Dr. William Rassman – Page 1504

February 21, 2008

I Want My Head to Always Have a 5 O’Clock Shadow of Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Heres one for you: I wouldnt mind a shaved head if the shadow of existing thick hair wasnt so obvious around the donor areas. It’s like the top is your normal face color, and the donor areas white with potential hair. The shadow where hair grows is just so noticeable. My question is: is there a procedure where you can have implanted just tiny hairs as in a shadow over your balding? So it looks like you only shave your head?

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5 O'Clock Shadow I suppose you can tattoo your bald area, but that’s not the recommended route. I have seen it done in a few patients with reasonable results, but they have done this because of some deforming surgery they had from older hair transplant techniques many years earlier. Alternatively, you can air spray the balding area to develop a subtle shadow. If you’re looking to transplant a “5 o’clock shadow” look to your head (like the facial hair style that became popular in the 1980s), it’s really not going to be possible without having visible scarring to some degree (even if minor from FUE) in the donor area.

In other words, to answer your question — no.

February 21, 2008

I Used Both Finasteride and Minoxidil with Great Results, But I Want to Stop One – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi! About 1 year ago I noticed a bald spot on the crown of my head, typical for Male Pattern Baldness. After reading up on the issue I decided to try the double approach of finisteride tablets (Proscar) and Minoxidil spray. My doctor told me that it was unecessary to use both, but I read a few postings on chat groups about success stories taking this double approach, so I decided on that route. Now, a year later, the results are absolutely fantastic! The untrained eye would probably not notice anything. So now I am considering stopping either the minoxidil or the finisteride tablets. If I did stop either of these, and notice a regression, would resuming the treatment again bring back my now great hair? Which of the two would you recommend stopping as a test? Thanks for your help!

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I don’t know your age or the degree of balding you had. That would make my impression inadequate to help you, based on the scant information you supplied me. If you are young (under 29 years old), then Propecia should be more important than minoxidil. I would get miniaturization studies and map out your scalp accordingly so that if and when you stop minoxidil first, you can follow the results with scientific measurements.

February 21, 2008

Laser to Break Down DHT? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I was contacted today by a person from the hair institute – www.thehairinstitute.com.au who claimed to have a breakthrough treatment for thinning hair. His description was of an “LSD Light Laser” which is applied to the hair scalp over a period of 6 months and breaks down the DHT in the hair follicles. He stated that DHT is built up over years and once it is gone it wont come back to the same extent. (he told me after 30 years old you don’t produce much DHT). He claims the results to be amazing, as shown here: thehairinstitute.com.au

Is this yet another scam?

Please help! I’m a musician!!

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Lots of claims, not much basis. If this worked, there would’ve at least been discussions about this among the prominent people in this field. Unfortunately, I’ve not been part of – nor have I seen any discussions about this so-called DHT effect from lasers among my fellow physicians.

A cure for hair loss is essentially what this is claiming to be — and claims like those that are made on that site are worth potentially billions of dollars, if it worked.

February 21, 2008

Could Conditioner Applied 10 Days After My Hair Transplant Lead to Problems? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

POST-OP CONDITIONER WASHING TECHNIQUE CAUSING GRAFT FAILURE?

Dr. Rassman,

After reading about using a gentle conditioner to aid in the removal of post-op scabbing in the recipient area after surgery on a popular hairloss forum, I applied a conditioner to my recipient area for 20 minutes on Day 10 post-surgery. (It was Haircylce Conditioner that I purchased over the Internet prior to my surgery!)

But, I foolishly applied the conditioner to my dry scalp, which made removing the conditioner nearly impossible!

Finally, after 20 minutes of constant rinsing with a cup of water, I was able to remove the conditioner by gently dabbing the area with my fingertips in between rinses. There was no bleeding or noticeable irritation afterwards. Is it possible that this constant rinsing could have damaged the grafts? Please advise because I am worried that my physician may use this information against me, if I have a poor result.

Thanks in advance

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If you did not pull out the grafts in the process, I would doubt that any problems would have been produced by the conditioner you used after 10 days have passed.

February 21, 2008

How Much Dutasteride Could Make Me Sterile? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I take dutasteride (generic avodart), I think its 0.5mg or 1.0 mg…either way its one pill. Will this potentially cause sterility or would I need a much higher dose?

I doubt that doses of 0.5mg or 1mg would have any certainty with regard to sterility. The information on this complication is presently not very plentiful.

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February 20, 2008

Histopathology of Non-Scarring Alopecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman, I was wondering if you knew the histopathology of non-scarring alopecia in a 21 year old male? My dermatoligist said I had diffuse hair loss and non-scarring alopecia and prescribed me Propecia; I am also taking Rogaine. Additionally, what do you think of spirinolacatane as a topical treatment as an anti-androgen for this type of hair loss?

Thanks

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The histopathology of non-scarring alopecia is just as it states — When you look under a microscope of your scalp biopsy there is often cells seen that reflect some autoimmune disorder, but no scarring where there is hair loss. Examples include anagen effluvium, androgenetic alopecia, chemical alopecia, folliculitis (mild), inherited disorders of the hair shaft, telogen effluvium, alopecia areata, and traumatic alopecia.

Of the list above, the most common non-scarring alopecia is genetic balding (otherwise known as androgenic alopecia — AGA; otherwise known as male pattern baldness — MPB). And since your dermatologist prescribed Propecia for your non-scarring alopecia I would guess that your dermatologist thought you had MPB. It probably would’ve been much easier if you were just told that you have male pattern baldness. If you have diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA) then the donor area behind your head would have substantial miniaturization. Speak with your doctor about how he/she arrived at the conclusions.

Finally, spironolactone has anti-androgenic properties, but clinically there is little good evidence that it helps with MPB.

February 20, 2008

I Had My Eyebrows Partially Removed with IPL — Will They Grow Back? – Balding Blog

I had IPL on my eyebrows 1 year ago – only 2 sessions. I now only have the medial part of my eyebrow on both sides because she removed too much hair. I was very upset and she assured me they would grow back. They haven’t. Will they eventually?

Essentially, the person that did the hair removal on your eyebrows screwed up and got rid of too much hair. If you haven’t seen any regrowth after a year, it is likely that they may not grow back on their own. If they do not grow back, hair transplants into the eyebrow will work well. For those curious about IPL, see the intense pulsed light listing at Wikipedia.

February 20, 2008

I Just Got Married and Finasteride is Giving Me Libido Issues! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Doctor,

I have what seems to be a desperate situation – I was married just 2 months ago, and am having serious libido issues. I have been on Fincar (generic for Proscar) for about 9 months. I have experienced positive results, BUT ALSO the often reported side-effect of reduced libido, which really snuck up on me, and hopefully, is not a permanent condition, though this has been reported. I just begun taking PassionRx to counter the effect.

Should I discontinue the drug and live with the hair loss? (My assumption and hope is that my libido will return).

Or, is it possible to maintain positive effects but through a reduced blood-level of the drug vis a vis taking it less often, or cycling on and off and allow for return of libido at the same time?

Put another way, given the 3-6 month time-frame for “catch up” hair loss, can I cycle my use of Fincar, retain benefits, and restore libido?

Married You need a doctor to talk with, one on one. There are many causes of libido issues, and although finasteride may be the reason, you should not just assume it.

I often tell my patients to stop the finasteride for a week, the go on a half a Propecia a day (that would be 0.5mg of finasteride) and see if the libido issue was solved in the week off of the drug. If it is, maybe half a pill will work for you as it is 80% as effective as a full 1mg tablet. If you’re taking a full 5mg generic finasteride, you’re taking more than the 1mg recommended hair loss treatment anyway.

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February 20, 2008

I Stopped Taking Finasteride for 10 Days While On Vacation! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I stopped taking finasteride for 10 days while on vacation and believe my hairline receded as a result. Does that seem right or is 10 days too short a time to see any hair loss after taking the product for years?

There is tissue fixation of the drug that may last up to a week. I would doubt that you’d see a major impact from the 10 day finasteride-free vacation, but you should do better planning next time.

February 20, 2008

Is My Son Losing Hair from LSD or MDMA Use? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello
My son is 21, he believes that his hair is thinning at the crown and at the hairline. He has also been complaining about an itching, tingling, burning sensation on the top of his head. I personally do not think that it is thinning as both sides of the family have a long line of full heads of hair. He has a long history of depression and chronic anxiety, he is also a hypochondriac. However about a year ago i discovered that he had taken large amounts of estradiol, in the form of my estrogel, a month or so prior to me discovering it missing. He stopped after i confronted him about it. Approximately six months later he took LSD while at a friends, then he took MDMA, overdosed and had a seizure. My question is could his hairloss be due to either of these? I am very concerned about him, he has always been depressed and lossing his hair would be a huge blow on his self esteem.

I can understand young men experimenting with drugs, as illegal and harmful as they may be, but it is strange that a young man would knowingly be taking female hormones. Does he have gender identification issues?

Hair loss can be a source for depression for many young men, but I would be less concerned about your son’s hair loss when there are potential life threating issues such as: depression, anxiety, illicit drug abuse, seizures, etc. Your son sounds like he needs help and I do not think hair loss ranks near the top of the list.

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