Month: February 2013

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Hair Loss InformationIf I’m Starting to Lose Hair, Could Coloring or Straightening It Cause More Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ve been slightly balding in front of my head. is it ok to straight and color my hair?? would it cause more hair to fall out?

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Coloring and/or straightening the already weakened hair can cause significant hair loss. I recall a patient that bleached his hair for years when he started seeing hair loss (less contrast between his hair and skin), but the bleach wasn’t doing him any favors.

If you’re at the early stages of hair loss, you should see a doctor about a prescription for Propecia to try to keep your loss from advancing and strengthen the miniaturizing hairs.

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How Should I Store Cut Finasteride Pills? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I know that with regard to cut up 5 mg finasteride pills, you recommend that pills are only cut up one at a time, to avoid excess hydration of the pill fragments with vapour in the air.

I have a question about the storage of the three pill fragments each time a pill is cut (assuming it is cut into quarters). Right now, I just leave the pill fragments inside the pill cutter, but would it be more effective to store them in an airtight container for three days? Or does it not make a considerable difference, given the short timeframe of storage?

Thanks.

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It might not make that much of a difference if you’re cutting one pill at a time (which is what you should do), but I would err on the side of caution and store the fragments in an airtight pill bottle.

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Walgreens Sent Me Generic Propecia! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Doctor,

I’ve always enjoyed reading your blog. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

I’ve been getting my Propecia delivered in the mail via Walgreens for quite some time. I’ve always taken the Merck brand, but was surprised to see my refill was something called “Dr. Reddy’s Finasteride” made by an Indian company. The cost for 90 tablets was $183, which seems a bit high for generic.

Walgreen’s never notified me that they were changing my prescription from Merck to Dr. Reddy. Also, I’m concerned with the shipping of this product overseas and the possible very hot climate in transit. If the temperature in transit were to get into the 90’s or higher, it could be problematic for the medication.

I’d love to hear your opinion on this new generic brand that seems to be out on the market and what we should expect as a cost for a generic version. Thank you!

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We previously wrote about the generic Propecia finally being sold in the US in a couple of posts —

The cost will remain on the higher side for at least 6 months, because Dr. Reddy’s has an exclusive window to sell the generic 1mg finasteride. Once other manufacturers are able to sell their generics, I would expect the price to come down.

Dr. Reddy’s is an Indian pharmaceutical company, but they do have manufacturing facilities in the US (I’m not sure which facility their finasteride is made in, though). I would think safeguards are in place during shipping of medication to maintain proper temperatures in transit, and everything that they do is over-viewed by the FDA.

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Propecia Maintained My Hairline for Years, But I Noticed More Side Effects Over Time – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m a male in my late 20s. I’ve been using Propecia successfully for almost 5 years now to maintain almost a teenage hairline. I had noticed the very beginnings of temple hairloss at age 24 and started the regimen. Over time i’ve noticed more and more side effects (whether directly attributable or not, who knows). They are enough of an issue that i’ve decided to go off the drug.

I assumed i would be able to get 2 or 3 hair transplants from a reputable surgeon over next 5 years to ensure that my hair will still look decent. However i’m now reading that hair transplants don’t work in my situation because it causes more hair loss than it fixes. Is this true? Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks.

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The best guidance I can provide is that you seek a consultation with a hair transplant surgeon for a better personalized assessment and a Master Plan.

Having a hair transplant does not mean you need to be on Propecia. Many patients undergo a hair transplant without taking Propecia. You do run the risk of shock loss without the medication, but your surgeon will be able to explain the pros and cons of a hair transplant (and determine your candidacy).

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Could Low Testosterone Be The Cause of My Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello doctor! It’s more or less been five years that I’m having some different negatives psychosomatic symptoms: tiredness, spine ache, depression and reduced sexual pleasure. I’m thinking that they could be caused by low testosterone. The problem is that at the same time, I’m having moderate hair loss. The question is: could a lack of testosterone cause my hair loss? Thanks.

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Low testosterone could lead to hair loss (because androgenic hair loss in men is due to the genetic predisposition not the hormone level), but I couldn’t say if that is the cause of your loss. Stress could also cause hair loss (if it is in a non pattern/ diffuse), and the stress could be brought on by your psychosomatic issues.

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Hair Loss InformationI’m 59 and When I Comb My Hair Back My Hairline is Uneven – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Doctor

I’m 59 and If I part my hair you wouldn’t notice thinning, however I like to comb my hair back and recently you can see the uneven hairline you see with thinning in addition to seeing the thinning which actually makes a broken nose look bigger. I can see how something like 300 grafts would solve it. Am I just being too vain?

I guess solve isn’t the right word ’cause i assume thinning will continue. And more procedures may be needed every couple years. Is that a correct assessment?

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In a man of your age, I would expect that the progressive hair loss has already stopped and a hair transplant could solve the problem. I am not sure that 300 grafts would do the job, but I suppose it depends on how uneven your hairline is and what you want changed.

To determine what you need and balance it against what you want, you need to meet with a doctor to determine what your goals are. What I generally do is draw a line for the proposed hairline, estimate the ‘gap’ between this drawn hairline (we decide together where this line is). Then I figure out how much hair it would take to fill in the area behind the drawn hairline to where your existing hairline is.

You are not vain. Everyone has an image of what they would like to look like and you are no different than most men. I had a hair transplant last year (age 70) to fill in a balding crown with great results. You can see photos from that here.

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Proactive Hair Transplants – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My question is perhaps unusual but I feel it is a valid one. I am 33 and I have been experiencing slow diffused thinning over about 7ish years. My thinning started to show in the top of my crown and slowly moved towards the mid and front. I have had no hairline depletion or recession at all.

So I have been on finasteride for about 4 months now. I also had a procedure at another clinic and had a 1.25cm*33cm strip taken and I have high density especially in the back. Anyway, grafting was done basically over the class 6 sort of layout with a back up hairline behind my current one. My total hair count was approx 7,500 hairs. I do have coarse black hair that becomes wavy when long.

Here’s my concern, though I am no where near my final result, what is the merit to doing another say more proactive procedure? That was my original plan but I mean almost in anticipation of the class 6 coming to full reality in my lifetime. Proactive grafting. Thank you in advance, you advice is greatly appreciated.

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Finasteride is the best approach to your future concerns. At only 4 months on the medication, you’re not likely to see much results-wise from it, but stay the course. You could avoid surgery by taking a pill.

I am not an advocate for proactive or preventive hair transplants. My 9 months old granddaughter has a relatively large bald spot on the back of her head. I tease my son about transplanting it, but that is only a joke in a hair transplant family.

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I’m 30 Years Old and Not Much of a Beard – Could Finasteride Slow My Facial Hair Development? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear doctor, I am 30 years old and development of my secondary sex characteristics was always far behind persons of same age. My beard is still not fully developed, I have hairs around my chin and under nose, but almost nothing on cheeks and around ears. I have first noticed starting hairloss about the age of 28 and I started with finasteride treatment. Could this drug affect my beard developing and slow down this process yet more?

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Finasteride does not affect beard hair. I wouldn’t expect you to finally start growing a beard at 30 years old (with or without finasteride). Some men just have patchy facial hair, and that is your genetics.

You can consider doing a hair transplant to your face where the beard is not present if it’s bothering you that much.

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Hair Loss InformationPredicting a Final Hair Loss Pattern? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doctor,

I was wondering about predicting final patterns. You’ve explained how this is done by using the densitometer to check for miniaturization in areas where thinning might not be visible to the naked eye. You’ve also said that final patterns usually cannot be predicted with certainty in young men (say, a 21-year-old) because miniaturization could subsequently appear in new areas.

So, I was wondering, is there a particular age at which one’s genetically-programmed final pattern can be ascertained with reasonable confidence? (I realize that people don’t necessarily reach their final patterns.)

Also, do people who are Norwood 3V’s at young ages usually turn into Norwood 6’s? (I was told this.) Or is their hope that Norwood 3V/4/5 could be a final pattern for such a person?

Thank you for all of the amazing information.

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Norwood 3VI don’t believe you can predict your final pattern with absolute certainty, especially in your 20’s. In general, we will say that as you get older into your late 30’s to 40’s, the pattern should manifest. There’s no exact age I can pinpoint.

If you have a Norwood class 3V pattern (see diagram at right) as a 21 year old, these may enlarge with time and could end up as a class 4 pattern. I don’t know that a young man showing a 3V at the present time will usually advance to a class 6.

We try to better assess this with bulk measurements and miniaturization studies.

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Would a Vitamin D Deficiency Possibly Cause Hairline Recession? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

hi doctors from baldingblog.com

How is the new year going so far? My doctor tested my vitamin d levels and it came out i’ve got 13nmol instead of 75nmol. I also have little bone recession in the back, the specialist that found it with photo’s asked if i ever had a accident. I haven’t. I don’t know how long i’m vitamin d deficient, it can be years. My question to you is;

1. Is 13nmol dangerous low?
2. Can it cause little recession in the hairline? Lower quality hair all over? (sometimes i find miniaturized hair in the permanent zone and top, or thick with less pigment, or with strange structures.)

Thank you for your help!

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Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer to your question.

Vitamin D deficiencies are a potential cause of hair loss, but I frankly do not have any experience with vitamin D levels at those reported by you. It sounds like you will be treated for the low vitamin D and you can keep an eye on your hair thickness and progression (or lack of it), for the small amount of recession you see. Even better, you should have your hair bulk checked now and compare it a point down the line when your vitamin D levels are corrected, so that you have numbers along with the visual analysis.