Month: December 2009

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Hair Loss InformationCan Hair Transplant Techniques Be Refined Even Further? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

hey dr i was just wondering if you feel hair transplants have peeked or will they improve some way in the future i just analyze them in terms of reaching their full potential but your opinion is greatly appreciated as always and also do you see them getting any cheaper in the near future also

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I think that the technology has been pushed as far as it can go as we mimic just what nature does. The problems in the community are mainly related to the surgical team, and a few issues with physician education. Too many doctors are doing this with inexperienced teams of assistants, so the practical problem is to get the standards up. When the transplants do not grow as expected and the surgical team is less skilled, the failures are often caused by an inexperienced team.

With regard to pricing, this is not a commodity and as such if the prices go down much from where they are, the quality of the teams just won’t be there. We pay our staff competitive wages so that they can support a family, have health insurance, etc. If you ask our patients you will find the theme they speak of is our quality patient care and great results.

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Hair Loss InformationAny Point in Taking 5mg Finasteride to Treat Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Doctor,

I just wanted to know if there is any point of taking 5mg proscar for hairloss? From my research I think the answer is no but I have taken 5mg for last 6 weeks. I have noticed a lack of motivation and being a bit down but I am not exactly sure if they are related to taking the 5mg or due to other things in my life. Could there be any side effects for taking for the 5mg for the past 6 weeks? If I just cut down to the quarter Proscar tablet (1.25mg) will my body take long to readjust after having taking 5mg dosage?

Thanks you for your time,

Kind regards

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There is no point in taking finasteride 5mg (Proscar) for treating hair loss. Aside from the increased side effect possibility, it will not work any better for hair loss. I really cannot comment on your lack of motivation and its relation to the medication. Maybe you have the holiday blues? Side effects from medications should generally reverse in about a week or two.

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Hair Loss InformationUsing Rogaine After a Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman, I recently had a hair transplant at your facility, everythings going well, my question to you is, can i apply rogaine on my newly transplanted hair, I read that when you apply rogaine, the hairs fall out at first, and then it grows back, is that true? I’m afraid if I apply rogaine to the transplanted area, the hair’s will fall out and not grow back. Your response will be greatly appreciated.

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I’d say to wait at least 7-10 days before using the Rogaine near the transplanted hairs. Using Rogaine Foam would likely be the best way to go about it, as it is easier to apply (requiring less rubbing on the area).

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Hair Loss InformationZenagen Shampoo – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’d like to bring to your attention another product making wild claims – Zenagen Natural Hair Loss Shampoo

Presumably you have a similar attitude towards it to other similar products?

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ZenagenOh boy. I’d say anything that bills itself as a “natural hair loss shampoo” already falls under my “buyer beware” list. But, let’s review the product’s site anyway…

The first thing my eyes were drawn to on the site is the big “1,000,000,000 hairs protected” graphic. I wonder how long it took them to count all billion. Then as I scrolled down the page, I noticed the lovely “As seen on Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune” graphic at the bottom. Often the only mention for products like these in major publications is in the form of a paid advertisement or reprinting of a press release. I’d love to see what the LA Times actually said about the product, if anything. I assume that if there was a real mention in those newspapers, there would be links to the articles (of which there are none). The photo results are equally laughable. Look at the “Results” page to see an example of a guy with a mostly-shaved head as the “before” and with his hair grown out as the “after”. You can clearly see he’s got a prominent and strong hairline in the both photos.

The makers offer zero proof and zero science to back up their statements, yet their site insists, “Based on science and research, the unique formula makes Zenagen shampoo the number one rated hair loss product“. It’s always the #1 rated products that nobody has ever heard of and offer no basis for their claims, right? Ha! Of course, you’re welcome to try the product for yourself, but until I can see a bit of proof of this shampoo’s efficacy, I’d say it’s not going to do much of what the maker claims it will. I am not impressed.

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Hair Loss InformationCould Propecia Be Used to Treat Cardiovascular Disease? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Doctor,

There is an established correlation between (early onset) androgenic alopecia and both cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer. Now interestingly, Propecia (more than likely) reduces the risk of prostate cancer. Since Propecia seems helpful against hair loss and against prostate cancer, could it also be helpful against the third correlate: cardiovascular disease?

At least some studies seem to consider DHT to be proatherogenic while others consider estradiol to be antiatherogenic (in men). Given the fact balding men carry an extra cardiovascular risk and prostate cancer risk, could finasteride not only reduce the risk of prostate cancer but work cardioprotective as well in this population? Unfortunately I did not find much empirical data (only one study – PMID: 12234510 – reporting a non-significant RR of 0.3). How plausible do you consider finasteride to be helpful in reducing the added CVD risk in balding (young) men?

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HeartA valid and interesting point. I honestly don’t know how plausible it is, but it is certainly a refreshing perspective from a sea of anti-Propecia campaigns and the paranoia of its side effects that I’ve been receiving via email lately.

Medications are not magic bullets. They have limitations and might not always work the way we think they should work, but there may be benefits as well as detriments (for those anti-Propecia fans) still undiscovered. After all, Propecia was an accidental discovery, but there is clearly a need to study the connection between heart disease on those men taking Propecia. Considering that many men on Propecia are young, the number of people needed for a valid study may be very high.

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Hair Loss InformationMy DHT Levels are 5 Times Higher After Being on Propecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi,

Before started propecia my dht levels were normal, now after 7 months i had great results but my dht levels are 5 times higher. have any of your patients reported this? or do you know anyone who happened this?

I think it could be a reaction of my body, everyone said to me to never take propecia again, but i’m really worried about my hair loss.

thanks!

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It’s great to hear you had good clinical results from Propecia. This is just a blood test, but what I want to know is — what are your testosterone levels? Usually these go up initially and they drop down to normal levels within a few months.

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Hair Loss InformationVitamin D Caused My Female Hair Loss to Stop! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female)
Hi – two weeks ago my Md told me I was really deficient in vitamin d. I started taking 5000 units a day and to my astonishment – when I washed my hair- almost NONE came out… ( usually its handfuls) … also muscle spasms stopped and i feel great…

Vitamin D is a miracle… really!

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Now that your vitamin D deficiency is cleared up, so is your hair loss. That’s great news! Congratulations!

I’m posting this to show that female hair loss has so many potential causes (a partial list can be found here), and some solutions are as simple as adding vitamins to your diet. Talk to your doctor!

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Hair Loss InformationYou Only Want to Sell Hair Transplants to the Fruits and Nuts in California! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Sir,

I am 58 and starting to lose my hair front and top.

I have never used any product other than Nioxin, (for 20 years) but not for hair loss, I simply like the products.

I am having a very hard time, not only believing in the infomercial hair loss products like Provillus but also your negativity towards all these products. I find your foot print, disclaiming most of the infomercial hair loss products and this includes Rogaine…

Should I believe that all these products are completely bogus OR are you degrading them because you charge an insane amount of money for your hair transplants, especially in Calif where the fruits, nuts and very vain people live! I seem to feel that you are bias towards these products because you need to buy another million dollar mansion some where in the fruit and nut state? Am I correct?

By the way, I have many friends that live in Calif and I consider them to be fruits and nuts also!

Sincerely,
– Name removed
New York

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Transplanted fruitI’ll just assume you were making a very poor attempt at humor with all your “fruits and nuts” comments, so I won’t take offense. Considering our fees for hair transplants are lower than many physicians in your own state, you’re pretty narrow-sighted to think pricing is outrageous because we’re in California. But let’s get to the real meat of your oh-so-insightful email…

Most of the hair loss products you read about on the web are bogus and the makers prey on desperate people trying to retain their hair. The products that do work (and are proven to do so) are finasteride and minoxidil. And even then, I post plenty of reports from readers about side effects and concerns for those medications. I like to think I’m pretty balanced when it comes to this stuff. If you like a particular hair product then by all means continue using it. I never said these products were unhealthy or would hurt or kill you. A product like Provillus just contains minoxidil, so it works like minoxidil does. If you want to spend more on a boutique minoxidil with vitamins that I feel won’t aid in regrowth, that’s your call to make. If you want to buy a shampoo because you like the way it makes your hair feel, then please go for it.

It sounds like your biggest gripe is that I’m not writing positive things about unproven treatments. I’m asked about nearly every hair treatment product under the sun, and all I can do with most of these is review the ingredients listed and give my 2 cents. Recently I was asked about a product that lists rosemary as some kind of hair growth treatment. Simon and Garfunkel might’ve had a hit with Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, but it doesn’t mean those same ingredients will work to grow hair (otherwise I’m sure Garfunkel wouldn’t have had his infamously bad hairline). My point is that there are hundreds of products around that claim to work — and they simply don’t. There’s no proof that they are effective… and it seems people don’t tend to care if there’s proof, as long as the website looks slick and they’re offered a “guarantee” that may or may not be worth anything.

You’re free to believe what you want to believe about me, but you couldn’t be more wrong. If I was going to try to persuade people into getting surgery, I wouldn’t bother recommending any medication (which I don’t make money on). If I was trying to buy a “million dollar mansion” (actually, it would be my first), I wouldn’t offer my services, time, and support for free through this website. Why would I bother educating people about how to be a better consumer if I was trying to take advantage of them? Give me a break. As for the so-called “fruits and nuts” in California, this state has some of the most normal, driven and brightest people in the world. If you want more information on what this state has to offer, you can visit the California Tourism site. I found that site by using Google… which incidentally was founded in *surprise, surprise* California.

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Hair Loss InformationRogaine on Eyelashes? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female) Can I use Rogaine on my eyelashes? I know it has not been tested on eyelashes, but do the ingredients seem harmful, or simply not yet approved for that purpose? Also, what about using Rogaine on my eyebrows?

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EyelashesRogaine (minoxidil) is an irritant and if you use it around the eye and accidentally get it into the eye, you could be in for problems. I would think that the use of minoxidil in any form would not be a good thing to do for eyelashes. The new eyelash growth medication is Latisse (bimatoprost).

I know some patients have tried minoxidil on their eyebrows with mixed results. Just note that minoxidil isn’t recommended for anywhere other than the scalp, so be cautious if you do use it on the eyebrows.