Month: June 2014

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I Still See Holes in the Donor Area Over a Week After FUE! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello!

I had a hair transplant “FUE” 8 days ago. I can still see the holes in the donor area. Do you know how long is the average healing time for the scars? Should I worry? Also, do you know of any products that will help the skin recover?

Thanks a lot for your time!

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The tiny holes in the back of the head that are created from a follicular unit extraction (FUE) procedure should disappear very shortly. What you may be seeing are scabs, not the holes, and this requires a vigorous shampooing technique to get rid of the scabbing.

Your surgeon should’ve provided you with aftercare instructions that explained how to wash your donor and recipient area.

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Hair Loss InformationTeenager’s Pubic Hair Growing in White – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

hi,
I am 14 yr old male with a patch of white pubic hair. The area with the white public hair is also a bit fair and different from other. I just wanted to know if this is normal or not. Is it a side effect of something or a disease? Will the hair become black or not?

I have shaved my pubic hair, but it itched very much. Even the new hair grew white. I am not close with my dad and I am not comfortable talking to my mom about this. Is there some treatment or medicine?

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While 14 years old does sound pretty young, this can be an hereditary thing and there is really nothing that you can do. Shaving the area will usually result in it itching when it is regrowing, so that isn’t entirely surprising. I wouldn’t be concerned about the white color, and it doesn’t mean you have a disease or a side effect.

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Hair Loss InformationAre Women with Bald Fathers More Accepting of Bald Mates? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I don’t buy into this false notion that women look at balding men and see their hair loss as a sign of virility. Do you believe that women who have bald fathers are more accepting of bald mates than women who have fathers with full head of hair?

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StathamBald men aren’t more virile (we posted about it late last year), and actually, bald men can be just as virile and sexually appealing as hairy men.

I don’t think Jason Statham, Yul Brynner, Bruce Willis, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, LL Cool J, Patrick Stewart, Andre Agassi, Kelly Slater, Michael Jordan, Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, etc have issues with virility or attracting a mate. Besides, I can think of plenty of hairy men who have negative sex appeal.

Women see deeper than men do when it comes to the outer shell of a person. They see the attributes of the personality and make the determination of attractiveness based upon far more factors than us men do. I don’t have actual scientific research on the topic, though I sense that women with bald fathers who have a good relationship with them, probably accept balding men better than women whose relationship with their father is not good.

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How Long Should it Take for My Sperm Count to Go Up After Stopping Propecia? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Doctor Rassman,

Firstly I love your blog. I just read your article regarding the potential affect of Propecia on sperm counts. Myself and my wife are trying for a baby and I want to give myself the best chance possible of conceiving. How long after people who stopped using Propecia see there sperm counts raise, as I am considering stopping the drug during the crucial ovulation period

Thank

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There was a study conducted at an infertility clinic (on men with severely low sperm counts to begin with) that I think you’re referencing — Study – Sperm Count and Finasteride.

As it seems that you’ve had a sperm count done, I would expect that an improvement in sperm count should occur within a month after stopping Propecia. I am curious as to how low your sperm count was or what your physician suggested. Most men on Propecia can conceive a baby, but some men have a reduction of total sperm volume even though the sperm count per unit volume remains normal.

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Hair Loss InformationIn the News – Cold Laser Therapy Helmet for Treating Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Laser light therapy has been proven to improve hair health, but cold laser therapy has only been available at specialist clinics. Theradome lets people use this advanced technology at home, and contains high efficiency lasers that produce virtually no heat but allow the maximum amount of light to be delivered, the company claim. However, the technology comes at a price as the helmet costs $795 (£473 plus shipping).

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The article continues…

Dr Bessam Farjo, Medical Director of the Institute of Trichologists, said: ‘I do believe that laser technology has validity, but I’m sceptical of the specific claims made by Theradome GB that this particular headgear has the ability to increase the hair shaft diameter by 200 per cent. I have not seen any scientific evidence to support this.

‘It’s great to see businesses putting resources to the development of this technology, but more scientific results are needed to back-up the huge claims that Theradome is making.’

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Read the rest — The helmet that can cure BALDNESS (allegedly): $800 headgear uses lasers on the scalp to stimulate hair growth and thickness

I’m going to go with Dr. Farjo on this one — I’m skeptical until I see actual proof, as the claims that it can double the size of existing hairs are pretty wild.

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Hair Loss InformationI Was Responding to Finasteride, But I See More Loss Lately – Should I Switch to Dutasteride? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman and co,

Thank you so much for this blog, it is a great source of information and truth.

My question to you: I am a very good responder to finasteride, have been on it since 2010. I have recently been losing more and more hair especially from my temples and hairline. Would you think or recommend that i switch to dutasteride?

Also i added Rogaine foam since 2012 and have noticed only slight results and maybe even some accelerated losses from the hairline and temples.

Thank you

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The decision to switch to dutasteride is one that should be made between you and your prescribing doctor. I rarely prescribe dutasteride, however, when I do prescribe it, I usually require the patient to have had a course of finasteride first. I would allow a switch to dutasteride only on a case-by-case basis, so I can’t recommend it for you (especially because you’re not my patient and I don’t have your medical or hair loss history).

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Hair Loss InformationStudy – Low Laser Light Treatments Improve Hair Thickness – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Conclusion from the study:

In four randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trials of MPHL and FPHL, we detected a statistically significant increase in terminal hair density after 26 weeks of lasercomb treatment compared with sham treatment. Such improvement was independent of the sex and age of the subject, and independent of the laser comb model when similar laser dose rates were delivered. A higher percentage of lasercomb-treated subjects reported overall improvement of hair loss condition and thickness and fullness of hair in self-assessment, though the results did not always reach statistical significance. Increase in terminal hair count was comparable to the short-term trials of 5% Minoxidil Topical solution and 1 mg/day Finasteride, but less efficacious than longer term (≥1 year) trials. Further clinical trials are needed to define the optimal duration of treatment, the duration of response, and the use of the lasercomb in other alopecia conditions.

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Read the rest — Efficacy and Safety of a Low-level Laser Device in the Treatment of Male and Female Pattern Hair Loss

I have not been a fan of this modality, though I am now inclined to be more open minded in using this after reading the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology.

This study was still quite small (128 men and 141 women) and I can not tell which patients would be the ideal candidates for this treatment. I would suspect that it may have value for those who have advanced miniaturization in their hair, but not for those that are completely bald.

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Is There an Evolutionary Reason for Losing Hair at Certain Ages? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doc,

I have been wondering, what if any evolutionary reason was there for males going bald at as early as their 20’s and a lot more during their 30s and 40’s?

My speculation is that this trait becomes apparent well after puberty and sexual maturation, therefore it does not affect the passing of the genes. Do you have any thoughts on this?

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I’m not sure of the evolutionary reason for going bald, but genetic balding can start at any age. The hair follicles have a programmed ‘death’ date and it is triggered by the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) when the date comes to pass. Blocking the DHT with finasteride (Propecia) can delay the start date. Balding can come from either the mother or the father’s side, and very rarely does one see balding prior to sexual maturation, unless it is a variant of a genetic malformation.

There are case reports in family lines where complete hair loss starts at about 2-3 years of age. A family group has been studied in Pakistan where this genetic pattern is widespread in a particular town. The triggered age seems to be about 3 or 4 years old and unlike male pattern baldness, this is far more extensive balding, so it is clear that when there is a gene for some time or balding that is expressed, it is age triggered.

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Hair Loss InformationI Got Tinnitus After My ARTAS Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I had the the Artas® procedure performed on me, but unfortunately. I ended up with tinnitus (ringing in the ear) in my left ear. I would appreciate telling you the the potential hazards of the Artas® procedure to warn unsuspecting “hair transplant” people.

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Yours is actually the second email I’ve received from someone asking about tinnitus following a procedure done with the ARTAS. I did probe another doctor who has the ARTAS, however, he did not report this side effect on his patients. I do not have this system in my office, so I don’t have personal patients I can reference.

For those of you who do not know what the ARTAS sytem is, it is a robotic hair transplant system used for extracting grafts. You can learn more about it here and here.

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In the News – Pumpkin Seed Oil as a Hair Loss Treatment? – BaldingBlog – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Researchers from the Republic of Korea’s Pusan National University have confirmed that pumpkin seed oil increases hair growth among balding men.

The medical researchers tested the pumpkin seed oil on 76 male patients with moderate androgenic alopecia – male pattern hair loss. None of the patients had tried any previous medication, supplement or topical therapy for at least three months prior to the beginning of the study. The researchers recruited 90 patients, but excluded those with high liver enzyme levels.

The patients were divided into two groups and half were given a placebo. The treatment consisted of giving the patients 400 milligrams of the pumpkin seed oil per day in capsules. They were given two capsules before breakfast and two capsules before dinner.

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Read the rest — Pumpkin Seed Oil Found to Help Reverse Balding

Although this is a small study, the results are encouraging. The rule in research of this kind is to get another group to validate the results by repeating the study. I can not advise anyone to start immediately taking pumpkin seed oil pills, but this is clearly your call as it is not a prescription matter.

You can read the study abstract here.