Dr. William Rassman – Page 1237

December 11, 2009

Hair Loss at the Cowlick – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doctor,

Great to find a forum that cuts through all the nonsense on balding; this really is a great service. I am a 25yo male with a hairline receding around two inches at one side. On this receding side I have a “cow’s lick,”(not sure of medical definition!) and this seems to be where the majority of the loss is occurring. I am currently on finasteride, and am worried that the loss at one side looks rather odd.
Is a “cow’s lick” particularly prone to loss? Or is this purely coincidence?

All the best!

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Asymmetrical hair loss is not uncommon. It would be a coincidence that your cowlick is on the side with the hair loss. You should see and doctor and probably go on appropriate treatment. Lopsided hair loss does not look good for most men.

December 11, 2009

Can I Use Anabolic Steroids with Propecia? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Doc, is it ok to take anabolic steroids with propecia? I was losing my hair before steroids, now im taking propecia to prevent the hair loss but at the same time on steroids. Whats going to happen? Will the propecia still stop the hair loss

You are better off stopping the steroids. Propecia may or may not help, but I can’t tell you what will happen with any great certainty. It at least would have a better chance without the steroid use, which has been shown to promote the balding that occurs from genetic hair loss.

By the way, I know that’s not likely to phase you, but the use of anabolic steroids without a prescription is illegal in most countries. So you can see why I’m not too excited about answering questions related to illegal drug use. And I assume you don’t have a prescription, or you’d be asking your prescribing doctor these types of questions…

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December 11, 2009

I Have a Surgery Phobia, but I Want FUE – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr.
I have a general phobia of surgeries. I am very scared of the whole idea of my skin being cut so when I have my hair transplant I will probably go for FUE. Is this procedure painful?
Thanks.

All anesthesia hurts a bit (like the dentist who prepares your teeth). While the surgery is going on, you feel no pain and after the surgery the pain has been reported as minimal by most people who have had it. Everyone has different thresholds though, so I wouldn’t make bold, sweeping statements like “guaranteed pain free” or similar. Make no mistake — this is a surgery and you need to know what that means for you by meeting with a good, caring doctor who will take the time to go over the process for you.

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December 11, 2009

My Legs Below the Knees are Bald – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I love reading your blog and after educating myself and talking to my doctor, I am now taking Propecia.

I have an “odd” question for you. I don’t have any hair on the outside of my legs below my knees. It is almost completely bald. Have you heard of this before, or could you offer any advice?

Thanks!

Leg shaving I assume you’re not shaving them in your sleep…

But yes, I have heard of this before (many times). We do not know the causes, but sometimes it comes from rubbing of the outside of the leg on the other leg (crossing them). There is probably a genetic cause of the problem if you can not associate any chronic rubbing that could cause traction to the leg hairs.

December 10, 2009

Bimatoprost on the Scalp? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr Rassman,

You mentioned bimatoprost a week or so ago. Has anyone you know tried using it for scalp hair growth? Apparently some doctors have been experimenting (see link). As a rule, of course, one should wait for clinical trials. But if, according to the FDA, the drug is safe enough to put in your eyes for glaucoma, surely applying it to your scalp wouldn’t be dangerous?

YouTube

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I have heard some scuttlebutt in the hair professional community that bimatoprost does not work on the balding scalp, but I really do not know much about it as I do not use or promote it. I wouldn’t want to speculate on the dangers, as I don’t know enough about the medication at this point.

That being said, the comedy site FunnyOrDie.com created a parody of the Latisse commercials that Brooke Shields did. Check it out:

Lashisse from Molly Sims

December 10, 2009

Soy and Eyebrow Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear DR. Rassman

i started eating high amounts of soy per day (6 soy bars per day) for about 3 months ago. – i have been shedding my eyebrows for two months. they still look full. i just read this article about soy and the new research saying that soy is not as healthy as we all think. HealingCrow.com

Do you think that the side effects of Soy could lead to hair loss?

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There is not enough data and clearly not a focused study to connect hair loss and soy intake. I suspect if you had an allergy to soy, hair loss wouldn’t be a total surprise. But for those without a soy allergy, I can’t make the leap to connect it to your thinning eyebrows.

December 10, 2009

Blurred Vision from Minoxidil? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have taken propecia and minoxidil for approximately 2 weeks (and have since stopped). I noticed blurred vision and believe it to be attributed to either the propecia or minoxidil, or both.

My questions is if my blurred vision is associated with either product. will the blurring go away now that I have stopped.

Please respond.

I haven’t read about it occurring with finasteride, but blurred vision is a side effect from minoxidil. You might want to see a doctor if it has not gone away for 2 weeks, as that would worry me.

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December 10, 2009

Vicodin, OxyContin, and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

This was a comment posted in response to this old post about hydrocodone and oxycodone:

It’s not very inspiring that Dr. William Rassman, Medical Director and Founder of the New Hair Institute has no idea that this med causes hair loss. Whether it’s temp or not, rare or not, it obvious DOES have the potential to cause hair loss.. I find ‘user reviews’ on websites way more helpful than doctors these days. Doctors always say i’ts not a problem. I had a doc tell me that about Prozac – said it didn’t cause hair loss. Well, within 8 days, my hair went into resting phase (telogen effluvium) hair loss & i’ve been losing hair steadily for 2 months,.. even though I stopped the med after 8 days.

Be careful folks with medications. It may be ‘rare’ side effect, but it still affects some people, and it can be devasting – (especially if your female)

Inspiring or not, I do what I can with the information available in the medical literature. If you’re concerned, always discuss these issues with your prescribing doctor! Look at it this way — if you’re the 1 person out of 100 that sees an odd side effect, then you’re going to be obviously angry or upset about something you might not have been informed off. While I love the internet for many reasons, reports of drug side effects can appear skewed because you don’t see the other 99 people posting comments about how they didn’t see those same unusual sides.

Testimonials by anonymous internet users might be helpful to know you’re not alone in what you’re experiencing, but the doesn’t mean the alarm should be sounded over a side effect that isn’t necessarily the norm. Its unfortunate if it occurs, but each person reacts differently to medication and for the great, great majority they will see no such effect.

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December 10, 2009

Why Did Dr. Rassman Become Interested in Hair Loss? – Balding Blog

What inspired DR.Rassman to become interested in hair loss related issues and how to tackle them?

There are a lot of men who would consider you and all the other scientists regarding hair to be their knight’s in shining armor

Thank you. I am humbled. In all of the fields of medicine I have practiced — heart surgery, orthopedic surgery, gynecology, cancer, and vascular surgery — the field of hair is the happiest of all. The patients are helped, grateful, and at times their lives are transformed. I am an agent of that transformation and that makes me a very lucky doctor. In my former practices, I did it all and felt that I lacked the challenges of new things with the more traditional surgeries. The hair transplant industry was generally doing terrible work and I saw opportunity to change it, invent new technologies, push the envelope and create something that was never done before, so I began doing hair transplants to meet those personal needs after doing the appropriate research. If you look at my CV, you will see what I did and what I published in medical journals, radically changing the field.

90% of my practice is made up of male patients, and these men want their youthful look back. I carry out the steps to get them what they want. Men are delightful patients and the bonding I have with everyone is wonderful. For the 10% of women I work with, there is a special relationship, because most doctors don’t want to deal with their hair loss problems. It takes great patience and time to diagnose female hair loss and the time to educate them makes them happy for the experience with me. About 80% of the women I see are not surgical candidates, but I take the time to get to know each woman on a one-on-one basis.

December 9, 2009

Transplanting Very Fine Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. do you have pictures to show what a hair transplant may look like for someone who has very fine hair? I may need as many as 1000-1500 grafts at my age of 51. My concern is my hair thickness. I believe my donor hair density is ‘average’ but not thick in caliber. Thank you

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Many men have very fine hair. Hair thickness will affect the degree of fullness that is obtained from a hair transplant. A very fine hair may have 1/4th of the volume of a coarse hair, so what a surgeon loses in volume must be made up to some degree in the numbers of transplanted hairs. In other words, men with fine hair need more hair transplanted compared to men with coarse hair. There are other factors, such as hair styling (wavy and long is better than short and straight) and hair color/skin color, that would also determine the appearance of fullness. For example, fine, black, curly hair on dark skin is better than thick, coarse, straight hair on pale skin.

You should discuss your expectations and results with your doctor. Here are some patients with fine or very fine hair — KP, HWA, KLA, UH, and HTA. If you want live examples, come to one of my monthly Open House events where many of my patients attend to show off their results, some of which have very fine hair. It has always been interesting for me to note that men with fine hair are easier to please than men with coarse hair. I think that they always had see-through hair and that is why they appreciate whatever they get from a hair transplant.