Author: Dr. William Rassman

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19 years old with Trichotillimania

I’m young (19) and had perfect hair growing up. However, I have had trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) develop in my teens (symptom of OCD) and now I’ve lost a lot of my hair. It’s concealable but I plan on maybe getting a transplant (FUE?) done at some point as I grow older since I’ve beat my disorder and now am regrowing my hair. Does anyone have any recommendations as to what to do or results they got from a transplant ? Thank you.

My extensive experience with Trichotillomania is that most people really don’t quit and transplants just enter the cycle again with recurrence. You must build a relationship with a doctor like me in your area over time so that this problem can be eventually transplanted once you know for sure that the primary problem is solved.


2019-01-07 13:21:3519 years old with Trichotillimania

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19 with hair loss and in a panic (photo)

I’m 19 and went to a doctor about my hair and he refused to give me finasteride. What can I do? I am very depressed about this situation.

Find another doctor! Connect with me at williamrassman33@gmail.com and we can talk and I will prescribe it if indicated. You may not be balding and just maturing your hairline but I can work with you on this over the phone to find out what it is that is bothering you.

 


2021-05-13 21:45:5919 with hair loss and in a panic (photo)

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2 days after 1534 FUE grafts (photos)

Take a careful look at the donor area as it is almost healed in just two days. That is because we use small instruments that facilitate fast healing. The recipient area is also clean of crusts which means that he will look completely normal possibly as early as the third day after FUE. People always want to know when they can go to work or when they will look normal. We always ask that they plan for one week but many times it is faster. The best part of our FUE procedure is that there is almost no pain after the surgery.

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2 months finasteride, minoxidil & microneedling

In just two months, this young man stimulated early hair growth that can only get better over time. It is always amazing how quickly microneedling accelerates the growth process. Of course, we never would know if it would have grow without the microneedling, but with the huge number of men who presented these results, one has to believe that the three approaches (finasteride, minoxidil and microneedling) are intertwined.


2020-12-31 17:23:432 months finasteride, minoxidil & microneedling

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1 Week After Transplant, I Accidentally Hit My Head

i had 1200 graphs put in one week ago. after reading your blog, i wish i had done them with you. i was planning on another 1500 or so in my next procedure and i will come see you first for sure. so you will be seeing me about 12 weeks from now. unfortunately, today i was getting into my car and hit my head on inside part of my car door. ( again i am one week post op) i hit it relatively hard…when i reached to see if there was bleeding( i hit in the area of my recepient site) it was bleeding. I did not stop bleeding for about 35 minutes. Did i likely dislodge new transplanted graphs as well? The cut is about 2 inches long, not very wide not too deep. After one week am i likely to have dislodged graphs? i did not see any follicles, but you never know? your opinion?

It is difficult to answer your question without examining you in person (you’re in Los Angeles — we’re in Los Angeles). That being said, the hair grafts are generally considered permanent after the first couple of days. It is very, very difficult to dislodge a graft after they get set-up and I have seen people get lacerations of the scalp from accidents at about 1 week and when I examined them, all of the grafts were intact and in place (unless they were inside the laceration itself). If you did not see any grafts, you probably did not do any significant damage. However if you have a cut on your head, you will get an inevitable scar and hair may not grow on the scar.

If you do decide to make an appointment to have your injury looked at, please mention this blog entry to me (or to Dr. Pak, who is a contributing editor to this blog).

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I am 18 years old, can I have a hair transplant now?

Wow, your hair loss at this stage is an advanced Class 3 pattern but the real question is where is the hair loss going? Of course you can have a hair transplant now, then do another in a year and a year later do another etc., if you get what I am saying. You don’t want to be addicted to having hair transplants every year until you use up all of your donor hair and then have an incomplete job to show off, not good. At 18, we always discourage boys in going the hair transplant route. You need to consider yearly measurements with the HAIRCHECK instrument by a doctor who has one, then you also need to consider taking the drug Finasteride which is the only drug that MIGHT stop the hair loss. If your family history is one of advanced balding, then you and your doctor need to work out a Master Plan for your future with regard to hair loss, drugs and eventual surgery when you are much older.

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I Am 19 and Think That I May Be Developing a Norwood Class 6 or 7 Pattern.

If you are heading to a Class 6 or 7 at the age of 19, although it is unlikely that the drug Finasteride will prevent this, it is still worth a try.

Maybe you are not heading to the Class 6 or 7 pattern, and you inherited a different pattern that is not so advanced. There is no way to really tell. Most people don’t know that these advanced patterns almost always happen before a young man reaches 26 years of age.

Is it even worth fighting at this age? from tressless


2018-06-21 09:24:50I Am 19 and Think That I May Be Developing a Norwood Class 6 or 7 Pattern.

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15 Year Old Female with Hair Loss

Your information on female hair loss was helpful, but the information on teenage female hair loss was not as informative. I’m fifteen, and I feel I need more information. When I was a child, I had thick hair. When I was around seven, I cut it short. It was still thick then. Around seventh grade I decided to grow it back out, but still, it was thick then. When I started my freshman year in high school, though, mid-year, it began to thin. It has shown no sign of stopping, and it does worry me. My ponytail has significantly gone down in size. I can’t wear my hair down without having loose strands cover my back – which is not popular at school. Plus, I lose an extreme amount of hair each time I shower – at least fifty strands. My hair is also lackluster in shine, and crooked and crinkled when it falls out. My mother took me to a doctor, who told me it was not my thyroid level. A week or two ago, my father told me to start taking vitamins and trying to eat better – the latter of which is hard, when you go to high school. Personally, though, I’m not sure that I believe this is a diet issue. If it was, why wouldn’t it affect more teenage girls at my school? I wish to know if there are medical conditions that I might have that give a symptom of hair loss, and possibly also slight depression – I have noticed that my mood seems to be getting worse and worse. I am also on birth control, which I noticed you said might cause problems… but it shouldn’t, because I have been having hair loss much longer than I’ve been on birth control. I just want to know what I could have, and how I can get this to stop.

You need to have a good doctor do a thorough work-up on you. There is no way I can help you without getting a full opportunity to get a good history (including detailed dietary history) and a full examination of your scalp and hair for miniaturization. This will determine the health of your hair and your overall health. There are no shortcuts and no internet site that can get you what you want, because what you need is a good doctor (one who is interested in this field) first. Also, look through the Female Hair Loss category, as there are many posts that discuss the various conditions and tests that are part of what a good doctor will be able to perform on you.

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18 Year Old with Hair Loss or Mature Hairline? (With Photos)

Dear Doc,

I’m an 18 year old male and worried that my hairline’s begun to recede. I don’t have any particular family history of balding. Both of my grandfathers had most of their hair, and so does my mother’s brother. Only my father is balding (he is 50 and has lost lots of his hair on the top of his head).

I’ve noticed that when I run my hands through my hair I occasionally lose one or two. Also, when my hair is wet, I tend to lose a few if I run my hand through my hair. I don’t see more than two or three on my pillow when I wake up.

I’ve always had a high hairline with temples higher than the rest of my hairline, but I think its starting to move back slowly.

I also have little red spots near the receding areas of my hairline, almost like acne (I have very little acne on the rest of my face). Looking at my pictures, would you say this is just a mature hairline or the start of the balding process? Also, sorry for the long e-mail, but I’ve tried to list everything I can. I’d appreciate some advice on what I can do, as my hair is still very much part of my identity, and I don’t want to spend the next couple of years worrying and counting hairs.

Many thanks.

While I thank you for permission to post these, I usually require a frontal view with the eyebrows lifted high so that the creases on the forehead show. You supplied two side views with the eyebrows lifted and a poor quality photo that requires me to guess. I’ll take a stab at it anyway. Click the photos to enlarge.

 

It does look like you are developing a mature hairline. There is also a sign of some thinning that goes further back than just the leading edge, suggestive of miniaturization behind a maturing hairline.

You need to get your scalp mapped out for miniaturization, and see if there is thinning behind the leading edge and how far back it goes. This )is suggestive of early male pattern balding at a level where a drug like Propecia (Finasteride) can stop it. I would try to find a doctor who has a HAIRCHECK instrument which will tell you if you are losing hair elsewhere on your heat that you don’t see (https://baldingblog.com/haircheck-test-how-it-is-done-video/. See a doctor who cares about you and what may be early balding. If you have balding, you must know that it is a progressive process and the quicker that you address it by a professional, the better chance is that you will retain hair for all of the important years yet to come.

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18 and losing hair at the same time as everyone else in the family are

Hey doctor I am a 18 years old male been losing hair for over a year. My hairline is going up and I believe I am thinning. My mother and brother started thinning at the same time. What can it be?

I really can’t tell you without examining you. There are many things that I look for which include miniaturization, a HAIRCHECK (see here: https://baldingblog.com/2017/01/10/value-haircheck-bulk-measurements-two-patients-seen-today/) and possibly some blood tests considering that the hair loss is in the family as well. It might be something in your water system, but I would first look to genetic balding as that is the most common form of hair loss in young men. Your recession might simply be the development of a mature hairline which happens about your age.

 


2017-05-16 06:21:0318 and losing hair at the same time as everyone else in the family are