Dr. William Rassman – Page 1508

February 13, 2008

FlutaGel – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

What can you tell us about FlutaGel?

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Flutagel is a gel that contains 1% flutamide as the active ingredient, a drug that is used to treat prostate cancer. It acts by inhibiting the uptake and/or binding of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to the target cell receptor. To date, no clinical studies have been done to prove its efficacy in MPB. In theory it sounds great, but this does not always translate into the clinical arena. It needs to be studied further to evaluate its safety and effectiveness.

The website for this is at Sinere.com if you want to try to find more info.

February 13, 2008

Hair Loss InformationReader Says John Travolta’s Hairpiece Is Not Costly – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

The hair like Travolta wears is NOT costly as mentioned in the article.Also not required to go into a salon to have it attached.There are a number of sites on the net that sells this type of quality piece for less than 200 dollars.I have 2.Also Hollywood hair web site shows John`s hair for 159.00

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Thanks for the information. It seems like you’ve done your research… or perhaps you’re just selling something. These type of hair systems can go for thousands of dollars, but there will always be a cheaper company there to undercut the more expensive model. Plus, I assume that like many celebrities, John Travolta would have a personal stylist, adding to the overall cost. Judging by the photos (see here) though, perhaps his stylist got the day off.

February 13, 2008

Intercytex vs Follica – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Doctor Rassman,hi again. I am a frequent reader of your blog and once again I say thanks for keeping such an interesting and useful source of great information. My question is in regards to Intercytex and Follica. I keep reading about these companies and it is hard not to get excited about the possibilities described there even though actual products/treatments may take a while (if ever) to come out. Anyways, my question is which company (between those two) do you find more promising? I know this will be just a guess or opinion, but I would certainly appreciate your feedback! Thanks a lot!

Your guess is as good as mine. We never really know all of the facts and much of what is known appears to be for public relations purposes. At this point, I don’t really have an opinion when pitting one against the other.

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February 13, 2008

Merck’s Site Doesn’t Say Anything About Initial Shedding from Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Doctor,

Great website !!

Re: Propecia and Minoxidil – The reality please

I am been sending you several emails regarding the following questions which I very much appreciate if you could answer:

– Propecia and initial shedding: Several comments on the internet mention that this medication may cause increased shedding at the beginning of the treatment (3 to 4 months). However, nothing thereupon is mentioned in the Merck product description. Moreover, this does not correspond to the timeline for results indicated in the propecia website (www.propecia.com). This website indeed indicates that one may on the contrary expect reduction of hair loss within 3 months and some regrowth within 6 to 12 months. Similarly, several dermatologists to whom I spoke indicated to me that this initial shedding my occurr with Minoxidil (which acts as a growth stimulant) but not with Propecia. What is your experience in this area with your patients. What is the reality please ? If initial shedding was a common effect of Propecia I am sure Merck would have mentioned it in the product description just like the makers of Rogaine did for Minoxidil ?

Minoxidil 12.5 + Azelic Acid 5 % in the form of a cream: I have been advised by a clinic in London to combine the use of Propecia with this cream. However, I am 36 years old and I have JUST started to thin (on the crown but not on the temples and hair line). Do you think that addition is necessary or would propecia be enough.

Age concern: I hear that propecia best works for men under 30. However, if I have just started to thin (since a year) at 36, does this mean that the medication will have little effect.

Many thanks

I have never actually seen a patient with shedding from Propecia (finasteride 1mg), but I have read many such complaints through this site. Maybe I just get the unusual bad news. Maybe there’s some commonality (outside of taking the Propecia) that isn’t being said. That is a problem with getting one email from a random reader that I may never hear from again. I don’t have enough medical history to really know what to make of it all. I can not comment on adding the combination of minoxidil 12.5 and azelaic acid 5% cream, but the acid does irritate and may cause increase absorption of the minoxidil (that is the theory, anyway).

You are correct that the best results from Propecia are in younger men, but I have seen many men in their 30s get wonderful benefits from the drug. It will be what it is and it will be better results than not trying the drug at all.

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February 13, 2008

Worried Sick About Shock Loss Potential! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr Rassman,

I am having my second HT transplant soon to refine my frontal line and to provide more density at the sides. I am worried sick about shock loss. Is there a possibility of this happening with new grafts that will be placed between the newly transplanted grafts that are growing well?

Thank you.

You should not have shock loss with transplanted hair — that is, hair that has been moved from your permanent area to new recipient sites. If you’ve had a previous transplant in the past 3 years or so and are taking finasteride, the risk of shock hair loss is very low.

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February 12, 2008

Hair Wax and Clogged Follicles? – Balding Blog

Hello, ive been using styling hair wax for awhile now, and have been reading from individuals on random forums that styling wax can clog hair follicles which would eventually lead to hair loss. So i have been wondering if this true or is it just a hair myth??

I dont leave the stuff in my hair for 3 days straight like some people might do. I shower twice daily, so is hair wax safe to use? I would love to have this myth cleared up!

Thank you for your time!

I would seriously doubt that hair wax will cause hair loss by clogging the hair follicles.

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February 12, 2008

Is Finasteride Evenly Distributed in a Proscar Pill? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have heard much debate amongst doctors about whether the drug finasteride is evenly distributed in the pill Proscar. Some say that by the very nature of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process it would be almost impossible for it NOT to be evenly distributed, but others say that it is not. Merck (understandably) will not comment since they want their customers paying more for Propecia.

If it’s not, that means on day 1, one might get all 5 mg, and then the next 4 days get 0 mg.

Can you explain the answer to this? Do you know the inherent nature of the pill manufacturing process so as to shed some light on this question?

There is always the chance that the Proscar pill, when divided into four, will have one or more of the pieces contain different amounts of the drug. We have seen patients on finasteride (taken as 1/4 of the Proscar) have results as would be expected from taking the Propecia. Although there is no way to verify the exact drug dose in each section of the pill by weight, from a results point of view, it seems to indicate that the drug is pretty much evenly distributed in the Proscar pill.

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February 12, 2008

Magnetic Therapy and Blood Supply – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

In a recent issue of New Scientist, there is an interesting article about magnets worthy of mention here, even though is isn’t about hair loss. I’ve received all sorts of questions about magnets over the years of writing this site, including whether magnets can increase hair growth (they can’t). Years ago, it was thought that magnetic therapy had an impact on blood supply (which was presumed incorrectly to be the cause of hair loss). Now there seems to be another use of magnets for increasing blood supply to the penis, possibly as a cure for ED. The article suggests that since magnets increase blood supply, it might help in getting erections. Other applications for the magnetic therapy include arthritic joints and circulation problems for extremities. They suggest that an old refrigerator magnet might do the job. I wonder if keeping a magnet on your groin will cause problems with credit cards in your wallet…

The article states that the makers of Magnehance claim “that if you are male you can enhance your organ’s performance by wearing a flexible neodymium-iron-boron magnet in your underpants. If you are a female, the Magnehance website promises that products designed for you will be arriving soon.”

It does seem that we want to find cures for everything — ailments or otherwise.

February 12, 2008

Pigtails and Braids Resulted in Missing Female Hairline – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I wore pigtails as a young girl and braids on my hear in my late teens and early twenties. Now I am stuck with no hair in the front or one the sides.

This question came from a woman that I just met with. It is a complicated case, mostly because the missing hair covers a large area. Her donor density is slightly higher than normal for an African hairline, but there is some miniaturization in the donor area which may impact the total graft yield. Nevertheless, she is committed to having transplantation surgery, even as I explained to her that the result might be less than a full, thick hairline area. Her response to that was, “Any hairline there will be fine”.

February 12, 2008

When Will the Avodart Clinical Trials Be Finished? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

When do you think the Avodart hair loss trial currently carried out in China will be ready for release?

I do not know. The FDA studies on Avodart (dutasteride) for treating hair loss are being done in Korea, not China. See Is Avodart Going to Be FDA Approved for Treating Hair Loss? and ClinicalTrials.gov for more.

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