Author: Dr. William Rassman

Snippet from the article:

Experts have called for more understanding of the psychological problems faced by men and women affected by hair loss.

A report commissioned by hair loss supplement company Viscera found that almost a third of people in the UK suffered from hair loss or had experienced it in the past.

While the majority of people were affected by male pattern baldness or hair thinning, around 2% of people suffered from alopecia.

Many of those with hair loss reported no emotional problems, but a “significant minority” of people were found to be at risk of serious psychosocial consequences, including depression, anxiety, lower self-esteem and identity change, according to the report’s author, health psychologist Dr Nigel Hunt.

Read the rest of the article — More support urged over hair loss

Some people take it in stride, and others are genuinely distraught about losing their hair. There’s no right or wrong way to be when you are watching yourself get balder and balder. Emotions can run wild when your self-esteem is feeling low… and that is why I always keep a box of tissue in my office.

I was the victim of a gang beating last week and during the struggle a fist full of hair was ripped from the top of my head! I have thin but very long hair and I’m 30 years old with no history of family baldness but the patch ripped off me is quite bald and very damaged shorter hairs surround the area as well,will my hair regrow on its own? and is there anything that I can do to help the process along any faster? any advice please!!!

Trauma such as what you describe is unfortunate. Most of the hair should grow back, but it will take time (possibly up to a year), though much of the regrowth should occur in the first 6 months. Unfortunately, there is no process to speed this along.

I’ve read that Asian hair has less hair loss daily than Caucasians. Is this true and if so how much is lost daily? I’m a 22-year-old Asian adoptee and I’ve always lost high amounts of hair daily for as long as I can remember, sometimes up to a 100-150 on some days. Is this an indication that I’m going bald?

Asians do have less hair than Caucasians, but in general people lose about 100 hairs a day. You are in the normal range. As an Asian, you probably have 80% of the hairs on your head as a Caucasian, so you might draw the conclusion that you would lose 20% less hair each day. If you are worried, the key is to get your hair mapped out for miniaturization and determine if you are in the early stages of genetic male hair loss.

Hey Doc,
Firstly, what an amazing job you guys do with this whole set up: Dr Rassman your blog has provided so much insight for those of us scared about hair loss.

I’m a 22 year old male student. To combat my hair loss problem, last year I used Minox 5% (Rogaine) for about 1month, but due to the subsequent irritation it caused, I ceased use.

The area that I applied this to is now dead, straw like hair, and so much thinner than other parts of my hair. I have read about minoxidil dependant hair, do you think this could be the case for such a short application period? A trichologist I consulted over here, dismissed that as being unlikely, as 1month was too short a time frame. He emphasised to me that stopping minox would return hair to the ‘base level’.

The thing is, my hair loss has accelerated greatly in the past 10months: I touch my hair and it falls out. My scalp is clearly visible on top. What cuts me up inside, is that I think I brought this upon myself by trying minoxidil.

Do you think propecia would be of any use in this situation, if stopping minoxidil has damaged my hair? – I understand that the mechanisms are different. I am merely speculating as to why I’m losing hair so much, so quickly, but I am keen to give finasteride a go. Any feedback would be greatly welcomed.

Kind Regards

You are describing what might be genetic hair loss as well as some side effects from the minoxidil on your hair texture. I doubt your current hair loss has anything to do with minoxidil use and any new hair that grows out from the scalp should be as it was before the minoxidil use. Here’s your scenario as I see it — You started using minoxidil because you were losing hair… minoxidil caused irritation and hair texture issues, so you stopped using it… then your hair loss continued, because hair loss is progressive. I don’t think it’s clear that minoxidil accelerated the loss, though.

At 22 years old with early balding, Propecia is a good idea to help slow the loss down (if it is genetic hair loss), but you will likely not see results unless you take it daily for at least 9 to 12 months. It’s a prescription drug, so talk to your doctor if you’re interested in that. You should also have a good doctor examine your hair and perform a miniaturization mapping so that you can see the progressive nature of your loss over time.