Month: January 2023

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Hair Loss After Anesthesia

Dear Dr. Rassman,

Im a 22 year old male from San Jose. I went to your NHI office when I was 22 and I was told to start taking Rogaine and propecia. It worked. However, in november of 2006 I had eye surgery under general and local anesthesia. Since then my hair has been falling out like mad. I was wondering what is the average time for this fall out to cease and will the hair I regrew on rogaine and propecia come back?

Hair loss is caused by four factors:

  1. genes (for the genetic defect)
  2. hormones (produced normally from the testicles)
  3. time (the longer the hair follicles are exposed to the hormones, the progressive nature of the hair loss will demonstrate itself)
  4. stress

Your surgery and anesthesia cause enough of a stress to accelerate your hair loss. If you are on Propecia and it still happened, you are now entering another phase of the hair loss process. It may not come back, but you should come back to see me and we will analyze this together.


2007-02-11 15:03:33Hair Loss After Anesthesia

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Hair Loss After Adult Chicken Pox

When i was i think 19 i had chicken pox. i had a fever for about two weeks. after i recovered, one day when i woke up i saw my pillow had many hairs on it and when i combed my hair, many hairs fell out. before i had chicken pox my hair was very thick and long, but now is not so much bald but the thickness is gone. my hair in front of my head is in the shape of an M. and my hair in the top is not very thick now. im 22 now.

What you describe is very common. Significant illness or stress to your body can precipitate a “telogen effluvium”, also known as a “shedding phase” which is transient – it grows back. Now, several years later, the “M” shaped hairline you describe is consistent with male pattern balding – another common condition. These two conditions are likely unrelated. Hope that helps!


2006-04-14 08:31:15Hair Loss After Adult Chicken Pox

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Hair Loss After a Surgery to Fix My Broken Leg

Had surgery over a month ago and my hair is shedding/thinning like crazy! Could it be related?

Shedding after a surgery in a young man is almost always the result of shock loss. I always use finasteride to prevent this in men who are balding, and who are under my care. It is particularly important for men who are also under 30 if they have a surgery, because the incidence of shock loss is high. The hair lost from this rarely returns, and is often a result of the stress from the surgery. We see this very frequently after a hair transplant in a man in his 20s.


2020-04-19 09:14:16Hair Loss After a Surgery to Fix My Broken Leg

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Hair Loss Acceleration from Propecia Means It’s Working?

Dr. Rassman, thank you for your very imformative site!!

If after starting Propecia, one’s hair loss temporalally accelerates, would this be a sign that the drug is working and that regrowth is likely (i.e., would one be better off if they actually see accelearted loss versus not seeing it)?

When regrowth occurs with Propecia, is the initial hair very fine or does it grow back as normal hair?

Sometimes it is thought that Propecia, when it is working, may accelerate the cycling of the hair. If this happens, there is a possibility that hair loss might worsen temporarily after starting Propecia. Most people who are responding to Propecia should be minimizing or preventing further male pattern hair loss and that is what most people tell me.


2006-07-18 08:28:25Hair Loss Acceleration from Propecia Means It’s Working?

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Hair Loss 5 Years After Taking Accutane

Hello Dr. Rassman, I am a 21 year-old male and 2 years ago a friend mentioned to me that my hair was thinning. I had never noticed, I wore hats all the time, but then I started to notice shedding and thinning. I took acutane when I was younger (16 years old). Balding is not in my genes. I stress about it a lot. Do you think my hair loss has anything to do with accutane? I have seen doctors and they have just suggested rogaine or propecia if it starts excelerating. I would love any advice or tips you could present to me. I know I am not ready for a transplant, but what can I do to slow this down? I recently have started using nioxin hair therapy shampoo and condidtioner, haven’t really noticed much. Thanks a lot.

I am not certain if accutane could cause your hair loss after not taking it for more than 5 years. Starting Propecia and Rogaine is a good idea in an attempt to regrow, stop, or slow down your hair loss. As for Nioxin hair shampoo, I am not completely sold on this product for hair regrowth, but it is a good shampoo. If you have good result from this shampoo, then I think you should continue using it. If you have concerns that you are really going bald, I recommended that you call me at 800-NEW-HAIR to schedule a free consultation in Los Angeles or San Jose. You need to have your scalp mapped out for miniaturization and a proper diagnosis made by an expert.


2005-12-15 16:49:09Hair Loss 5 Years After Taking Accutane

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Hair Line of John Hurley and Mature Hair Line

I know there is often a lot of talk about celebrity hairlines, but one celebrity whose hair I’ve never seen on any blog is John O’Hurley, who is in fact known for his thick head of hair. I take particular interest because my hairline is very similar to his. It forms a stark v-shape and leaves his top brow ridge, but as far as I can tell has not receded over the decades. Is this representative of the “mature hairline,” or has he possibly had this hairline since birth? Any insight would be most appreciated.

older

peterman2

young2

Mature hair line is basically a hair line that develops from childhood to adult transition. Many young men think it is a sign of balding and toil over the definition or seek a diagnosis of this phenomenon to assuage the insecurity of hair loss.

John Hurley is not bald or balding. He still has a great head of hair as he had in his earlier years. The shape of his hair line is just his trait. I do not know what his hair line looked like in his childhood. Maybe his hair line changed a bit as he aged, but he is clearly not bald or balding.

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Hair Lice (Not Hair Loss)

Hi,
I work at a daycare and had a case of head lice a month ago. I treated it with over the counter and prescription and it came back. I then used oil treatments and homeopathy. I recently returned to the doctor to find out it is gone. HOwever; I still have itching around my ears and top of head. I also have a lot of dandruff. The doctor gave me a topical solution of cortisol but it does not seem to be helping and only making it worse? Is this normal after a case of head lice will it go away?

Head lice can be a problem and it usually requires a strong prescription medication to eliminate it. Moreover, you must remember to wash ALL your sheets and clothes in very hot water and then through a hot drying cycle to kill the lice and eggs. You may find that the dormant eggs have now hatched and that is causing your problem. I would advise you to be seen by your doctor (again) if the problem persists. For more, see:


2006-10-26 16:41:42Hair Lice (Not Hair Loss)

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Hair Length

Hello,
My hair is not thinning, however, it just won’t grow. I’ve had the same length for most of my 52 years. Can’t even get it to shoulder length. The back will grow very slowly but the sides and the front just won’t move. My sisters and daughters all have hair that grows like a weed. Is this a vitimin deficiency?

It is possibly a vitamin deficiency if your diet is poor, but it sounds more like a short hair cycle. When you say the hair is not growing, I believe that you are saying that the hair stays the same length. It is almost certainly growing, just growing very short so that the hair cycle is very short. Hair, as regular readers of this site should know, goes into telogen usually 3+ years after it starts to grow, but in your case, the cycle may be very short (only months). The way to confirm this is to mark a few hairs with some color (use an indelible marker). If I am correct, the marked hair will just disappear when the hair is cycled. Of course, it will be replaced by a new hair that will grow from the scalp at about the same time and it will grow until it reaches the maximal length, which is you is very short.


2006-10-25 09:12:06Hair Length

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Hair length and transplants

Should preferred hair length greatly matter when deciding on number of grafts to be transplanted?

Yes, the shorter you like to wear your hair, the more grafts are required because it takes more hair to cover the scalp when the hair is cut very short. Longer styling length helps cover the scalp

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Hair Length Needed to Cover a Donor Scar?

Hello Dr

I was just wondering about donor scars. How high up is the donor area on the back of the scalp? Also in your opinion how long does the remaining hair usually need to grow to get a good cover-up over the scar? I prefer to wear my hair short but i was just curious to know what the norm is for most patients that go through the HT surgery.
Thanks

Norwood 7The donor area starts at the base of the skull (feel the prominent bone on the bottom of the skull) and go up a distance of 2.5-3 inches high. That is the donor area (see Norwood 7 art at right).

Scars from strip surgery vary in width. On average about 95% of patients will have a less than a 3mm high scar after one procedure and less than a 6mm high scar after the second procedure. Scarring varies and I see many patients who keep a very small scar (under 3 mm) for as many as 3 procedures. Likewise, some patients will stretch their scars more than others, and the scar could be 1cm high in the rare case. The wider the scar, the longer the hair has to be to cover it. Generally, the width of the scar (height) will require almost twice the hair length to cover it well, but that depends upon the hair thickness and the color / contrast between hair and skin color. On occasion, there is no significant visible scar in strip surgery and this is even more common when a trichophytic closure is used to close the donor area. In these patients, the scalp hair length can be 2-3mm long without showing anything. Having the FUE technique used will change the visible scar risk radically.