Month: January 2023

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Suggestion for 19 Year Old with Thin Hair

Hi, I am 19 years old, I have experienced hair loss since about 16. My receding hairline is getting really bad, and i have a bald spot thats just getting bigger in the back. The entire top of my head is also thin now. It is extremely embarrasing and depressing. I feel like I always have to wear a hat. I have been using Rogaine extra strength for about a year now, and its not working, but im afraid to discontinue since I may lose even more hair. If I try to style it, it comes out in large amounts (at least 10-20 hairs), so i dont anymore. My parents are telling me this is normal, but my dad didn’t start losing his hair till his mid 30’s. Im also afraid a doctor visit will be too costly ( I pay for my own college and parents wont help with doctor bill if I go). Please give me some suggestions. Thanks

You are playing with fire with regard to your hair loss. First, find out what is wrong with it by getting your hair mapped out for miniaturization and establishing a diagnosis. If you see me (in California), I will not charge you for the visit and I will map out your hair for miniaturization as well. If you are not able to see me, you can find a doctor in your area by using the physician search at ISHRS.org. Some doctors offer free consultations, but not all. With a diagnosis, you can have either peace of mind or a treatment plan with a Master Plan for your future hair loss. From that point, you’ll have a better understanding of what your future holds (in terms of your hair loss) and what your options are.

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Suggest Remedies for My Hair Loss

I have been losing my hair strands for the past two years. I have also tried hair lotions like ervamatin and indulekha, but the result is NIL. Please suggest me some remedies. As far as I know my family does not have any history of hair loss.

I can’t suggest remedies if I don’t know the cause of your loss. It could be genetics, it could be stress, it could be medication related, it could be allergy, etc. You need to see a doctor to determine the reason for your hair loss. Once you know why, you can look into treating it.

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Suddenly Thinning Hair in Mid-30s

Two years ago I was getting my hair thinned out by my stylist because it was to thick. Two years later at age 37 my hair is considerably thinner. The thinning is more prevalent on the left top side of my head. The initial thinning was drastic and took place within a couple of months. Should I expect for this to continue at such a fast pace or will it slow down. My mother’s side of the family has little issues with hair loss while my father’s side does. Beside genetics what possible causes would be responsible for this to happen in the timeline it has?

First, I would want to map out your hair to see if this is symmetrical balding. At times, genetic hair loss is asymmetrical and will show miniaturization in the areas most impacted. Get to see a good doctor for an assessment. I can not help you over the Internet and would need to see you myself.


2008-12-23 13:51:15Suddenly Thinning Hair in Mid-30s

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Sudden Hair Loss — Was it Stress, Fish Oil, Hair Product, or Genetics?

Dear Dr. Rassman,

I think it is great that you have this blog. I am sure I should come in to see you for a consultation, but first I’d like to see if you can shed any light on my particular circumstance. I am extremely healthy, eat mostly fresh fruits, salads and soy protein powders, but also eat meat, whole grains et cetera. I have worked-out for 25 years and handle stress better than anyone I know (all my friends and family say that too). At the end of June, 2006, I returned from vacation and my THICK, beautiful hair started falling out FAST. In one month I had lost so much it looked like I was going bald and one could easily see my scalp, which was an impossibility before that. The only 3 things I could think of as a cause for the rapid fallout were the following: 1. a very STIFF, THICK, HARD hair product which I had begun using 2 months prior. 2. I had begun taking 12,000 mg’s of fish oil daily upon returning from vacation. 3. A stressful life incident, but I have had so many of those, it doesn’t seem likely that another would affect me. Anyway, I stopped the product, stopped the fish oil, and my stress has increased if anything. By about 6 months out, my hair started to return, but no where near what it had been. People who look at me think I have a good head of hair, but I know it is not what it was. I want it back. Super thick like before. In what I wrote to you, can you identify anything that may have caused this rapid fallout? Or do you think it is best I just come in so you can see my scalp?

Thank you for your time, and have a great day.

I really do not have a good answer for you. Your hair loss could be due to many factors and sometimes a stressful event (emotional, physical, chemical, etc) can trigger a hair loss process. Nobody really understands why, but it is thought that a genetic ‘switch’ is turned on and once it is turned on it is difficult to go back to your original state. If your hair loss is due to genetic causes, there are medications such a Propecia (for men only) than can slow the process or even partially reverse the process in the best case (though it will rarely bring your hair back completely).

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Successful treatment found for Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia (photo)

This disease, more common in women than men, is responsible for considerable hair loss in women. Too often, hair transplant surgeons who don’t understand the diagnosis will transplant such patients and when the do, the transplant always fails. An experienced hair transplant surgeon is critical because he/she detects this disease which can be devastating. It is easy to see why surgeons get excited about transplanting this type of patient (see photo of female below) but careful examination would show that this patient is missing vellus hairs and has skin abnormalities that are not reflective of genetic balding. This article shows a treatment which has proven successful in 78% of patients:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29036252

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I Had a Successful FUE Transplant for My Class 6 Pattern and Take Finasteride. What Should I Do Next?

Other than finasteride, which seems like you are taking, there is nothing else to do if you achieved your goals. The nice thing about hair transplants is that they are permanent just like your normal hair. If you lose more hair, or didn’t get the full benefits from what you had done now, then another hair transplant may be reasonable. However, if your donor density limits were exceeded for FUE, then a strip surgery alternative may be the best option, if you need more hair transplants.

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Success of Finasteride in Men of Different Ages

Do most of the younger men (18-22) that you have prescribed fin to also experience a stabilization of their hair loss? Or is the hair loss too aggressive when it happens so young?

I see the younger man with advanced balding and aggressive genetics is often difficult to stabilize. The young man’s response is variable while the older men (over 35) seem to stabilize much easier.