Please explain to me what reactive hair loss is…..
This is usually another name for shock hair loss (or shock loss), which can occur in association with a hair transplant. We used to see this often in the days before Propecia (finasteride 1mg) was available, but the use of this drug in men before the hair transplant has prevented most surgical induced hair loss.
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I read everywhere losing up to 100 hairs a day is normal. When I wash my hair I usually notice losing 20-30 hairs. Sometimes though I’ll notice a spike (for a few weeks) and notice 50 or 60. Is it normal to go through periods of a greater shedding/hair loss? Thanks for your time.
Yes, the average is about 100 hairs per day but it does vary by day, time of year, and possibly stress levels.
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After 13 days post transplant, I developed lots of scabs on my head. I used a brush to help remove these scabs as it is said the scabs can damage the regrowth process. But using the brush removed much of the transplanted hair in one go along with the scabs. Was using a brush a mistake? Or would the hair roots not have been affected by the brush as it was on the 13th day?
Great work on the site, a real help.
Cheers
I do thank you for reading the site and I am more than happy to give you general information, but shouldn’t you be asking your post-surgical questions to the doctor who performed your surgery? Answering such specific and personal post-operative questions (simple as they may be) could be potentially misleading just by the fact that I do not know what was done in your particular case. I mean, developing scabs on 13th day (with no scabs prior) is very strange if I am reading your question literally!
Small scabbing (1 to 2mm size) on the transplanted recipient sides after a normal follicular unit hair transplant surgery is common, but very minimal. With daily hair washing it should resolve in a week or two. I am not sure how you brush your scabs away, but if the hair grafts are not locked in by that time, you run some risk of pulling them out with the scabs. I would ask your doctor and have it checked out to make sure it is healing properly. See our published article on the subject — Graft Anchoring in Hair Transplantation (PDF file).
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Does Hair Transplant cure Migraine too?
NYTimes.com – Plastic Surgery May Also Ease Migraines
Personal experience — after HT, forehead lines decreased considerably. Perhaps because of increased skin tension after a part of skin is removed?
From the article:
The double-blind study, published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, found that more than 80 percent of patients who underwent surgery in one of three “trigger sites” significantly reduced their number of headaches compared with more than 55 percent of the group who had sham surgery. More than half of the patients with the real surgery reported a “complete elimination” of headaches compared with about 4 percent of the placebo group.
No, a hair transplant would not cure migraines. Maybe it causes less headaches as you are not so preoccupied with balding, but a hair transplant wouldn’t be among the trigger sites the article refers to. Plus, this is all very experimental. Lots of work remains to be done, but thank you for bringing this to my attention.
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I’ve read that the average density of hair in the donor area is 2.0 hairs per square millimeter. I have a density of 2.2, which obviously is above average but how much? Is it slightly, moderate, or very high? Also, what’s the highest density you’ve ever seen on a patient?
The difference between a 2 or 2.2 density could be the normal variation around your scalp. High densities have ranged from 2.6-4.0. Let’s take a look at a patient with a density of 4.0, who has now had nearly 9200 grafts transplanted. Before on the left, after on the right (obviously). Click the photos to enlarge.
To see more photos of this this patient’s remarkable transformation, click on Patient ZU.
This post isn’t hair loss related, but it goes hand-in-hand with wanting to look your best.
My hair transplant patient, plastic surgeon Dr. Jon Perlman, got very excited when he explored a new, non-surgical way to treat fat build-up in the neck, trunk, stomach, and thighs. He started to offer this service and continues to be very high on the results he has now seen. So many men (and women) have just enough fat build-up to make them self-conscious and rather than undergo a surgical procedure like liposuction, this option may be attractive to some of you. Dr. Perlman offered our readers a 10% discount through the end of this year for anyone wanting to undergo this non-surgical fat reduction procedure.
I asked Dr. Perlman to explain how the technology works. He writes:
In the last year the Zerona diode laser has been developed for body sculpting and removal of unsightly fat collections. It works by applying a low power laser energy painlessly without any surgery or probes and “melts” the fat layer beneath the skin of the neck, trunk, stomach or thighs. During the course of multiple (usually six) painless Zerona laser applications, electron microscopy reveals the development of pores in the walls of the fat cells resulting in them emptying their fat into the interstitial fluid space. This fat is eliminated through the lymphatic system with patients noting a loss of 3”- 4” or more over a several week period of time. A few have even lost up to a combined 10” with this procedure and have been given a “jump-start” toward looking and feeling better and maintaining it by better diet and exercise habits.
More information and pictures about this exciting new technology can be found at this site or by calling 310-854-0031.
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I am recently diagnosed with ckd (kidney disease) stage 2 (mild one). i was on topical minoxidil for almost 4 years but i stopped after my knowing about my ckd. is it possible that minoxidil cause ckd within this 4 years? And can i use minoxidil 5% again or it is dangerous for progression of my kidney problem ?? does minoxidil worsen kidney problems?? I also take propecia for almost 2 years.
A precaution in the literature for minoxidil states, “Tell your doctor your medical history, especially of: heart problems, kidney problems, liver problems, other scalp conditions, allergies (especially drug allergies).” This is a question you need to discuss with the doctor treating your kidney disease.
Minoxidil is an antihypertensive medication, which means it can reduce your blood pressure when given orally or when absorbed through your skin in substantial doses. Generally, lowering high blood pressure helps to prevent kidney problems, but that connection between blood pressure and kidney function is what you need to discuss with your doctor.
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In your experience as a medical professional have you ever seen an insurance company pay for a hair restoration as a preventive measure to certain skin cancers & not view it as simply cosmetic? Im very fair skinned & had a small piece of skin removed from my face today & am now waiting for the biopsy results. Thank you for your time & have a great day.
Insurance companies do not pay for cosmetic hair transplants that treat genetic balding, but insurance companies have paid for hair transplants for men and women with hair loss from accidents (burns/scarring).
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Dear Doc,
I have a burning question regarding hair transplant if hairs can be harvasted from areas of the head that are deemed to be sufficent can the same be done from other areas of the body i.e arms, legs etc. I understand the hairs are gentially different, growth rate etc but in principle could it be done and retrospectifcally will it cost more then harvesting hair from the head?
Have you ever undertaken or known dr to undertake this procedure? outcomes?
Thanks doc
Body hair transplants are not generally considered accepted treatment for balding. It is considered more on the experimental side. As for costs, it really depends on the doctor. As body hair transplantation is done with follicular unit extraction (FUE), costs are likely higher than a traditional strip surgery using scalp hair anyway. That is moot though, as I don’t believe anyone should have this done if your scalp donor hair is usable. So while technically, body hair transplantation is possible (and is done), I personally do not believe it is viable for the reasons you are familiar with. I’ve written about it before.
As for outcomes…. I’ve seen some complete failures of body hair transplantation and even more poor, unnatural looking results from using body hair to transplant to the scalp. One particular patient I recall spent about $11,000 with a doctor who claimed to be an expert. The surgery was a failure and the patient was none too pleased, as one might expect (see story here). I’ve yet to see a natural looking body hair transplant that appeared anywhere near the quality of using scalp hair from the donor area.
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Hey Dr. Rassman,
Appreciate all you do on the blog as well as answering my questions in the past. I had a less than desirable result from a HT procedure to say the least. Make a long story short, if I ever need to get one again, which I will since I have small gaps on my head still, I will be visiting your office before.
The grafts that did grow, which was on the low side, are coming in at all different angles and growing in different directions than both the other grafts and of my current hair. When I mentioned this to my doctor and the dissatisfaction of my results, he mentioned that it might be possible to change the angle of the grafts with a new tool? Is this possible to your knowledge? If not, is there anything I can do or this is just the way my grafts will grow forever? Also, do you ever have any open houses in the New York area?
Thanks so much.
It is unfortunate that your grafts were placed at poor angles and your results are questionable. Your story of a bad procedure result illustrates the fact that hair transplant is for LIFE and you should do your research of the doctors and see their work first hand before going ahead with the surgery.
There is no tool or technique that will change the direction of your hair. I suppose you can individually excise them one by one and try to re-implant them, but that could potentially cause more damage, trauma, scarring, and failure to grow. Plus why would you place more trust and risk a poor outcome from the same doctor who already put the hairs in the wrong angle? You are a brave man!
I don’t have offices on the east coast any more, but Dr. Bernstein does have open houses in his NY office.
