Author: Dr. William Rassman

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I’m Taking Finasteride for Hair Loss and Dutasteride for Prostate – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr.

I am on finasteride for hair loss and dutasteride for my prostate. Is their potential risk or benefits from combining the two since they are similar compounds. I am also on TRT hence the prostate growth prevention.

Thank you

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I would ask this question to your prescribing doctor. I do not know your complete medical history or your issues. If you are being prescribed finasteride (Propecia) from one doctor and dutasteride (Avodart) from another doctor, you need to tell each doctor your complete medical history and ALL the medications that you are taking.

In general, taking these medications should be fine. If you are on dutasteride daily, the finasteride may be unnecessary.

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My Hair is Very Thin On One Side – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

When I wake up – I look in the mirror and it’s obvious that my hair is much thinner on one side of my head. I can create a big parting on this side because the hair is so thin and can’t do so if I try on the other side. I’m 27 and have slightly receded temples and the temple recession is slightly worse on this side but I don’t understand why it’s thin all the way to the back of my head on this side?

Is this common with male pattern baldness? My dad is bald but I have been quite stressed over the last year and don’t want to take propecia if it’s something other than MPB.

Thanks.

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It is common to see more thinning on one side in cases of genetic male pattern baldness (MPB), but rest assured that the other side generally catches up. I do not know if you have MPB, but if you believe you are losing hair you should see a doctor and get a diagnosis.

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Hair Loss InformationRepairing Old Plugs Placed Too Low at the Hairline (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

To many people that aren’t familiar with the advances made in hair restoration, “hair plugs” are still the norm. There’s nothing pluggy looking about today’s hair transplant procedures, but those bulky hair plugs of yesteryear were easy to point out and looked incredibly unnatural. I saw a patient that had an unusual placement of these old plugs and was looking to correct it.

This patient first came in about a year and a half ago with a large bald area and old-style transplant plugs that were placed far too low on the right side of his hairline. I suggested that he fill in the frontal area, and he also wanted additional grafts placed into his balding crown. A total of 1919 grafts were transplanted.

You’ll notice that the achieved result shown below is an uneven, but fuller looking hairline (we were limited to what could be done because of the placement of his old plugs). He recently came in to see me again lower the frontal hairline and I agreed to lower the left side a little to balance it out. I remembered how much he hated the plugs on his right side when we first met, and now we succeeded in managing the plugs with styling and camouflage. While that 2nd procedure hasn’t happened yet to even out the hairline, I’m glad he was so happy with the results thus far from the repair and he’s allowed me to share the photos here.

Before photo on left / After photo on right. Click to enlarge.

 

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I Heard Losing 100 Hairs a Day is a Myth! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

hey doc!
i heard that losing 100 hairs a day is normal. i have also read that this is a myth and the correct number is 20-50. can you give some input?

thanks

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It is normal to lose 100 to as much as 200 hairs a day. Where are you getting your source of information? Keep in mind that you have somewhere around 100,000 hairs on your scalp. Now let’s do the math. If there are 100 hairs per day lost, multiply that by 365 days, and then triple that number (average hair cycle is 3 years) and you will come close to 100,000 hairs.

That reflects the average hair cycle so the 100 hairs per day lost means that your body is replacing 100 hairs per day at the same time, so that there is a net ZERO hair loss in a person with a hair cycle that lasts 3 years.

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Could Topical Dutasteride Mixed with Aloe Work in the Temples? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Have you seen anyone who has ever used dutasteride topically for temporal recession and had good results from it? I have heard through the grapevine that mixing the contents of one 0.5mg dutasteride (avodart)gel pill with aloe has helped some people maintain thick hair in their temple region. I think they also were taking oral finasteride while using avodart topically.

Propecia isn’t a cure as you’ve said, so it only seems natural to try to find a supplementary treatment to keep as much hair alive on the scalp as possible! I know you can’t recommend this experimental approach as avodart isn’t FDA approved to treat hair loss yet, but I figured I’d ask. It seems if other topical hair growing agents like bimatoprost (LATISSE) can be applied topically to the skin and still benefit for the follicle, the dutasteride gel would have to have some benefit for thickening the miniaturized hair (even if it’s not taken orally).

What do you think? I seriously doubt putting a DHT inhibitor on the scalp would cause any harm and am really thinking of trying it.

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There are no medications that I’ve seen really work to treat or stop temple recession… and I have never heard of topical dutasteride used for treating hair loss by a legitimate doctor. Not sure where your grapevine source got his/her info, but it probably isn’t worth experimenting with unproven lotions and potions.

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I Want to Be Proactive in My Hair Loss Treatment – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi there

I am 25, have been told by multiple doctors around that I have pretty good hair, but maybe within 10 years might have some noticeable troubles. I have wanted to be proactive, and find a good at home program to combat and keep thicker hair.

I was told to use a year program of laser therapy, but then directed otherwise by others as it might be a scam. I decided to start basic and work to more advanced ideas: Currently using Rogaine Foam 2 times a day, and Finestride 1mg a day.

Research just leads to thousands of new avenues: I am looking for a proven system and no sales rep with a bogus product:

considering Kevis, Provillus, or Revivogen, are any of these good, if so which is best?
Shampoos: are they helpful with DHT blockers and reducing oily hair? Which is best?
Laser: Igrow/comb worth a try?

Would definitely love the shampoos for the reduction in oil and itching, look forward to hearing from you. Thanks.

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If your doctors have told you that your hair is fine, there’s no reason to start using any product proactively. You might end up doing more harm than good. I hope you’re not treating yourself, but since you’re on finasteride (Propecia), I’ll assume your doctor prescribed it to you because he/she saw some loss… and in that case, stick with that daily routine. I’ve seen finasteride slow down and even reverse existing hair loss in young men. Rogaine hasn’t shown to be as beneficial, but many people do use it and it has been proven to show some regrowth benefits in the crown.

If you get your hair bulk assessed in different parts of the scalp and follow that up with yearly tests, you will know where you are on your hair loss timeline. The key is to stop the hair loss from happening, and the earlier you start the finasteride (provided that your bulk analysis says you are in the balding process) the better you will keep what you have.

Unfortunately, there are many scams out there, and many products that are marketed and sold to people that will seemingly pay anything to stop the future from happening. Treating hair loss isn’t perfect, for if it was you wouldn’t likely see many balding men. We’ve have covered much of these shampoos and treatments here before, so using the search in the top right of the site should show my opinions on those. Most of them don’t show benefits that match the claims they make. You can try out as many shampoos or lasers that you’d like… but keep in mind that if you waste your time on things that don’t work, then each passing day is another step closer to meeting your genetic balding state.

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I Don’t Have a Stable Donor Area – So is Beard Hair a Possibility for Transplantation? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman,

Thank you for your informative blog.
I was wondering I have seen many posts in which you recommend against using body hair for transplants but a few months back a reader asked about using beard hair as donor hair, and I got the impression that you thought this was a reasonable option. I have been told by a doctor that i don’t have a stable donor area would beard hair be a possible alternative? maybe in combination with S.M.P. ?

Also how would this work? Would the patient need to keep a beard forever to cover the scar? Anyway thanks for your time.

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We do not generally recommend beard hair as a donor supply for transplanting to the scalp unless the donor supply in the back of the head is badly depleted. I realize there are doctors who specialize or advertise in these type of procedures, but it is something we do not recommend. What is making your donor area unstable? Do you have alopecia areata?

SMP is also a procedure that is very uniquely specialized to an individual, and I couldn’t say one way or another if it would be right for you without an exam. Or are you suggesting to use SMP on your face? I’m confused…

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How Do You Know If a Mature Hairline is Just a Mature Hairline? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I noticed that the hairline matures between the ages of 17 and 29, according to this site. I’m just curious as to how you came to that conclusion. I’m 23 and while my hairline has matured, I’m not thinning at all at top. Does that mean if I’m not showing signs of hair loss at 30, then I probably won’t?

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If you are worried about losing hair, then you should see a doctor for an objective examination. Some people may just have some front hairline recession and that is it. It’s possible your hairline can mature and then you won’t see any further loss, but I couldn’t say what your loss pattern might be just based on your age. Everyone is different.

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My Blood Pressure Went Up After My Hair Transplant – Are My Grafts Going to Suffer? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ve never had blood pressure before, but about 4 weeks after my mega-session it shot up (mostly 144/90 range) along with a light elevation in blood sugar (110 avg.). This all coincided with a family move to the other coast and switching jobs. This went on for about a month before things died down again. Do you think I injured my grafts? Also, would it be deterimental to take just a few (5 or less) Inederol/Propanal to help with calming down during this period?

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I do not believe high blood pressure should impact hair growth or a hair transplant. Please follow up with your doctor and get your blood pressure under control.

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In the News – US Panel Advises Against Routine Prostate Exams – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the non-hair-loss article:

Healthy men should no longer receive a P.S.A. blood test to screen for prostate cancer because the test does not save lives over all and often leads to more tests and treatments that needlessly cause pain, impotence and incontinence in many, a key government health panel has decided.

The draft recommendation, by the United States Preventive Services Task Force and due for official release next week, is based on the results of five well-controlled clinical trials and could substantially change the care given to men 50 and older. There are 44 million such men in the United States, and 33 million of them have already had a P.S.A. test — sometimes without their knowledge — during routine physicals.

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Read the rest — U.S. Panel Says No to Prostate Screening for Healthy Men

I know this isn’t hair loss related, but it’s important medical news that the male visitors of this site should read.

For many years, we have known that most men with prostate cancer will never actually die from the disease. The decisions to treat it and how to treat it are very controversial. I was never satisfied that there is any good treatment — or rather, any one treatment — that is better than an another. Treating prostate cancer through radiation or surgery has significant side effects, and the risk of sexual function loss is a real one for those men who decide on surgery.

There are many types of prostate cancer from an aggressive point of view. The opinion expressed in this advisory just takes the view that “what you do not know will not hurt you”. I am not sure that I believe this, but then again, I don’t believe in many of the treatments being offered either. I’ve always wondered what I would do if I had an elevated PSA test, but thankfully I’ve not had to make that decision.