Dr. William Rassman – Page 1535

December 12, 2007

My Transplanted Hairs Never Grew — The Doctors Want to Redo it For Free – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi,i need help please, a few years ago i had the FUE procedure done for 600 hairs with [name omitted] in London, i was happy with the results but after a few months all the transplanted hairs fell out and never grown back.

They have now kindly offered to do the whole procedure again for free but im really unsure if to go through with it again if it doesnt work for a second time. Im not sure why it didnt work and dont want to blame anyone but i remember when the hairs were removed from my head they were then left on a plate while the surgeons went out side for a cigarette.

Could it be possible that this was a bad procedure or would it be more likely to just not work for me as i have read that this procedure dosent work for everyone? I could really do with your help with this please ,kind regards.

I am slightly confused by your question. If you are saying that the hair originally grew and then fell out sometime later, that confuses me. Previouos hair transplants, once they grow, usually last the lifetime of the patient. A good doctor would, I would guess, offer you a repeat procedure if he could not find a cause of the loss of hair transplants that grew.

If you are saying that the hair did not grow, then I would ask – if you were having a heart transplant surgery (instead of a hair transplant), you would not get a second chance. Would you trust the person that caused your heart transplant to fail to redo the procedure (assuming they successfully put in an artificial heart while waiting for another real heart)? I hope that comparison isn’t too far of a reach, but it is the first thing that came to mind.

Hair transplants remove donor hair forever. If it did not grow (FUE or strip) and continues to fail, all you do is lose again. A hair transplant failure, unlike a heart surgery failure, just wastes your limited supply of donor hair — while a heart surgery failure kills you. If the doctor gives you a second surgery for free, what if it fails a second time? Ask your doctor about this. The lesson here is that a doctor who does good work has predicable results.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 12, 2007

Scalp Hurts When It Gets Greasy – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hi doctor

i have recently been thinning out badly on top. i have very minimal recession of the hairline and i have a normal crown area. my thinning is through the centre of the scalp almost like female pattern baldness. it really bad at the front area. i have really greasy scalp conditions, and my scalp starts to hurt where the hair meets the scalp when it gets greasy.

what would you suggest for me to do next? thanks

Unfortunately, I can not tell much from what you are describing. You should be examined by a good doctor. I wish I could offer more help.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 12, 2007

Staying on Medication After Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

“During the hair transplant process units of one, two or three hairs are moved from a donor site at the back of the head to the areas where hair growth is needed. Once transplanted, the follicles are no longer susceptible to hair loss and will naturally continue to grow. So no matter what age you reach, you’ll be reaching it with a full head of great-looking real hair.”

– This is the quote from Hair Club for Men about their microscopic hair transplant…I thought that after a transplant you still need to stay on drugs to keep your hair..but here it says they’re no longer susceptible. Or does it depend on the kind of transplant?

In my opinion, what you quoted is subtly misleading. Although you do get real hair with hair transplantation, you never get the full head of hair that you once had. There is no doubt that hair transplantation works and it can make a bald man look much better, much fuller if he is thinning, but the limitation is that hair transplantation involves moving hairs around and redistributing it from back to front. It does not create any new hair.

The hair that is transplanted will stay for good, except for the rare occasion where there is disease in the follicle (in which case, a hair transplant should not have been performed in the first place). I generally recommend medication (finasteride 1mg) to most of my male patients before and continued after transplantation, so that they do not lose more of their existing (non-transplanted, genetically susceptible to balding) hair.

December 11, 2007

Can I Damage the Follicles If I Cut Myself Shaving? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

first of all i want to thank the doctor for a such great site, and also taking the time to answer some questions.My first question how is easy can a hair follicle be damaged, for example I cut my self shaving my head does that mean that the follicle is damaged? second question is that if you get slapped in the head is that gone make hair to fall out?

Unless it is very deep, cutting your skin while shaving will not cause hair damage. And no, slapping your head will not cause hair loss.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 11, 2007

Finasteride Has Increased My Sex Drive After 2 Months – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have been on 1/5 proscar for 2 months now and it has actually caused a massive increase in my sex drive. Is this because of the medication!? I have only read about it causing a decrease in libido. However it is a side affect I think I can live with

Finasteride will often increase the testosterone levels and I have heard reports of an increased sex drive. Few men have complained about it, but when it happens to an older married man, it is oftentimes the wife that will do the complaining.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 11, 2007

Losing Hair At Nape of Neck – Balding Blog

I have had hair loss in the nape area of my head for the last 3 or 4 years, my hair falls out completely down to the scalp it seems to happen around the same time each year but the symptoms are itching, burning and tingling. the hair grows back but falls out all over again. is this a sign of beginning Alopecia? Im 27 years old

I have seen people lose neck hair, but I have never heard of it cycling every year. I am sorry, but there’s really not much I can offer you, particularly without examining your scalp and seeing what you’re seeing. The word “alopecia” means “hair loss” so the question is not not precise for a cause of the hair loss. Various adjectives are used, such as traction alopecia (caused by pulling on the hair) or androgenic alopecia (caused by genes).

December 11, 2007

St John’s Wort and Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I see in a previous post that you believe that St. John’s Wort will not directly contribute to hair loss. My question is, will St. John’s Wort inhibit or decrease the effectiveness of Propecia? Since Propecia is absorbed in the liver, and St. John’s Wort has been shown to decrease absorbtion of certain drugs, could it also be affecting the level of DHT bockers in the blood stream, thereby reducing propecia’s potency? I currently only take 2 300 mg tablets of St. John’s Wort at bedtime (I take my Propecia at bed time as well). Thanks in advance for your reply.

St. John’s wort is an herbal product used for its flavor or potential therapeutic in treating mild to moderate depression. In my opinion, a healthy liver should not have a problem with both St. John’s wort and Propecia. Discuss this with your prescribing physician. Like many other herbal products, there is not enough research on long term treatment, safety, and effectiveness of this product.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 11, 2007

Vegetarians, Nutritional Deficiency, and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am 17, male, and have been loosing the hair in the front of my head for about a year and a half now. I do believe during that time I had used a hair product I was allergic to, as I had a sore scalp in some ares. But I have discontinued it’s use, and was wondering:

how normal (or not normal) it is to begin having a receding hair line at 16 years of age?

being a vegetarian, could it be a nutritional deficiency?

in other answers, I have seen you mention “normal ‘maturing’ hairline development”, or something of the sort. What IS a ‘maturing’ hair growth pattern?

could masturbating or not exercising affect that, and if so, in what way?

Yes, a receding hairline can start at 16 years old. Normal? That depends on the person’s genes.
If you do not have a balanced diet and have a nutritional deficiency, you can thin or lose your hair — this has nothing to do with meat-eaters or vegetarians.
You should get your scalp mapped out for miniaturization to determine when it is a receding hairline vs genetic hair loss. See Maturation of a Hairline — Moving From Juvenile to Mature for more on the maturing hairline.
Neither masturbating nor exercise will cause you to lose your hair.

My best advice for you at this point is to see a doctor who can develop a Master Plan for your balding problem and work with him/her, as hair loss is a serious business.

December 11, 2007

Weight Gain from Rogaine – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Can you using Rogaine cause weight gain? I have been working out frequently and eating better but since my start on Rogaine a few months ago, I’ve noticed an increase in my weight. Can you help me?

Rogaine (minoxidil) was originally used for the treatment of high blood pressure. If you are using and absorbing it, you may be retaining fluid due to cardiac/vascular side effects. I would suggest that you stop it and see your doctor to find out if you have heart disease or high blood pressure.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 11, 2007

Why Would You Be Concerned About Transplanting a 22 Year Old Patient? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr Rassman,

I was reading some of the past blogs and came across an entry in which you mentioned you were disturbed by the patient having a procedure at age 22. What concerned you about having a procedure at this age? I’ve also had a procedure at age 22 and was happy with it however, my hairline has continued to recede over the past few years and I’ve contemplated a 2nd procedure. Would you recommend this?

I generally do not recommend hair transplant surgery on men in their early twenties, because of the following reasons:

They risk accelerating their hair loss due to shock loss.
One does not know how much balding they have in front of them.
The patterns of hair loss may be difficult to identify, which makes building a Master Plan (for long term planning) difficult or impossible.

Of course, if you are already bald (a well defined Norwood Class 3 pattern, for example) this would not be much of a concern. So it is not an absolute rule and every man should be evaluated based upon their maturity, their realistic expectations, and their balding pattern. Your very question supplies part of the answer, as you have had surgery and now notice that you are thinning or receding. Get a good doctor to build that Master Plan I mentioned above, so the best and worst cases of what might happen to you will be clearly defined for your benefit.