Dear Dr. Rassman,
I read one of the questions regarding hair gels, and you stated that good hair gels shouldn’t cause hair loss. I just wanted to make sure if it is alright for hair gel to remain on my hair for more than a day. Could that cause any damage?
Nope, no problem!
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hi , I had a question . I am vegetarian right and I just moved from india like couple of years ago , the first few years went fine but the things started getting worse like from previous year as i lost like 40% of my hair in like 8 months period and also my hair has started going thin and if it goes like this , I would be going bald in like next 4 months . I am just 20 right now and it all started last year so I am also too young to think about hair transplant . I have been to all the best clinics in toronto .. hairclub they all recommend propecia and rogiane n they told me about that but i am worried about taking them because i used rogaine for a while but it didnt work so If you could suggest me anythin. really it would be appreciated. thanks
At 20, the only drug I’d recommend that you take would be finasteride (Peopecia). In my opinion, if you don’t take it and it is genetic, you will be bald. Be sure that this is genetic balding and then get on that drug before it is too late. Take charge and start treatment now. Do I sound repetitive?
Hi, I was wondering about these websites online that “prescribe” and sell Propecia for a much-reduced price. Am I guaranteed to get finasteride from these sites? Or are they just big time scams. I just bought my first month’s supply at about $70. The price really worries me, especially since I want to continue finasteride long term.
The key to buying any medication over the internet is to determine if the source (manufacturer) is a known producer of quality drugs and the chain from manufacturer to you is unbroken by folks who can substitute fake drugs into that chain. Now that there is freedom to sell finasteride in the U.S. market in the 5mg dose (the U.S. Patent that restricted this has expired), there are drugs appearing on the market which have FDA clearance. If there is really FDA clearance, then the drug is most probably what the label says it is. There have been, however, reports that a black market in drugs is appearing in the U.S. and even pills purchased by U.S. pharmacies are being substituted with fake drugs that have little or no drug in them. The pharmacies have a responsibility to guarantee the authentic nature of such purchases so when you talk about guarantees, then there is a sort of purchase guarantee covered by the pharmacy’s license to do business in the states where they operate. When you purchase drugs over the internet, there is no way to guarantee the source or the quality and even fake pills that look like the originals pills may not be real. This is a problem not only for drugs like Propecia/finasteride, but for drugs like Viagra which may look like the real thing and are only sugar in reality. This is a growing problem and there seems to be great profits for those without any sense of honor and who chase the almighty dollar. Expensive cancer drugs or AIDS drugs are falling victim to this process as well. As I’ve said before, it is a ‘buyer beware’ business so to help our patients, we purchase Propecia directly from Merck and sell it ‘at cost’ to our patients as a convenience to them.
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Does playing with your hair cause hairloss?
I get bored during the day and i have a tendency to twist and pull my hair around my fingers and push it back alot with my hand. does this at all weaken the hair enough to cause any damage or hairloss?
There is a point where traction alopecia develops when there is enough pull on what you are doing. Some people are also pickers and as they pick out their hair they also develop alopecia (alopecia means hair loss). When this happens it is called trichotillomania (obsessive compulsive disorder).
Hello, Im a 20 year old male who has short but thick curly hair. Over the past few weeks i’ve started losing alot more hair than usual. I usually wash my hair twice a week and see maybe 20-25 hairs in the bath. Now im seeing between 70 and 200- depending how often i wash it. If I run through my hair with my hands over a basin i will see anything from 30-150 hairs fall out. And i notice that almost every hair has a white tip at the end which im guessing is the root? Its not dandruff. Does this mean that the hair won’t grow back or does the root always come out with the hair? I’ve tried changing my diet but alot of hair still comes out. Im not on any medication , should i be worried about this? I’d be grateful for any advice. Thank you.
Bring in the hairs and have a good doctor analyze it and perform a pull test for the hair that is on your head. Getting your hair mapped out for miniaturization is part of the diagnostic test that should be performed as well. Sometimes, people go through a shedding phase. I recommend that you monitor your hair loss more carefully and put all of them in the bag to be calculated more accurately. Losing more than 150 hairs per day is high if that is actually the number of hairs you are losing. You have to consider that your hair maybe broken into pieces which may falsely increase the number of the hairs you are losing.
Look at the hairs in the picture. Estimating them is like counting marbles in a jar. They often seem more than they are, or is it the other way? I’m confused! So you should be!
Dear Dr Rassman
I am 23 years old and started receding 5 years ago. Being a med student, I had heard of propecia, and started taking it 3 and a half years ago, my doctor also sugested I use minoxidil.Thankfully, I re-grew a bit of hair, and I have stopped the hair loss. I am quite certain that I am no longer receding, and my hairloss is not substantial. I have naturally had a high hairline, and it bothers me alot, and I was wondering if in my situation, a Hairline Lowering Procedure would be better than a transplant. May I send you some pictures? Thank you for your advice and trouble!
Women with a high forehead sometimes seek hairline lowering procedures. We have had experience doing these procedures, but it is a more extensive and involved surgery, a sort of reversed brow lift surgery. Hair transplants are also used to lower the hairline and the results are just as comparable. There are obvious pros and cons to both procedures and its utility is patient specific. The actual hairline lowering procedure is virtually instantaneous, not having to wait out the normal transplant growth cycle.
For men, hairline lowering is generally not a good idea because of the balding risk that is as high as 40% of the male population. Lowering the hairline and then losing hair again (men with frontal balding) does not do much to permanently solve the problem. You can certainly send your pictures and I would be happy to review them.
Note: The above photo of Tyra Banks is for illustrative purposes only. I do not wish to imply that Ms. Banks had any procedure to her hairline. I also would like to note that she is quite beautiful and that would apply to her wherever her hairline was.
Dr. Rassman,
I am a 28 year old male. I have experience hair loss since I was about 22 years old. My hair loss is most evident in my temples and vertex. However, there is significant miniturization on the whole top of my head (excluding the lower back and the sides). Is this a significant indicator of Diffuse Patterned Alopecia? In addition, I have read that men with DPA are to be treated as if they were completly bald (NC VII). Is this the case? How are the results (typically)? What can I expect you would do for me at this time assuming DPA? As a note I am on propecia and 5% minoxidil.
Get metrics (put numbers to it) on the degree and location of the miniaturization by mapping your scalp hair and establishing a pattern for predictive purposes. Propecia is the correct medication for controlling this and you need to compare the degree of miniaturization over time. Diffuse Patterned Alopecia (DPA) can lead to full balding in the pattern of thinning, but it also may not. If the degree of miniaturization is stable, then it is a good scenario — if it is worsening, then where is it getting worse? If it is better, pat yourself on the back for being very smart and thinking carefully through your Master Plan.
Dr Rassman,
I am a 26 y/o asian male who started experience significant hairloss in the last couple years. My right temple is receeding and there is slight thinning on the top of the crown. I started taking propecia about 3 months ago. It has been effective in the crown area but not for my frontal hairloss. The odd part is that I do not lose any hair at my left temple (or the left side of my head in general) but I am experiencing significant hairloss in my right temple. I would also like to mention that i have straight hair on the left side of my head, while the right side of my head is more wavy hair. I also notice some dandruff and bulbs in between my hairs on the right side of my head. My hair loss is causing me much emotional distress and i am almost afraid to even touch the right side of my head b/c i am afraid of losing more hair. It depresses me just looking in the mirror b/c my hairline is nothing close to straight. it appears as if i have my hair combed over when in actuality it is standing straight up. I know you mentioned that you recommend being on propecia for 8 months prior to getting a hair transplant. I really would like to get a hair transplant to fix my hairline. If i stay on propecia for 8 months, will I experience any shock loss? I am concerned b/c although there is noticable recession of the right temple, it is not drastic. I appreciate your help, and I do not know what I would do without your blog!
You should be evaluated by an honest and competent doctor. Depending upon the hair loss and what it looks like, a good doctor can usually predict what will happen to you and build a Master Plan around that. Transplants may be in your future, but there is no substitute for a good doctor/patient relationship. Since we seem to be bonding, you can send me photos (good ones) and I will give you an opinion (which will not be posted here without your permission, so do not worry about that).
Timing is everything. Yes, you might be able to get a hair transplant provided that you are on Propecia. There is often a difference between the two sides, one side being more advanced than the other. If you let nature takes its course, the retarded side will catch up, but the key here is to not let it catch up. Stop it with Propecia and eventually (timing is everything) fix both sides of the frontal hairline.
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I am the inventor of Rejuvx and after selling thousands of bottels of my product i guess i must have a formular that must give some results other wise people would not keep on buying it, my product has never been sold to regrow hair as i belive as a chemist that is never going to happen but it has helped thousands of people have a fuller healthier head of hair
Regards Edward Horton
Presient c.e.o RejuvX
Thank you for the letter and finding BaldingBlog. First, I need to point out to readers that I have no way to verify if this is a legit email from the actual inventor of Rejuvx, but I have no reason to think otherwise so I’ll take it at face value.
I am a bit confused that your letter states Rejuvx has “never been sold to regrow hair“, because I just visited your website which states: “Within weeks of using Rejuvx, people experiencing hair loss will notice improved growth“. There may be a fine line from a legal FDA point of wording here, but that is not my specialty.
Back in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s the Helsinki Formula was advertised to treat hair loss and was one of the best selling products for hair grwoth on the market at the time. What most people do not know is that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 filed a suit against the makers of Helsinki Formula stating their advertising constituted a deceptive trade practice. The court concluded that the product had a “placebo effect”. In other words, many companies have sold great amounts of product and have yet to do what they claim, so pointing out that you have sold “thousands of bottels [sic]” really holds no meaning but suggested value.
There may be laws and regulations, but manufacturers advertise what consumers want to hear. Desperate people spend money in hopes that a cure for balding is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Most of these claims will go under the radar of the Federal Trade Commission, because there is an art to stating certain claims without breaking the law and the FTC cannot possibly prosecute all of those that are in violation (they pick and choose their battles).
The Rejuvx website states, “The abandonment of artificial ingredients additionally makes Rejuvx prescription free, since it does not cause any significant side effects.” — No significant side effects imples there are SOME side effects and I would love to know what they are and so should potential buyers for proper disclosure. If there are side effects of any type, then I would be happy to contact the FDA’s enforcement arm to look into the language you are using and in pursuing a full disclosure so that the public will know the safety factors about your product. I believe that the FDA is empowered to investigate and report on the safety of products sold that have side effects and only they can judge what is and what is not significant.
I am pleased you have a successful business. It illustrates the fact that we live in a society obsessed with hair loss, and the appearance and worship of youth. While my statement may trigger a spectrum of theories and opinions about our vanity, it is also a catalyst for many to profit from our insecurities. My ultimate point is that it is (and it always will be) a buyer beware market.
Dear Dr. Rassman:
I’m very interested in an HT to fill in my hair line but I am concerned about the redness in the recipient area after the procedure. Is there anything I can do to speed up the healing? I’ve heard using Aloe Vera can help as well some specific items such Graftcyte or Bioton spray. What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks very much and thanks for writing this blog…..it’s a great source of info for me.
Aloe vera has been known to have good healing properties. I had a great number of these plants growing in my garden in Hawaii and the leaves can be broken. One rubs the broken leaf on your wound or whatever you want to cure and according to local Hawaii folk lure, it cures everything!
I do not recommend its use but I do not see any harm by its use either. In my practice I often give a shampoo containing copper-peptide to decrease the redness after a hair transplant.
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