Dr. William Rassman – Page 1831

April 5, 2006

I Lost My Hair When I Switched from Rogaine to Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman,

I’m 25. When I was 19 or so, I noticed some serious thinning and began using Rogaine. It seemed to stabilize the situation for me, until I started noticing more and more hair in the bath tub. 8 months ago I decided to give propecia a shot and I’ve been on it since. When I began propecia, I stopped applying the minoxidil and I’ve since noticed some significant hairline reduction! The rear top seems to have thickened, but all of the sudden my hairline got far worse.

I’m concerned that the follicles near my hairline (admittedly, I applied most of the minoxidil to the front of my scalp) got minoxidil dependant in some sense? Is this possible? What should I do now? Resume the minoxidil or kiss it goodbye?

Thanks!

Provided that it has not been too long (a few months at most) restarting Rogaine may restore some of that Rogaine dependent hair. Rogaine is known to produce hair that depends upon its twice daily use. Give it a try.

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April 5, 2006

I Was Told To Put Vaseline on My Transplanted Grafts – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 33 year old female and just had a hair transplant 3 days ago. I was told that I had to put vaseline on the grafts and on the donor site twice a day for about a week. This keeps my whole head really greasy and I can’t go out without a bandana or hat on. I washed my hair with shampoo (very lighly where the grafts are) but it seems that it doesn’t get clean. Is this really necessary? How can I get the vaseline off my hair? If I could have clean hair, I would be able to go out and it would “hide” my transplant but I feel like the vaseline just plasters my hair to my scalp and the “wet” look really makes the transplant stand out. What would you recommend?

I never use or recommend Vasoline, because it is difficult to manage and remove. The general purpose of the Vasoline is to keep the grafts moist to prevent crusting, but I generally believe that it is best to take off the crusts by a good washing technique before they form and get fixed in place. It is impossible for me to get to you in a timely manner and it would be inappropriate for me to give you advice on a piece-meal basis without a doctor/patient relationship established and the internet is not the place for this activity. As you have a doctor, best to follow his recommended course. You might ask him why he does what he does so that you can understand his/her thought process.

April 5, 2006

My Hair Doctor Told Me To Wait For Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I’m a 22 year old male. In the last two years I’ve noticed more hair falling out in the shower and if I run my hands through my hair, as well as a decrease in volume and more visible scalp. Although others haven’t said the same, I feel like I know my hair pretty well. I have mild temporal and frontal recession, a widow’s peak that was never there before, but most worryingly I noticed that individual hairs falling out are much thinner.

I saw a transplant/hair loss doctor and he took global photographs, but told me I have to wait. He said my small recession is just called ’sculpting’ and that looking at my head you can’t see any pattern of loss.

My question: Why do I have to wait until its clear I’m losing my hair visibly to take action? My father has lost some of his hair (class III?), my mother has pretty severe hair loss, and one of my uncles as well (father’s side).

You always refer to miniturization, and I understand this process, but the doctor made no mention of mapping it in my case. Does every good hair doctor map for miniaturization? Is it right to pursue in my case?

What should I do?

Please respond, my hair is my confidence!

Thanks and all the best

Good measurements are the heart and soul of good science. That is why I map out the scalp in all of my patients. I generally do not like to transplant a 22 year old, but if you are in the early balding process you do need your scalp mapped out for miniaturization to understand what is happening to you. The science of measurement (metrics) is the back bone to diagnosis in your case. Where are you now with regard to miniaturization and where will you be in a year? If your hair is miniaturizing, why are not not taking Propecia? You need to have some good solid measurements to define where you are and where you are going. Then, with those good measurements over time, it will be easy to answer your questions. Please remember that what you do now will impact you for the rest of your life, so timing is critical.

April 5, 2006

Only 50% of My Hair Grew Back After Chemo 6 Years Ago – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Rassman,

I had a chemotheapy in 2000 and lost all my hair. Then it didn’t fully come back and now I still have diffuse alopecia. I can say only %50 of my hair came back. I also had lots of grey hair but they are now replaced by black colour hair, my original hair colour.

Do you think if I use Pantogar Capsules 3 times a day, will I get any results? If not, which medicine do you suggest to use?

Thanks a lot!

Hair loss from chemotherapy usually grows back without any supplements. I am not aware of any supplements or medication that will accelerate this process. The only treament I know of is “time”. I realize chemotherapy has the stigmata of cancer and is often devastating and depressing for your morale and self image. You must be sure that you do not have other systemic causes of hair loss and your treating doctor should advise you on this.

The time you are taking to grow your hair back appears much longer than most. This may indicate that you will not return it all. If you are disease free and you have what we call a positive nitrogen balance (good diet adding calories to you), then you are doing the most that you can do. There are many organizations or some hospitals have great hair piece or wig programs for their chemotherapy patients.

As I have written in a previous blog entry, I am not familiar with Pantogar, but did find this site which mentions it: EHRS.org

April 4, 2006

Tricomin – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

what do you know about the shampoo Tricomin, is it useful in fighting hair loss or another propoganda?

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To date there have not been any FDA approved medications other than topical minoxidil or oral finasteride 1mg (Propecia). The company that produces Tricomin talks about phase 2 clinical trials (the company states, “this product was initially intended to be released as a hair-growth compound. The early-stage Phase II clinical study of the product had very positive results on some of the 36 male subjects who, applied the treatment topically twice a day for 24 weeks. “), but without completed trials, this type of hype does very little for the safe minded men who want an effective medication for their hair loss. I suggest that you wait for the results of the clinical trails to know what is going to happen to this drug rather than speculate on it.

The shampoo should be no different than the ‘medication’.

April 4, 2006

Hair Loss InformationAny Special Creams I Can Apply to Scar Right After Surgery? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello,I have just had my third hair transplant.The one befor this last one was about ten years ago.The doctor removed the old scar and alot of scar tissue,and he stitched me inside and out and closed the cut pretty nice from what I can see.I still have the stitches in and wont have them removed for another week and I was wondering if there any kind of cream or gel I can apply now or after the stitches come out to reduce the appearence of the scar.I am in the army and I am being deployed to Iraq so I have to shave my head and would like not to see a big scar on the back of my head. Thank you for any advice you can give me.

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Everything takes time. There is no way to accelerate the healing process you are going through. If after the stitches come out you are still red, then you can apply some 0.5% hydrocortisone cream every 12 hours, but only apply it three or four times and then wait 5 days to see if it resolved. You can then repeat the process again, waiting another 5 days in between each treatment cycle. Do not continue this for more than a month.

April 4, 2006

Did My Neck Hair Cause My Head Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

my hairline has receded gradually around the temples for approx the past 5 years. The recession is more obvious on one side than the other (the right side more that the left). I have one question:

Can excessive hair growth (lower neck) be a factor in hair loss?

I have hair growing on my lower neck region. This growth roughly coincided with my hair loss approx 5 years ago. It would have started as soft, blond type hair. Eventually I would have plucked them out. They are now growing quite thick. This growth is heavier on the right hand side of my neck as opposed to the left side.

Looking forward to your reply. Many Thanks

This is actually a good question. Why? Well DHT is the cause of both the growth of the neck hair and the loss of the frontal scalp hair. DHT is the result of testosterone metabolism and it is one of the hormones that a boy’s body uses to create this thing we become, a man. These attributes include beard and body hair growth (including neck hair), a change in voice (lower tone), sweating and under arm odors, nose and ear hair (I hope you love this one), and interestingly enough, loss of the neck hair as you get older (the same hair that was grown by DHT).

I have only seen one patient who went on finasteride (Propecia) and lost body and leg hair from the blocking effects on DHT, but if you are losing your hair from male patterned genetic hair loss you should probably be on this drug anyway. Be sure to get your scalp mapped out for miniaturization before you start it and you might want to get a neck hair count to see if the actual neck hair density decreases from the drug.

Asymmetrical hair loss in the front is common with genetic balding. The one thing for sure is that the “good” side will eventually follow the “bad” side in terms of thinning or loss. Finasteride may stop this progression or even reverse it.

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April 4, 2006

Facial Hair from Rogaine for Women – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi,
I am 26 years old, female, and hair loss seems to run in my family. After turning 21 my hair started to fall out. My hair is very thin now all over, but more noticeable on the crown. I beleive I have diffused hair loss. I have tried Rogaine but, unfornately had unwanted facial hair growth. The hair grew in but fell out a month later. I also plan to have a child in the next year and hear that hair loss is associated with pregnancy. Is there any other treatments (pills or topical) besides Rogaine than can regrow hair? How much hair loss is expected and will it grow back?

thinning and desperate

Rogaine does get absorbed through the skin (as will any medication you apply to the skin) and facial hair is a rare but known side effect.

There is no way to tell if you will lose hair with pregnancy and I would not revolve my life around what may happen. A baby is a major life changing experience. If you lose hair with pregnancy, you will probably grow it back and I would expect that regrowth to match what you had prior to the pregnancy within a year or so. Unfortunately, there are few good solutions for women in your situation at this time.

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April 4, 2006

I Had a Hair Transplant, But I Want the Corners Lower Than “Normal” – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello, I had 1200 grafts last year, and they have done well, but the hairline is too far back in the corners. It is probably just fine for most men, but I wanted a more rounded hairline. I think that I got the male “template.” I have a widows peak, it does not, nor the area of about 1 inch to either side, need to be lowered, just the area in the corners. I have heard of hair line advancement, could this help? Most literature says that all men should look the same, as it comes to hairlines, its just not what I want. I travel to Sacramento and San Jose frequently. Hope to hear from you.

Picking a hairline is a negotiation between you and your surgeon. I have restored the original hairline in men and if this is part of your Master Plan, then it can be done. Be sure to get a great doctor, because these rounded corners can be a difficult part of the art of hair restoration.

Here’s Patient NU, whom I have featured on this site previously. The corners of his hairline were lowered dramatically and the patient wanted his central frontal hairline to look like actor Andy Garcia. Each of us has a different look and different taste, thank God. If we did not, then the world would be farily dull. The patient shown below had let his hair grow out to shoulder length for a number of years, and then recently cut it to crew cut length. He clearly enjoys the freedom of having his hair just the way he wants. Also, it is worth noting that he had temple transplants many years ago, and his results are available here and here.

Other examples include patients EO, KB, and IU.

April 4, 2006

Propecia Gives Me Pimples – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Whenever I take finasteride 1mg I get these red pimples on my face almost like acne. I think it is probably reflex hyperandrogenicity. Is there any solution to this? Without finasteride I can’t fight my hairloss. How can I stop this reflex hyperandrognicity without stopping propecia? I tried reducing the dosage to .5mg .25mg even .10 mg. But all those dosages still made me breakout in my face.

Check with your dermatologist, for you are guessing the diagnosis here. This is not a common complaint with Propecia, but we do see acne in teenagers that is clearly hormonal.