April 2010 – Page 7 – Balding Blog

April 14, 2010

Amazing Results from Body Hair Transplants? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have a question regarding hair transplants. I have come across this link on youtube.

This doctor claims to be an expert when it comes to extracting hair from the body. He even has some videos where he extracted 20,000 hair. I’ve seen the videos and the results look awesome. If I can get results like the videos maybe I might consider visiting him in the future. However, before I step forward I need your advise on whether these results are a form of deception or not ? Can this doctor really give such amazing results ? Should I consider this option for the future. Since I am from an Indian background I have a lot of hair in other areas besides my head.

Block Quote

I personally do not believe in performing body hair transplants and have written about the problems with this type of procedure many, many times. The body hair transplant results that I’ve seen in person were not flattering, but these do look good. I can be a skeptic at times and if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

If you are looking for an endorsement of Dr. Umar, I cannot give that to you because I have not reviewed his work. If you are convinced these results are amazing then perhaps you should see him. But before you decide to go through with the surgery, I’d ask to meet patients that have already had it done so you can judge the results for yourself in person.

April 14, 2010

Only 4 Percent of Men Who Used Minoxidil Called it Very Effective – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hey doc, I just saw this article that talks about a Consumer Reports poll about hair loss treatments. Kinda interesting that minoxidil doesn’t seem to work all that well for most men but Propecia did have a good response rate.

‘Consumer Reports,’ stylists say hair loss remedy results mixed

Here’s the part of the article that you’re referring to: “Twenty-seven percent of men who used finasteride (marketed as Propecia) said the pill was ‘very effective’ at treating hair loss and 41 percent said it was ’somewhat effective.’ Only 4 percent of men who used minoxidil (marketed as Rogaine) called it very effective.”

It’s an internet survey of just over 8000 Consumer Reports readers so it isn’t scientific at all, but this sounds about right to me. Minoxidil works for many men, but “very” effective it is not.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 14, 2010

Increased Hair Loss from Laser Comb? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have used propecia for over a year with good results but then I bought a hairmax laser comb. Now I using both the comb and propecia for hair loss. However since I started with the Hairmax laser comb, I am experiencing more hair loss and that is now for a year.

Have you ever heard of anyone having side effects for the Hairmax laser comb? Is it possible for the laser comb to cause increased hair loss? I know this is not normal shedding because it cannot last for a year.

I personally do not think any laser works for treating hair loss, and I think what you are seeing could be a coincidence. I have not heard of increased hair loss from a using a LaserComb.

Propecia is a great medication, but you will still lose some hair as you use it. The point is that you are losing less hair than if you are not taking Propecia at all. For some people it works just beautifully, others will have mixed results. As I’ve said many times, no medication will work exactly the same for everyone.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 14, 2010

I Don’t Care About Future Hair Loss, I Want a Transplant Now! – Balding Blog

i am a 19 yr old male, almost 20, and since i was 16 my hair has receded near the temple points. my hair line now resembles a narrow V. i style my hair in a way that gives me a youthful look and it covers it well, however i am wanting to get a transplant so that i may have a beautiful hairline. doctors have told me that i am too young but i dont care, if i get the hairline reconstructed and the rest of the hair continues receding, so long as i have a real hairline i dont mind wearing a hairpeice if it comes to that…what do u think?

If you are losing this much hair at such a young age, it is not a good sign. There is a risk that you may go on to lose all of your hair before you are 30 years old. Despite what you may think, you will still care how you look like when you are 30 years old (or 40, 50, even 80 years old for that matter). You have to accept the fact that hair transplant surgery in itself is not a complete solution to your problem. What I mean by that is you will never look like or have the “beautiful” hair you had when you were 16 years old. Just as your face will change, your body weight will change, and you will constantly adapt to different styles and looks over your lifetime. The same goes for your hair. As you lose more hair you will adapt and change your hair style to make it look full.

While hair transplant surgery can certainly address the balding and receding hairline, you have to think about how you may look like with more hair loss and think about the worst case scenario. This is what we mean when we often talk about the Master Plan involved when a patient decides to have a hair transplant surgery.

If you are sure you will go bald and you are totally fine with wearing a hair piece, then surgery to the front hairline and front area of the scalp can be a good compromise to give a full and natural look that blends in with a hair piece. But until you are 100% sure of this, I would wait. Surgery at such a young age can precipitate accelerated “shock hair loss” from the trauma of the surgery itself and your existing hairs will fall out faster than they otherwise would’ve and you will end up looking worse.

April 14, 2010

Have You Seen a Case Where Propecia Makes Hair Loss Worse? – Balding Blog

Dear Dr –
I know there’s quite a lot of anecdotal, somewhat brutal indictment of finasteride on the web, some perhaps more grounded in reality than others. And of course, part of this revolves around frontal hair loss and so-called hyperandrogenicity, blah blah. You’ve given quite a lot of first-hand, practical and scientifically-based advice to folks who may be scared off by these reports.

My question for you is the following: Have you yourself witnessed in your thousands of patients any number of these patients taking finasteride see their hair loss situation get substantially WORSE (particularly in the frontal regions) given, say, a year of regular finasteride treatment? And, if so, is there any case in your patient-load where you might speculate that the finasteride treatment itself accelerated the situation?

I have seen hair loss progression even while a patient was on Propecia, but I do not believe that taking the medication caused the loss I saw or accelerated it. I can’t think of any case where I’ve speculated that the reason for the hair loss was the medication prescribed to treat it.

April 13, 2010

Getting More Permanent Hair from the Scalp? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,

Excellent blog. I read it every day and would love to add my question to the plethora of information available.

I have a question about donor supply. I of course understand that when it comes to strip harvesting, you can only cut out so much of the skin, and that only some of the hair at the back, below a certain line, is permanent. But I’d like to know why after using up all the available donor hair with reference to what you can get with the strip-cup method, you can’t go in and take more grafts via the FUE method. There is still plenty more permanent hair at the back and although it might be too low to cut into because of the nerves and muscles, using tiny punches to get it out I’m guess wouldn’t have negative affects.

Thinning out the sides too would I think also have the advantage of not only providing more donor hair, but it would also make the transplanted area not look as thin in comparison since you’re making this “thick” permanent zone thinner.

With doctors performing FUE where ever there is hair, even body hair, I’d like to know why you can’t just go after more permanent hair that you still have in the back of your head and on the sides.

Thanks!

Block Quote

Doing a strip harvest for the first hair transplant surgery and a follicular unit extraction (FUE) at a later time is generally not advisable, as you limit the donor density with the FUE. Essentially, you’re asking why doctors don’t try to thin the donor area as much as possible, but for many people having the sides and back of the head looking sparse would also be a problem. Then again, everyone is different and I would rather not make a rule without knowing your situation. If you start with strip harvesting, you should finish with strip harvesting if you go for another procedure.

April 13, 2010

Transplanting Hair Between Identical Twins – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Dr!

I just had a quick question. I have a NW 3 vertex balding pattern, but so does my identical twin. Would you ever consider transplanting hair from one twin to another? Not against his will of course! I can see an ethical delimma on the future situation of the twin donor if he ever changes his mind, so I was curious what you would do in this situation.

Yes, we have done this on one occasion. Twins have to be identical twins (exact same DNA) and not fraternal twins. If one wants to donate to another, it’s their choice and wishes. I would want to know both of the twins and understand the reason for transplanting from one to the other.

In a Norwood Class 3 pattern, there is really no need to take from one twin and move it to the other. The recipient area is easily covered with a single surgery in many patients and the use of finasteride will keep the hair loss from advancing in most cases. I understand, however, your desire to keep it in the family so set up an appointment with a good doctor to cover these issues in great detail.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 13, 2010

My Hair Loss Might Be from an Iron Deficiency, But I’m Taking Propecia… – Balding Blog

Is there a danger to taking Finasteride if I don’t have androgenic alopecia? I have a lot of hair loss, but it’s possible that it could be from an Iron or a B12 deficiency from a poor vegan diet the last 3 years. If I start taking Finasteride, but it turns out my hair loss is not due to androgenic alopecia, will Finasteride cause me to lose more hair somehow?

Finasteride 1mg (Propecia) is meant for treating genetic androgenic alopecia (hair loss) in men. If you do not have this genetic hair loss, you should not be taking Propecia. You shouldn’t be taking any medication if it is not meant for you. Hair loss from iron or vitamin deficiency is not androgenic alopecia and hair loss patterns are completely different. They are two completely different things and easy to distinguish.

It sounds like you are trying to play a guessing game and experiment on yourself so rather than continue doing that, I suggest you see your physician.

April 13, 2010

My Doctor Wants Me to Take 5mg Finasteride Daily for Best Results – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Doc

After spending hours on your site I have decided to take the brave step of seeking help from my local GP, Doctor, about my hair loss. I still have a good head of thick, black hair but I am shedding some hair. Uaing Nitozrol seems to have helped, less loss and thicker heir.

My GP stated that he is willing to prescribe me Finasteride in the 5mg ‘as we have seen best results at this dosage from our patients’.

Doc is that perfectly normal to take 5mg I thought it was 1mg per day not 5? Have you seen better results with 5 then 1 with your patients?

Thanks

Proscar Reports originally sent to the FDA by the pharmaceutical company Merck show that the 1mg dose of finasteride is as good as the 5mg dose of finasteride for treating hair loss. There may be an occasional patient who does better on a slightly higher dose (2mg), but as the dosage goes up the side effect risks become higher. Even in those cases, I have a difficult time delineating that a higher dose provides more benefit. I have suggested to some patients that have seen a cessation of visible benefits after some time on Propecia to increase their dosage, but so far the results have not been clear… and I’ve not recommended those few patients increase to the full 5mg.

On the flip side, there are some doctors out there who believe 0.25mg finasteride is just as good and there is some evidence that this tiny dose is 50% as effective as the 1mg dose! In my practice, I recommend the standard dose for treating genetic hair loss: finasteride 1mg. As most people likely know, the reason a 5mg pill is available is because it is a prostate treatment (marketed as Proscar). 1mg for hair loss, 5mg for prostate.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 13, 2010

Hair Loss Started After Extreme Dieting, But Doctor Says It is MPB – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 18 year old male. I had lost 60 pounds with in 4-5 month period with restricting food intake and exercising 6 out of 7 days of the week. Ever since I had noticed more hair was falling out and it was getting thinner. Now Im starting to eat more I decided to visit the doctor. he sent me to the dermatologist and the dermatologist said I might have male pattern baldness or hair loss due to stress. He was leaning more towards male pattern baldness because he saw the middle of my scalp was more visible and thinning more and he thinks the weight loss made my male pattern baldness come ever earlier. surprisingly no one in my family, moms family or dad’s family had male pattern baldness. And before my weight loss my hair was very thick and strong. I really need some help should I go to another doctor to look at my hair loss problem? Any suggestions would be ever so useful please and thank you my friends.

Diets that tend to reduce a good, balanced nutritional intake of foods are known to cause acceleration of the genetic balding process. If it isn’t a genetic process, the stress from the malnutrition could cause the hair loss. But if you’ve already seen a doctor that suggested your hair loss appeared to likely be genetic, I couldn’t dispute that since I haven’t examined you for myself.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):