Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Hair Loss InformationDr Rassman, Why Do You Insist on Young Men Taking Pills Rather Than Just Get a Hair Transplant? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

I’m wondering why you seem to insist upon young men trying Propecia first before pursuing a hair transplant. What with the possible side effects and the need to continually take it, a miniturization examination and possible transplant seem a far safer – and even cost effective – plan in the end.

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As a doctor, I do what is appropriate for all my patients, not for my bank account. If you do not need a hair transplant surgery and may benefit more from taking a simple daily pill, that is the best for the patient.

From a side effect point of view, most men do not get side effects, so it is worth a try. Moreover, Propecia is a safe medicine. Even after or before having a hair transplant surgery, I mostly recommend taking Propecia so that my patients do not lose more of their native hair. From a cost effective point of view, a lifetime supply of finasteride is much less than a hair transplant procedure, especially if you take the generic finasteride 5mg and cut it into 1/4 pills.

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What If Dr Rassman Retires Before I’m Old Enough for a Hair Transplant? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr.Rassman are you the only person who performs transplant. If not i would rather have you do it as you are well respected, i wouldnt feel as happy if anouther surgeon at NHI did my surgery. Also can you see anytime in the future were you may retire and if so will NHI still be in buisness, if so how could you replace yourself with someone as good as you. If you left i probbaly wouldnt get surgery at NHI. Im 18 and have a receding hairline, im worried that by the time im 25 and want a transplant you may not be doing transplants any more.

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Just to make this perfectly clear — I’m not retiring anytime soon!

Yes, even if/when I do retire, NHI will be in business. Dr. Jae Pak (whom I’ve known and worked with for over 10+ years) was personally trained by me and is a great transplant surgeon. He and I both do hair transplant surgeries at New Hair Institute. You will be in good hands with Dr Pak.

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Two Doctors with Good Reputations, One With a Much Better Price – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a healthy and robust 75 year old male. I have visited two local hair transplant doctors. They both have good general reputations. They suggest 1500 front and hairline grafts. I don’t know which to choose. One of them is willing to give me a much better price. Also, my big concern is shock loss. Any advice?

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Please read through the information I’ve supplied in the very lengthy post called The Truth About Cheap Hair Transplants to get tips on how to select a doctor. You should put price into the formula only after all other criteria have been met. Then, of course, it is a free enterprise society and the prices may be the only distinguishing characteristic.

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Dutasteride and Finasteride – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My colleague Dr. Robert Bernstein summarized many of the points made in an article that was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology titled, “The importance of dual 5a-reductase inhibition in the treatment of male pattern hair loss“. You can find his summary here — Dutasteride vs Finasteride.

I would be pleased to expand upon questions brought up by this interesting article. Be aware, that there is still controversy here and that the numbers are too small to be certain on the value of dutasteride over finasteride.

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Skin Necrosis After Hair Transplant Infection – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello. I’ve had my third FUT surgery about 2 months ago and due to infection the sutures incision line didn’t heal and skin necrosis happened. 16cm (6.7 inches) to 3 cm (1.2 inches) split skin graft was implemented 3 weeks ago on my donor area. Can FUE be a solution to cover up this area? And how many grafts may be sufficient?

Best regards

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FUE is not the way to go in your case. A balloon expander for a problem of this size is the right thing to do. You can learn more about tissue expansion at American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

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Doctors Capitalizing on Misguided Men – MoodMax Claimed to Regrow Hair Lost From Masturbating – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr.Rassman what do you think of these Doctors claim on the following website that masterbation causes hairloss. l masterbated from when l was 14yrs upto 28yrs old on the average of once in 2 weeks. But l stop when l married at 29yrs old. l am now in my mid 40’s and l still have the bald spots all over my head l had when l was 16yrs of age. Dr. Kin of www.herballove.com and Dr. Zanbal of the other site ayurvediccure.com claim is a result of masterbation and l have to buy their medicine called “MoodMax” and my hair will grow back. l have taken “moodmax” for a year religiously but my hair hasn’t grow an inch. But these are Doctors that’s what baffles me. Could what l did as a teenager and early 20’s still preventing my hair from growing back now? l am really confuse.

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MoodMaxMaybe these doctors try to exploit our psychological weaknesses, but I doubt that anything you did as a teenager will have impacted your hair. Maybe they aren’t doctors at all — I don’t know. What I do know is that masturbation did not cause your hair to fall out and these “magical” pills will most likely not regrow your hair, as you have discovered for yourself. In fact, I’m looking at this MoodMax site now and it claims the product is a sexual performance enhancer with hair regrowth capabilities. The product’s site says, “MoodMax contains many detoxification ingredients: Saw Palmetto, Mexican Wild Yam, Evening Primrose Oil, and plant estrogen (Isoflavones) that can prevent excessive DHT, testosterone and estrogen from binding to prostate/uterine tissues, hair roots, or SHBG (Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin) protein.”

Look, PT Barnum said it best — “There’s a sucker born every minute”. As long as there are people walking the Earth, there will be others looking to take advantage of them. If you’ve taken these pills for over a year already, you’ve probably wasted around $500. How much more money do you want to put in the pockets of these people praying on your insecurities? Don’t be a sucker.

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Spectral RS – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Please refer to this link and comment please on this product now for sale by Target. Is this something you have heard of? Is it worthwhile/proven?

please take the time to review: Spectral at Target

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Spectral RSFrom what I’ve read, Spectral RS is the same as Spectral DNC, apparently just without minoxidil. More has been written about it on the HairLossHelp forum. The manufacturer of this product states, “When used alone, Spectral RS is not meant for androgenic alopecia (genetic male pattern baldness). For maximum results in the treatment of androgenic alopecia we recommend the use of Spectral DNC — a topical treatment containing Minoxidil.” In other words, it is a fancy hair lotion that by their own admission does not regrow hair. They’re telling you that you need to add their other product (the one with minoxidil) to actually see results.

There are only two medications as yet that are FDA approved and proven to grow hair for male pattern baldness — Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil) — and even these drugs have great limitations. It seems millions (if not billions) of dollars are spent on the elusive cures for hair loss. As always, it is a buyer beware market.

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Hair Loss InformationEmpress Re-Gro – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

im a 28 year old black male, my temple area is getting real thin, what do you recommend a couple of sites said, “that provillus and empress re-gro hair is good for black males.” What do you think? or any these products any good and/or effective? Do you know a better treatment? Thanks.

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Empress Re-Gro contains 2% minoxidil, and just like so many of these hair loss products you see advertised constantly, if there is a benefit to your hair, it usually comes from the minoxidil (which is FDA approved).

I can not recommend what to do for you, as I do not know what problems you are facing. Many people are driven by what they see on the TV informercials, which are heavily exploited by Provillus and other potions and lotions. Black people have the same characteristics that produce alopecia as white people, so when one product pushes its value for black people, I would generally run away from it.

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My Doctor Refused to Give Me a Proscar Prescription – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman

My doctor refused to give me prescription for proscar telling me that the drug will minimize my prostate and that long term use will cause me permanent libido problems. Now i consider buying the drug from internet. What’s your opinion? Thanks.

Male 24, NW2.

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I would see another doctor. Finasteride 1mg will not give you permanent libido problems.

You need to be followed by a doctor and have a doctor’s prescription for taking this medication. More importantly, you need to have a good diagnosis of what you are treating before you start any medication. I do realize you can buy many medications without a doctors prescription over the Internet, but that is not a smart thing to do, nor is it exactly legal.

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My Daughter Had a Bad Chemical Burn on Her Scalp When She Was Hours Old – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have a 11 year old daughter who has a bald spot in her head. She received this chemical burn when she was about a few hours old when she stopped breathing and they had to put an IV in her head. She has really dealt with this situation for the past few years but now she complains because she can only wear her hair one way. I have taken her to a dermatologist and they said that her follicules were dead and that she would have to have a hair transplant. I have been researching about microscopic follicular hair transplants and I think I want to have it done for her this summer. I really want to know if you think she is to young for this surgery.

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Depending upon the size of the area, the treatment should be customized for that size and location. Some children develop very large areas of balding from such events and these may require more than a hair transplant. I would have to see photos of her to tell you what could be done (you can send them here and please reference this post in your email). Photos will remain confidential unless permission is granted to use them.