Author: Dr. William Rassman

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I’m Taking Propecia, But I’m Not Convinced I Am Balding – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr.,
I have been taking propecia for three days and I’m now not convinced that I am suffering from male pattern baldness. If I stop taking the drug and wait to see if my hair starts thinning or falling out would starting propecia again work? In other words, would propecia still be effective after taking it briefly and then starting again in the future? i want to see if my hairloss is attributable to other factors. Also, I have no history of male pattern hair loss in my family. Many thanks for your thoughts.

If you are not treating genetic balding and have only been taking Propecia for 3 days, stop it now. If you ever need it, you can start it then. Follow the old adage: If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.

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What Can I Take with Nioxin? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi there. I am a 21 year old male that has experienced hair loss. I’ve always had wavy hair but at around 19 I started losing my hair and it reached Stage 2 on the Norwood scale. My hair stylist recommended Nioxin for me to use about 5 months after my hair started falling out. Since using Nioxin, my hair loss has either stopped or slowed down tremendously (not really sure) but no new hair has grown in. I have grown my hair longer and styled it so most people cannot tell that I have lost some of my hair. Since it has been 1.5 years since my first loss of hair, is there anything that I can take with Nioxin to help regrow my hair? What are my options? Thank you very much!

What you are calling a Norwood Class 2 pattern, I might call a maturing hairline, which is something common in young men of your age. The first 3/4 inch from the highest crease or the wrinkled brow is the juvenile component of the frontal look. Behind this first 3/4 inch starts what I call the mature hairline and if this is what you believe is a balding Class 2 pattern, then you are not balding at all — just developing the mature look.

If you are truly concerned about hair loss, you should want to see a doctor to have your scalp mapped for miniaturization. If genetic balding is present, Propecia (finasteride 1mg) would be a good choice, especially at your age. It is available by prescription only, but it is one of only 2 FDA approved medications for the treatment of hair loss (the other being minioxidil). As I have said previously about Nioxin, they make a good set of products that are popular but there does not appear to be anything in it to stop hair loss.

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What Do You Think About Taking 1.25mg Finasteride Twice Daily? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Rassman:

I am curious to know what you think about taking 1/4 of a dose of Proscar twice daily as a way to counteract its short half-life thereby theoretically increasing its efficacy by increasing its duration sytemically?

There is no evidence that more finasteride is better than the 1mg dose. I do not see a problem with it provided that it does not increase any side effects.

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Hair Loss InformationHow Do I Know I’m Getting the Amount of Grafts I Paid For? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Here’s a question I’m sure many prospective patients have asked before: How does a patient verify that he’s getting exactly the amount of grafts he’s paying for and that they aren’t being divided to artificially bump up the count and thus increase the cost of the procedure? Are we just going on blind trust or what?

Block Quote

Most important to ask, “Does the count of grafts correspond to what you are buying?”

  1. There should be an accounting system in place at the doctor’s office and you should have the opportunity to ask to see it. Any honest doctor will be proud to show their graft accounting system working in your situation. I just had a patient the other day who had surgery and wanted to know just what you asked. He came in to the surgery of another patient (with permission of course) and was shown how the accounting system worked to guarantee that what he was quoted was actually given. I also showed him his count sheets. Although he was shy to ask, he clearly felt better after seeing it.
  2. Is the number of grafts artificially inflated to make money for the doctor? Some doctors divide their grafts into sub-follicular units. For example, a 4-hair graft could be divided into two 2-hair grafts, and a 3-hair graft or a 2-hair graft could be divided into 1-hair grafts. In this situation the graft count would climb while the hair count would be the same. This is a problem in my industry, unfortunately. I have been quite outspoken about this problem in the past.

It all boils down to trust. If the doctor is open to questions posed by his/her patients, then this builds a trusting relationship. To be as completely blunt as possible, if you don’t think you can trust your doctor to not ‘screw you over‘ with the amount you’re paying for, you probably shouldn’t trust that doctor on almost all counts, let alone to give you the results you’re looking for. This is just another reason why doing research is very important in making your doctor selection. Also, see The Truth About Cheap Hair Transplants for more.

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6 Year Old Developed Very Smooth Bald Spot – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

My 6 yr old son has developed a small, oblong bald spot around 3 months ago. The spot has no signs of hair growth and is very smooth as if no hair was ever there. What could be the cause and should I take him for blood work?

You should have it look at by a good dermatologist. The possibilities are extensive, and infections are not uncommon. Ringworm (a fungal infection) is one of the more common causes in a six year old.

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Ammonium Chloride in Toppik – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi there. Is the Ammonium Chloride in Toppik safe for us to use? To be honest, I don’t ever wash the stuff out. I just leave it in and keep adding more. I have much less hair than it appears. But, I worry about this ingridient seeping into my bloodstream from my scalp.

It seems that Ammonium Chloride is part of the formulation for many shampoos and some hair loss products, like Toppik. I would assume that it is safe, as product safety is under the auspices of some governmental agencies that would have restricted the use of Ammonium Chloride had any major negative reports come in. But, as I can not answer you with any authority, I would suggest that you write to the manufacturer of Toppik and ask them. Many people who use Toppik do not regularly wash it out. If you are concerned about the safety of the product, then stop using it, or at the least wash it out every night.

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I Feel Terrible Pain When I Lose Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Im a 20 year old male, and Ive noticed about 3 months ago ive started to shed my hair along my frontal hairline as well as my scalp. The thinning is gradual, but I can tell that the more I mess with it, touch it, shampoo or comb it it gets much worse. My concern isnt going going bald, my concern is that I feel terrible pains when I do in fact lose hair. It feels as if someone is yanking on my head. Also, afterwards my hair feels very oily, and has a smell to it. Is this normal shedding? Im concerned this isnt male pattern baldness Im being faced with. Thanks in advance for your time, dedication and help.

I’m not making light of your pain, but it sounds like you are overly obsessed with your hair. The pain you feel may be from the emotional roller coaster that you are riding. Do you have someone close that you can talk with? You should try to get some emotional counseling.

Many men experience pain when they lose control over their lives or their health. Hair has been known to reflect such a loss of control. One patient told me, “I have control over everything in my life, what I do, how I feel, how much to work out, who I am friendly with and who become my friends. When it comes to my hair, I know that I have no control over it.”

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Tonic or Shampoo with Procyanidin from Apples? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman… I have come in to your clinic been mapped for miniturization and soon I will be coming in to re-supply my stock of Propecia. I continue to enjoy the info you provide on this blog… thank you!! I believe that the fight against hair-loss is a noble fight where one needs to try the things that might work. The recent posting on Apple procyanidins really peaked my interest. I would be willing to try procyanidin tonics, supplements, or shampoos etc. would you know of a reputable vendor for such product… also which form would be best a topical solution or a vitamin supplement for ingestion? I’m not getting my hopes up here just wanting to see if this is something that might work for me in addition to what I’ve already done. Your help and advice is very much appreciated.

I found the following forum thread that lists sources for Procyanidin:
Hairsite.com – Where to buy apple polyphenols or procyanidin B2?

I don’t have any experience with these products, but please let me know if any of them help.

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Xandrox, Revivogen, and Other Non-FDA Approved Products – Balding Blog

I am using xandrox for a while quite effective. However my hair has started again and have added spironolactone and revivogen to my regimen. I am uneasy about the revivogen i believe its making my hair loss worse, is this possible ? Apparently there is a shedding period for the product. And if it is making my hair loss worse will those hairs that ive lost grow back once i stop the product ? Do you believe its an effective or snake oil product ?

Appreciate any advice. Thanks

The enthusiasm for these products is hard to put into objective terms. I always want a good piece of science to form opinions. Many such products just do not have such science behind them. You ask me questions about how these products may interact, and I say I do not know how these products work, let alone know how they interact. If these products had FDA medication value, then the way they work and how they interact with other medications would be clearly documented for everyone to see. I always use the point that a natural product does not infer a safe product. Arsenic is natural, but not safe. It is always a buyer beware market.




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