Month: June 2008

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Picking My Scabs a Week After My Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

hello. I think this is a very common question that you get asked but i would still go ahead ask this.

I’m 6 days post HT. I have scabs all over my head now and generally when i’m studying, I tend to pick them (i do not get aggressive with them). What In usually do is push them in a circular motion and see if they come off. If they dont then I leave them alone. I saw only one where it bled and had some soft white tissue attached to it. The others were just hard crusty scabs with small hair in them sometimes.

My question is that have I killed all my grafts now? To my understanding as long as they havent bled and no soft tissue came out then they are pretty secured. Also in 6 days they are pretty tightly held up in scalp….is that true? Please help

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Our hair pull study (see Dislodging a Graft After Hair Transplant) shows that if you pull on a scab for up to 10 days after a transplant, you can pull out the grafts. What else can I say? What you are doing is just not good for you, and you’re running real risks here to losing what you must have paid dearly for. There are proper washing techniques that will have the scabbing off within the first few days and are safe on the grafts. Your doctor should’ve discussed these with you.

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Hair Loss After Surgery and Illness – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Attached is my photo. I have started losing my hair after an operation last year around Oct’07. Its June’08 now, I think I am at Norwood2-3. I am 21 years old. My brother is at norwood 4-5. I believe if I dont take any necessary action I will end up like him. I have been on Propecia since March’08 and it has been almost 3 months I am on it. DO you think propecia can help on stopping or reversing my current lost? I had high fever and was diagnosed with dengue fever( which afterwards found out wasnt), and I had surgery back in october. Is it normal for TE cases that hair lost happens on the temples?

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Your have been very sick and have had a surgery — either of these can produce hair loss induced by this medical history. You doctor thinks that it is a telogen effluvium and if he is correct in that diagnosis, it will reverse in less than a year. But the hair loss from your photos (which I will not post) are that of early genetic hair loss which can be accelerated by illness or surgery. This may not return if it is genetic acceleration. The Propecia you are on is good, but you will not see its value for at least 8 months. Good luck.

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Could a Little Sun Each Day Damage a Hair Transplant? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I received a hair transplant about 5 months ago on a norwood 3/4 scalp. I have been told that I should begin looking for regrowth between now and the 5 to 8 month mark, so I realize I am just at that point. My question is, given that I use minoxidil and wear a hat for any prolonged sun exposure, could very light sun exposure on a hatless head, like 5 or 10 minutes total a day, have damaged the transplanted follicles? Thanks for the help.

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No, I highly doubt 5 to 10 minutes of sun exposure will damage the transplanted follicles. The UV rays from the sun can however discolor your scalp wounds immediately after a hair transplant. It wouldn’t have much effect on the follicles. I would follow up with your doctor.

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Oily Scalp and Hair Transplants – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Doctor,
I have an extremely oily scalp,would this problem be an issue when having a hair transplant? Could the oil effect the growth of the grafts ? Is it possible for the oil to dislodge the newly planted grafts or providing problems for the hair techs planting the grafts ?

An oily scalp is not a problem for a hair transplant, and it will not negatively impact growth or push out the grafts (which will be secure in the first day or so).

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My Doctor Doesn’t Do Miniaturization Mapping, But I Found a Non-Doctor That Does! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hey Dr. Rassman, I am a male in his early twenties who has some questions about hair loss. My hairline has been receding for the last two years. I have seen a few specialists regarding my hairs future. One doctor is a very prominent hair doctor in the New England area. After seeing him he concluded that I had MPB, and put me on propecia and expensive luce laser treatments. After being skeptical for a little while and reading your blogs I saw that you stressed the importance of getting your hair mapped for miniaturization. This doctor does not have do miniaturization mapping and I became a little awry about that. Therefore I searched and found a hair specialist with the appropriate equipment to map my hair, he was not a doctor though. He looked at it and there wasn’t any signs of any miniaturized hairs. He told me I should stop the propecia and see what happens. Well I stopped and my hairline has slowly continued to recede, but its beginning to look like my fathers who has a full head of hair. Also, I saw the doctor again and he continues to tell me that I am losing my hair and didn’t think it was a good idea to stop the pills. I desperately need your advice because I have two different people telling me whats going on with my hair and I don’t know whose advice to take. It’s driving me crazy because I want to believe the doctor, but he totally disregarded the mapping of my hair when I brought it up. Your expert advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Reading a miniaturization mapping is not rocket science. I have some patients who purchased magnifying systems to determine if they had miniaturization and did not depend upon any doctor. If you really do not have miniaturization (and realizing that I am not your doctor) I would not take Propecia. Are you just developing a mature male hairline (see Maturation of a Hairline — Moving From Juvenile to Mature)?

I would personally not be a fan of any doctor who is critical of the information obtained from a good miniaturization study, and especially a doctor that would put you on hair loss treatment medication when you’re just developing a mature hairline (assuming that this fits you).

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Medications That Prohibit You From Getting a Hair Transplant? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i am on coumadin. is hair transplant possible?

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CoumadinCoumadin (warfarin) is an anticoagulant, also known as a blood thinner. Blood thinners are on the top of the list of medications which must be addressed in a patient who is about to have a hair transplant. I have done transplants on people who are on such medications, but take many steps in the process to assure safety. Generally, one can cut back on the Coumadin and then step it up on the day of transplants. Your general health is really the issue and the reason you are on these medications may allow you to stop them for a week or so. The answer therefore is an individualized answer depending upon the patient, his/her medical condition causing the use of such a medication, and the general state of the patient’s health.

I take a thorough patient history and review all medications that a patient is taking prior to performing a hair transplant.

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You Are Making DUPA Up and Here’s Why… – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I think you are making DUPA up to have people come to your office for a miniaturization study. Here’s way….

I have spent a lot of time looking into balding and watching balding people. Your last post said that you don’t think DUPA has anything to do with DHT. You also mentioned that FPB is not DUPA even though FPB most of the time has miniaturized hair in the donor area and entire scalp.

Also, if you look at probably 80% of all balding people I bet they would have SOME miniaturization in the donor area. I for one have thinner donor area then I did when I was 20,(I’m 42). You also mentioned that FPB & DUPA don’t respond to drugs when we know the cause of miniaturization is the effects of DHT. Science has proven this.

I think that a lot of men can have hair loss in both a MPB & FPB patterned combined. Thus resulting in a slightly thinner donor area. (less than 30% miniaturization throughout the whole head). Maybe some people just miniaturize throughout their whole heads and never progress from there.

I understand the importance about evaluation someone for miniaturization in donor area to avoid a disastrous transplant scar. I applaud you for it. My problem is the fear of god you have imposed on some people about this thing called DUPA and how nothing can diagnoses it accept a miniaturization study, which you and a few colleauges provide. I think it is just a male with a female diffused pattern. This in theory should response to DHT blockers. Unless you can think of another cause for miniaturized hair throughout the entire scalp other than MPB/FBP or as you call it DUPA.

I doubt you will post this but I felt it important to express my personal opinion.

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I am posting this just to allow other opinions.

Less than 1% of the men I examine in my office have DUPA. There is always some appearance of miniaturized hair all over the head, but I believe that we are looking at are the vellus hairs in the follicular unit which may account to about 20% of the hair in the “permanent zone”. Medical science is a descriptive science and DUPA is a description of what we are seeing — diffuse unpatterned alopecia (alopecia without a pattern to it that is diffusely found all over the head).

I guess if you were a blind man, you would doubt the existence of something that is clearly visible to a sighted person.

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Could My Hair Shedding Be Due to Stopping Minoxidil? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr Rassman.
Few questions. I am using a combination of propecia, centrum, biotin, msm and nizoral shampoo. I was using regaine for a few months but stopped just after christmas as I was still losing hair regularly. After stopping however, even more hair fell out and my hair started to shed like crazy over 3 months… this time last year I was a norwood 2, but am now a norwood 3v. I have been on the propecia for 2 and a half months now, and as I am only 21 can I expect to see good results soon? I noticed that 39 year old who went from being nearly bald to having pretty much a full head of hair (without the corners). So, my question is, do you think the reason I shed so much was because I stopped using rogaine? Would it have been better to have not used it rather than use it then stop?

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Of the combination you used, only Propecia and minoxidil (Regaine/Rogaine) are proven to regrow hair loss. At only 2 1/2 months on Propecia, I’d say another few months on the medication will begin to yield results. To what degree, I couldn’t say. Each person is different and will react differently to the medication. Some men will see good regrowth, while others will see no regrowth (but they will see the hair loss halt). At 21 years old, it is possible that it was a coincidence that your hair loss increased around the same time you took a hiatus from your treatment, or it could be that stopping the minoxidil was the catalyst for your increased hair loss. Starting the Propecia is a good step, however, and I’d suggest you stick with it. Discuss any medication changes with your prescribing doctor.

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How Closely Does a Hair Loss Timeline Follow That of Family Members? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My father and my brother both showed significant hair loss in the crown area by the time they were my age (25). I do not currently have any hair loss in the crown. I guess my question is how closely does one follow their relatives hair loss timeline? In other words, if I’m not showing the same hair loss results he had at my age is it safe to assume that I have another family members hair loss pattern?

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If I were a gambling man, I might bet that you would not follow the family pattern, but if you let me map out your hair for miniaturization, I would consider that “stacking the deck” on my gamble. With no crown miniaturization today at 25 years old with that family history, I would think that there is a high probability that you will not follow the family pattern and the timeline.

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Hair Loss InformationGrowth Hormones in Milk – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I emailed a professor at Colorado State who knew about growth hormone and IGF-1. He said there is a difference between GH that is injected and turns into IGF-1 and IGF-1 that is consumed orally. GH that is consumed orally is orally inactive and is a protein hormone that is digested completely by the stomach, while GH that is injected into the bloodstream is the only way for GH to take effect on one’s body. And theoretically even if GH was not digested by the stomach, he said there is not enough GH in milk for example to cause any difference. He did not know about anything related to GH and balding though.

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Good point and your diligence is appreciated. The stomach does inactivate many things that we eat because of the high acid content. I don’t know what else I can add to this. For those curious about the growth hormone / milk saga, see DHT and Milk.