Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Hair Loss InformationIn the News – Celebrities with Hairline Corner Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Sure, two of the most badass actors of recent American cinema — Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson — opted to shave their heads before they went bald naturally.

But there are still plenty of successful men out there who resist the pressure to mask their hair loss, and the best among them are proudly rocking power alleys.

What the heck are power alleys, you ask? Just check out Jackson and Willis’s matching hairlines in “Die Hard With a Vengeance”. In 1995, they could have been the power-alley poster boys.

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Jude LawRead the full article: Power Alleys — How Powerful Men Go Bald

There’s nothing groundbreaking mentioned in the article, but it does provide a short list of celebrities with hairline issues. The term “power alleys” is a fun way to describe hair loss in the corners of the hairline, otherwise known as a Norwood Class 3 pattern. Plus, my colleague Dr. Robert Bernstein is quoted briefly in it.

Actors Jude Law (pictured at right) and Danny Glover are counted as those with “power alleys”, along with sports figures and politicians. See the list and photos at Asylum.com.

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Hair Loss InformationSilibinin and Propecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Is it true that Silibinin inhibits cytochrome P450 enzymes? I take Propecia but also make my own herbal tea from milk thistle seeds and loose horsetail, mainly for the health of my liver and to get some extra silica. If Silibinin does inhibit cytochrome P450 enzymes then is a waste of time taking propecia? Moreover, do you know of any other plants that inhibit cytochrome P450 enzymes. Any comments would be appreciated.

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Sorry, this is out of my scope of expertise. The best I could do is offer you some links I found via Google (like here or here), but I’m sure you could do the same thing. I’m not familiar with silibinin or the cytochrome P450 enzymes.

One thing I can point out though is that the statement in Wikipedia about silibinin inhibiting the P450 enzymes is unsourced, meaning there is no valid reference explaining where that information came from. I assume you (or someone on a forum) saw that mentioned in Wikipedia, which prompted your initial email. Just food for thought.

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Hair Loss InformationInherited Hairline, Inherited Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I inherited a strange hairline characteristic from my Maternal father, one side is and always has been far higher than the other, however it skipped his son. Does this mean I will have the same pattern of hair loss as my grandfather? I ask because everyone in the family except for his son (my uncle) has a pretty good head of hair. Should one even consider uncles and great uncles when looking at their family tree in terms of hair loss or is that too far off?

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These may be independent variables and could genetically express themselves differently in the sequential generations. I do not believe hairlines and hair loss are linked genetically, so you can have one without the other (the variable is hair loss).

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Hair Loss InformationAny Hair Growth Miracle Stories? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Doctor — I know you don’t want to raise anybody’s hopes. But here’s a question you’ve haven’t addressed before (amazingly) — I think.

Are there any miracle stories you’ve seen? Where someone came in with a lot of miniaturization, at a young age, and somehow didn’t get much worse even without treatment?

Or someone looked in terrible shape, nearly balding, and regrew much of his hair and it was hard to see he was balding?

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Virgin Mary grilled cheese miracleI honestly don’t recall anything that would really qualify as a “miracle story” using your criteria of having major hair loss, yet the hair spontaneously regrows without treatment. If someone came in with a lot of miniaturization showing at a young age (late teens to 20s), I’d probably prescribe them Propecia… so there’d be a treatment in there to prevent the progression. But if hair did spontaneously regrow (here’s your hope), chances are the patient wouldn’t come back to me for a follow-up, as he’d have no need for a doctor to look at his loss anymore.

I’ve seen plenty of miracle stories from medication though, and plenty of amazing results from hair transplantation. I guess a miracle could be labeled on a case where an extremely bald man with fine hair was able to achieve amazing results from hair transplantation and a camouflaging agent. Or like the story I mentioned a month ago, where a 79 year old friend of mine was treated with Proscar for his prostate enlargement and he regrew hair as an unexpected bonus. Or when someone with a form of alopecia areata (totalis or universalis) has even the most minor hair regrowth, that can be considered a miracle. Different people will have their own way to define a “miracle”… such as a grilled cheese with a funky toast pattern.

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Hair Loss InformationFinasteride Kills Hamster Sperm? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

The effect of finasteride on spermatogenesis

I was wondering if you had see this study on hampsters? It concluses that animals treated with finasteride showed significant changes to the testicular seminiferous tubules as well as on spermatogenesis when compared to the control group.

Sounds scary! Is it something to worry about?

Link: Study

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HamsterOK, but how did their hair look? If you have a pet hamster who is balding and you are concerned that he may not reproduce on finasteride, then you have a real problem.

In all seriousness, this might be interesting to some degree, but it isn’t enough to even consider being worried about. I’m not a veterinarian, but I can clearly see there are vast differences between humans and hamsters. Besides, the study says they gave the equivalent of 5mg finasteride to the hamsters… and unless you have prostate issues, you shouldn’t be taking that much anyway (1mg is for treating hair loss). And for those men with prostate issues (which usually occur later in life), getting a girl knocked up isn’t high on the to-do list.

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Hair Loss InformationI Skipped 2 Weeks of Propecia – Did It Cause My Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hey Doc, I have been on propecia for almost 2 years now, last summer marked my 1st full year on the drug. Last summer (late August) I missed 2 weeks of the pill and soon after realized that my crown got a bit balder. Now the crown has gotten a bit more balder – my question is, is there any way to tell whether the 2 weeks of missed dosage caused this or whether its just MPB taking its course?

Thanks Doc

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There is no way to truly tell other than not having missed the drug (and comparing the results to the you in an alternate universe that never missed a dose). In other words, it just isn’t possible to tell if that 2 weeks made a difference. I would doubt that you’d notice hair loss so soon after stopping the drug, but I’m not sure how long “soon after” was. If you’re talking months, then it is possible.

You might want to consider adding Rogaine Foam (or any minoxidil 5%) to see if that makes a difference in the crown. Perhaps Propecia is slowing the loss and minoxidil could regrow some.

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Hair Loss InformationIn the News – Prince William’s Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Prince William has found himself in a hairy situation. The British royal, 27, appears on the new cover of Hello! Magazine with a suspicious head of full, dark hair, a far cry from his usual thinning mane. While it looks as though the prince dyed his hair, inside images prove the cover photo may have been the result of some clever lighting or avid Photoshopping.

William sports his traditional dark blond locks in additional photos found inside the British tabloid, the Daily Mail reports.

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Read the full article at NY Daily News

Prince William appears to have some hair thinning with his natural hair color, but the photo of the Prince with dark hair look like the work of Photoshop. Not only is his hair darker, but it looks thicker than in other pictures I’ve seen. Judge for yourself:

Prince William

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Flu After a Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Sir,

First of all, congratulations for this site and all the usefull info that comes with it.

Im in my 15 day after my mega FUE sesion and i got flu with some fever. Is there any chance that this will interfere with my process due to the high temperature or the use of medication like antibiotics and ibuprofene?.

Thanks in advance for your attention and work.

You’re safe. Neither the flu nor those medications will interfere with the growth of hair transplant grafts. There’s no impact on future growth from getting sick.

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Hair Loss InformationIf There’s No Growth a Year After My Hair Transplant, Should I Just Get Another One? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

sir,

i would like to know that if hair don’t grow as expected after 1 year of transplantation then what should we do? can we go for 2nd surgery? what could be reason for that?some white marks are still there. how can i get rid of them? is it possible that after transplantaion some hair root was not fixed properly? i removed some of them on 4th day. could it be reason? plz help me.

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FailHair transplantation that failed is a subject you should discuss with the doctor who performed it. This doctor should give you a reasonable opinion as to why the failure occurred. When a hair transplant is unsuccessful, it is almost always caused by technical failures of the surgeon and his team. On rare occasions, the patient can have some disease like alopecia areata, but that should be evident to any educated doctor (which means the surgery is unnecessary and should not be done). As for removing grafts, perhaps you just got rid of scabs. I don’t know.

If your doctor does not give you a logical explanation, go get a second opinion and certainly do not go back to the doctor whose failed transplant was not a good experience. Why would you consider going back to the surgeon that has wronged you? You have a limited amount of donor hair, not to mention the value of your time, money, and confidence.

Here are some recent posts we’ve made about hair transplant failures that you might find interesting:

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Hair Loss InformationTransplanting Just the Temples? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

First of all i would say that i appreciate your website and the information you give.

Im am 33 years old and still have a fair amount of hair. Lately I am bother by my temples, its not bald but it’s not what it used to be.

Last year (september) I started to take propecia to keep the hairs I have. I am now thinking of taking a hairtransplant to insert some hairs in the temples to make it full again. I don’t think I will need a lot of hairs or grafts. What is your opinion about a hairtransplant for the temples? I am afraid that if I do it now maybe later on the hairs ‘behind’ the temples will fall out. Of course I dont want a hairtransplant to make me look like 20 again but just some hairs added to the temples. Do you think its wise to do that considering im now 33 years old?

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First, I want to make sure you’re talking about the temple peaks on the sides of the head, and not the corners of the hairline (many people refer to the corners of the hairline as the “temples,” but that isn’t right). So assuming you’re talking about the temple peaks (the prominences above your ears), then I’d have no problem transplanting those if you didn’t show miniaturization on the top of the scalp. If you meant the corners of the hairline, I’d need to see what your loss pattern is looking like.

Your question is a good one, because sooner or later you will bald behind the hair transplants if your hair loss pattern is still progressing, which is why the Master Plan is created by you and your doctor with the primary focus of keeping you always looking good. Really, the best way to answer this question is to be seen by a good hair transplant doctor who doesn’t just want to take your money.