Month: January 2023

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Where did I get my hair loss problem from (with photos)?

I’m 19 and stared at what seems to be a solid Norwood 2 with thick, dense hair. My maternal grandfather is currently a Norwood 3/3.5, thick hair nonetheless so considered very good for his age(66). I hope to be taking after him however, my grandma’s brother (great uncle) suffered from hair loss at around 40-50. What I’m wondering is whether my grandma could’ve inherited the gene through her family, passed it onto my mother of whom passed it to me. Would this be possible? My mum doesn’t have any brothers either, only sisters so there’s no way of identifying if the gene is present in my family.

Sometimes it is difficult to genetically trace where you are getting your hairline recession from. A receding hairline can lead to future balding. The balding genes can skip multiple generations, therefore you may not be able to tell where you got it from. If this continues to be a problem, see a doctor for the drug Finasteride. It could reverse your receding hairline, something that has a good possibility in someone your age. Since your great uncle suffered from hair loss, then you have proof that the gene does exist in the family line.

10 with early balding

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Where Can I Buy Garlic Gel?

Hi,
I just want to ask How to make garlic gel? Where can i buy garlic gel if there is any?

Thank You!

We wrote about garlic gel being used in small studies as an alopecia areata treatment, but I’m not sure where you can buy it and I don’t have a recipe for it. Perhaps you should check your local pharmacy or health foods store.


2012-10-13 10:27:48Where Can I Buy Garlic Gel?

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Where Are All the Propecia Results Photos?

You have mentioned several times the success you have seen in your patients from propecia. In view of this and considering the limited photographic evidence availiable on the web I was wondering of you had any photos you could make availiable showing various results of patients on propecia. I know you insist that those who are pleased with a product are those who are less inclined to comment on it, but I am quite surprised at the scant photographic evidence availiable anywhere of propecia effects. The reason I ask this question is because despite the details saying x number of hairs come back on average, it is hard to gauge the actual effect.

These are some patients that take Propecia that I’ve posted here previously. I’m sure there are others that I’ve posted on this site over the years, but these were the first ones I found in a search.

You should keep in mind that I take photos of my patients for their personal file and I NEVER show these pictures to anyone unless I have a photo release. I do not get photo releases as a routine with my private practice. In addition to these pictures, my experience should tell a great deal, unless you do not trust my truthfulness, but my experience parallels the experience of most doctors in the field.


2008-05-20 15:26:09Where Are All the Propecia Results Photos?

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Whenever I Eat Red Meat, The Next Day I Have Scalp Hair Loss and More Body Hair!

Hi, I’m a 22 years old male. I have a very strange situation. I didn’t have MPB before, at least it wasn’t noticeable. I was a vegetarian for some time, but then I started eating meat again, but not red meat. One day I decided to eat red meat again, then the next die I noticed some balding on my temples and increase in body hair.

Everytime I exercise or eat red meat, the next day I wake up with more hair lost and thicker body hair. It’s not a coincidence.

But why? I started taking Proscar, and I get the same effect as eating red meat the next morning: more hair loss and thicker body hair.

What can I do? Every solution for hair loss just comes back and bites me from where I least expect it. If it’s because of testosterone, does this mean that I had low and stable levels until I started eating meat again?

Hair loss or growth does not happen overnight. For that matter, the texture of your hair does not change overnight either. Your body just does not work that way. The biology of hair cycling is in the order of weeks to months.

If you decide to abstain from red meat that is your prerogative, but I do not believe there is an overnight correlation with eating meat and the changes in your hair.

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When would I be a candidate for an FUE?

I have a few questions I hope you all can answer. What age would be reasonable for an FUE to be done? Do I look like a good FUE candidate? Where would I fall on the Norwood scale? My biggest question, if I was to have a procedure soon can I implant in my crown or just behind my widows peak (not purely bald area)? Thank you all so much!

At the age of 24, you may be too early for an FUE which I prefer to see in men over 25-26. I often recommend a year of Finasteride to see if it can be reversed (see here: https://baldingblog.com/2017/04/24/2-years-finasteride-young-man-early-20s/).

If you are a candidate for a hair transplant, find a good doctor who is honest and does not want to rip you off. Don’t let your doctor recommend a session that is too big. You can use me as a reference if you like to sound out the opinion. There are many good hair transplant surgeons but there are also too many who cause problems because they drive up the number of grafts for FUE and

(1) stress the donor supply;

(2) deplet the donor area; and

(3) cause problems in both the donor area and in the recipient area.

As the original inventor of today’s modern FUE surgery, I see many things being done out there that I don’t like. Consider sending me photos and we can establish a dialogue.

 

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When Will I See Propecia Benefits… and Does Showering Cause Hair Loss?

hi dr Rassman,

i have a few questions i havent seen an answer to on here,

  1. how long does it take to see results from propecia? is 6 months the normal time it takes or can it take longer?
  2. when do u think cloning will be made available to the public? ( i know there is no way to tell)
  3. i used to spray rogain 5% on my hairline, however around 2 weeks back i switched and started using a dropper which probably meant im putting on my minoxidil than when i was using a
    sprayer, the areas i have been applying it to have thinned out, could this be because im using more minox now with the dropper?
  4. Does showering everyday cause or worsen hairloss? what temperature is best?

thanks

  1. For Propecia results, I’d say 6-12 months. Benefits could be just halting the hair loss, not necessarily regrowth… so keep that in mind when you’re looking at results.
  2. Getting hair cloning to be effective and reliable is the first step. Making it available to the public is quite another. Maybe it’ll be ready in another decade or so, but nobody knows. I’m not sure how you haven’t seen me answer a question about hair cloning before. I’ve probably written the same thing over a dozen times already.
  3. Why did you switch from the Rogaine sprayer to the dropper? It could be that you’re not covering the same area. Using more minoxidil in the area shouldn’t cause hair loss, but using less might.
  4. Showering daily won’t cause hair loss, though if you’ve already got weak hair on its way out, be gentle to your hair when shampooing. Actually, you should be gentle regardless. Use whatever temperature is comfortable.


2009-08-21 12:42:52When Will I See Propecia Benefits… and Does Showering Cause Hair Loss?

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When Will I Go Bald?

i am 20 yrs old,and my dad is bald,although he started losing his hair only when he was 37 yrs old,i just have the fear that i may also get bald like my dad,so far now,my hair is ok,just that i have some dandruff .is there any specific age that i wil start balding,or how can i keep my hair healthy and ever long lasting.is it mandatory that i may also lose hair as well as i grow old

Balding almost never hits men under 18, so I have set up a model for the balding process to give some insights into men on the balding process. If you imagine that we are born with different types of baby hair that changes as we get into our first year. Then it changes again through childhood and then again around puberty (11-13). I suspect that these changes are influenced heavily by the hormone DHT. The hair undergoes another change between 18-29 years old.

The changes are two fold. The first part of the process is the advancement of the frontal hairline into the mature position. The typical juvenile hairline of the 12 year old boy is no different than the hairline of the 12 year old girl, but as men (typically 95% of Caucasians) move into a mature pattern with the central area rising about ½ – 3/4th inch above the central crease and the sides move up about 1-1½ inches, giving a slightly receded corner. A small percentage of men (Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan) keep their 12 year old hairlines through life. Many young men mistake the mature changes in the Caucasian hairline for balding. Such changes are normal, but for the soap actors who must retain their baby face, such changes are devastating, so on rare occasions I have restored this juvenile hairline on famous actors.

Secondly, the balding process may start anytime after this change starts (about 18 years old). Since real balding starts at about 18 years old (caused by the impact of DHT on the susceptible genes associated with genetic hair loss) the faster the fall out occurs, the worse the prognosis. There is some protection against DHT that holds until 18, but when that protection is gone, the faster the fall out, the more is the indication that balding will be severe. On a visit to my office, I will put the hair of the patient on a TV, so that they can look at the hair shaft diameter variability. Normal (non-balding) hair has equal diameter while genetically impacted hair starts to become finer and finer, reducing the diameter to smaller and smaller sizes (miniaturization is the term that doctors use) until it becomes threadlike and just disappears. The drug Propecia blocks the impact of DHT on these impacted hairs, often slowing, stopping or reversing the process over time. The best way to change the course of this hair loss is to take Propecia which means that you must stay on the drug for life. Short of that medication, there is no effective proven medication or treatment. There is no doubt that the hair loss will still pick up again (even on the drug) but it will be a slower process.

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When Will Generic Propecia Be Available?

I have been on finastaride for 3 years and have been taking 1/4 of a Proscar tablet daily. Do you know when generic Proscar will be available in the US? I know there are some overseas, but I don’t want to take the risk.

My Merck representative says Propecia (1mg of finasteride) goes off patent in 2011, but the generic Proscar (5mg of finasteride) goes off patent later this year. Many people will buy this generic finasteride and break the pill in quarters. Incidentally, I don’t trust the overseas drugs either, for there are too many cases of forged goods. This means it is a risk for you to take (and possibly lose your hair) for the short term gain of a few bucks.

Lastly, I’ve received a couple of emails in the past about this, and I would like to point out to new readers by stating unequivocally that although I am a big fan of Propecia, I am not employed or paid by Merck, nor do I own stock in the company (see here and here).

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When Will Dr Rassman Retire?

Hello dr Rassman,

I think you are 68-69 years old.Does that mean that you are going to retire soon?If yes what will become of baldingblog?I hope you are going to be with us for another 5-10 years.

Dr RassmanMy grandparents lived well past their 90’s and longevity runs in the family… and since I love what I do, I suspect I will be doing this for a very long time. In fact, I am very involved with Dr. Pak in the engineering process of new hair transplant instruments and we will be testing a new FUE extractor and implanter in the next month!

Besides, even if I do eventually retire, I only need a computer and Internet for BaldingBlog, right? With respect to what you read on this site, Dr. Pak and I equally share contributing to the posts without the reader knowing who answered what. So even if I am gone for a long vacation, BaldingBlog will continue on. But in general, before any content is posted, both Dr Pak and I cross check and edit each other’s answers.

But just to make it clear, I am not planning on retiring yet.