January 2009 – Page 11

January 8, 2009

In the News – More Women than Men Suffering Hair Loss in Taiwan? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Job loss stress and anxiety seem to be causing an increasing number of people in Taiwan to lose their hair, with a higher incidence of the condition occurring among females, medical doctors in northern Taiwan said Wednesday.

Li Cheng-hung, a dermatologist at the Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital in Taipei, told reporters that among his patients, more women than men are suffering from alopecia areata, a skin disorder that causes the hair to fall out in round or oval patches.

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Read the full article at Taiwan News.

Stress can trigger hair loss… that has been known. Alleviate the stress and you might see your hair regrow, particularly in women where MPB isn’t a factor. For men, stress may just trigger the genetic hair loss you would’ve experienced down the line anyway. The article doesn’t get into any actual studies though, and just says that some doctors say female hair loss rates are on the rise. I’d like to see more proof, but the article is what it is.

January 8, 2009

Hair Loss InformationI Have Alopecia Areata and White Hairs are Growing in Bald Spots – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

about a month and a half i was diagnosed with alopecia areata and since then my hair has become alot thinner and i have about 5 main bald patches and a alot of small ones! small hairs have started to grow around the bald patches and i have started to grow white hairs on the patches! is this normal?

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At one and a half months, there is not much you can say about the resolution of your alopecia areata. If you see hair growing inside the bald areas, that is good news (even if it is white hair). Maybe the process will burn out on its own. Good luck.

January 8, 2009

Large FUE Case? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman

What is the largest number of grafts you recommend to be transplanted in one session using FUE? What is the maximum number you guys at NHI have done in one shot using this technique?

Thank you and Happy Holidays to you and your staff.

The largest case we did was 2,800 grafts. The large follicular unit extraction (FUE) cases require high densities of the hair in the donor area. Those individuals who have lower densities generally have from 20-40% less hairs per square inch, so one could expect that yields may be as low as 700 – 1,000 grafts for most — and that is generally people from Asia (like Indians), many from the middle east, and those with African hair. In a Caucasian with an average density, we have done 1300-1500 FUE grafts.

I think that many of you have seen comments made by me — comments of disbelief about the number of FUE grafts claimed to be performed by some dishonest doctors. I’d like to see some more honesty in the industry, but the almighty dollar is more important to some.

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January 8, 2009

I’ll Be Backpacking for 2 Weeks in Hot Weather — Should I Bring My Rogaine? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Doctor,
This is a pretty urgent question I suppose, and I’m hoping you could answer it before I go. I’m going to be doing field work and backpacking through Costa Rica. My question is, is it worth it and even possible to bring rogaine and keep it in my backpack while I’m hiking in 70-90 whether. I want to continue to gain the benefits but I’ll be gone for about 2 weeks and don’t know what the best plan of action is. any help would be appreciated. thanks!

Take your Rogaine with you. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible to keep it in your backpack. The package says to store it between 59-86 degrees F, so you should be fine.

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January 8, 2009

Hair Falling Out in Permanent Zone – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Doc,
My hairline appears to be following the pattern of my grandfather’s whose hairline stopped at a NW 3 with a persistent forelock. However, my hair appears to also be falling out equally throughout the scalp, even in the permanent zone. I’m looking at the pictures of my grandfather, and he still had thick hair in his 60’s. Is it possible to have my grandfather’s hairline, while still having hair fall throughout the scalp even the permanent zone?

I suppose anything is possible, but it is rare to have hair loss from your permanent zone unless you have diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA). If you feel you are losing hair diffusely, you may not have genetic male pattern baldness. You would need to see a doctor for a good diagnosis.

If I haven’t beat the following concept enough to a point of sounding like a broken record… a miniaturizationstudy would be helpful to see what is really going on. You can even map your own scalp using the tutorial I wrote, provided you have the proper tools.

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January 8, 2009

Had a Hair Transplant a Couple Weeks Ago and Now I See Raised Bumps – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

In mid Dec 08, I had an FUT of 1150 grafts to restore my hairline. Scabs have come and gone and I’ve been left with raised, bumpy, partially numb skin that makes a line across my forehead where the hairs were inserted. Under lighting, this elevated skin is extremely visable and odd looking considering there is no longer any hair there.

Suggestions?

Go see your doctor who performed your surgery. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell with just your descriptive words. More over, I have no way of knowing how your surgery was performed or what technique was used. It may be Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT), but not all doctors or medical groups perform the same quality surgery.

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January 8, 2009

Did My Eating Disorder Trigger My Teen Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

(male)
I hate to admit it, but I used to have an eating disorder.

For about a year I was bulimic, I purged just about every day after dinner. I had periods where I tried to stop, the longest I went without purging was a month. After a while though, I noticed significant hair loss (a spot on my crown so thin it’s almost bald). I stopped my bulimia about a month ago, and no hair has grown back and it still seems to be falling out! Now, I am a male so it may be male pattern baldness right? But I’m only 17!

As for genetics, all the men on my mom’s side of the family still have hair, and the only person on my dad’s side that’s gone bald is my father himself (he started going bald at 26).

Will I regrow my hair? Or is this male pattern baldness beginning to rear its ugly head?

Bulimia can certainly cause nutritional deficiencies that may cause many health issues, with hair loss being one of them. The most common cause of hair loss in men, however, is genetic male pattern baldness (MPB) — otherwise known as androgenic alopecia (AGA). Hair loss from nutritional deficiencies is diffuse (you lose hair all over your scalp), but in some men with AGA, bulimia can trigger the genetic process, though this is rare in males under the age of 17. Hair loss from male pattern baldness is in a specific pattern (as the term implies).

From your perspective, it does not really matter if your mom’s or dad’s side of the family has hair loss, because if you have the gene, you have the gene. It can skip generations, but it can also be passed down directly from your father to you. I can’t tell you that you will regrow your hair, because as I said, the bulimia could’ve triggered the process early. The only way to really tell what’s going on is to map your scalp and repeat the process over time to see how your hair loss is progressing.

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January 7, 2009

What Percentage of Men Get to Norwood Class 6? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ve seen that you say only 7% of balding men will hit stage seven on the Norwood Scale. What about stage six? Theoretical if there were no treatments would most men (93%) be destined for stage six on the Norwood Scale? And is whether or not you reach seven on the Norwood scale genetic?
Thanks

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This is not an easy question to answer because of judgment problems in those that wrote the original charts. The best statistics I could find indicate that the Class 6 and 7 patterns in men over 50 years old are present between 23-30%. Assuming that the Class 7 pattern is 7%, then the Class 6 pattern is twice as common.

January 7, 2009

Testosterone Therapy is Causing Hair Loss — Should I Stick it Out? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I recently did a 3rd procedure with you and it turned out great. You did a scar revision which has reduced my scar width by at least 50%. In some places more.

Now the problem: My doctor has prescribed testosterone replacement therapy for me because of permanently low testosterone induced by the use of anabolics at a younger age. I have read in your posts where propecia or dutasteride might help negate the effects of hormone replacement therapy. Furthermore, the goal of the therapy is to reach ‘normal’ testosterone levels, not outrageous levels. I have been taking propecia for years, but when I started the testosterone gel (testim 1%) I started shedding like crazy. I understand that this can be one of the side effects.

My question is: In the past, every time I have used something like testosterone, after I stop much of the hair that I lose grows back. Furthermore, I have read that any kind of abrupt change to the body’s hormone level (such as starting Propecia for the first time) can cause hair loss. So, is it possible that I should just stick with the therapy and that I will shed, but that these hairs will grow back? Were they just induced to go into a dormant phase early, but will return? In other words, after my levels normalize and are not abnormally high, with propecia in the mix, can I expect to return to normal? Or is it that I basically have a choice – low testosterone for ever or bald?

I will talk to my doctor and I will see an endocrinologist about this, but I was wondering if you had any anecdotes about this particular kind of treatment.

Thanks

I agree that you should discuss this issue with an endocrinologist, as the problem is a bit complex. Unfortunately, I do not have any anecdote to share with you. At the least your transplanted hair will not be affected with testosterone. In theory Propecia should counter the DHT effects.

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January 7, 2009

How Much Would a Hair Transplant Cost Me? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Doctor,
Im 23 and im a about 2 – 2A on the norwood scale (male pattern baldness on moms side, no balding on fathers). dark brown straight hair and my brother and cousins on my moms side all show signs of balding. I realize you are unable to make a proper evaluation of my hair characteristics with out photo’s and testing. But my question is this:

approximately what is the best, and all time worse case scenario on how much a hair transplant would cost me?

And I truly do realize it is hard for you to answer considering the circumstances so I will keep a very open mind on the subject. But there must be some rough numbers along with a brief description you could possibly throw at me to help get some idea on what a person like me should be expecting for the future. Thanks so much

Costs could range anywhere from $3000 to $10,000 on average depending on how much hair you need, but at this point you’re likely not to be a candidate. I couldn’t even begin to guess what an all time worst case scenario would be for you. If you’re worried about retaining your hair, I suppose the worst case would be that you develop alopecia universalis and lose all hair on your body, making hair transplantation impossible.

What you want to do is examine your scalp for miniaturization (here’s a handy guide to doing it yourself) and if it is present, you should try to prevent further loss by using medications. Surgery shouldn’t be the first solution you rush to, particularly as you are still young with very early hair loss. Finasteride (Propecia) is the drug of choice and requires a prescription by a doctor.

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