Month: January 2023

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Do Propecia Haters Have an Agenda?

Hello Dr. Rassman, I was just curious if you’ve ever come upon this web site: mypropeciasideeffects.com. This guy doesn’t seem real pleased with his Propecia experience. I’m not sure if he’s got an agenda or if he’s just a worst case scenerio. Any legitimacy to his claims?

Thank-you for your time

Not everyone will be happy with every choice they make. Propecia is an elective medication to treat a cosmetic issue. If someone is concerned about the possible risks from the medication, simply don’t take it. The fact is, I’ve yet to see a good clinical study that shows any side effect is permanent and studies have shown the side effects are seen in less than 2% of men. I have no idea if he’s got an agenda, but I’ve written about this issue many times before:

  1. Recommending Finasteride Despite Web Forum Outrage
  2. Can You Dismiss Propecia Information on the Web?
  3. Propecia Causes Damage to the Penis — If It’s on the Internet, It Must Be True!
  4. Propecia Info on the Internet Has Me Worried!
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Do Propecia and a Hair Transplant Compliment Each Other?

I really never believed in hair growth products. But after you mentioned Propecia I tried it. It took a while but I eventually saw a great difference in the thickness of my hair! Then, when I stopped using it, the hair went back as it was before using Propecia. I knew this would happen but I wanted to know if I was just imagining the change.

Hence, my question: You advised using Propecia prior to having the HT procedure. Its seems I must use it before the HT and also before the full effects kick in or how will we know how much density is normal and how much is density is due to Propecia?

If I had a choice I guess I would rather have the great results of a HT without the added cost of meds. But if they compliment each other, well, it may be worth the prescription price. Thanks

I believe that every young man should be on Propecia/finasteride if they have genetic balding. This drug will also offer some protection against shock loss that would be common with a hair transplant, and you should be on the drug at least a couple of weeks prior to having a hair transplant. If your thinning is early, then Propecia may be enough (just as you described), but if you lost hair in the front, it would be unlikely that the drug will return it. So these two modalities (transplant and drug) work nicely together and yet they do compliment each other.

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Do Older Women Lose Hair Due to the Length?

Long hairI am 58 years old (female) and have been letting my hair grow long – it is now past my shoulders – I have noticed a lot of hair loss when I wash my hair – is this due to the length of my and age? Thank you for your response

We generally lose about 100 hairs per day and if the hair cycle goes about 3 years, then the calculation of a 100 hairs per day is arrived at. The longer the hair is, the more detectable the hair will be as they will stick to your fingers in the shampooing process and in the drain. This goes for any age.

One lost hair on you could clog a drain and look like a handful if it is as coarse as it looks in the picture. As you know hair cycles and grows about a half inch a month. If you are 5ft tall and your hair is 5 ft long (example) then you have a ten year hair cycle and than means that all of your hair should fall out and be replaced in 10 years, one hair at a time. My great grandmother had hair length like yours when she was 110 years old, but she wore it in a bun and washed it a few times a year. It was evident that her length was far shorter than it appeared as the hair tangled and much of it never fell out.

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Do Men with Immune Deficiencies (Like HIV) Have Less Chance of MPB?

Hi!

Do those with severe immune deficiency, like people with HIV, have a smaller chance of developing an advanced MPB? This is a question that struck me, since the immune system is what eventually attacks/kills the hair follicles if sensitive to DHT?

To understand the immune system and how it affects one’s HIV status and balding, it would take a few pages to elaborate. So to put it simply, the answer to your question is no.

The immune system does not attack and “kill” the hair follicles sensitive to DHT. Your statement is not correct. Hair loss from immune system issues reflect many forms of the autoimmune disease groupings, such as alopecia areata, but the immune system issues regarding HIV and alopecia areata are not related since the target of the antibodies are different, as well as the cause of the disease.

If you have HIV and have the genes for hair loss, you will have HIV and have hair loss (which will almost certainly accelerate if your HIV gets out of control or your diet is not healthy).


2008-04-07 15:02:59Do Men with Immune Deficiencies (Like HIV) Have Less Chance of MPB?

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Do men stop receding?

I’ve noticed that my dad has had the same semi-receded hair line for like the last 15 years. It has only slightly thinned out on the top since.

We are born with a patterned hair loss (inherited from family) that we will reach and then stabilize. That is most likely why your dad’s patterned hair loss is stable. Let’s stay that he had a Norwood 4A pattern genetically programmed, that means he, most likely, will never progress further to a Norwood Class 6 or 7 pattern.

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Does Meat and Milk Accelerate Hair Loss Because of the Added Hormones?

Does eating red meat, chicken, pork, and milk accelerate hair loss? The reason I ask this, so many hormones are added into these products now-a-days and I wanted to know if it would increase testosterone levels and cause hair loss.

Thanks

There is no evidence that hormones from meat and milk will impact your hair loss.


2012-11-28 07:16:33Does Meat and Milk Accelerate Hair Loss Because of the Added Hormones?

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Do Linear Donor Scars Widen?

Do linear donor scars stretch (widen) over time?

You are asking about hair transplant scars from the rim of permanent hair that is found around the back and sides of your head. This area (donor area) is generally not prone to stretching if the incisions are made in the horizontal plain (side to side). The scalp has some degree of redundancy so that there is ‘extra’ scalp which you can easily slide up and down on the back of your head. This makes the scalp loose in most people so when some of it is removed, there should be enough excess scalp to close without tension on the wound. When there is minimal tension on the wound, it usually will close without stretching in people with normal healing tissues. If either the scalp is tight, or the body’s tissues are not strong, then these wounds may stretch. The more surgeries you have, the more the potential to develop stretched scalp scars.

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Do Lasers Grow Hair or Remove Hair?!

Hi Dr. Rassman & Staff. Great blog.

Anyway, here’s my question. On my morning drive into downtown Chicago, I invariably hear radio commercials for laser treatment to REMOVE “unwanted” hair. Yet, I also see promo’s for laser treatments to GROW hair. Well which is it … do lasers GROW or REMOVE hair?

Thanks.

HairyThe lasers which claim hair growth are a low level laser energy dosage that do not penetrate the skin… nor do they grow hair, in my opinion.

The lasers for hair removal are high energy lasers which focus the power to a very small area (the hairy area that you’d like de-haired) in bursts to be safe. They will penetrate the skin to get to the root of the hair follicle.

Both lasers work at different light frequencies.

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Do I Use the Rogaine Dosage All Over My Scalp or Concentrate on the Crown?

I have a question regarding rogaine. I have thinning in the crown and front of the head too. I have read that rogaine can be beneficial for retarding additional hair loss anywhere there is hair. Thus, I split the 1 ml dose throughout my scalp rather than just concentrating it on the crown.

Would this stop the effectiveness of rogaine? I suppose I am not supposed to use more than one ml.

I would use the dose listed in the directions that came with the product that you purchased. You can put Rogaine on your crown and front area of your scalp, but it should only be placed in the areas where you want the benefits and not put in areas where the hair is good. As you know, it has not been shown to be as effective in the frontal areas.

I suspect you can use more than 1 ml, but there is a small risk of your body absorbing too much and you experiencing systemic side effects (such as headache, fainting, etc). I would think this risk is low, but it is something to think about.

If you are concerned you should ask these questions to your doctor and get a good medical physical examination to make sure you will have no issues. I am not your doctor and this is not a place to get personalized medication use advice, simply because I do not know your medical history.


2010-06-29 10:24:50Do I Use the Rogaine Dosage All Over My Scalp or Concentrate on the Crown?