Author: Dr. William Rassman

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationIn the News – Taking Tylenol for 5 Years Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from a non-hair-loss article:

TylenolPop a Tylenol and take a brisk walk for protection against prostate cancer? That’s what the findings of two new studies published this week suggest.

In the first study, published Monday in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, scientists found that men who took a daily dose of acetaminophen (Tylenol) for five years had a 38% lower risk of developing prostate cancer, compared with other men. Additionally, daily acetaminophen was associated with a 51% reduced risk of developing an aggressive form of the disease. Men who took acetaminophen for less than five years saw no protective benefit.

Block Quote

Read the full story at CNN – Prostate Cancer Studies Find Benefit in Daily Acetaminophen and Brisk Walks

This as an observational study of over 78,000 men, and while nothing is definitively proven here, the findings are interesting.

So why post this kind of health stuff on a hair loss blog? The majority of the readers here are men, and as the article points out: “Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men“.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationIn the News – Young Boy with Trichotillomania – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

TrichotillomaniaHair loss is a common problem that can be caused by a variety of conditions.

Imagine, though, it happening to a young boy because he pulled out his hair.

That’s what Max Sherwood of Riverdale, Iowa, had to endure. Max, 11, has trichotillomania, a psychological disorder that causes people to pull out hair from their head and other parts of the body to the extent that it causes patches of baldness.

“He started to pull out his eyebrows when he was in second grade, then he quit,” mother Candace Sherwood said. “Then, when he started fourth grade, he started to pull out his hair.”

Block Quote

Read the rest — Iowa Boy Pulls Out His Hair and Goes Bald

The video that plays at the start of the article is about OCD in general, and isn’t specific to this young boy’s story. But for those curious about the disorder and the steps used to treat it, I’d recommend giving the article a read.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationHow Long Can Shock Loss Last? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, Im 23 and i had a hair transplant almost 4 months ago. I’ve been on propecia for 3 + years with good results. I have an observation and a question for you regarding shock loss.

I’ve noticed that i’m losing a fair amount of native hairs in my recipient area, BUT, i’m really only losing these hairs after i workout really hard. For instance I went for a very intense run two months and right after i was finished i ran my hands through my hair and i noticed a mass amount of hair falling out from my recipient area. Do you think my workouts are contributing to the process of shock loss? If so how long will this last? ( how long can shock loss last?)

Block Quote

For starters, shock loss usually slows down between 3-5 months following your hair transplant. I really can’t fully address your concerns, because I haven’t had the opportunity to examine you before and after your surgery.

In our office, we offer the use of a device called HairCheck, which is a way of measuring hair bulk. We would’ve had measurements of before your surgery and if you really had shock loss after the surgery, we would actually be able to calculate how much hair you lost. This test could have been repeated monthly after noticing the problem. The first thing is to diagnose what is really happening.

Many men in your young age group are riskier patients for shock hair loss. Based upon your report, I can’t confirm your opinion without at least seeing you and all of your before photos. I would want to know what your patterned hair loss was like, where the recipient sites were placed (I hope that it was not placed in areas where you had significant amounts of native hair), and I would want to be able to predict the status of your miniaturization throughout the scalp. If you had significant miniaturization present and rapid hair loss present before your surgery, that would be an alert of an unusual risk for shock loss.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationI’m 16 Years Old and I See the Sides of My Head Are Thinning – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi. I’m a 16 year old guy who eats healthy organic food and exercises every day. My mom’s dad went bald but my dad’s dad had healthy hair until he died. Also my dad still has pretty much all of his hair. My older brother has hair like my mom’s dad and he went bald. I, on the other hand, have hair like my dad. So, enough background info.

A couple months ago I started to notice that hair on the sides of my head were getting smaller. Now I have smaller and less hair on the sides and a little less one the front of my hairline. The hairs on the sides are shorter and thinner than on the rest of my scalp. What should I do?

Block Quote

It’s possible that a 16 year old with a strong family history for balding can detect early male pattern baldness (MPB). The first thing I would want to do is to measure the hair bulk throughout your scalp. This is a great way to help make more accurate predictions of hair loss and it documents the status of the hair each and every time it is used.

At 16 years old, I would want to know this FOR SURE, because it would either tell me that I do not have a problem with early hair loss or that I do. If you had documented bulk reductions with this test, then the use of Propecia would probably be worth exploring with your doctor.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationCan My General Practitioner Prescribe 5mg Finasteride? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Is it possible for a general practitioner to prescribe finasteride 5mg if he knew what I was taking it for? The only dermatologist in town moved far away and will not refill my prescription unless I have yet another appointment. I have little time to visit a specialist outside my town.

Block Quote

Any physician can prescribe almost any medication… so the short answer is: Yes. Some doctors do not like to prescribe the 5mg finasteride pill under the assumption that you are going to split it into quarters. If your doctor won’t prescribe it at that dose (which is available in generic), try another doctor.

For those not familiar, 1mg finasteride is for treating hair loss and 5mg is for treating the prostate. The 5mg is available in a much cheaper generic form, the 1mg isn’t yet available in the US due to patent laws.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationMy Hair Loss Began After a Stroke – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I had general questions re hair loss. I’ve had several mini strokes. 1st one @ 2002 which is when hair loss began. It itches horrendous which is irritated at different times. Not sure if this is due to certain foods eaten that triggers this. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. thank u

Block Quote

After a major stressful event to your body (stroke) hair loss can be an issue. It can reverse with time, but often for men, many patients do not report full recovery of their hair. I do not have an explanation for this.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationScalp MicroPigmentation Allergy Risk? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Is there any risk of allergic response to the pigments?

I have had increasing allergic responses to a number of medications and foods over the past few years (hives). It would be catastrophic to have a whole scalp covered with this and then find out it triggers a hive response.

Block Quote

There is a risk of allergies to the pigments, which contain metal oxides. While generally rare, the most common allergy is to these metals. All patients are skin tested to the dyes prior to starting the full process, but this only covers short term detectable allergies.

According to BMEzine:

    “It should be noted that allergies can develop over time with exposure (which is why there are more rice allergies in Asia than North America; but those allergies don’t start occurring until fifty or so), and that they may not show up until years later (when the allergy develops).

    – snip –

    While you could get spot tests done in theory with tattoo ink, this is virtually unheard of and in my opinion not entirely viable, and there is no readily available way to know in advance whether you will have such a reaction. Thankfully they are quite rare.“

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationHairSil Accelerator Shampoo – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m 31, and have been using Nioxin for about 6 years. My hair has always been thin and my hairline has been continuously receding since my early twenties. I do believe the Nioxin has helped slow my hair loss (I have a younger brother whose head is nearly bald!). But I still have major shedding every morning in the shower.

Now I see a new product called “HairSil” – which is “clinically proven with Bioactive Peptide TA-5.” What the heck is that stuff, and how would it benefit a balding head? I’m considering giving it a try but don’t want to throw away all those years I’ve invested in Nioxin already.

Block Quote

I read on a forum where someone said the product claims “100% of patients in the study saw increased hair growth” and “80% saw a reduction in hair loss by 8 weeks“, but I can’t find an official site for HairSil that says that. If indeed that’s what the makers of HairSil actually claim, the FDA should probably look into it.

On the surface, HairSil just sounds like it’s a shampoo like any other. It’s hard to find much information on it outside of what others have written on hair loss forums. It’s worth noting that they offer a 20% commission to affiliates that sell this shampoo, so it might be another in a long line of products that people are hyping up just to get your money.

Posted on

How Common Is Asymmetry in the Hairline When MPB Begins? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

How common is it for men to have obvious asymmetrical hairloss at the start of balding?

My hairline was deadly straight, however now I have just one side that is minaturising about 2cm behind at the corner for about a year now, and getting gradually worse. The other side is still fine and the hair is still thick all the way to the edge. This is painfully obvious if I brush my hair back, so I have to brush forward and slightly to the side to cover it. How often do you see something like this?

I’m thinking about going on finasteride but wondering whether you usually wait for both sides to begin minaturisation, as at the moment this doesnt look likely any time soon.

Thank you

Block Quote

It is very common to have asymmetry of the hairline, which often gets more pronounced as the balding increases. But don’t be too concerned about things being uneven… the other side usually catches up!

You’ll need to talk to your doctor about whether you should be on finasteride. Generally for hair transplant surgery, we don’t necessarily need to wait until both side are equal.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationCan Rogaine and Propecia Work on the Same Follicle? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman, strange question I have for you.

If, hypothetically, one responds well to finasteride and regrows some hair, and also, is ABLE to respond well to rogaine (minoxidil) and regrows hair, can the two drugs work together on the same hair follicles that one regrew? In other words, can the hair that rogaine regrew be maintained with finasteride, and vice versa?

Block Quote

They have different mechanism of action, so I’d assume they could work together for maximum benefit on the same follicle… but if you stop using one medication, the other medication won’t maintain it 100%. In other words, Rogaine-grown hair isn’t maintained by finasteride alone (and vice versa).