Author: Dr. William Rassman

Posted on

I’ve Been Losing Hair for 6 Years – Will Propecia Still Help? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ll keep this short and sweet. I’ve been gradually losing hair for 6 years. My temple area is very thin and my crown is somewhat thin. Can I benefit from Propecia since I’ve been losing hair for 5+ years? Thanks!

Block Quote

I’ll keep it short and sweet as well. I don’t know the sure answer to your question, because if you don’t try it you won’t know. I would like to think it should help if you have genetic balding (it does work for treating genetic balding by slowing or stopping the hair loss). Propecia works best when the hair loss is caught earlier, but I don’t think it’s too late if your loss has been gradual. Go see your doctor and get your scalp evaluated for miniaturization so you will know for sure what the diagnosis is.

Posted on

Seborrheic Dermatitis on Eyebrows and Scalp? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi what the problem is that just about a year ago i started to get seborrheic dermatitis mildly starting on my eyebrows. It has now progressed all around my scalp and has produced reasonably large flake’s all over my scalp. what i worry about is that when these flake’s fall out a hair would sometimes come out with it and what looks like the root of the hair aswell. I am just wondering will these hairs grow back if it is not part of the normal growth cycle? or may i be facing permanent hairloss if there is no true way to permanently get rid of these flakes. Thank you for your time Doc.

Block Quote

You may have psoriasis rather than seborrheic dermatitis. The hair that is going to fall out in normal hair cycling will often come out with the big flakes. You need to be evaluated by a dermatologist.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationDo You Think the Iron Supplement or Minoxidil Contributed to My Regrowth? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m a 24 year old male and have microcytic anemia (most likely) due to iron deficiency. I had been able to halt my MPB hair loss by taking finasteride (1mg) since age 18, however experienced rapid shedding about nine months ago. To stop the hair loss, I added minoxidil 5% to my regimen and started taking ferrous gluconate tablets for my anemia. My hair has all grown back and I’m trying to assess if the iron supplement, the minoxidil or both likely contributed to my marked results. Given that my hair-loss was identified by a dermatologist as MPB, does that indicate that iron deficiency was not the underlying cause? Can iron deficiency exacerbate what would otherwise be purely genetic hair loss?

Please advise and thanks for running this site. I’d be bald without you!

Block Quote

IronmanFor those that are genetically inclined to lose hair, anything could possibly trigger the genetic loss. Fixing the anemia can reverse hair loss caused by low iron, and although I don’t have the benefit of examining you or having a more thorough case history, it seems to be the likely scenario in your case. I don’t know what steps your dermatologist took to determine your hair loss was purely genetic, though.

If you stop the minoxidil, you run the risk of losing hair growth benefits it could’ve been providing.

Posted on

Advanced Patterned Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have a new question for you! Is there a very advanced norwood scale where hair thins on the bottom of the back of the head, and the bottom of the sides?

My hair is really thick on the upper sides of my head.. and very very thin under that, just directly above my ears (Not my temples) and behind my ears.. it is very hard to explain. The hair loss I have explained seems patterned (in the sense that it is thinning similarly on both sides). I have thinning on top in a sort of norwood 3 vertex pattern. Could it be MPB related?

Block Quote

Norwood 7Some men have a hairy neck extending from the permanent fringe area of the scalp (as seen in the Norwood 7 diagram at right). This neck hair can be very thick, like good scalp hair (this might be what you are talking about). I really don’t understand what you are describing. There are a variety of autoimmune diseases that can produce a pattern-like loss, but first lets show me what you have either in person or by photos, as I can not write a book about it here.

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationI Am Taking Dutasteride for My Prostate – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 53 year old male. I just came back from my M.D. and I told him I was having a issue with frequent urination. He prescribed Dutasteride. I have been taking 1/2 a finesteride daily for the past 4 years. My question is should I take both and if I stop the Finesteride will the Dutasteride help with my hair loss at that dosage.

Block Quote

In your situation, dutasteride will be all you need and there is no point to take continue taking finasteride along with it. I don’t know what dosage of dutasteride you’re on, though.

Posted on

Can I Stop Propecia Eventually as Testosterone Levels Decrease Over Time? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Doctor ,

I have been taking propecia for 6 years with a great success , but i am close to 30 years now , and i was wondering if i could stop it now. Don’t you think that with our Testo levels decreasing over age (about 2% per year after 30) , the DHT levels will decrease too, so that we could stop the propecia by getting older ?

Good thought, but taking Propecia is not directly related to testosterone levels. Propecia affects DHT levels, and even DHT levels do not tell the full story. For example, even with high testosterone levels, you can have NO hair loss. Conversely even with low testosterone levels you can have massive hair loss.

The root of the problem (pardon the pun) for hair loss in men is genetic, not DHT. As such, there is no definitive cure. But if Propecia is working well for you to this point and you have no problems, why stop it? In reality, you should never stop taking it, as long as you wish to retain your hair.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

Castration and Hair Regrowth – Balding Blog

From what I have read, castration stops hair loss however, castration will not regrow hair that has been lost. If this is true, why would Proscar grow any hair? It is my understanding Proscar blocks a percentage of DHT, which leads to the effectiveness of the product. If someone has been castrated there is o% DHT and still no hair regrowth? Also if DHT causes hair loss why is Propecia effective on the vertex of the scalp and not the temples.

There is a wide audience of young men (over a million) who have taken Propecia and we know that in the very young man with active miniaturization, the process may be reversed. This occurs mostly in young men in their 20s. I would guess that if we castrated 1 million men who are balding in their 20s, that the incidence of regrowth would be higher than those on Propecia alone, but I am not recommending castration as this is only an intellectual exercise.

When a hair is dying (miniaturized hairs fall in this category), like a dying person, they have a chance of being fixed or cured because they are not dead yet. When a hair has completely disappeared, it has gone through apoptosis, which means that the hair growth center is dead… and we all know that you can’t raise the dead. This applies to hair when the head is slick bald in any area impacted where there is no miniaturized hairs.


Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

Hair Loss InformationUsing a Concealer for a Hair Loss Miracle (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

This is a young woman with very bad see-through hair loss that recently visited my office for a consultation. She told me that it has had a devastating impact on everything about her life. In one visit to the office, we fixed up her hair with DermMatch with the result as shown below.

There was no surgery done here. Applying the DermMatch took just a few minutes. She felt reborn with what appeared to her as a full head of hair. Click the photos to enlarge:

 

Posted on

Hair Loss InformationSaw Palmetto Claims, Finasteride Pricing – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman other than stating that sal palmentto has not been proven to block DHT. Do you have a professional opinion to the clams of many who have benefited from taking Sal Palmentto?I have been taking Propecia for years and stopped hair loss. However I must cease buying Propecia due to economics and have been looking for a clear honest opinion.
Thank you

Block Quote

Saw palmetto may help stop hair loss, and you’re welcome to try it, but it is not certain that it does what people on the internet claim. In my professional opinion, it has not been proven to be effective.

We all know that generic drugs cost less than the name brand, but there is no generic 1mg finasteride available legally in the US at this time due to patent laws. So ask your doctor for a prescription of the 5mg generic finasteride and let him/her know that you’ll cut it into 4 pieces (making it nearly the same as Propecia). This will be a significant savings for you. The cost of the 5mg generic finasteride at Costco is $5/month, which is possibly cheaper than saw palmetto and with more certainty that it will work.