January 2010 – Page 9

January 6, 2010

I’m Noticing Small Hair Growth at the Hairline After 3 Months on Finasteride – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I am a 22 year old male, most likely a Norwood Class 2. I have recently begun taking 1.25 mg generic Proscar, which I started about 3 months ago. I have recently noticed there appear to be some new very small, light, and almost invisible hairs growing at the corners of my hair line. When I say these hairs are almost invisible, I mean that they are very, very hard to see, but in the right light they do show up.

Could these hairs be growth from Proscar? Does initial regrowth usually begin as very fine, light hairs, and later grow in as thicker hairs? Finally, I have noticed that a small number of my thicker hairs are not always uniform in width, one end of a hair my be extremely thick, while the other is thin, and even a different shade of color.

Thanks for your time, and keep up the excellent work!

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Let’s not check this out hair-by-hair. If you wait out the full 8 months to 1 year you will see just what you are getting. Patience is a virtue in this business. Do you ever actually see grass grow in real-time? I mean, to see it you need to take a step back and wait to see the change over a few weeks for the grass (and months for the hair).

It would be a very rare thing for you to see growth at the hairline, particularly after just 3 months. But I suppose it isn’t out of the realm of possibilities…

January 6, 2010

Zinc Deficiency and Hair Loss in Men? – Balding Blog

Does zinc deficiency cause hair loss in men? If so, how long after taking extra zinc will the hair go bak to normal? How much extra zinc is recommended? Thank you for answering my questions.

It is rare to have a zinc deficiency. Babies, people who are malnourished, and people with bowel disease are the ones that will generally have such a deficiency. Best to look up the extensive write up on zinc at Office of Dietary Supplements.

I have not seen any patients with zinc deficiency, so I can not tell you if the hair loss that comes about from it in an adult will reverse with treatment, but there seems to be optimism in some of the reports I have read.

January 6, 2010

Transplanting Hair Into a Cleft Lip Scar – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi I have a keloid scar from a failed surgery in the past. My keloid scar is located from my left nostril to the bottom of my upper lip. (cleft lip) Is it possible to transplant hairs on the keloid scar? has such a procedure ever been done before? I know you transplant hairs on lips not sure about on top of a keloid scar.

If this is a cleft lip scar, it is rarely a keloid. These scars make good transplant recipient sites and many people have grown transplanted mustaches to cover the cleft lip scar.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

January 5, 2010

My Dermatologist Sees Hair Loss But Wants to Wait to Prescribe Propecia Later – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,

Is it always best to start Finasteride sooner than later? I’ve read some information suggesting that finasteride only works for a certain period before losing its effectiveness. Should it be started at the first sign of balding, or should one wait a bit until it is absolutely necessary?

I am 26 male and have started to thin in the front. Dermatologist confirms male pattern baldness by inspection only, no mapping. He is hesitant to prescribe me finasteride for life, considering that we don’t know its long term effects and he’s considering that it might cause more aggressive forms of prostate cancer (though it lowers prostate cancer risk overall). But reading your archives it seems that you think finasteride is the best treatment option for young men who are starting to bald.

Do you have any concerns about its long term safety? Say usage for 10 years plus?

Thanks!

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I think that your dermatologist is off base. The medical facts do not support him and the earlier you start Propecia, the less hair you will lose. Propecia should be started at the early onset of hair loss. Hair loss is a one way street, progressing only to more balding when it is caused by genetics in the male. I haven’t seen you, so if your dermatologist says you are experiencing early genetic loss, you may consider getting a second opinion for the Propecia.

Propecia has been available on the market since early 1998 (FDA approved in 1997), but I’m unaware of any recent studies on patients that have been taking it for that long. I do have my own patients that have been taking it for over a dozen years with great success. Some have experienced a perceived reduction in benefits after 5-10 years, but the medication is still working to some degree. If the medication were to be discontinued at that time, more hair loss will be seen (catch-up hair loss). It’s the tug-of-war between the medication and your genetics.

January 5, 2010

NSAIDs and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female) I have been experiencing hair loss for about 2 months now. It is just beginning to be noticable when I lift up sections of my hair. The hair loss is now accompanied by an itchy scalp but that may be due to the fact that I have had a problem with winter dandruff my whole life. I am wondering if the hair loss could be due to NSAID use.

I have been taking 4-8 200 mg ibuprofen almost every day for the past few months. There has been no major stresses in my life but I was told that I had low iron after giving birth to my son 2.5 yrs ago. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

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Just to clarify for those readers that may not be familiar with “NSAIDS”, it stands for “Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs” and you likely have them in your medicine cabinet. Some common NSAIDs are aspirin and ibuprofen.

Back to your question — as I am not your doctor, it is difficult to answer this. Low iron can cause hair loss, and even ibuprofen has been reported as a cause of hair loss in some. As I’ve said many times before, causes for female hair loss are difficult to nail down and could be from a variety of possible issues. I’d run some tests with your doctor.

January 5, 2010

Using Vaginal Cream on the Scalp to Grow Hair? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr Rassman
Question about Monistat Vaginal Cream. I have read that this is helping woman to thicken there scalp hair. Is there any truth to this and if so can you tell me how it works and can it be of any help to men? Thanks

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Monistat is used to treat fungal infections in the moist vagina which, in some women, has a tendency to produce yeast infections. There is no basis whatsoever in using this medication for the treatment of balding, though.

One of the ingredients (miconazole nitrate) is considered by some to be a hair growth agent, but I’ve yet to see a study that gives that theory any legs. There’s a great blog post at HairBoutique about this very issue.

January 5, 2010

Huge Bump on My Head from 13 Years Ago Left Me with a Bald Spot – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

This regards traction alopecia/scarring. As a kid, roughly around 11 yrs. old, I was over a friends house and another kid locked me out of my friend’s room. They pulled the old trick on me where I was pushing hard against the door to get it in and WHOOOOOSH – the flies open and Newton’s First Law comes into effect and ends with me tripping head-first into the corner of a wood dresser. An extremely large and painful bump emerged on my head, but no bleeding and no hospital.

Ever since then I’ve had a bald spot the size of a silver dollar on the impact spot and have noticed something interesting. The scalp there is not smooth/glossy and I can still see plenty of hair follicles or “buds” everywhere, but they produce no hair or very thin hair and have been doing so the last 13 years. I realize these follicles have become weak/dormant, but is there anyway to reawaken them? Guessing propecia would do nothing considering it responds to DHT, not some sort of scarring.

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After 13 years, I would think that there is no medication that would bring the hair back. You might try Rogaine for a year or so on the bald area, but do not expect a miracle. A hair transplant or some other surgical procedure may work, but I would have to see you and draw my own conclusion (a good photo would help). The little “buds” you speak of are interesting, and I’d like to see what that is.

January 5, 2010

In the News – Sexual Assault is Not a Natural Hair Loss Treatment – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

An “alternative doctor” who sexually assaulted a female reporter seeking a cure for hair loss has been jailed for nine months.

Chan Tung-choi, a practitioner of natural therapy, yelled he was innocent as he was led away from Eastern Magistrates’ Court yesterday. Chan, 68, who denied four counts of indecent assault, was found guilty by Magistrate So Wai-tak. He said he would appeal. Earlier, the court heard how Chan fondled the private parts and breasts of a 28-year-old online journalist, who cannot be named, between late 2005 and October 2006 at his Sheung Wan clinic.

He told her such actions would help make her hair grow.

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Read the full article — `Sex therapy’ doc jailed for hell of hair-loss patient

A pathetic incident beyond any doubt.

January 4, 2010

Hair Loss InformationHair Plug Removal? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman:

I am a 44 year old male with obvious hair plugs. I had three sessions from strip grafts back in 1995. In considering all of my repair options, I would like to just be naturally bald. Two surgeons have dissuaded me from having plug removals claiming that scarring would be a limiting factor. I was wondering how you would feel about a staged FUE removal of individual hairs over time allowing healing between sessions. I noticed that you replied to another inquirer that individual graft removal take a week to heal. Therefore, why not just space out the sessions to allow for adequate healing in the meanwhile? I’m not averse to small scarring as anything would be better than my current state. I am not interested in additional grafting as I’m convinced I am continuing to bald and will eventually have an island on the top of my head.

Any thoughts? Thank you.

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Plug I can not really address your specific issues, particularly when it comes to scarring, without at least seeing what you’re dealing with. You can use follicular unit extraction (FUE) to extract the big hair plugs, but sometime excision of the plugs work well. It all depends upon the extent of your problem. How many plugs do you have and where are they located (photos should tell me the answer)?

Sometimes if the frontal hairline is very pluggy and there is a concentration, removing the frontal hairline does not leave much scarring in many people. Is it your intention to be go completely slick bald (very difficult) or just a repair (much easier to do)? Send me good digital photos (reference this post when sending) and then we can set up a telephone consultation.

For those interested in seeing the difference a repair can do for a pluggy look, take a look at this patient.

January 4, 2010

Hair Loss InformationIs Propecia Safe to Take Daily? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Is Propecia safe to take everyday the rest of my life. I’m 33. Pretty healthy with no known issues. I work out.. Thinning a bit in the middle of head and I heard Propecia will slow down or stop completely hair loss. Internet is vaque on question. So Doctor is it safe to use on a everyday basis on the ones liver or a other life threating issues taken it long term..

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There is no evidence to suggest that taking Propecia for life could cause problems with your health. Evidence that it may be harmful is what the FDA wants to know as well. Taking the medication for your lifetime is important, because the hair loss problems are lifetime problems.

I’ve had a patient taking Propecia for over 12 years, and the results show that his hair loss visibly stopped and his crown hair regrew within the first year of taking it. I have recommended that my son, who has been on it for 5 years now, stay on it for his entire lifetime. All of his frontal thinning stopped on the drug and I am convinced that if he discontinued the medication, he would experience hair loss.