Month: January 2023

About two years ago I noticed thinning at the front of my scalp and corners, now I still have thin hair at the front but what really bothers me is that there are two dime sized patches of hair that is not completely bald but much much thinner. will this progress? and should I expect more thinning in the future?

I often get these questions emailed to me. Actually I get these questions asked alot! I just want to make it clear that I am not a fortune teller nor can I diagnosis hair loss over the Internet. If your hair loss bothers you, see a doctor. You can always search the Internet but you’ll end up with mixed messages or information. I can tell you in general the most common cause of men’s hair loss is genetic and it is known as male pattern balding (MPB). If you have MPB and would like to do something about it, there are medications (Rogaine or Propecia) and hair transplant surgery. There is also Scalp Micropigmentation (see scalpmicropigmentation.com). When people describe circular dime sized or quarter sized bald patches, it makes me think of alopecia areata (AA), an autoimmune disease that requires a doctor to make the diagnosis. There is no cure for AA, it has a different cause than male pattern balding and if hair is transplanted in to these ‘dime sized areas’ it will not grow unlike male pattern balding where good results from a transplant can be expected.

IN 1911, Polish chemist Casimir Funk made one of the most influential biomedical discoveries of all time. He learned that a disease called beriberi affected those who ate a diet of mainly white rice, but not those who ate mostly brown rice. He isolated a chemical from rice bran, showed it could prevent beriberi, and called it “vitamine”.

We now call that compound vitamin B1. It is one of many essential nutrients that the human body cannot produce in sufficient quantities and that we must obtain from food. Casimir’s breakthrough led to similar discoveries, including the compounds that prevent scurvy and rickets. In 1920, the British chemist Jack Cecil Drummond proposed dropping the “e”

He had so little hair before hand he couldn’t of gotten a FUE or FUT…right? Anyone got any more info?

Elton John-the story goes, had hair transplants when they were ‘PLUGS’ which left him devastated. He now uses a hair system, just like Frank Sinatra did after he was mutilated by the old type of PLUGS. This happened in the 1970s and 1980s.

Doctor. I appreciate that you always advise patients to try one product at a time so they know what’s working. And you always advise men to try Propecia first and minoxidil later. Propecia is obviously more effective. But couldn’t it be less effective if minoxidil was started before propecia?
I’m just guessing here but if minoxidil is used first you now have susceptible mph hairs addicted to a less effective medication. The suggestion is minoxidil dependent hairs aren’t protected by Propecia. So you now have a lot of hairs that could been Propecia dependent giving greater and longer protection dependent on much less effective minoxidil and more susceptible to loss. Adding Propecia after affords no protection to those minoxidil dependent hairs. I’ve seen nothing that says hair can be dependent on both. So I would think its always best to getting hairs dependent on Propecia first then starting minoxidil 6 months to a year later. Is my reasoning off here?

You ask an interesting question. The simple answer is that there is no right answer. What medication you choose (Propecia vs Rogaine) is up to the individual and its results may not be a significant issue because the two medication work in different ways (different mechanism of action). The hairs you gained from Rogain may not be the hairs you would have gained from Propecia. I generally suggest that our patients do both, to get the big-bang right up front.

If I take finasteride before going to bed, I will have trouble sleeping. I will feel agitated and restless. This seems similar to the caffeine effect on me. Any thoughts are appreciated. If I take finasteride during the day, I feel no effect.

You can take finasteride any time of the day. If you prefer to take it in the morning, do so.

So my hair is thinning in the front and I would love to find a product that I can use everyday for styling that makes it look good?
Right now I use dry shampoo and I style that way but it’s drying out my hair… I wouldn’t use gel or hairspray because it makes my hair look oily which makes me look even more bald. I would love a product that keeps hair in a style but also looking dry so it looks more full.
Thank you so much in advance.

Many men and women use Toppik, Dermmatch, or similar concealing products to thinning hair. Scalp MicroPigmentation is a permanent concealer. Some of these women had Scalp MicroPigmentation as well as hair transplant surgery.