Day: January 1, 2023

Posted on

Regrowing Hair from Years Ago and the Power of Positive Thinking

Hi Dr and thanks for your time.

I am a 34 year old male and have been thinning for roughly 12-14 years. I feel I used to shed ridiculously bad- I would tug at the hair kind of obsessively and lose around, I dont know, 100-200 per day. This went on for 10+ years but I have since slowed the loss to tolerable levels, say 5-25 hairs per day with improved diet (which I swear had a lot to do with it) and minoxidil 5% 1X per day. My main thin spot is on the vertex, or top of the head, not bald, but somewhat thin, where I really want regrowth. For the past 6-8mos I have been applying minoxodil 2X per day, and recently I decided to take propecia at .5 mg every other day.

I know people say it is hard to regrow hair lost years ago, but I have read of people who do it using finasteride and minoxidil. Have you witnessed this and if so what is the oldest hair lost you have seen men regrow? I have heard of people in their 40s doing this from 5-10 yr old hair loss… I am aware that all meds work better on people who have lost hair recently, and are younger. Also, if the placebo effect worked in some finasteride trials, (even if slightly) what is the power of positive thought here? Thank you very much.

I believe in positive thinking, but I can not say that I have seen it grow hair lost years ago. I think that everything you did has worked for you a little here and a little there — and by that, I mean the medication you’re using and when you stopped the pulling on your hair.

As for the oldest regrowth from finasteride that I’ve seen, well, I have a 79 year old friend who went on Proscar for his prostate and had the great unexpected cosmetic benefit of hair growth when taking a medication for his health. Generally speaking, this is a rarity.

Posted on

Regrowing Hair After Chemotherapy

I am trying to find a product that will help grow my hair back a little faster after chemo therapy. Is there any product that you can recomend to use to help?

I meet a lady that used some amino acid and her hair grew really fast

I don’t know of any commercially available product that accelerates the return of hair after chemotherapy. We have written about cold cap therapy before, but that is something that is used during chemotherapy to maintain the hair, not to regrow it faster after the chemo treatments are complete.

I realize this information doesn’t help you if you’ve already lost hair, but it is the only chemotherapy-related hair loss treatment I am familiar with. At this point, just being patient for the hair to regrow is likely going to be the best course of action.

Posted on

Regenix

Dr.Rassman,
Have you heard about this hairloss product called Regenix? The actor Matthew McConaughey was on the David Letterman show and he said that he was losing his hair until he used Regenix, and now he has as good a hairline as when he was 18. What do you think?

Regenix has been around for years and they can make the hair thicker appearing (therefore fuller) with many of the things they use. The change that our actor shows suggests that either he has an unusually good result from Propecia or he had a good hair transplant surgeon in conjunction with what Regenix is doing. Two pictures of him on the web (see links below), show what appears to be a remarkable turn-around. I tend to be skeptical in believing everything I see or read about celebrities. If Matthew should read this blog, please come in for a private consultation. I will not post about the visit, I promise.

Here are links to two photos that display the dramatic change in Mr. McConaughey’s hairline:

Posted on

Regenix, Avodart, and Minoxidil

i’m 22 and have been thinning in the crown/back/top for about 3 years. i’ve used minox 5 % and propecia for a couple of years, switched to dutasteride 10 months ago…with no results.

i am going to continue the avodart…but i’ve recently started a regimen from Regenix out of LA. i was wondering if using minox 5 % once a day is enough to avoid a major shed? regenix took some hair samples and ‘formulated’ a treatment just for me. do you know if Regenix is worth my time and money? also, could it be that the avodart takes a while to start showing results? any advice is much appreciated.
thanks.

I am assuming that you are a male, not female. With that said, if you have genetic hair loss and it is progressing rapidly, then it sounds like you have real problems. I may sound like a broken record here, but you need your scalp mapped out for miniaturization and then get a working diagnosis.

Avodart, in theory, is as good or more potent than Propecia. Minoxidil must be used twice daily to get any reasonable effect. I do not know about the special formulations of Regenix you asked about. To me, it sounds like you are playing with fire with a blind-fold on. Please get a working diagnosis first so you will know what is really happening.


2006-03-24 08:48:15Regenix, Avodart, and Minoxidil

Posted on

RegenePlex

Update: November 15, 2006

To comply with a letter I received from this product’s lawyer requesting that this review be removed, I will simply direct your attention to Google if you wish to find more information.


2006-11-16 15:23:34RegenePlex

Posted on

RegenePlex, Again

Update: November 15, 2006

To comply with a letter I received from this product’s lawyer requesting that this review be removed, I will simply direct your attention to Google if you wish to find more information.


2006-11-16 15:23:28RegenePlex, Again

Posted on

Reducing Visibility of Transplant Scar

Dr. Rassman,

I had 1 hair transplant procedure 2 years ago. I am only 22. I feel like the propecia is not working and I am ready to shave my head, but I want to reduce the appearance of the scar from the procedure. I am currently using Mederma. Are there any other products you could suggest to reduce the visibility of the scar? Thanks!

If you had only one transplant procedure, you should not be facing a significant scar. I am bothered not only about your scar, but your age. What drove you to have a transplant at 22? A good, honest, and competent transplant doctor should look at your scar and advise you. Consider sending me digital photos and maybe I can help, but send me photographs of your entire head as well (your photos will be kept confidential and will not be shown on this site). As well, please reference this blog posting when/if sending the photos.

Posted on

Reducing from 1.25mg to 1mg Finasteride

Hi Dr,

I have been taking 1.25mg of finasteride daily for about 5 years. My wife and I will be trying for a baby in the next year or so and I don’t want any chance of her coming into contact with finasteride powder while pregnant. For that reason I wish to switch from splitting a 5 mg pill to taking the 1 mg propecia tablet instead.

I have two questions:
1)Should I stop taking finasteride while trying to conceive?

2)Will reducing my daily finasteride dosage to 1 mg per day affect the management of my hair loss?

Many Thanks for your great blog.

Your first question is often asked of me (examples: here, here, here). There is no evidence that a man taking finasteride will produce an abnormal child as a result of taking the medication. I only know what I read and what the FDA publishes, so I can not advise you beyond that.

Your second question is an easier answer. There is essentially no difference between the 1mg Propecia pill and the 1/4 of a cut 5mg pill (1.25mg). The switch should be easy and seamless.

Posted on

Reducing Donor Scar

This blog is very informative. I have had transplants in the past, which look very natural (in my opinion). My concern is with the donor patches in the back. I would like to get more transplants, but the patches become noticable when my hair is short and any more bare spots would be obvious. Is there a surgical method/technique to minimize these blank spots? Thanks for the information.

I have addressed this question many times. This is a problem more of the past than of the present. See: Techniques to Minimize Donor Area Scarring and Trichophytic Closure Photos.

You need a Master Plan developed to deal with scars and the need for hair in maximizing the value of the remaining donor hair. Scars can be dealt with in most people using the techniques described in the referenced blog entries above. After you read them, call me at 800-NEW-HAIR or write to me again if there are unanswered questions (be sure to reference this blog posting).

Posted on

Redness After Hair Transplant, and It Responded Well to Benadryl

I have histamine positive skin. Six weeks after HT, it was still quite red. I used OTC topical antihistamine gel (Benadryl), applied to affected area twice a day for 5 days, and it dramatically reduced the redness.


2018-05-22 10:20:07Redness After Hair Transplant, and It Responded Well to Benadryl