Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Diet High in Folic Acid to Prevent Chemo Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My wife is about to start chemo treatment and I found this recent article about ways to keep the hair loss from chemo at bay. Here’s the interesting quote –

“The Plant Programme – devised by Professor Jane Plant, of whom I have written in an earlier post – recommends a diet high in folic acid to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy treatment. Jane is convinced that, by following her Programme – which is a dairy free, processed food free, organic diet – the body effectively produces its own protection.”

Link: Chemotherapy: how to combat loss of hair

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Thank you for sharing. Everyone has their own opinions and regimens, and if you (or your wife in this case) are about to go through chemotherapy it would be completely normal to have concerns about losing hair. If a high folic acid diet possibly helps keep the hair during treatment, it’s worth looking into.

I have no information about the Plant Programme beyond this other article I found, but talk with your doctor about dietary changes to make sure there’s no problems.

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Over a Year After My Hair Transplant, I Look Exactly the Same – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

This has been a great blog for unbiased info- appreciate it.

I had a transplant surgery about 13 months ago, mostly on my front area, as one side of my hairline was receding and thus giving me a comb over look. It wasn’t that bad yet, but I could foresee it becoming worse so I wanted to get it taken care of immediately.

Well, 6 grand later and 13 months and I look exactly the same. After the surgery, I had plenty of thin, short hair spurting where the transplant was done. I was told those would fall out and grow back in thicker. Well, they fell out and have yet to grow back. I followed all the guidelines for recovery, have remained on Propecia daily as well.

One thing I did notice during the surgery (I was awake) was that the actual doctor did very little of the ‘harvesting’. His interns/aids did 95% of that and the doctor would come in every hour to take a look. Would this have anything to do with the hair not having grown back?

In this economy, 6 grand is a lot to lose and I feel as if I’ve been duped here. At the consultation their representative assured me I’d have a full hairline again and this surgery would be all I needed for life providing I stay on Propecia. Well, unless something drastic happens with my appearance due to this surgery, I will have to have another surgery providing I can afford it in the future.

Also, from what I’ve read, Rogaine will not help me in the frontal areas for hair regrowth/maintaining. Is there anything that will help?

Appreciate your time so much!

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How long were you on Propecia prior to the surgery? Have you considered that you have continued to lose your native (non-transplanted) hair and now are left with just the transplanted hair? It would sort of be a one-to-one trade off. Unfortunately, you will continue to lose more of your native hair even with Propecia. Some people respond better than others, but perhaps you weren’t a good responder to Propecia. I’m just guessing though, as I don’t have all the information.

Another possible scenario is that your surgery was a failure due to problems that occurred during the procedure. Again, I’m just guessing as I have no idea what was done during the procedure. I’ve written before about what issues could’ve resulted in the transplant to not grow, and it seems that most of the problems that occur are with the technical staff. Technicians are an important part of the procedure in cutting and placing the grafts, and the doctor does the cutting of the strip and placement/design of the graft sites. Have you spoken to the doctor that did your surgery?

I stress getting a Master Plan to remind readers as well as my patients before undergoing any surgery.

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There’s a Single Bald Spot at the Back of My Head! (with Photo) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

hey there,
i have just been told that i had a bald spot on the back of my head. people said that they never noticed it before and it just started showing. im sending a picture as well. im 29, i have not noticed any change in my lifestyle, except for the fact that i started back into a workout program.

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Thank you for permission to post your photo. Click it to enlarge.

There is no real way to tell exactly what’s going on with just the photo alone. I would see your doctor for an exam and diagnosis. I can go out on a limb and say it looks like alopecia areata, but it can also be an infectious process, or repetitive trauma. I’ve also seen stress hair loss similar to this. Please see a doctor.

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What Happened to Your Baldness Calculator? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr Rassman,

Hello and good day sir. I wanted to ask you a question but I first have to thank you for this wonderful resource you have provided here. My question is simple. This post is dated July 5th, 2007.

Have you finalized that baldness calculator yet? It sounds like an interesting tool and unless I missed an update in your archives (sorry if I did) I was hoping to see how that patent of yours is coming along. It would be nice to finally have a way to gauge how bald someone will become.

Your time is greatly appreciated. Thanks

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The patent was filed but not ruled on by the patent office, which is now taking 3-5 years to process. We have held up doing more work on it until the US Patent office issues our patent, then we will have the economic advantage to produce it.

Here’s the patent application for those interested — Apparatus and Method for Mapping Hair Metric.

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I Had FUE Surgery a Few Months Ago – Where’s the Growth? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, i have had a Fue hair transplant on the 28th of May 2010. I Have not experienced or noticed any hair growth on the transplanted areas. I would like to enquire how long before the graphs become visable and noticable in the transplanted areas.

Thanking you for your assistance and helpful advice.

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It generally takes anywhere from 4 to 12 months to see results from a successful hair transplant surgery, regardless of whether strip or FUE was used. You may be on schedule. Be patient and check in with your surgeon if you have concerns going forward.

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Hair Transplant After Using Accutane – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doc,
I was taking accutane for 6 months and 3 months after I stopped it I had a HT. Now at 4 months after my surgery I don’t see new growth. I didn’t noticed any hair loss during the accutane treatment and I didn’t have problems with wound healing. My scar has healed very good and the scabs have fallen 8-9 days after the surgery without shedding of the transplanted hairs. Should I be worried about the final result of the surgery?

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AccutaneNot all hair transplants are the same. There are subtle things that different doctors or clinics do that can affect the surgery. In other words, you are not getting the same product as you would when you buy cars at different dealers. You need to ask your surgeon these things, because I don’t know what went on in your procedure or what techniques were used.

In general, it can take up to 6-8 months before you see results and up to a year to see the end result.

Accutane is well known to cause hair loss, but I do not know how that would impact a hair transplant in your case.

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Could There Be a Multi-Decade Delay in Feeling Head Trauma? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have a problem with my left side that the hair want grow. There is a very bad stinging, burning spot that turns into a very deep, deep itch that is horrible. the hair in this spot is shot and straggly. I have been to 3 dermatologist, scalp swap for fungus and bacteria and blood work drawn. all negative for any systemic problems. Please help to solve this.

At age 17 i was in a car accident with this side of my head hitting the window. Could this be causing a delayed affect after 36 years. It’s only on that side of the scalp.

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Car accidentI doubt that I can contribute information to solve a problem that 3 physicians who’ve actually examined you have not solved. Maybe it is a psychological or a neurological issue or an atypical migraine issue? Just a shot in the dark though, as I highly doubt I can help with your specific issue without a physical examination.

There’s nothing that really stands out to help diagnose this based on your few sentence email. Sorry.

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Hair Transplant Surgery Looks Painful! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i need to know the hair transplant surgery pain and its procdure. i saw on youtube it was looking very painfull inserting many needles in your head please tell me about it.
thanks

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The application of the anesthesia can be painful for a few moments, but inserting the grafts during the hair transplant itself is pain free. The numb scalp and skull have no feelings under local anesthesia (like the dentist uses when he numbs your gums).

I’ve written about what you can expect here — Pain with a Hair Transplant.

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Could Short Term Stress Cause Hair Problems? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I had a stressful 3 to 4 week period after a breakup with my girlfriend of which I am totally back to a normal stress free life. Will such short term stress do anything to my hair in regards to it falling out or changing its texture? It looks ok but just wanted to make sure that I didn’t do any damage.

I am 43 years old with a pretty good set of hair on me and have been taking finasteride as a precaution for the last 2 years.

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It’s possible that you could see a classic case of telogen effluvium (stress-induced hair loss).