Dr. William Rassman – Page 1827

April 12, 2006

Hair Loss Advice Sites – Balding Blog

Doctor, I am very impressed by your objectivity and sincere advice. It is very difficult to find ESPECIALLY in the hair restoration biz. Keep up the good work.

Now here’s my question and I’m really putting you to the test. Could you recommend some other web sites which offer the same candid advice found here (Yes, I know you may be encouraging the competition, but I think you’ll agree to the value of other peoples’ advice and experience)

Thank you for your support. This blog site is unique. In fact, it is the first (and perhaps still only) of its kind. If anyone knows of another hair restoration / hair loss medical doctor that has his/her own blog and updates as frequently as I do, please let me know. I post between 8-10 new blog entries Monday through Friday, and it keeps me quite busy in between surgeries (and on my weekends in some cases). That being said, I do enjoy it, especially when I get new and interesting questions from the readers.

So to answer your question, I can’t think off the top of my head of other sites that may be similar to this site. I know HairLossHelp.com has a section of their site where various doctors answer questions posed by people that write in. I think I post much more frequently though. I guess that could be considered similar, but I’d like to think BaldingBlog is much more than that. I do not consider this type of thing as a competition, because this is simply my blog / journal site. I’ll sometimes post random hair-related info or videos, to mix things up from the question/answer style posts. Information provided here should not to be used for any medical treatments or judgements or diagnosis or endorsement. I offer my opinions, but the bottom line is that it is a blog site that I enjoy maintaining as a hobby (and I do like helping people). I have posted over 1350 blog entries in the last year, mostly because I am a crazy and passionate man. Well, maybe not that crazy — but passionate, certainly. I try to be objective and I love what I do I will on occasion refer to NHI if readers want to contact me on a professional basis. Sometimes, if I feel that my services could be of use in a more professional type setting (such as when someone wants to set up an appoinment with me to discuss private medical issues, I will make that time available. I have met a few of baldingblog’s audience since I started the site and their comments on baldingblog’s value have more than stimulated my desire to continue it. The newhair.com site was put together over the course of 10 years and contains writings in many scientific journals that I have contributed to, along with the most extensive patient photo gallery on the web.

Another good resource for hair loss info is American Hair Loss Association.

April 12, 2006

Hair Loss Around Donor Scar After Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Droctor,
I am 3 weeks out of a hair transplant and just experienced a telogen effluvium episode(shock loss) on the area surounding the scar on one side of my head. The affected area is about 2-3 square inches. Have you ever heard of such post traumatic patchy hairloss? is this common? and is all the hair automatically back after a while? same thickness?
For this particular case, would you suggest a treatment?

Thanks in advance for your answer… I’m a little bit worry.

You should ask your doctor first. Hair loss after a transplant in balding men in the recipient area is often not reversible, but if it happens in the donor area it will frequently return in 2-5 months. Good before and after pictures will help make the assessment for the recipient area. If you are young man (under 35), then you should have been on Propecia which does protect against the hair loss induced from surgery in the recipient area.

I am assuming that what you are talking about is hair loss around the donor wound. When this occurs, it is often the result of wound tightness with the surgical closure, but it can happen to almost anyone. You must wait out a period of between 2-7 months before you will know. Returning hair growth may occur over a long period of time.

April 12, 2006

Scalp Itching – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have experienced pruritus mainly to the crown since I was a teenager. I have used all types of products, prescription and OTC, including Nazoral, Neutrogena products, etc. The only one that I have found to be efficacious has been Neutrogena T-Gel. It stinks (literally), it produces sun sensitivity, and it dries my hair. Do you know if continuous daily use of this product will impact my health? I have heard that chronic exposure to coal tar may cause cancer. I do appreciate your professionalism and your desire to help those of us who have issues with the prospect of balding.

You might try hydrocortizone cream (0.5%) applied two or three times a week to the scalp. It should not be used more frequently than that, because it could be absorbed with high doses. If you keep its use down to two or three applications directly to the area every 12 hours for 2-3 applications, you might find that the problem will disappear. What you are calling Pruritus may actually be other conditions, and a dermatologist might give you the diagnosis you need.

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April 12, 2006

Why Did I Start Balding at Age 15? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Rassman,
I am a twenty-seven year old man, and I began to lose my hair at age 15. I went to several doctors when I was younger but they all told me the hair loss was male pattern baldness and not the result of any health problem. I am already as bald as my father, who is thirty years older than me.
When someone begins to lose hair at the age I began to lose mine, will the baldness progress until all of my hair is gone? Will I ever be able to use a hair transplant system? And what the heck would cause my male pattern baldnes to start so early anyway?
Thanks.

Don Ameche Androgenic hair loss or male pattern hair loss starts as males enter puberty, as their testosterone levels increase, bringing on voice changes and pubic hair and other male sex characteristics. Although it is usuual to start the genetic process at 15, the DHT is clearly working on young men of that age. There is an issue of ‘gene expression’, which means that the trigger for the gene may have started early on you. Unfortunately, some men have the gene that causes male pattern hair loss to trigger earlier, while others do not see this until later in life. For example, Don Ameche, a popular old-time movie star in the 1930s and 40s known for his perfect hairline and good looks, started to bald after the age of 50 (late onset trigger for gene expression) and was almost completely bald when he was in his mid 70s (and starred in the movie Cocoon in 1985).

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April 12, 2006

Hair Loss Information » Woman with Chronic Telogen Effluvium – Balding Blog

Hi I am a 44 year old female with chronic TE and a positive hair pull. I had 2 brief incidents in my 30s but this latest one has been continuous for 18 months and I have lost a significant amount of my hair with little or no visible regrowth. All of my hormone tests are normal including thyroid, FSH, LH, estrogen, my testostone is even slightly below normal and my ANA is negative. The only issue I have is low ferritin and I have been taking iron for about a year but can’t seem to get the levels above the low end of normal.

My condition continues to deteriorate despite rogaine and topical steriods. I don’t know where to turn. Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

There are people who specialize in this. Please let me know where you live and I will try to find someone in your area. For more information see Telogen Effluvium by Elizabeth CW Hughes, MD.

April 11, 2006

Trichophytic Closure Photos – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I read your article about the Trichophytic incision. Do you have photos of what this looks like?

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The pictures shown below are of a patient who had a trichophytic incision on half of his wound and on the other side had a non-trichophytic closure. The side with the trichophytic closure has hair growing in the actual wound, making it less obvious. These pictures were taken 5 months after surgery, so the scars have not fully matured and a slight pink color still remains. The photos below are both from the same patient (right and left are exactly the same image), except the two on the left are unedited and the two on the right has a yellow highlight showing where the actual scar is, so that you can see clearly that hair is growing through it. I apologize because some of the hair from below the scar is obscuring the trichophytic set of photographs, but I believe if you look through the line of hair that is combed upward from below you will see the hair growing directly from the wound. I will replace these with better photographs from the next patient that comes in to the office. Click the images to enlarge.

Trichophytic_Closure
Trichophytic_Closure_Highlighted

The below photos show the non-trichophytic side.

Non_Trichophytic_Closure
Non_Trichophytic_Closure_Highlighted

For more information about Trichophytic closures, please see Techniques to Minimize Donor Area Scarring

April 11, 2006

Hair Follicle Cells Growth Stages – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My son will be 12 this August, I have been noticing lately on his pillow in the morning, there is some lose hair on it, I would say about 12 strands. I have never noticed this before and I would like to know if this is normal or something I should be concerned about. I was wondering if this could be related to puberty, his voice is starting to change or if it is coincidental? Thanks for your time.

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It is normal to lose 100 to even as many as 200 hairs a day. Furthermore hair grows in cycles (see below) and you may notice more hair falling out at different phases and seasons of the month. In other words, hair growth and hair loss can be a cyclical phenomenon. Other factors certainly contribute to hair loss such as hormonal changes, malnutrition, etc. While your son’s hormonal changes of puberty may be coinciding with the hair loss, it is my opinion that 12 strands a day is perfectly normal.

Hair follicle cells have three phases of growth:

Growth phase (Anagen phase) which lasts anywhere from 2 to 6 years. This is the phase where your hair is actively growing at approximately 10cm per year. 85% of hair is at this phase at any given time.
Transitional phase (Catagen phase) which lasts about 2 weeks. This is the phase where the hair follicle shrinks and prepares to enter the resting phase.
Resting phase (Telogen phase) which lasts about 1- 6 months. This is the phase where hair does not grow but stays attached to the follicle. Some hairs are shed at this phase, but at the end the hair follicle re-enters the growth phase to start the cycle over again. 10-15% of hairs are at this phase at any given time.

April 11, 2006

My Physician Says Rogaine Works Better Than Propecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My Primary care physician recently sent me this statement
“propecia has side effects and so we try to avoid it. rogaine actually works better.”

I am a 21 year old male that has started balding in the last few months. In your experience have you found that Rogaine works better than Propecia? I did research on the internet that Rogaine does not have very good long term success because the hair follicle eventually dies, and Rogaine is thus rendered ineffective. Also, There is no bald men on my mothers side of the family, but there is on my fathers. But nobody on his side of the family went bald until around till their late 20’s or early 30’s 30’s. He said he started to bald at the earliest in his family. He was 29. Do you think it is unusual that I would start balding now when nobody else in my family did not. I am starting to thin in the vertex a little bit. I am interested in starting Propecia. Am I a good canidate for starting Propecia.Do you think I should consult another doctor about my hair loss.

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Genetic balding can come from either side of the family. It could be that you are following someone else in your family line, as not all of the genes are expressed in your father’s or mother’s evident ancestors. You need a diagnosis and your scalp mapped out for miniaturization to find out if what you are seeing is actual balding. If you have genetic hair loss, then Propecia will address the cause and will be far more effective and appropriate than Rogaine, which is a hit or miss product that works better in women and it may work in men who are past the point where Propecia may help. I would not use Rogaine first and I strongly disagree with your doctor.

April 11, 2006

How Does a Doctor Get FUE Training? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I see that many HT docs are offering FUEs and claiming how great they are. Where did they learn this and how can the consumer know what we’re getting is really quality work and not just a publicity scam?

It is best to ask to see the doctor’s patients and meet them directly. Do not accept photographs alone, for they may not be what they appear to be. FUE is becoming the ‘hip’ thing to offer patients to start to build a practice. It takes about 8 months from the time of the surgery until the results are known. For the dishonest doctor, that could become the ‘funding’ for a new venture and claims of expertise are easily made throughout newspaper ads and internet websites. Training is almost impossible to obtain unless you have a large hair transplant practice and are willing to practice on a dozen or so FUE grafts on every patient you perform a strip surgery upon. That is how I learned how to do them, 1-2 at a time per patient over 9 years. The main difference between me and others is that today’s self proclaimed expert can reference the standard I set and published. For me it was more complex than that, because I never knew it was really possible to obtain consistency until I had been doing it for years. The question you did not ask is about claims of success are measured. Self-proclaimed success in harvesting is clearly dependent upon ’self reporting’ without audits. Trust is everything and integrity is at the core of the surgeons being. I can not advise upon this point for the buyer has responsibilities to research it heavily (please see The Truth About Cheap Hair Transplants for more info). As I always end these types of comments, let the buyer beware.

April 11, 2006

Moved to New Country and Hair Is Falling Out – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr.Rassman,
I been bothered by this problem for almost a year now and couldn’t find way of solving it .I been reding magzines and testimonials about this but need more explaination. I come from the Philippines but residing here in Dubai, U.A.E because i am working here now.I am here for 2 1/2 years now in Dubai.Back in the Philippines i have a healthy hair means shinny and bouncing but my nightmare came to me when I am here now in Dubai my healthy hair becomes lifeless, dull,dry,and i experience hairloss too plus my sclap is very itchy to been trying different medication about it but i don’t seem to see the results.

Admittedly, as a person I easily gets depressed and one year back i did experienced a total depression due to some personal problems. I also heard some stories that one reason of hairloss hair in dubai is the water and the harsh weather of this country .Also, I am quiet afraid of the reality that my mom had a thin hair and i suspect i may have hereditary hair loss.But , I am only 24 to experience such problem, that is why i am consulting you this problem because i really want to know the mean reason of my problem if you could elaborate some of the theory you may have for this; and also could you give a solutions or advise on what should i do .

Thank you very much and I would really appreciate everything if you will send me a reply on my e-mail as soon as possible.

I do not have an answer to your problem. Your depression should be addressed, but being away from home surely adds stress to your life and stress can change the character of hair in some people.

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