Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Any Solutions for Severe Dandruff?

Dr. Rassman,

For the past 3 to 4 years, i am suffering from severe dandruff. I have also been diagnosed with PCOS last year which is now under control. Mine is long hair and this dandruff is also cyclic. Some times it is perfectly clean and sometimes at its worse. I have used topical products like diprovate with minimal improvement and the shampoos are also not giving the desired result. The dandruff is primarily flaky which is very embarrassing to me. Please suggest me if there is any solution to it. My hair is thinning day by day.

Dandruff may be the sign of a skin disorder like seborrhea, psoriasis, etc. You need to see a good dermatologist and find out if you have some scalp disorder causing what you are seeing and calling dandruff.

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Aplasia Cutis Congenita – Translucent Hair Follicles.

 

“A photo of a patient with Aplasia Cutis Congenita. No treatments are being explored, but the presentation was unique, and in our own peculiar way, quite beautiful. I’ve never seen this presentation before, with so many hairs visible through translucent skin.” (Dr. Bob Haber)

Aplasia Cutis Congenita

This shows an amazing view of the anatomy of normal skin in the translucent area

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Anything Besides DHT That Causes MPB?

Their is always so much talk about DHT being the root cause of Male Pattern Hair loss nearly everywhere one reads. I was just curious if their has been any other recent discoveries, excluding DHT, that may contribute or cause the condition?

For the genetic condition, it is the DHT that acts on the genetically sensitive hair follicle that causes hair loss. There are nother recent discoveries that I’m aware of relating to what you’re asking.


2010-01-18 17:50:33Anything Besides DHT That Causes MPB?

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Applying Betadine After a Hair Transplant

after hair transplant about 15 days, I have been infected with pimple not sure it is folliculitis or not. My doctor let me take doxycycline and use betadine leave it for 5 minutes and wash. If I use betadine 2 or 3 times a days can it affect graft survival?

Betadine is a strong antiseptic containing an iodine solution that will significantly reduce the presence of skin bacteria. Infections 15 days after a hair transplant rarely are caused by skin bacteria. Many times the cause is as simple as scratching the scalp, thereby breaking the skin and introducing a source for skin bacteria to invade into and through the skin. When applied topically, Betadine will not hurt the grafts at this stage.

I am not sure what the problem is that you’re experiencing, so it is impossible for me to comment on a treatment. At the least, a picture may help. But since you’re under the care of your doctor, I’d go with his/her treatment plan.


2013-06-08 10:59:31Applying Betadine After a Hair Transplant

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Any New Hair Loss Drugs Coming Up?

have you heard of any new hair loss drugs in the pipe-line;if so what sort of amount of time will they take to become available to the general public

The FDA is the place to go to look for new drugs. These drugs must go through a clinical trial and there is no assurance that a drug that starts the process will qualify to meet the safety and effective standards of the FDA. In summary, I have no way to tell you what may happen. We all have to wait out the clinical trials.


2006-08-22 06:26:32Any New Hair Loss Drugs Coming Up?

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I Applied Minoxidil 5% to My Scalp – It Worked to Bring Scalp Hair Back, but My Face Developed Hair as Well

Minoxidil, when absorbed through the skin of the scalp, will produce body hair. Facial hair is a known side effect. Either reduce the dose or stop the medication to reverse the facial hair growth. With good results on your scalp, I understand how difficult this will be for you. You must make sure that the liquid does not get on your forehead or face when using it.


2018-05-18 08:49:28I Applied Minoxidil 5% to My Scalp – It Worked to Bring Scalp Hair Back, but My Face Developed Hair as Well

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Anybody on fin long term & had good hair improvement?

I just had a36-year-old man visit me in my office. He has been on finasteride for 10 years and tells me that this drug has increased his sex drive very heavily ever since he started it.


2020-04-19 08:53:14Anybody on fin long term & had good hair improvement?

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Anyone Taking Propecia for a Decade? (with Photos)

Hi, I just want to know: do you have many patients who have been on propecia for 8-10 years and yet still have a healthy head of hair on their heads?

Alternatively, do you have many patients who have taken propecia for a long period of time and have gone bald?

I have a number of patients who went to Mexico to get Propecia (finasteride) before it was sold in the United States (maybe 10 years or so ago). One in particular (24 years old at the time), who was balding in the crown, reversed quite nicely on Propecia and maintained that reversal without any progressive miniaturization over the 10 years. Because he was young, the drug worked beautifully. His crown was never transplanted but he did receipve alightly over 6000 grafts in the frontal area. He now has a crew cut.

I have not seen anyone who stayed on Propecia go bald, but I have seen many, many men who were taking it and decided to stop, who then went either very bald or very thin.

Before Propecia on left; After Propecia on right:



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Are ALL Steroids Bad? What About Prescribed Topical Corticosteroids?

In your July 21st blog entry, you clearly mention that all steroids are bad – both for your body and toward precipitating hair loss. However, specifically what about topical corticosteroids, such as Luxiq? Last year, my dermatologist diagnosed me with seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp and proscribed me Luxiq to take pretty much indefinitely. Could this drug worsen my hair loss? I’m very concerned that I may be doing something that is speeding up my rate of hair loss! Please respond.

Steroids cause hair loss. I personally do not recommend daily or twice daily use of steroids for seborrheic dermatitis. Occasional use one or two treatments a week may not impact hair loss but it should be used sparingly.

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Are Allergies Causing My Miniaturization?

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I am a 25-year-old male and I have been noticing a rapid thinning and recession for about a year now. 3 years ago I got on propecia cause I was shedding real badly. I stayed on it for a year, noticing less shedding and darker hair but that was it. I got off of it cause I thought it wasn’t doing much. Then I started to notice miniaturization forming at the front of my head. My family (both sides) has thick hair, really thick hair.

Fast forward to now and my entire front to mid scalp is miniaturized (looks like a thin doll hair forest) and I am continuing to recede. I tried starting up Propecia again; for 5 months a year ago but stopped cause I felt like maybe it was the cause of this thinning. This is also the time that I was diagnosed for Prostisitis and Epiditymitis. I still have prostititus and it’s been about nine months. I am also continuously shedding except now they are very fine hairs, most of them have bulbs on the end and my hair feels very brittle and dry all the time (even after conditioner)

What I do notice when with the receding line is that before I loose the hair and it goes further back, I get red bumps, kind of like pimples, they are really itchy I noticed it back when I first started receding 5 years ago. They usually cover the entire line then once I recede past, no bumps and the skin is fine. I have these little bumps all over my head and they itch and burn really bad. Almost like ant bites. (The bumps were also there while I was on Propecia). Do you think I have an allergic reaction to something? Can allergies cause hair loss and miniaturization? Or can it be the prostisitis causing something? Or the propecia?

Please note: I have been tested for STD’s, irregular kidneys, regular blood tests, urinalysis, testosterone levels, thyroid problems. They all came back negative. I’ve talked to one dermatologist and he said I might be allergic to dairy. But I have been drinking it all my life. Any type of info would be helpful at this point.

Thanks

Your case is not simple and one would want to know far more about you than this summary will allow. The most common cause of hair loss in men is genetic male pattern baldness, and while anything is possible, it is not too likely that allergies are causing your miniaturization (especially if you are thinning in the typical male pattern). If you think there’s a dairy allergy that suddenly came on as an adult, then avoid dairy and see if your hair grows back or hair loss stops. My guess is that it won’t make a difference to your scalp though.

Starting and stopping the Propecia means that you are acting like your own doctor. Stopping that drug will kick start the hair loss again and restarting it again may do less good each and every time that you make a change. The red bumps you describe on your head just confuses me more, as I can not put it all together. You should seek out a second opinion from another dermatologist in your area and have him/her examine those itchy bumps on your scalp.


2009-02-26 11:16:01Are Allergies Causing My Miniaturization?