Month: July 2008

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Hair Loss InformationHair Transplant Doctor Credentials? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Good Morning Doctor,

My husband is consider hair restoration surgery. We are looking for a qualified surgeon. Are there training programs for hair restoration surgery I SHOULD be asking our doctor if he or she attended? It seems like a lot of dermatologists are doing this surgery, but I don’t see a training program or fellowship in hair restoration in their title or advertisements. Is this something the doctor learns on his/her own? What should I look for to be sure I’m getting a good doctor?

Thanks.

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I’ve written about this many times. The first link below is probably the most comprehensive of the articles I wrote on the subject, but the others should also prove helpful:

Many doctors do learn this on their own and some of those doctors learned it well, while others never learn it. I’ve discussed how to select a doctor and what to look out for in the following posts:

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Maturing Hairline at 30 Years Old? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

After reading some of the questions and answers on your board. I am hoping my hairline is just maturing, both my grandparents(both sides) have a full set of hair still. I deployed about a year ago and noticed my hair was receding on the hairline. I thought it was because I was smoking, gained 20 pounds before I deployed which raised my blood pressure and was taking in too much caffeine. Well I just quit smoking, stopped taking in as much caffeine and lost about 15 pounds. I am also using a shampoo called nioxin to help out. My hair however is continually receding on the hairline. I noticed you said it was natural to start in the late teens to early twenties but I am 30 years old. What should I do, wait or go see a doc when I get back? I can handle the insurgents but this hairline thing is driving me crazy!!!

Thanks

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A mature hairline can appear at 30 years old. If you are not balding behind the hairline, then wait it out until you can be examined. Gains and loss of weight, plus the stress you are under are not helping, but you did not need me to tell you that. As a former Vietnam vet, I understand what you may be going through. Certainly the stress alone could induce hair loss if you have the genetics. If, however, these factors do not induce hair loss (and you are just moving to a mature hairline), then i doubt that you will ever lose your hair.

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Hair Loss InformationWould Dreadlocks Cause Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

First of all, thank you very much for your work in putting this site together.

I have a question(s) regarding dreadlocks.

About two years ago my hair started thinning and so I began treatment with propecia and minoxidil. It seemed to work; there was new hair growth and my hair gradually became quite a bit thicker. In addition to this treatment I’m thinking about having transplant surgery eventually.

My question is, would it be possible/adviseable to grow dreads? I’m concerned about the dreads either making my hair look thinner and/or actually causing it to thin.

With the regimen I mentioned and a transplant (assuming the transplant is necessary) would it be possible to have dreads that don’t produce an appearance of thinning hair and also don’t actually cause the hair to thin.

Thank you so much for your time.

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Dreadlocks cause traction alopecia. The constant pull on the hair root will cause the loss of that hair in the long term.

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Propecia and Male Breast Cancer – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman,

I have read all the relavent posts on this topic. From what I can see, it wouldn’t appear that there is a significant interaction between finasteride and breast cancer – partcularly when one takes into account that out of the 4 men in the 3047 sample, they were probably not the only ones with close relatives who had breast cancer. Add to this, the fact that this study was based on 5 times the finasteride dose of propecia and I am tempted to think it may not be an issue.

I’m not sure if you can comment on this but i don’t think that I will be carrying the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes for susceptability considering that there is not a strong family history of the disease and My Mum has told me that her type of breast cancer was not genestically linked (’estrogen receptive’).

Considering all these points and the benefits I feel propecia will bring to me, I think that I will be proceeding with the drug. I am meeting with my trichologist in a few weeks so I will discuss the issues with them. I will probably follow this up with a doctors consultation afterwards but I can’t be sure that will provide me with much re-assurance.

This is currently the only issue stopping me taking the drug at present. I was rather happy to read the latest news about propecia and prostate cancer in this news link and others like it (ref; – CancerConsultants.com)

If I decide to take the drug I’ll check back on the blog every now and again and follow news reports to keep abreast of any new developments in this area. Then, should there be an issue, one can take appropriate action.

Thank you for reading. In your opinion, do you think I am approaching this from the right angle? Is my thinking sensible?

Many thanks for your time

If there were any statistical information linking breast cancer with Propecia (finasteride 1mg), I would think that it would have already come forward in our information-heavy society. You know the theory of safety in numbers? With over a million men on Propecia for almost a decade now, any reasonable connection with male breast cancer would be public by now.

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Hair Loss Information » Is Male Pattern Baldness Not Genetic At All? – Balding Blog

There was a study done by a Cornell University professor named T. Collin Campbell in conjunction with Oxford University entitled “The China Study”. It’s an entire book, but basically he says genes are expressed by nutrition, and many of his arguments revolve around animal based protein v. plant based protein and cholesterol, cancer, heart disease — not necessarily balding. But this peaked my curiosity. Can male pattern baldness not be genetic at all but instead the balding aspect is expressed by some type of diet balding men eat whether that diet is heavy in red meat or whatever?

I have been aware of this thesis for some time and one has to give it credibility. There is no doubt that diet does play an important role in one’s health. It is classic “nature versus nurture” type of argument, but things are not so simple. I did not read The China Study book, so I really cannot comment on that, but with respect to balding, although it is genetic, diet may very well influence the ‘expression’ of the process. Some people ascribe diet as a cause of the racial differences in balding when comparing Asians (in Asia) with Caucasians in America, but the science for this is clearly not available.

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Bald Spot Since Birth – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

im 18 years old and i have a bald spot since birth. i was wondering if anything could be done about it if so what . my mom told me the part of my hair was damaged because of where the doctor put the heart monitor.

It is highly probable that you could have hair transplanted into the bald spot. I would need to examine you or at the least see some good pictures of the bald spot with a ruler next to it so I can get perspective on the size of the area.

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My Increased Sex Drive From Propecia Is Destroying My Social Life!!! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doc! this is an excellent site and I am a regular visitor. I really require your professional help as regards to Propecia and increased sex drive. I have searched through your site but couldn’t find an answer suitable for my situation.

I am a 25 year old male and been on Propecia for 2 years, 5% Rogaine Foam and Procerin for 6 months. It has stopped/slowed my hair loss without any noticeable hair growth. My problem is these drugs have increased my sex drive, so much so that I have to regularly masturbate which is destroying my social life, sometimes 6 times a day.

My question is maybe Propecia has increased my sex drive as research has shown that to be possible. I only noticed a high sex drive after starting Propecia, at first it was good, but to be honest with you it is destroying my social life. Would it be advisable to increase my dosage of Propecia to 2 tablets each day (2mg) or move to Proscar 5mg, or even move to 0.5 Avodart? As they have been shown to block more DHT and in order will lower sexual urges?

Dr. I am really confused and my high sex drive is making me depressed and constant masturbation to fulfill my sexual urges is making life a nightmare. I don’t speak to anyone about this because I feel ashamed and I am extremely shy when it comes to discussing these matters.

Sorry for the long message, and I look forward to reply and valuable advice.

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I suppose too much of anything can be a bad thing to some people. In our experience, a high sex drive is a common side effect of Propecia (more than a low sex drive), but a high sex drive is a very common “problem” for young men in their 20’s as well, medication or not. I once heard 99% of men masturbate and the other 1% lie. There is nothing wrong with a healthy sex drive.

Would increasing the finasteride dosage lower your sex drive? Doubtful. When the decreased sex drive is seen, a higher dose of the medication tends to make it worse. I do not have experience with increasing the dose in those who report an increased sex drive from the drug. You shouldn’t assume that Propecia (finasteride 1mg) is causing your problem and see a doctor if it is bothersome. Speak with your doctor about what to do about this. Are there other (non-sexual) hobbies you can focus on?

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Working Out Accelerates MPB? – Balding Blog

I’ve read on this blog mixed answers as to whether working out with weights (which increases testosterone leves apparently) can accelerate MPB. I thought in one blog answer you said working out does not contrbute to MPB but in another you said the presence of increased testosterone may be a risk factor for faster MPB development. What’s the story here?

Exercise (working out) does not accelerate male pattern baldness. Genetics cause male pattern baldness. I am sorry for any confusion.


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Nizoral (Ketoconazole) and Minoxidil – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr Rassman,

If one was to take the information on this article below which you have probably read and any of the other articles online in reference to ketoconazole and hairloss would you consider the following? Nizoral (PDF file)

Compounding minoxidil and ketoconazole? I have seen solutions being compounded of 5-6% minoxidil and 0.3% ketoconazole. Or using a product like extina?

Keep up the good work

I read the article with interest, but I don’t really have any comments on it. The study mentions, “The clinical significance of the results awaits further controlled study in a larger group of subjects.” — and I agree with that comment. If someone will produce good data that shows us that when put together in the concentrations proposed is safe and effective, I would vote for it.

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Eating Insects and Balding in the Amazon – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Doctor.

I can’t recall I have ever seen a picture of a balding man from the amazon natives. I can recall I have watched a long time ago a documentary film, in which I have seen an amazon native delousing louses or other insects from another amazon native’s head and then eating the insects. Are they balding-proof thanks to this insects diet?

To my knowledge, balding afflicts all men with no discrimination to race, ethnicity, social class, and even insect diets — with the exceptions being the Native American with ancestry from the Alaskan Bridge, and Aboriginal Australians. I’ve written before about the possibility that there is an isolated gene pool in an isolated area that doesn’t have the hair loss gene, although it is just a what-if until someone studies it.

I just found some wonderful images of Amazon natives at this site, Amazon-Indians.org… and this photo (contains nudity) in particular appears to show hair loss in a native to the rainforest. I don’t know what kind of bugs he eats, if any.

With that said, do you know where I can get some of those insects? They might be worth selling on on this site (don’t take me too seriously here, we’re just before a long weekend).

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