I take baby aspirin daily as a preventive for heart and stroke, I have no history of either condition but believe it is prudent to take aspiriin daily. I am considering a hair transplant and wonder how long before a procedure should I stop the baby aspirin or is it necessary to stop taking it all? Thanks
Most doctors believe 7-10 days off of the aspirin would be adequate to have any surgery.
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About.com reviewed my new book, Hair Loss & Replacement for Dummies. Snippet from the review:
Overall, I am impressed with both the content and readability of this book. The content covers everything from causes and psychological effects of hair loss to pharmaceutical and topical treatments, styling options, diet supplements, replacement systems and transplant surgery. Hair Loss and Replacement for Dummies also discusses hair loss myths and how to avoid scams and expensive mistakes. The book gives you a fairly objective look at the pros and cons of various treatment and concealment options and will help you determine the costs and complications of such options.
Read the full article at About.com
Nice review, and I’m hopeful that it’ll lead to more feedback one way or the other. As I write this blog post, the book is #1 on Amazon.com in the Hair Loss category, so that’s good to see. If you’ve picked up a copy and have a moment to review it, I’d be appreciative. The Amazon listing is here.
In other news, I was recently quoted in a new article about hair and employment opportunities. The article can be found at Canada’s CBC website.
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So if I start a new regimen and regrowth occurs would it start out as thin hairs then gradually grow thicker and thicker? Kinda like a reverse minituarization?
When we talk about hair regrowth, we are talking about two different phenomena:
The studies on hair regrowth usually refer to hair counts that show more hair numbers after 9 or so months, but the reality is that much of the fullness that is created by medications like Propecia, actually reflects the thickening of hair shafts. I can see this when I compare the metric I get examining hair a year apart with the microscopic miniaturization mapping of the hair that I do in most patients.
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My question is if this,if a person had unlimited donor hair and you had all the assistance you could use at your side.How many grafts would you be comfortable transplanting in one session without fear of the grafts not surviving?
I ask this question looking into the future,if hair cloning becomes available.Would it be possible to transplant 5,000 – 10,000 – 15,000 grafts in one session? Thanks for your time.
My personal record at New Hair Institute has been close to 6000 grafts in a day on one patient. The patient had a very high hair density and a very lax scalp. He did not need more grafts, but I was confident that if he had the recipient area to take more grafts, his donor area could have yielded another 2000. Keep in mind the most important factor is the skill of the entire staff of the medical group. This would not be possible without a fantastic staff.
As for what the possibilities are with hair cloning — it’s all very much speculation still. Perhaps we’ll be able to hop in a flying car or maybe even teleport to the clinic where you’ll get your cloned hair implanted, then rub magic lotion on it all to get everything to grow wonderfully overnight. It’s fun to speculate on the future.
Hi doc,
I was wondering if hair ever just gets thinner overall as you age into adulthood. I’m experiencing miniaturized hairs falling out all over my head, and I’m wondering if this is just a normal process heading into adulthood. My hairline is receding, but it is following the same pattern as my grandfather’s whose hairline stopped at a norwood 3 with thick hair all over. My hair is still thick, but the hairs keep falling out. Please help!
We often go through various stages in the thickness of the hair. Many courser haired people will see their hair shafts thin when they leave their teenage years. This also occurs later in life as well. Add to that the different lengths of the telogen cycle of the hair (see Hair Follicle Cells Growth Stages) and most people will see their maximal hair length reduce as they get older. The young girl with 3 foot long hair at age 14 may find that she can not grow it past 18 inches at age 40 and 12 inches at age 60.
i had a hair transplant in 1987. I only went for one session. Now, I have plugs near the temples on both sides of my head. I have shaved down the plugs but there is the “cobblestone” scars
left. Is there anything that can be done to remove these scars. I don’t want to shave my head completely, just get rid of the “cobblestone” scars. Thanks
These cobblestone scars can be excised one-by-one. With a well done procedure, the scar from an excision will not be as bad as what was originally there.
Hi there,
I saw screenshots of Jon from Jon & Kate Plus 8 and had some questions:
When a patient leaves the office after the operation, does he just walk out of the office looking like Jon did (in the 3 Immediatley After photos)- without a covering/hat, redness in the forhead, and hair messy?
I just wonder for people that fly into your L.A office for a procedure then fly out straight from surgery- and having concerns about being self concious as they stand in line for the flight back.
It all depends on how bald you are or how much hair you had before the surgery. If you are completely bald, it is hard to not notice some stubble and a few patients may have considerable redness that lasts a few days on the bald scalp, but we provide a hat to cover that easily. In Jon’s case, he was able to cover the transplants by combing his natural hair forward and wearing a hat and also the ‘cover up’ may be dependent upon how you can style your hair. Quite a few patients are undetectable immediately after the surgery.
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I know it requires DHT, genes and age for MPB to start. Propecia reduces DHT a major cause of MPB. Surely it doesn’t lower all DHT but enough to keep hair years and years for most men. You always say that genes will eventually win over Propecia. How is that possible? Propecia supresses DHT removing what’s needed for MPB genes to work! Since that’s the case shouldn’t Propecia forever? Or is it because of the remaining DHT that Propecia doesn’t supress works slowly with genetics until one day makes MPB progress despite being on Propecia? So in that case how come they haven’t found a drug for 100% DHT suppression yet? That would do the trick!
Finasteride (Propecia) blocks about 70% of serum DHT. By comparison, dutasteride (Avodart) blocks about 90% of serum DHT…. but nothing is 100%. Also, we know that it takes more than just blocking DHT to stop hair loss. Our adrenal glands do produce androgens as well as the testicles and can contribute to hair loss. This may be a hard concept to some, so here’s a simplified attempt at answering your question with an example. You can take all the anti-aging pills you want, but you will still age and die one day. Final score — Genes 1, Pills 0.
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Dear Drs.
I am 55 and have been on Womens Rogaine for 5 weeks but the possible side effects have freaked me out! The crown and sides of my head are thinning. My doctor has prescribed Rogaine for Women. As of yet, I have not seen any side effects. Please tell me how I should be handling the application of the solution and all possible ways that the extra unwanted hair growth can occur. I wash my hands immediately after each application. If any drips on my face I wash. Once the solution has dried and I touch my hair do I need to wash my hands again? My hair seems to get so wet during applications and takes so long to dry. Am I applying the solution wrong? Also, after I wash my hair and it is still wet can I use styling gell, dry my hair, and then use the solution? Do I need to wash my hair before each application(morning and night)? I really want this medication to work because it is so embarrassing to have such thin hair. Thanks for your time and help.
There are some people who don’t bother to read instructions/labels on over the counter medication, and then there are others that read everything and every warning label. It seems you are the latter. Just go to your medicine cabinet and read all the side effects associated with aspirin, etc. If you use the medication as directed, you should have no problem. Also keep in mind that while Rogaine is a good medication and it works, it does not grow so much hair where you have to worry about growth on your palms just from touching it, though the absorption can cause hair growth elsewhere. Extra unwanted hair in women is a side effect of Rogaine, but as long as you use it as directed, you should be fine. If you let the Rogaine dry, applying product to your hair shouldn’t be a problem.
Perhaps if you are absorbing the drug and it is causing hair to grow where you do not want it, then you may have to stop the medication. Check with your doctor if that is the case.
Hi Dr.,
After much consideration, I’ve decided to stop using minoxidil. And, as expected, I am now losing hairs the minoxidil was saving. But I suspect that some of the hair I’m losing now will grow back later.
My guess is that minoxidil lengthens the anagen phase for all hairs – indiscriminately – thus delaying those hairs’ telogen phases. And so, some of the hairs I’m losing post-minoxidil are “healthy” hairs whose telogen phases were delayed. Thus, I should regrow at least some of the hairs I’m losing post-minoxidil.
Do you agree?
No, I do not agree. People who develop minoxidil dependent hair will lose their hair if the drug is withdrawn and it will not grow back. If you don’t believe me, just wait a few months and I am sure you will be converted to my thoughts on your problem.
