January 2009 – Page 8

January 16, 2009

Can’t I Just Take Dutasteride Bi-Weekly Because of the Long Half Life? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hi dr,
i just have a question about dutasteride. ive heard that the half life of the medication tends to persist longer then propecia. why cant we just then take it on a bi weekly basis or something instead of taking it daily like propecia which half life is 6 hours? wouldnt this be something to try? just thought id get your opinion. thanks for your time and answer in advance

Bi-weekly dosing makes sense, but it is not what I recommend today. Remember, the medication is still not FDA approved to treat hair loss at this point. Some people suggest taking 2.5mg, some suggest 0.5mg. Once the formal clinical trials are made public, many questions will be cleared up. I am not experimenting on patients, so you will have to find a doctor willing to do what you are asking. The half life of dutasteride is measured in weeks.

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January 16, 2009

Burning Sensation on My Scalp – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

About 2yrs ago I started getting an itching and burning sensation on the back of my head on the scalp around the hairline up about 2inches. I noticed my hair thinning, I went to see a Dermatologist he gave me a couple of steroid shots. He told me to come back for a follow-up, when I did he said it hadn’t helped but not to worry about it, with time it should grow back. It hasn’t and seems to be getting thinner on my right side. It still itches and hair falls out more than on the other side. Can you help or suggest any solution?

I’m not sure how long it was between the time you received the steroid shots and your follow-up visit. You’re under the care of a dermatologist, and if you feel you’re not getting adequate treatment for whatever reason, you should consider trying a different doctor. Without examining you, I can not help you. Sorry!

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January 16, 2009

Alternating Different Generic Finasteride Brands – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have been taking a generic finasteride for 2 years now,with good results. I am paying about $600.00 Canadian for a one year supply.I recently saw an advertisment on line for finasteride for about half that price. My question is what do you think about me alternating every other day the two different genertic finasteride,just in case the cheaper one is not as good as the one I am already taking?

Assuming this other generic is really finasteride, it should be the same. There may be different filler ingredients, but as long as both contain 1mg finasteride, alternating shouldn’t be a problem. Be sure that the manufacturer is reputable and that they are approved for sale by the FDA which will provide some assurance of purity in what you are buying.

Keep in mind that this is your body you are dealing with, so if you don’t trust the cheaper unknown brand, you may consider not buying it. I can understand if it is a car or a house or anything else and you’re looking for a great deal, but I wouldn’t recommend skimping on medications. Online prescription drug sales are also suspect in my eyes, particularly when they’re imported from other countries and violate various laws.

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January 15, 2009

Grab Bag – Questions About BHT, Propecia, Tricomin, Rogaine, and LLLT – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi,

Does Hair Body transplant works? I mean I have a lot of hair in my chest, I could use it instead of laser hair removal..

Also, do you recommend antiandrogens? I mean, what’s the difference between them and propecia?

Also I have read something about a Tricomin product, is rogain better than tricomin? Which should I use? Or should I use both intercalated?

And it’s rogain 5% better than 2%?

Normally I just wash my hair “day yes day no”, so that I can not have an oily scalp. So, should I apply rogaine everyday even with my hair “dirty/oily”?

Finally, do you recommend LLLT at long term?

Great blog and thanks for your advice!

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Hi.

Body hair transplants should only be used if you are out of donor hair from the scalp. The growth cycle of body hair is different than scalp hair, as well as the hair characteristics themselves.
Finasteride (Propecia) is an antiandrogen. An antiandrogen is something that inhibits the effects of androgens in the body. See Wikipedia for more info.
Tricomin’s website says you can use their product with Rogaine or Propecia. I don’t know what’s in it though, but I’d doubt it’s better than Rogaine. Remember, the only 2 FDA approved and proven medications to treat hair loss are finasteride (Propecia) and minoxidil.
Rogaine 5% is stronger than the 2% — the 5% is sometimes marketed as “extra strength”. If you experience irritation from the 5%, switch down to the 2%. It’s good to have options.
You should apply Rogaine twice daily. So, yes.
I do not recommend low level laser light therapy (LLLT). I’ve not seen any results that are worthwhile. I even had a LLLT machine in my office for my patients to use for free and wasn’t satisfied with the results (or lack thereof).

January 15, 2009

Hair Loss InformationWho Sees More Propecia Side Effects – Young Men or Older Men? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Would you say that a young man is more prone to side effects from Propecia than an older man? Maybe this is related to the fact that Propecia has more effect when started at a younger age than an older age?

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The studies that were done did not classify sexual side effects by age. As young men are far more sexually active than older men and more prone to demand the best sexual performance with their young girlfriends, I would suspect that there are more complaints from the younger men. Many older, married men accept a lesser libido and the incidence of erectile dysfunction is much higher as a man ages, so men may not challenge their penis to do what they may feel it will not do.

January 15, 2009

Added Propecia 10 Months Ago and My Stylist Sees Hair Growing in My Crown! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

Love the site….it is a great resource…….I am 39….and have had receding hair for years and slowly started thinning in the crown……I got serious with Rogaine Foam a couple of years ago and added Propecia to the mix about 9 months ago (maybe 10)…..I have noticed MUCH thicker hair (I can style it differently) and the crown is looking great….in fact, today, I got my hair cut and my stylist did a double take when she worked on the crown. She said, “You have HAIR growing here!” I said yes….and explained what I was doing and about your blog, etc….

To say it made me feel good is an understatement. I can tell a HUGE difference…..and I will send some pix in a couple of months (after being on Propecia for a year).

Please share my story with your readers. The fearful e-mails are silly! Go see a doctor! Propecia will only work if you try it and stick with it!

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Good for you! Thank you for sharing your experience and I’m glad to hear it’s working well for you. I think in many cases, patients that see good results with Propecia would not feel compelled to share their experiences, as opposed to those that get on the bullhorn if they have or think they have a bad experience (I can’t blame them for that). It just creates an unbalanced field of reviews. Thanks again for your note.

January 15, 2009

If Hair Regrowth Occurs from Medication, Does it Start Thin and Get Thicker? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

So if I start a new regimen and regrowth occurs would it start out as thin hairs then gradually grow thicker and thicker? Kinda like a reverse minituarization?

When we talk about hair regrowth, we are talking about two different phenomena:

The growth of new hair that was not there prior to the use of the medications
The thickening of the miniaturized hairs that will make the hairs that are there, thicker

The studies on hair regrowth usually refer to hair counts that show more hair numbers after 9 or so months, but the reality is that much of the fullness that is created by medications like Propecia, actually reflects the thickening of hair shafts. I can see this when I compare the metric I get examining hair a year apart with the microscopic miniaturization mapping of the hair that I do in most patients.

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January 15, 2009

Hair Loss & Replacement for Dummies is Reviewed at About.com – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

About.com reviewed my new book, Hair Loss & Replacement for Dummies. Snippet from the review:

Overall, I am impressed with both the content and readability of this book. The content covers everything from causes and psychological effects of hair loss to pharmaceutical and topical treatments, styling options, diet supplements, replacement systems and transplant surgery. Hair Loss and Replacement for Dummies also discusses hair loss myths and how to avoid scams and expensive mistakes. The book gives you a fairly objective look at the pros and cons of various treatment and concealment options and will help you determine the costs and complications of such options.

Read the full article at About.com

Nice review, and I’m hopeful that it’ll lead to more feedback one way or the other. As I write this blog post, the book is #1 on Amazon.com in the Hair Loss category, so that’s good to see. If you’ve picked up a copy and have a moment to review it, I’d be appreciative. The Amazon listing is here.

In other news, I was recently quoted in a new article about hair and employment opportunities. The article can be found at Canada’s CBC website.

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January 15, 2009

Aspirin and Hair Transplantation – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I take baby aspirin daily as a preventive for heart and stroke, I have no history of either condition but believe it is prudent to take aspiriin daily. I am considering a hair transplant and wonder how long before a procedure should I stop the baby aspirin or is it necessary to stop taking it all? Thanks

Most doctors believe 7-10 days off of the aspirin would be adequate to have any surgery.

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January 14, 2009

Maximum Amount of Grafts That Can Safely Be Transplanted in a Single Session – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My question is if this,if a person had unlimited donor hair and you had all the assistance you could use at your side.How many grafts would you be comfortable transplanting in one session without fear of the grafts not surviving?

I ask this question looking into the future,if hair cloning becomes available.Would it be possible to transplant 5,000 – 10,000 – 15,000 grafts in one session? Thanks for your time.

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Flying car My personal record at New Hair Institute has been close to 6000 grafts in a day on one patient. The patient had a very high hair density and a very lax scalp. He did not need more grafts, but I was confident that if he had the recipient area to take more grafts, his donor area could have yielded another 2000. Keep in mind the most important factor is the skill of the entire staff of the medical group. This would not be possible without a fantastic staff.

As for what the possibilities are with hair cloning — it’s all very much speculation still. Perhaps we’ll be able to hop in a flying car or maybe even teleport to the clinic where you’ll get your cloned hair implanted, then rub magic lotion on it all to get everything to grow wonderfully overnight. It’s fun to speculate on the future.