Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Hair Loss InformationDoctor Just Put 65 Year Old Woman on Propecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

What can be done to stop or reverse miniaturization. I am a 65 year old female. Just in the past year, my hairs are so thin, you can barely see them in the sink. I’m on 5% minox with propecia added (my Dr.just started this 3 wks ago).

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Female genetic balding is a process that does impact women of your age. It starts with miniaturization of the hair. Minoxidil does slow it down, but there is no evidence that Propecia (finasteride) will have any effect. I have reviewed a number of studies on Propecia in women and the general conclusions by respected researchers and clinicians is that there is no benefit for women except those with known Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which is not the case here.

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Hair Loss InformationLaser Comb, Provillus and Procerin – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ve used the laser comb for several months, and cessation or regrowth of my hair didn’t happen. Then I wanna try other methods. I’ve searched in Internet, and found that Provillus and Procerin are effective and convenient for use. I do wanna know ur recommendations. Could u please help me do the choice? Thanks a lot.

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I would have expected the results you reported. Look up the other products here on this site (use the search box in the top right) and you may see similar predictions. Why not do it the right way and get your hair mapped out for miniaturization and then get a competent doctor to make the diagnosis? Then with the correct treatment, rather than waste all of this time and continue to lose hair, you might get some control of your problem.

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Hair Loss InformationMy Son Scraped His Hairline on the Bottom of a Pool After Diving In – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My son dove head-first into a swimming pool, and he grazed the bottom of the pool with his head/face. He seems to have lost some hair(about 1/2″ diameter) from his hairline just above his forehead.

I feel VERY fortunate that he didn’t break his neck, but do you think his hair will grow back after the wound heals?

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DiveMaybe! It is difficult to say. A significant wound may have damaged the hair follicles and your son may have a bald spot on the area of trauma, but usually such trauma will produce only temporary hair loss. I would wait 8 months to see if hair will grow. If hair does not grow, he may be a candidate for a small hair transplant procedure.

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Hair Loss InformationMy Donor Scar is Visible When My Hair is Wet – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

I’m a 40 year old male. The scar (which almost encircles my entire donor area -sides and back) left from my transplant (which was done 2 years ago) becomes visible when my hair is wet or if I cut my hair at the length I’d like to wear. I read an earlier question regarding the visibility of scars. Will Mederma help – or is there some type of procedure which can alleviate this problem? There are no keloids, but, rather, no hair is growing on the scar, nor, it seems, around it.

Thanks

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What you tell us about the visible wounds is distinctly different than what we may judge when we examine you. There is a more see-through appearance when fine hair is wet, so I would not be surprised to see a very small scar. Assuming that the scar is not small, we would want to know the measurements of the wound (length and width), the size of the donor strip that was taken, and how many grafts you actually had done. Wounds have a pull which ‘want‘ to stretch and good wound healing gets around that pull as strong supportive tissues are laid down by your body to bond the wound together. Assuming that the techniques used were modern techniques by competent doctors, then we would want to know how tight your wound was at closure and what is the laxity (looseness) was at the time of surgery and now. Tight scalps may have a tendency to widen scars (by increasing the pull on the edges) when placed under tension.

Each of us is put together with different types of collagen. Those of us who have extra elastin put down by your body in the healing process have a tendency to stretch a wound more than those of us with less elastin. Simply excising the scar may or may not address the defect and my experience in some of these wounds is that they may return at the same level that they had reached prior to excising them. On some patients, scar revisions have been able to reduce wound width.

There are two factors you must consider for revising a scar:

  1. Your body’s inherent ability to heal and deal with scars, which no one has control over
  2. The surgical techniques used to minimize the scar

I can offer you the best surgical techniques available, however if your body does not heal what I do, you may not achieve the results you are looking for — so you do have a risk here. I have rarely, if ever, seen a scar worsen on an attempted repair. Repairs can be done with a scar revision and trichophytic closure or a transplant (could be an FUE) into the scar.

It is important to be aware that any cut on the skin will leave a scar in 100% of patients. If you are going to shave your scalp completely or cut your hair too short, there will almost always be a detectable scar even with the best case scenario.

To see an example of a great result from a trichophytic closure, check out the post from a couple of days ago — Result from Trichophytic Incision.

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Hair Loss InformationIs Finasteride Making My Eyes Sensitive to Light? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,
I saw my Dermatologist recently and after a quick scan of my hair, he prescribed me Proscar for early stages of MPB. I’m 28 now. I started taking 1/4ths and after 3 months decided to cut
it into 1/8ths to stay below 1mg per day.

About a month in, I noticed a few things with my vision. I noticed a couple of floaters, I was more sensitive to light especially at night with headlights and street lights and my eyes
were more dry. A trip to the eye doctor revealed no issues, but the effects still persist periodically.

In your experiences, have you had any patients report any changes to their eyes/vision? I’ve read some posts on message boards with the same issues but don’t find them reliable.

Many thanks! and this is a great board!

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LightFirst, I commend you in having the skill to break such a small pill into 8 equal pieces.

Second, I doubt finasteride is the cause of your eye problem. I’ve not had any reports of this from any patient I’ve prescribed finasteride to and I haven’t seen anything in the medical literature about vision issues from finasteride. It is unclear if you were seen by a optometrist or an ophthalmologist (the latter is a physician who specializes in eye problems). Seeing “floaters” may be benign, but it may also herald other medical issues.

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Hair Loss InformationDo Spicy Foods Really Put Hair on Your Chest? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

This might sound like a joke, but something I’ve always been curious about. Does eating spicy foods really put hair on your chest? If not, I’m curious as to where a phrase like that would come from. You can laugh if you’d like. I feel foolish for even asking.

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Spicy foodI did a Google search for the phrase “put hair on your chest” and found that this idiom is use in many situations and many cultures. I really do not know the answer about where the phrase came from, but I did enjoy the threads as I searched for an answer. I hope you know that if anything really put hair on the chest, then it would be marketed as a cure for hair loss in some circles.

Somewhat related, here’s a list of other “hair” related idioms, from TheFreeDictionary.com.

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I Am Losing a Lot of Hair After My Transplant – The Doctor Didn’t Tell Me About This – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr.

I recently(two weeks ago) had a hair transplant and am experiencing a lot of hairfall right now. My Dr. told me that i would lose the transplanted hair after the procedure, but i am also losing a lot of my own hair. Is it normal after the procedure? Would be greatful to you if you could please answer my question.

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It sounds like you are experience a phenomenon called “shock loss”. It occurs more in younger patients and patients with pre-existing miniaturized hairs. Thus, you often see me reiterate on here about the importance of a miniaturization study. It is a risk associated with a hair transplant procedure and it should have been outlined for you in your informed consent paper work before the surgery. You should have been put on Propecia prior to the surgery to minimize the risks, particularly if you are under the age of 35 or if you have had recent hair loss.

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DHT and High Cholesterol – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 36-year-old male noticing some hair loss. I thought it was related to having taken prohormones, but the slow hair loss has continued after more than a year off the prohormones. I am considering taking Avodart/dutasteride, but not just for the cosmetic hair loss. A concern I have is the relation between MPB to increased risk of heart disease. Thus, my two questions:

  1. Do you know of any connection between DHT and high cholesterol/heart disease? And if there is a connection, would DHT suppression also contribute a health benefit above and beyond the cosmetic issue of MPB?
  2. Do you have any suggestions for any OTC or prescription drugs/remedies that would work to help curb the aromatization of the increased testosterone from taking a DHT inhibitor?

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  1. I do not believe that using DHT blockers like Propecia will have any effect on your cholesterol. We know that Propecia will reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
  2. With regard to your second question, I am not an expert on OTC medications that curb aromatization from increased testosterone.

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Subcapsular Orchiectomy (Removing the Testicles) to Prevent Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Doctor,
I am soon to be 25 yrs old. My hair line is beginning to recede at my temples. I am extremely concerned with this. For many years I have considered having a subcapsular orchidectomy procedure to prevent any further hair loss. I have researched the side effects of this procedure and am willing to accept them. Can you recommend a doctor who will perform this outpatient operation? Thank you for your time.

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Any urologist should be able to help you, but I doubt they would do so. There is likely more to your story than you are telling me here. Taking out your testicles is an extremely radical way to prevent further hair loss… though it will work.