to grow.
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Hi, I have been considering dreading my hair for quite some time now. However, I have a few reservations. First, I’ve heard about hair loss due to dreadlocks and I was wondering how likely it is to happen, and whether it is based on how long the person has dreads. I’m thinking I’d probably have them for 2-3 years. Second, I’ve been waiting to dread my hair because I applied to medical school and wanted to avoid any unnecessary judgments during interviews based on my appearance. Now I am starting medical school in the fall and would like to dread my hair, but I am worried that it may negatively impact my professors’, classmates’, or patients’ opinions of my abilities as a student and future physician. As a doctor yourself, would you consider having dreadlocks to be a bad idea during medical school? If I do dread my hair, I plan to get rid of them prior to interviewing for residencies. I considered waiting until I begin my residency or even finish it, but by then I will be nearly (if not over) 30 and at that point I feel I will have outgrown it. Any thoughts, opinions or advice you have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!
Creating dreadlocks is a personal choice. With that said, as a doctor I always ask if what I do could impact a patient’s confidence in me, so I would not make such a personal choice (of course, this is just my personal opinion). My practice is an elective cosmetic surgery practice and if I had dreadlocks, I believe that many potential patients would not select me as their surgeon, simply because of prejudices that they may carry. Taking it one step further… let’s say that you are a surgeon that needs to perform a life-saving procedure and the patient has two choices — you with dreads or another doctor with a more “standard” hair style. Do you think that will impact the patient’s confidence in you? Or let’s say that you have to break bad news to a patient who has cancer. Will that patient accept your opinion or ask for another? It goes on and on…
The confidence of a patient is about judging the book by its cover at times. Are we far enough along to ignore the cover of all the books out there? I’ve never had dreads, as you might’ve expected, so I’d love to hear from readers with dreadlocks to see if they’ve impacted the way people perceive you.
Hello I’m 37 years old and I have been using Propecia (1mg every day) for a year. First 6 months I had perfect results and I significantly increased my number of hairs. Since 1 to 2 months I have been losing hair massively. I must say that the very little side effects also disappeared this period.
Can it be the case that the Propecia is suddenly not working anymore? I have read about a shedding but this seams always to happen within the first 6 months. Can this also after 10-12 months?
Thanks you very much
The loss of hair while you are on Propecia (finasteride 1mg) is a sign of progression of the hair loss process that Propecia is not stopping. If you stop the drug and the hair loss is caused by the genetic process, then the hair loss will accelerate even faster. We go through phases of acceleration of hair loss and sometimes even the Propecia won’t stop it. Speak with your doctor about what is happening and make sure it is not another cause of hair loss like telogen effluvium.
