Dr. William Rassman – Page 1716

November 6, 2006

How Many Hours Does Minoxidil Stay Effective? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr Rassman, I thought I recently heard you say on this site that minoxodil stays effective for 22 hours, did I hear you right? Because my thoughts are that I would like to cut down my use of minoxodil to once a day if it would have the same effect and save $ or did I misunderstand what you may have been saying? Thank you. Great blog.

Minoxidil is a twice daily treatment for best results. You might get benefit once a day, but why take it once if twice a day is better (and the recommended dosage). It is not a very expensive medication, so go for it the right way.

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November 6, 2006

Our Evolutionary Love Affair with Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I just read a very interesting article in the current NewScientist magazine (issue 2576) that I wanted to comment on –

Tressed to impress: Our love affair with hair

“…with the exception of the musk ox, humans are the only mammals with almost continuously growing hair… Different parts of the body is what determine different lengths of hair… Leg hair, for example, last around 2 months, armpit hair .. make it to six months but head hairs grow nonstop for 6 years or more. … and there are hundreds of genes involved….. there are 10 main genes for the keratin from which our hair is constructed.”

Furlessness may be a better way to manage hair loss in the savannas for human hunters which allows for better thermoregulation. The authors of the article believe that there are several good reasons to become less hairy, evolutionarily speaking. Fighting disease is one such good reason, since “hair is a prime habitat for parasites.” The authors believe that the driving force for change in our evolution is mostly cultural.

“Darwin believed that less hairy was a sexual selection process and those with less hair were the most attractive…. Those people who did not groom, became ‘the mark of the outcast, the lunatic and the social pariah’.”

For proof of the value of culture working with evolution, the authors suggest that we look at well groomed animals such as the African baboon (magnificent manes), Amazonian cottontop tamarin (punk head tufts), emperor tamarin (imperial mustaches), and India’s lion-tailed macaque (chic eloquence).

Baboon	Cottontop Tamarin
Emperor Tamarin	Lion-tailed Macaque

These animals have fur that grow to a fixed length and each of the primates are groomed constantly by peers in their social organization. The world’s oldest profession possibly may be the hair dresser, certainly competing with prostitutes and soldiers for that distinction.

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November 6, 2006

Side Effects from Propecia — Should I Take Smaller Doses Daily or Full Dose Weekly? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Doc. I had taken 1mg of propecia for 4 months with great results for hairloss. I started to notice some sexual side effects and went off the med. I’d like to take it in smaller doses or take 1mg once or twice a week. Any info. available regarding much smaller dosage to avoid side effects?

That is a very good question. In my practice I generally tell my patients (if they are experiencing any negative sexual side effects which occur in about 1% of patients) to cut the pill in half and and then take a half pill daily. It is better to do this than take one pill every other day because the half life (the time it takes for half of the drug to be out of your blood stream) is 5 hours. So if you skip a day you will not benefit from the drug since it will be completely out of your blood stream the next day. Even a quarter of a pill a day may have value. See what you need to keep the side effect away and then watch the hair carefully to see if the dose is holding on to the hair. The reason that Propecia is a prescription drug is for advice like this and you should be getting it from the doctor who prescribed it.

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November 3, 2006

Hair Loss Information2 Months Post-Operative Trichophytic Closure (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I thought it would be nice to share a 2 month post surgical donor wound (still a bit light pink) with hair growing out of the wound from a trichophytic closure. By the 4th months, this wound will become virtually invisible.

For more information about the trichophytic closure technique, see Techniques to Minimize Donor Area Scarring.

Click the photos to enlarge.

Trichophytic

November 3, 2006

Hair Loss InformationAny Danger to Grafts From Humidity 4 Days After Surgery? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doctor,

i Had hair transplant surgery in Thailand. First day was a rest day. Second day i went to his clinic and washed my head. third and fourth day I went shopping in thailand and nowadays the weather is quite humid there.

My question is When I was shoping (3rd and 4th day after surgery I had light exercises and in the hot climate in Thailand I began to sweat because of the of humidity. SO i quickly reached the hotel room and cleaned my scalp with baby shampoo as the doctor advised. my question is , is there any danger to the grafts because of this humidity and sweating?

Block Quote

After the second day, your hair transplant grafts should have firmly set in and humidity/sweating should not affect them (even light exercise). For more on physical exercises after surgery, please see Resuming Physical Activities After Surgery.

November 3, 2006

Healthy, Thick Hairs Are Falling Out – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman and Dr. Pak,

I am 29 years old male, taking Propecia for about 4 months now, and have 10% miniaturization, hair loss is not really noticeable. Also I am using a shampoo called Nioxin. But I see that a lot of hairs fall out when I am taking showers, combing my hair and just generally during the day. The hairs that fall out are healthy, thick hairs, but there are a lot of them, 200, maybe more! My questions are:

Why is this happening? And is there any way to stop shredding so much hair?

Another question I have is that, in recent years, my hair density seems to be thinner at the top of my head compared to the sides and back, even though the hair strands themselves are of same thickness. Is there a method to increase the density besides just taking Propecia?

Thanks very much!

You need to see your hair stylist for compounds that thicken the hair. Many of these compounds add water to thicken the hair as it is hydrophilic (water loving) and substances that cling to the hair follicle will increase the value of what you have. Usually, miniaturization of less than 10% is not really the classic miniaturization that we see in balding conditions. These miniaturized hairs may actually be the normal vellus hairs that are part of the follicular units in everyone. You should not be losing 200 hairs per day. If that keeps up you need to be evaluated by a hair expert as there may be a reason for that degree of hair loss. You say that the hairs that you are losing are healthy, thick hairs — well, healthy, thick hairs that fall out will not fall out in that quantity. There is a hair pull test which can be performed by an expert that will define if you are really losing hair at the rate you think.

November 3, 2006

Is Propecia Stopping My Beard from Growing? – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman
I’m 20 years old, and I’ve been using propecia for one year. I would like to know, if one side effect of propecia is stopping the development of my beard-hair. I’ve heard that DHT is responsible for the development of beard hair and finasteride stops the production of DHT. Is this right?

That is an interesting question. Beard hair develops as you go through puberty as a secondary sex characteristic and DHT is one of the agents that cause its growth at puberty and beyond it. I have heard reports from a few patients that beard growth has been slowed by finasteride as was a maturing hairline slowed. It would not be what I would expect and neither are reported as a known side effect of finasteride. When I started Propecia, it did not reverse my nose hair, ear hair, my beard (which I hate) or my excessive chest hair (although one patient did report to me that his chest hair went away with Propecia).

November 3, 2006

Nourkin and Toppik – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Are Nourkrin and Toppik ok to use together?

I’m female aged 23 and have been suffering from hair loss for 3 years. I have been using both products for a few months so far.

Nourkrin is a food supplement which contains marine based extract of proteins and polysaccharides, Vitamin C, Silica, Horsetail, and IgG. It is mostly used in UK. Toppik is a topical medication and contains Keratin, Ammonium Chloride, Silica, DMDM Hydantion, and Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate and it is in particular (fiber like) form that sticks to the hair follicles to make them look fuller. There should be no negative impact with using them both, but you need to always remember that even these simple substances have risks at some level.

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November 3, 2006

Too Much Chlorine and Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello doctor,

My building water supply has too much chlorine in it in the ‘hot’ water. I have to take head bath with luke warm water so I have to mix hot and cold.

Is this the cause of my increased hair loss and thinning on the crown since moving to this building?

Does your opinion agree with traditional Ayurveda on this?

Swimmer Chlorine in our tap water and hot water should not cause hair loss or increase your hair loss. It is an urban myth. If it was true, a disproportionate number of professional swimmers would be bald, as they are in a chlorinated pool all day long.

For readers that aren’t familiar with Ayurveda, it is a traditional, holistic treatment of medicine from India. From Wikipedia — “Ayurveda deals with the measures of healthy living, along with therapeutic measures that relate to physical, mental, social and spiritual harmony. Ayurveda is also one among the few traditional systems of medicine involving surgery.”

So if you’re asking if I agree with Ayurveda that chlorine is causing your hair loss — no, I do not.

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November 3, 2006

Topomax and Lamictal Causing Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am on Topomax and lamictal for epilepsy and have been experiencing hair loss problems since starting the topomax that seem to be worsening. I have been told it is a side effect of Topomax. Will this stop on its own? Is there anything I can take or anything I can do to mitigate the impact of topomax on my hair?

This is a subject you and your neurologist need to discuss. Many of these medications do cause hair loss. Drugs like minoxidil may work for men and women, and if you are a man, then Propecia may also help, but when the medications are working away at your hair as a side effect of the drug, then alternative drugs may be worth trying. This is a difficult problem, but you can not sacrifice your health for your hair.

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