Author: Dr. William Rassman

Hey Doc great site, with tons of great info. Heres my deal, Im 25 and I started propecia 1 month ago, I still have a good amount of hair. In fact I have never had what many would consider hairloss. For instance I have never had big sheds, or really any that I can think of. I wake up and my pillow doesnt have any hair on it, take a shower, and maybe loss 1 hair. However my hair over the last 6 months has gotten pretty thin. When it’s dry it looks pretty good, but when I get out of the shower and its wet it looks horrible. So my question is am I shedding and just dont notice it, or is my hair just thinning. And in a case like this, how well do you think propecia will work. THANKS!

Miniaturization can occur without shedding. Propecia (finasteride 1mg) works wonderfully on this in men of your age. Best way to educate yourself is to map out your own miniaturization.

Snippet from the article:

If you dread trips to the barbershop and cringe every time you pass a mirror, there’s a pretty good chance you’re concerned about hair loss. Whether you’re starting to see strands of your hair at the bottom of your shower or are just worried that your thick head of hair won’t last forever, there are helpful foods that prevent hair loss. You may be, however, genetically predisposed to hair loss, and if that’s the case, there’s not much you can do but keep your fingers crossed. Making sure certain foods are in your diet will help keep your scalp healthy, happy and, hopefully, hairy. Here are some foods that prevent hair loss, which means you need to stock up.

Read the full article: AskMen.com – Foods That Prevent Hair Loss

I don’t expect to find much medical information on a site like AskMen.com, and after reading this article I’m more secure in my lack of expectations. That being said, I still managed to read through the article, which states that eating eggs, beans, raisins, seafood, and potatoes all prevent hair loss, and greasy foods cause your hair to fall out. The author gives his reasoning behind most of these theories, but I do remain skeptical that foods alone can solve the problem of hair loss. The reading is interesting, nonetheless.

Dr. Robert Bernstein put me on propecia back in the summer of 2004. I started taking propecia with a full head of hair that was starting to get thin in a couple spots. Dr. Bernstein then put me on 2 1/2 mg of proscar a couple years ago. I still have my full head of hair, and no one would even think I had thinning or any type of hair loss. Now, my question: Does hair get thinner at times than others? For instance, it seems that my hair will get thin in a couple spots, then get thicker again a few months later. I noticed a thin area on the top left side of my head this week that wasn’t there a couple months ago. I always look at my hair, so I know!! Haha….could the following be a couple of possible reasons?:

– Recent stress due to my brothers drug addiction (now in hawaii for rehab as of today, so that should go away).
– Shampoo and conditioner that I know was causing breakage, possibly from the silicone and dimethicone

Any answer would be appreciated!

Look up telogen effluvium (good reference at eMedicine.com) and see if this fits your observations. This is the only thing that I could imagine would do what you are talking about. You should also consider going back to Dr. Bernstein for a follow-up.