Day: January 1, 2023

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Why Not Take 2 Propecia Doses Daily?

Hi Dr. Rassman,

If Finasteride has a half-life of only 5 hours, how can it be so effective at stopping hair loss? If we take 1 mg or 1.25 mg of it, it would be pretty much out of our system before the end of the day. Does only a small amount of it prevent DHT from being created? Is it’s efficacy only dependent on a miniscule amount being present? Why is taking 2 doses per day not more effective than 1? And also, what are your current thoughts on what time of day to take it?

Just because a drug’s half life is 5 or 6 hours does not mean you need to take the medication according to its half life. Although half of the drug is out of the blood stream in 5-6 hours, some of the drug remains in the tissues for as long (possibly) as a week or so. Doubling the dose was not shown to be effective for better response in the original tests for Propecia.

In addition, the drug has been tested at different intervals and different doses, with trials determining that taking it once daily was just as beneficial as twice a day for treating hair loss. The best time to take Propecia is when you can remember to take it on a consistent basis.

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Why not go bald?

At this point, I want to let it go. There are several reasons for that.

  1. All my male relatives have male pattern baldness. So one way or another, it’s going to happen. Feels like I’m fighting a losing battle.

  2. I feel pretty vain acting upon hair loss. Especially when you see others not caring at all. I want to feel good without being attached to my looks. Looks fade.

  3. The time invested in combating hair loss could be used for more productive stuff, especially knowing since my hair is ought to go anyway.

Many men want hair because they are more attractive to themselves and more confident in themselves. I have performed hair transplants on many celebrities who all tell me that it improved their self-confidence. You would be surprised by this if I revealed their names.

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Why No Photos of Hair Transplants 3-4 Years After Surgery?

hi doctor,
in most of the hair transplant sites one mostly see the after photos of 6 months or 1 year after the procedure. my question is what happens thereafter ? could you provide some 3-4 years after photos so to see the longetivity of results of transplant.

The hair transplants are permanent. At the 1 year mark, the results will be fully visible. I’m not sure the benefits of seeing 2-3 years later, as the transplants will be the same as after 1 year. I have seen patients transplanted in the 1960s and 70’s with the terrible old plugs, and other than turning gray, they still have those same terrible old plugs. I have seen many patients 10 years out and they are happy and their hair is about the same as it was in their 1 year picture, so I just make a note on the chart saying “no change” and do not take routine photographs. If you are implying that some terrible disaster happens to the new hair and that is a concern for you, don’t worry about that one.


2008-11-05 12:36:45Why No Photos of Hair Transplants 3-4 Years After Surgery?

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Why Might Xanax Cause Hair Loss, Rather than Anxiety?

Hi,
First of all I’m a 29 yr old male with extreme anxiety. I’ve read a couple of posts on this site about Xanax & hair loss. In every question asking about whether Xanax can cause hair loss, you mention that it definitely can.

As I stated earlier, I have an anxiety disorder & have just recently started taking the generic version(1mg 3 times a day) of Xanax again. Can you explain to me how & why the Xanax would cause hair loss? I’m just REALLY concerned now after reading about that. I was thinking that extreme anxiety would be more likely to cause hair loss than Xanax?

If you could just give me any kind of explanation, I’d be extremely grateful.

Occurrence of hair loss can be due to several factors. Although most the common cause of hair loss at your age is male pattern baldness, anxiety could be considered an aggravating factor for your hair loss. Hair loss is not one of the commonly known side effects of Xanax. We hear from our patients who just got started on Xanax that they lose hair, but it is hard to prove that their hair loss is really associated with Xanax or if it has to do with anxiety itself.

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Why Might a Patient with 6000 Grafts Have a Thinner Appearance Than a Patient with 3000 Grafts?

Dear Dr.,
First of all thank you very much for the help you have given on this forum. I have had two HT operation 1000 FUE(1.5 years ago, worked very well) and 2000 FUT (3 months ago). My question is has to do with HT results and I would appreciate if you could answer;

  1. I saw pictures of more than 5K-6K grafts but has poor coverage/appearance compared to some 3K graft transplantation? Even, the pictures are from the same clinic. What are the reasons of this inconsistency?
  2. Most of the pictures show hairlines and first half of the top. How about the crown? Is it a common practice to leave crown bald? Is it because the budget or a bald person does not have enough donor for front and crown so has to select one?
  3. Does hair loss stop or decrease rate with the age? My lost started at age 26-27 with diffuse pattern now I am 31. A diffuse pattern goes till NW-7 or NW-6 or NW-6 with some diffuse hair still on top and crown?

Thank you very much.

Regards

Three months after a hair transplant should not produce enough hair to show any significant results. Wait a full 8 months to see the results of the second surgery.

  1. There could be a variety of reasons for that. Patient A and Patient B could have different hair color, skin color, hair characteristics, degree of balding, etc. Or it could be different techniques used (many clinics have damage problems with FUE grafts, for example). There’s just a lot of variables that could be the reason.
  2. The transplantation of hair in the crown does depend upon many factors, again including donor density, scalp laxity, thickness of the hair shafts, and the degree of balding. It may not be possible to transplant an entire head with a Norwood class 7 pattern of balding, but I have done it in patients with great hair qualities (see Patient ZU here, for example).
  3. Only about 7% of men go as far as a class 7 pattern, about 20% a class 6/7 pattern… and most of these men with the class 7 pattern have clear signs of it before the age of 30. You need to be evaluated by a doctor like myself or Dr. Pak that specializes in this field if your doctor does not answer this question for you.


2009-01-16 12:26:10Why Might a Patient with 6000 Grafts Have a Thinner Appearance Than a Patient with 3000 Grafts?

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Why microscopes are critical in hair transplants (photo)

Here is a photo of what appears to be a single hair for grafting, but because it can be viewed with a high powered microscope, we see that there is at least one if not two telogen hairs present (see arrow). If this graft was put in the frontal hairline, then it would look pluggy. Does your surgeon use a high powered microscope to make sure that the hair transplant is done correctly?

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Why Isn’t Topical Finasteride/Dutasteride More Popular?

It’s expensive when compared to the oral pills. Dutasteride is not FDA cleared for hair loss so doctors don’t write the Rx for it very often. Topical finasteride in the liposomal form costs around $70/month. The finasteride pill from Costco costs about $27/year. Big difference

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Why Isn’t Minoxidil an Oral Medication?

Why isn’t minoxidil taken orally? I’ve always been under the impression that drugs taken orally (like Propecia) get to the root of the problem as opposed to ones topically. For instance, if caffeine theoretically helped hair loss, I would think consuming caffeine would work better than putting caffeine on one’s head.

Minoxidil was originally used as an oral anti-hypertensive medication for the treatment of high blood pressure. It was unpredictable in its use so it was abandoned, but people taking it (women) would notice face and body hair appearing from the oral pills. That is why it is not used orally today, as it has a tendency to drop blood pressure. That even occurs when you apply it topically, as some of the medication is absorbed into the body after a skin application.

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Why Isn’t Finasteride Considered a “Temporary Cure”?

Just wanted to know, if finasteride supposedly regrows or maintains hair for men. Why isn’t it considered a temporary cure for hairloss?

Is this just a question about the nomenclature? A “cure” is defined as a complete or permanent solution, which means it wouldn’t be temporary.

If you take a medication to control your blood pressure, that wouldn’t be called a “temporary cure” for high blood pressure — and the same goes for a hair loss treatment like Propecia (finasteride 1mg). It is not a cure, but it does help reverse the thinning (initially), slow down the hair loss, or maintain what you have.