The Back of My Head Has Black Hair, But Will It Change to Salt and Pepper If It’s Transplanted? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

if you have salt and pepper hair and the back of your hair is still relatively black with most of the sides, top, and front salt and pepper, what happens when you transplant the hair in the back to the front and top? does it also eventually turn grey also?

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Whatever hair is in the back (donor area) will be the hair in the transplanted area. Over the many years of transplanting hair (20+ years), I have not seen any dramatic changes in hair color for patients with grey hair on top and darker hair on the back. It seem to generally blend in well.

In other words, hair color does not usually change to another color just because it is transplanted. In your case, the hair might turn grey after it is moved simply because it would’ve turned grey even if it had not been transplanted.

I Don’t Take Propecia Consistently, So What Would Happen If I Quit Taking It Completely? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello! I’m 27 years old. I’ve been taking Propecia on and off since I was 20 years of age. When I say on and off, I mean that it’s not always every day. I have had times where I was lazy and didn’t refill it for a week or two at a time. Sometimes I forget to take the pill every day. Sometimes I purposely take it every other day. I probably refill my 30 day pill bottle once every two months, on average. In October of 2009, I actually didn’t take it for about 4 weeks straight.

I know, I’m sure you’ll say it’s silly that I’m doing this (and I’d likely agree!). My question is this: If I were to stop taking it completely, is it likely I’d experience much loss as a direct result of stopping? I still have a good amount of hair (although a hairline that is back about 1 inch from when I was a teenager). I know that if people stop taking Propecia, they’ll lose any hair they have gained on the medicine…BUT since my usage is so spotty, and sometimes I only take it once every 2 or 3 days, is it likely that my hair loss might be minimal because my hair gain might also have been minimal thanks to my random usage of it?

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If you don’t take medication (any medication) as directed, then it will not work as it is meant to work. If you are taking Propecia every 2 to 3 days a week when it is meant to be taken 7 days a week, it will not be much benefit. You might as well not take it. It probably isn’t doing much for your hair loss or hair gain. It probably is more of a psychological treatment.

Hard Water Was Causing Me to Lose Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

I am a regular reader of your website. It is very helpful and informative. I have read that the type of water does not cause any hair loss, but I recently experienced in part of California where I stayed there for a month, i used to lose lot of hairs in the shower. After I moved back to my previous location my hair loss in the shower stopped. After inquiring with the water company they told me that I had moved to an area where the water source is from a well and its hard water. The new area where I live its surface or soft water.

i have ready at many places that hard water is not responsible for the hair loss, but I am really surprised with my experience with hard water. Is it that everyone responds differently to stimulus? what are your thoughts on this? thanks a lot

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My thoughts are everyone is different and everyone has varying experiences. I do not believe hard or soft water has anything to do with genetic balding, but it may have something to do with how your hair feels in its texture and overall feel.

No Visible Hair Loss, But the Bulk Measurement Showed Otherwise – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

What if I dont see hair loss, but I have seen a ton of hair on my pillow and in the shower. I know I am losing hair but I cant prove it.

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I met with a 22 year old man that came to my office over his fear of losing hair. His father and grandfather had significant loss at an early age and he saw hair coming out in the drain, but couldn’t really see loss on his scalp. So this sounds almost exactly like what you’re dealing with.

His HairCheck bulk measurement showed that his crown loss was measured at 45% of his donor area. His hair is curly, coarse, and almost black. I did not see any signs of hair loss just based on a visual inspection, but the measurement did not lie. He told me that even his own mother questioned his visit to my office.

He recently came back to my office one year after his first hair bulk measurement, and we ran the numbers again. This time, his bulk measurement showed that he reversed the hair loss in his crown. How did he do it? I had prescribed Propecia and he stayed with it. It worked wonders for his crown.

In the News – Singer Joey Fatone Had a Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Former ‘N Sync star Joey Fatone has undergone hair transplant surgery after experiencing premature balding.

The singer agreed to try out the hair restoration treatment, courtesy of bosses at medical firm Bosley, and he’s been so impressed by the results, he has signed on as the new face of the brand.

He says, “It (the surgery) was pretty intimidating. That’s life, but the beautiful thing is that now you can do something about it.”

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Read the rest — Joey Fatone undergoes hair transplant

I See Cyclic Changes in My Hair and Do Not Understand Them – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Doctor can this happen on propecia. Ive been on it for 2 and half years with good results, maintained and thickened a bit, but my hair is weird. the first year on propecia it looked like it was getting worse, then into the second it started getting better over all. then again half way through the secong it looked bad again, and then a few months later it thickened again. I take pics, and that’s how I can tell. also there is a single hair that I excluded from the other hairs to follow and look at to see how it progresses, and to give me an overall picture on how the other hairs might be responding and growing. the last month or so that specific hair thinned and looked like it was gone, and then a few days a go I see It growing and thickening again. I know this is a weird email lol, but from you experiences does hair go through diff stages?

to be exact I started propecia in june 2011. from june 2011 to june 2012, it looked like I lost ground a bit, so I still stuck it with propecia. then around January 2013 my hair started looking good, and was thicker and the pics I took started to show a difference from the baseline. around april of 2013 my hair looked thin again and looked like I was reverting back to baseline. around august till about now my hair has looked its best. I started noticing new hairs sprout from the hairline that were not there before, and the looked so much thicker, and way different from baseline. its basically at its best. my question is why does it go through these stages? bad, good, bad, good, etc? is that normal?

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Our hair will cycle and grow in different stages, so some hairs fall out while other grow from a stem cell that regenerates the hair follicle. You may be noticing some changes, but you cannot really say with scientific objective certainty what is really happening with just subjective observations or pictures. For example, dry frizzy hair in dry fall weather can make your hair seem voluminous, where oily damp hair in the humid summer days can make your hair seem flat and thin. Even different shampoos or hair products can affect how your hair may look and feel. For a more accurate analysis, we try to quantify it with measurements such as miniaturization study and hair bulk measurements and compare values on a yearly basis.

Finally, you need to understand that being on Propecia does not mean your hair loss will stop. Based on your genetic predisposition you will continue to lose your hair to the predestined hair loss pattern. Taking the medication (Propecia) means it will slow the process of hair loss down to each individual’s response to the drug. There may be some variations where you may notice less hair loss and more hair loss over the many months to years. We generally lose about 100 hairs a day (on the average), but this number is also highly variable with time for the individual. So I think what you are experiencing is likely normal.

Hair Loss InformationHave You Had Any Patients on Finasteride That Had Kids Who Later Presented Health Issues? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Have any of your patients come back to you to report on children they had who were born with or who later presented with health issues that your patients thought might be linked to their use of finasteride? I know there’d be no way to show causality, I’m just wondering if it’s happened.

Personally I don’t care as much about infertility as I do about having a child who has health issues as a result of my finasteride usage. I’m having conscience-pangs just thinking about it. Could finasteride exert some kind of deleterious effect on the genetic content inside sperm whereby the sperm _does_ manage to fertilize the egg but where genetic abnormalities are passed on to the child? As usual, I suppose the answer is that nobody knows for sure.

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No. At least, no one ever came to me who was on the medication asking about it. Propecia / finasteride taken by men as directed is not a pregnancy / health risk. When taken by women, it can potentially cause birth abnormalities possibly due to hormonal changes it causes during fetal development.

I know there are plenty of men that have had kids after taking the medication, so perhaps our readers will leave comments about their experiences.

Severe Pain at the Donor Area Months After My Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello doctor. My question is an honest one and one that hasn’t been asked before.

I had a hair transplant 2 and a half months ago but I still have a lot of pain above the linear scar (when I press it) and also the sensitivity on the top of my head in terrible and is constant. It’s like my hair is being pulled. My surgeon said in 17 years he has no idea what is causing it and never had this problem before. There is also a gap of about 10mm where the scar is and said he said to me he can do a scar reduction in a year. I am so sorry I had this procedure done as the pain is not letting up.

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It sounds like you may have a scar entrapment (nerves squeezed by scar) or damage to the occipital nerves in the scarred area. I have had patients report symptoms like what you’re describing when they had a nerve entrapment. Sometimes, a scar will form around the occipital nerves just from the strip surgery, or the nerves could be mechanically damaged, or even partially or completely cut.

Doctors who will examine you will look for something we call a Tenels’s sign, which simply produces some of the symptoms as the doctor taps the area above the nerve. Surgery is a last resort to fix the problem if it is just induced by the scar. If the nerve is cut completely, a surgery most likely wouldn’t help.

How Do I Know I Really Got All the Grafts I Paid For? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello doctor,
I am 22 year old and i had a hair transplant yesterday. I was told by my surgeon that 2560 grafts have been implanted. My question is how do i know if 2560 have been planted or not? Thanks

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As the doctor’s staff are preparing the grafts, there should be accounting sheets that allow the technicians to count and sort the grafts by the number of hairs in each graft. Ask your doctor to show you the sheet and the doctor should be easily willing to do this.

While you do have to have some level of trust in the surgeon and his staff, these accounting sheets will show that the number of grafts, once counted and sorted, have been reviewed and prepared by a large staff of people.

It’s rather sad that a day after your surgery you are having trust issues with your doctor.

Around the Web – Some of the Craziest Baldness Cures in History – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

When your hairline starts to retreat, you’ll do whatever it takes to keep your head from turning into a volleyball. If Rogaine fails you, there are always these quack remedies from the past.

1. Ancient Egypt
According to The Ebers Papyrus (a medical script from c. 1550 BCE), mix the fat of a hippo with some crocodile, tomcat, snake, and ibex fat. If that fails, boil porcupine hair and apply it to your scalp for four days.

2. Ancient Greece
Hippocrates swore by a mixture of opium, horseradish, pigeon droppings, beetroot, and spices. If that’s not your cup of tea, stick to Aristotle’s method—goat urine.

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Read the rest at Mental Floss — 14 of History’s Craziest Baldness Cures

There are some really nutty “cures” that have obviously not worked, and this list of 14 is pretty wild. I guess people were eager (or at least willing) to smear various animals’ fecal matter on their heads in order to regrow hair.