Month: December 2013

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Hair Loss InformationMy Doctor Prescribed Finasteride With Directions to Use for No Longer Than 9 Months – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear sir,

I went to see a dermatologist yesterday about hair loss, and he prescribed Finasteride 1mg, Minoxidil, Nizoral shampoo and a vitamin called Betavite for six months, and asked to see him after 2 months for a review. When i asked about finasteride, he said that i will have to use it ONLY for 6 to 9 months and not longer than that. I was confused with all what i find in the internet that i have to use if forever. I asked him whether i have to use if forever, and he said NO.

I will go to him again to clarify, but in the mean time, appreciate if you could please give an opinion on this. Thanks.

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When you get advice that you either don’t like or think is incorrect, then you should probe your doctor for more information. I don’t know where your doctor got the idea that finasteride shouldn’t be taken for more than 9 months.

Men that take finasteride shouldn’t stop taking it after X amount of months for any reason that I can imagine. Catch-up hair loss will occur sometime after stopping the medication — your hair loss will resume and catch up to the point where you would’ve been had you not taken the medication at all. In other words, finasteride should be a lifetime medication, or you’ll lose any benefits you saw (hair regrowth, hair loss halting). A member of my own family has been taking it now for 10 years without problems.

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Why Aren’t You In the American Hair Loss Association? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Great blog. thanks for all of your advice and help to those of us who are dealing with this issue. I know that you are well known in the field and was wondering why your practice was not listed on the American Hair Loss Association website that listed physicians who perform surgeries.

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I do not contribute money to them or participate in their activities, but I am sure they know who I am. Clearly, their list of surgeons doing this type of work is incomplete.

I’ve written many times about some of these associations and their credentialing methods, most recently in these posts:

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Hair Loss InformationIn the News – Sony Patents the SmartWig – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

SmartWigMost large tech companies are either making wearable devices, or at least showing an interest in them. Sony’s got a smartwatch, sure, but it’s bored of such “in-the-box” thinking. Either that, or someone at Sony’s been hitting the pipe, as the company’s trying to patent what it calls a “SmartWig” (yeah, seriously).

The application describes a standard wig that could “be made from horse hair, human hair, wool, feathers, yak hair or any kind of synthetic material,” with a circuit board hidden among those luscious locks. That board can talk to a “second computing device” wirelessly — such as a phone or even a pair of smartglasses — and actuators embedded in the hairpiece could “provide tactile feedback to the user.”

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Read the rest — Sony’s SmartWig patent is a real head-scratcher

I love creativity and innovation. We’ll see where this ends up in the marketplace (if it ever does). You can check out the patent at the USPTO.

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I Lost All of My Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female)
i had large amounts of hair fall out my head at the age of 21. then i lost all my scalp hair at 22, and at 23 i lost all the hair on my body. i have yet to see a doctor and want to know what could cause me to lose my hair all over my body?

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You probably have a condition called alopecia universalis where all body hair (including eyebrows, lashes, and scalp hair) is lost. I would think that most people in your shoes would’ve seen a doctor by now (considering you lost all of your scalp and body hair), but please see a good dermatologist to get a proper diagnosis.

You can learn more about alopecia universalis at the National Alopecia Areata Foundation site. There have been decades of research into developing a treatment for this condition that will hopefully one day result in a cure, though right now the options for treatment are extremely limited.

We have treated alopecia patients with Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) and they go from bald to what looks like a full head of hair that is clipped very close to the scalp. This short hairstyle look is more popular among men, though.

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What Does DHT Do to Hairs? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

How exactly does Propecia work? I have searched online for an answer but have only come across the phrase, “Propecia blocks DHT, which is a hormone… that leads to hairloss.” I was wondering if there is a more specific explanation to what happens.

Does DHT somehow tighten the skin around hair follicles, which would imply that Propecia relaxes the skin around hair follicles so as to relieve stress around the follicle? Or does DHT reduce the strength of the hair itself? Does it kill cells at the bottom of follicles, which would imply that Propecia prevents DHT from reaching these cells?

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Genetic balding causes hair follicles to undergo a process called apoptosis (cell death). Hairs grow in cycles that last about 3 years for the average person. In the genetic balding process, somewhere between 7-10 hair cycles, hair death is triggered by the hormone DHT. When you take a DHT blocker (Propecia/finasteride), it prolongs the number and length of the hair cycles to allow it to keep growing.

See Why Does Propecia Eventually Lose the Battle to Genetics? for more info.

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Scalp Flaking After Using Minoxidil – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have been using Minoxidil 5% for few months now, I noticed a lot of flakes on my scalp.The color of the scalp is whitish when compared to the rest of it. Also some time its very itchy. Please recommend me any medication or precaution or steps needed to avoid the flakes or remove them as it does get annoying. Thanks

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I have seen this often as a side effect of minoxidil. Speak with your family doctor for treatment or a decision to possibly stop taking the medication.

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Study – Sperm Count and Finasteride – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To determine the degree of improvement in semen parameters after finasteride discontinuation.

DESIGN: A prospective database of men presenting for a fertility evaluation was analyzed for semen and hormone parameters before and after discontinuation of finasteride.

SETTING: A male infertility specialty clinic.

PATIENT(S): Men presenting for fertility evaluation from 2008-2012 on finasteride.

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Read the rest — Finasteride use in the male infertility population: effects on semen and hormone parameters.

In a study of 4400 men over a 57.4 month time span, sperm counts were performed after finasteride was discontinued. There was an 11.6-fold increase in sperm count on the discontinued use of finasteride (Propecia at the 1mg dose), suggesting that the drug brought down the sperm count in most men.

In men with severe oligospermia (low sperm count), the counts went up when the drug was stopped. No men had decreases in sperm count in the study. This suggests that individuals on finasteride who are interested in having children, should be aware that there is a risk of reduced sperm counts on the drug.

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I’m Worrying About My Hair Loss And Now I See Hair On My Pillow – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Over the last few months I have been worrying about whether I have hair loss. I am an 18 year old male. After stressing out over this, I feel like my hair is getting thinner, especially when I run my fingers through it. I have been noticing a bit more hair over the pillow and in the bathroom. But my parents have said that my hair looks fine. So can I have hair loss, or have started the process of hair loss? And what should I do to treat it?

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You should see a doctor and get a proper diagnosis. At 18 years old, there is a possibility that you have genetic hair loss and if that is proven, then appropriate treatments can be taken.

Sometimes you can’t actually see the loss, but you’re still losing hair. A doctor can check your hair bulk to see if you’re thinning.

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In the News – Singer Robbie Williams Had a Hair Transplant But Didn’t Need One? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Singer Robbie Williams has revealed he had a hair transplant despite not needing one.

The 39-year-old made the admission while chatting about how living in Los Angeles had rubbed off on him during an interview on The Graham Norton Show, which airs on Friday evening.

He said: ‘I’ve lived in LA for a long time and they say, ‘If you sit in a barber’s shop for long enough you will get a hair cut.’ Well, if you live in Los Angeles for long enough you’re going to get some surgery.

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Read the rest — Robbie Williams reveals he had a hair transplant despite not needing it after succumbing to LA lifestyle

Nobody really needs a hair transplant (it is an elective cosmetic procedure), but it looks like his hairline corners were going back a little before the surgery and are now filled in. Either way…

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What Are Hair Transplant Options for Someone Like Steve Ballmer? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Steve BallmerHi doctor Rassman
If someone with the degree of loss of Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, wants a hair transplant and has a very realistic expectations, what options will you give him?

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While the options are more limited for those men with the most advanced balding patterns, I have surgically treated a number of patients with a Norwood class 7 pattern, as Steve Ballmer shows in the attached photo.

Hair transplantation can be done successfully if the patient’s donor supply is adequate, such as the case with Patient ZU. This patient had almost 10,000 grafts thanks to good quality, medium weight hair, and a significantly higher hair density than an average Caucasian. There are other class 7 patients you can view here.