I was born with two bald spots, one on the back of my head and on the left side of my head. Is there anything I could do to get them spots to grow back, and i forgot to mention that i am almost 20 yrs old.
Hair transplants work very nicely in congenital spots of baldness like yours.
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I read a letter from one of your readers about how her hair refuses to grow right in the middle. Well, I have the same problem, and I do not drive so I cannot claim it is the headrest as she did… I cut my hair twice so that everything would be even. But I ended up with long hair in the front, and right in the middle I have short hair, also about 3 inches, not more. I have always had good even hair, so this is driving me insane to the point I cry in the shower. Do you know what may be causing this patchy growth? And no, it is not neck hair, it is hair right in the middle of my head, like if I were to part my hair in two, that middle part is really short…
You’re referring to the previous posting where a reader asked if the car’s headrest was causing a balding spot.
I’d like to see some photos of the area in question. If/when you send, please point to the notch in the back of your head (at the base of the skull is a bony protuberance), as that will show me where the muscles attach. I will be able to give a better responce after seeing the photos.
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(female) I am a sophomore at Rutgers University and my hair is thinning day by day. I don’t think i’m stressing, i get enough sleep, eat healthy, so what is the reason why i’m losing so much hair. I lose about 50 to 80 strands every day and this is getting me worried. I went to my doctor and she gave me Ketoconazole Shampoo, and it is not working. What should i do?
It is normal to lose 100 – 200 hairs a day. As you lose those hairs, there are new hairs always growing.
Ketoconozale is a medicine used for fungal infection (like ringworm). You need to ask your doctor why you were prescribed that shampoo. A good patient-doctor relationship and communication is very important. Please call your doctor and clarify your issue or diagnosis.
hi i am a 20 year old male with mpb…i know it runs in my family because my grandfather (mothers side), and my father, have mpb. i started thinning and losing hair within the past year – year and a half…but i have noticed recently that it has gotten really bad. i’ve been thru alot of stress lately bcuz of work, school, family and relationship issues. ive been on nioxin products for about 8 months and havent noticed any improvement. i just was prescribed propecia 1 mg from my doctor last week, but i cant start until next week (no money..), i have also been on prozac for about a month now, and i think that might have something to do with losing hair fast recently as well.
so my question is, will propecia regrow my hair or even grow new hair (since i’m young and trying to stop it asap). should i switch from nioxin products to rogaine 5%? i am also thinking about starting to take alot of natural supplements for detoxification and stuff…will this help? what should i do to regrow my hair back (or at least maintain my hair now…)? will this work out the way i’m praying it will?? please write back and give me as much advice as possible..thanx
Prozac can cause hair loss, and so can stress. Prayer is good. Get a Master Plan so that you know what you are going to do as you get older, wiser, and balder (if the prayer does not work). Propecia generally takes at least 8-12 months to see the benefits. If you are genetically balding, then Propecia often reverses hair loss in a 20 year old, but not all of the time or all of the way back to normal.
I have recently taken a steroid in pill form (5 pills only in 5 days) and noticed my hair falling out. I have not taken any since. My question: Is this reversible?
I don’t know enough about you to make this judgment. Are you male or female? What is your age? Did you have any hair loss or hair thinning prior to taking the steroids? What other medications are you taking? You can set up a phone consultation with me by calling 800-NEW-HAIR. It would be advisable to send photos prior to speaking with me (please reference this posting).
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I heard that thinning hair can not benefit from surgery. That the hair follicle will be over impacted along with area around it? Just balds spot can be helped.
This is a partial truth. When transplanting thinning hair, one must worry about precipitating hair loss. That is why I do not recommend preventive hair transplants, because there is always a damage risk. If the thinning is very advanced, then my view may change, for the value of the residual hair may not be great. There is a balance between the value of thinning hair vs the value of transplanted hairs. Propecia works well for preventing hair loss damage (shock loss) in some situations. That is where the experienced surgeon that is honest has great value. Please note that I use both terms — experienced and honest. Many doctors who treat thinning as a balding problem and do not weigh out the long term value of these decisions may have lots of experience doing hair transplants on thinning men and women, yet their lack of integrity may be more the rule that is in play.
For the crown, the degree of miniaturization does relate to the decisions for transplantation. If the degree of miniaturization is high (above 70%) and does not respond to finasteride, then transplantation may be a reasonable decision. By reasonable, I mean that there will probably be a visual benefit from the transplant. Decisions for crown transplantation must weigh the supply and demand issues reflecting existing or progressive hair loss, considering the Master Plan for long term hair loss as the primary focus. For the advanced balding patterns, crown transplantation may not fit well into a long term Master Plan if considerable frontal loss is either present or predictable. If the patient is very young (under 30) then the risks of accelerated hair loss may be a problem, so isolated crown transplantation may be contraindicated.
In conclusion, thinning hair can be transplanted effectively in some patients, while in others, it could be a disasterous step in accelerating the hair loss process or leaving patients with a limited remaining hair supply for treating future hair loss.
Taking the day off today for the Labor Day holiday weekend. Please check back tomorrow for more new entries — and feel free to search through this site for thousands of past hair loss questions and answers.
Or, here’s an interesting link to keep you busy –
Hi,
I had a little thinning in my crown area, so I decided to use minoxidil. I am 43 male, and I don’t really have genetic balding, but I have a lot of thinning. Anyways, I used minoxidil for about a week, and then I discontinued use because I had a higher blood pressure. During the use of the minoxidil, it has seemed that I have lost some hair in my crown area, and I was just wondering if it should grow back if I just leave it alone, or should I start using it again, even if I have some side effects.
I doubt that the minoxidil did any damage to your hair. Usually people that have blood pressure problems will report a drop in blood pressure. Minoxidil is a known hypotensive agent, originally discovered for control of blood pressure. Decisions to go back on the medication must be your own. As I have not examined you, I am not in a position to answer that part of your question.
dr. rassman,
i found a clinic and the surgeon is listed on ishrs.org…HOWEVER…his technique is called the “[name removed] micro/mini graft” technique. is this a something i should do or should i look elsewhere. how does this differ from the FUE technique?? thanks so much.
The standards of care have been published, and Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) is the standard for hair transplantation. That means that the hair is taken exactly as they grow — no clumps of hair are used. The micro/mini graft technique is an old, abandoned approach. The last time it was the standard of care was in the mid-1990s. I read the website of the doctor you referenced and I think that he is about 10 years behind.
Here is an article which shows how well we seem to be doing in solving the mouse hair and fur problem. The bigger picture for my readers to understand is that the mouse model does not translate into human replicas. What applies to mice today, does not seem to apply to men. But, it is potentially a step in the right direction…
