Author: Dr. William Rassman

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A Few Hairs Are Weak and Wavy in My Otherwise Straight Hair

Hi,

I’ve noticed that a few of the hairs at my hairline have become ‘wavy’ where as most of my hairs stand straight. Is it the case that these hairs are miniaturising?

They don’t appear to be thinner in diameter than the hairs next to them…but also don’t seem to grow as strong (i.e. they ‘fall down’ rather than grow straight up).

Thanks in advance.

The weaker hairs you’re seeing could be miniaturizing, or it could just be that you’re seeing hairs in different parts of the hair cycle. Without seeing you, I have no way to know.

If you want to know if you have started the balding process, looking at one hair at a time is not the way to go. See a doctor who will measure your hair bulk in different parts of the scalp. Balding people (even in the early part of the process where you can not see any thinning) will always show a reduction in hair bulk.

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A Chemical May Help Cure Alzheimer’s Disease

Resveratrol, found in wine, actually in the grape skin, might help in the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease The skin of the grape is a potential treatment for a variety of age related disorders, reported from the Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington DC. In the disease, amyloid-beta protein is deposited in the brain and is associated with this disease, but in a study of 119 people with mild to moderate disease, taking 1 gm of resveratrol twice a day for a year, researchers did not see a significant accumulation of these amyloid-beta deposits. The study is small, so few conclusions can be drawn from this, but there seems to be no harm in taking this drug in these doses, so maybe it is worth a try in those who think that it might help their brain function, particularly if they or a member of their family may have this awful disease.

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A Couple Months After My Transplant, My Scalp Was Exposed to the Sun

A week ago my grafts were exposed to the sun for approximately 10 mins. I didn’t burn but I did go slightly pink most noticeably on my right temple. To be honest I didn’t worry about it at all at first as from what I gathered from researching previous posts here your pretty much safe up to a first degree burn.

Over the last couple of days however I’ve lost a few newly sprouted transplanted hairs where the discolouration is on my scalp. In fact they emerged just before I was exposed to the sun so only 1 week old. I’m slightly concerned as I assume the only reason this would happen is if the follicles were going back into a resting phase or if they have died.

Is it possible sun exposure can cause follicles to shed but then regrow? I’m 9 weeks post op and had just experienced some early growth about week 7/8. Your opinion would be greatly valued.

I wouldn’t think you have anything to worry about regarding your sun exposure. I don’t know why your newly emerged grafts disappeared, but 10 minutes in the sun will not harm the follicles and I doubt it will affect your scar. The ultraviolet light is what you want to avoid, so in the future I’d recommend applying sunscreen to your scalp (SPF 45 or higher).

If you are still worried, follow up with your doctor.

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96 Percent of Men on Propecia Have Persistent Side Effects?!

Hello Doc,

Please go through this ridiculous article in Yahoo.

Link: For Some Men, Propecia’s Sexual Side Effects May Be Long-lasting

Please tell me what you think.

Thanks

There are a great deal of claims that may accurately reflect the patient example, however, the documentation and balance of the presentation is poor and heavily biased. Read it accordingly.

It’s worth pointing out that this recent hysteria is just based on interviews with 54 men, where the participants reported their own issues after stopping the medication. Even more important is to note that these men were recruited from PropeciaHelp.com, an anonymous web forum where men post about problems (real or otherwise) they have from the medication.

The surprising 96% figure gives the media a good, scary headline to get people interested in watching or reading their report. For example, I just saw a quick 20 second segment on my local morning news that said “96% of men have persistent side effects”, but provided nothing else beyond that. It’s very alarmist and misleading.


2012-07-13 10:13:1596 Percent of Men on Propecia Have Persistent Side Effects?!

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A Few Years Ago a Bald Spot Appeared at My Hairline…

A few years back I lost hair in a small area on the front of my scalp. My hair has not thinned anymore or anywhere else. Just this one spot on the front on my scalp, almost like a receding hairline but only one one side? What could it be?

You need to get a good doctor to look at it. There are many things that can cause a single spot of hair loss and a good dermatologist should be able to make that diagnosis for you.

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A Hair Breakthrough May Not Be The Breakthrough That it Seems To Be

https://www.pressreleaserocket.net/the-aesthetic-surgery-journal-publishes-groundbreaking-study-on-nape-hair-for-fue-hair-transplantation/328237/

 

Use of Nape and Peri-Auricular Hair by Follicular Unit Extraction to Create Soft Hairlines and Temples: My Experience With 128 Patients
Sanusi Umar

Background Hairlines and temples can look unnatural due to coarseness of the safe donor area of transplanted scalp hair. Although the thinner caliber of nape and peri-auricular (NPA) hair would be ideal to create softer hairlines, they have not been used mainly because of concerns that they are nonpermanent.

Objective We assessed the outcome of NPA hair transplanted to hairlines and temples in selected patients.

Methods During November 2006 to November 2011, follicular unit extraction (FUE) transplantation using NPA hair was conducted in 128 patients following a shave test involving the visual evaluation of hair density and caliber of shaved head donor areas. The test was used to determine permanent versus nonpermanent donor areas. A questionnaire was sent to patients to assess satisfaction with their restored hairlines, with a follow-up questionnaire sent to those who initially responded.

Results Three-quarters of patients are good candidates for use of NPA hair to the hairlines and temples based on the shave test. Of 128 patients transplanted, 71% responded and reported a mean overall satisfaction of 8.3 (scale, 1-10). Patients saw full hair coverage at the recipient area at a mean of 9.6 months after surgery. Nineteen patients reported lost grafts. Thirty-three patients responded to a second survey and reported a mean overall satisfaction of 8.5 at an average of 4.6 years after surgery; only 5 (15%) new instances of graft loss were reported.

Conclusions Soft, natural-looking hairlines can be created in select patients using NPA hair as a donor source by FUE hair transplantation.

These are just my (Dr. Rassmans’s) opinions (regarding the Press release which may be more exaggerated than he original publication as one reader rightfully points out):

Taking neck hair, which is often finer than scalp hair, has problems with it. These problems include:

(1) more prominent scarring occurs in the neck and the neck area is very visible so such scars will be detectable as punctate scars

(2) neck hair is often not permanent hair as scalp hair is, so if one transplants the frontal hairline with these finer hairs, they may disappear with age.

This is a warning to those who see this press release. They must know the risks associated with a neck hair donor area.

Actual article is posted here: https://asj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/09/22/asj.sjv137.full?ijkey=X8GZ55Qz4zRGY4J&keytype=ref