Dr. William Rassman – Page 1838

March 24, 2006

Regenix, Avodart, and Minoxidil – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

i’m 22 and have been thinning in the crown/back/top for about 3 years. i’ve used minox 5 % and propecia for a couple of years, switched to dutasteride 10 months ago…with no results.

i am going to continue the avodart…but i’ve recently started a regimen from Regenix out of LA. i was wondering if using minox 5 % once a day is enough to avoid a major shed? regenix took some hair samples and ‘formulated’ a treatment just for me. do you know if Regenix is worth my time and money? also, could it be that the avodart takes a while to start showing results? any advice is much appreciated.
thanks.

I am assuming that you are a male, not female. With that said, if you have genetic hair loss and it is progressing rapidly, then it sounds like you have real problems. I may sound like a broken record here, but you need your scalp mapped out for miniaturization and then get a working diagnosis.

Avodart, in theory, is as good or more potent than Propecia. Minoxidil must be used twice daily to get any reasonable effect. I do not know about the special formulations of Regenix you asked about. To me, it sounds like you are playing with fire with a blind-fold on. Please get a working diagnosis first so you will know what is really happening.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

March 24, 2006

Using Styling Products with Toppik – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’m a 25 years old male, been losing some hair (in the front part of my scalp) over the last few years, but started taking propecia about 4 months ago and it seems to be working really well! Was wondering if using Rogaine as well would improve or accelerate the results…what would you recommend?

Also Toppik was just launched here in Mexico and I think I’ll give it a try to help the spots with thinning hair look thicker. However I’ve been trying to find information on whether I can use styling gel or wax after applying Toppik and I don’t seem to find anything. Do you think that would work?
Thanks a lot!

I generally do not recommend both Propecia and minoxidil at the same time in a young man. Start off with Propecia and wait 8 months or so before giving up. If it does the job, you have no need to use minoxidil. I don’t recommend using both at the same time, because then if you do see results you will not know which of the two gave you the results. Its just a matter of cost then, as you will end up staying on both just to keep what you have regrown. If you know which one works by trying them separately, you’ll save money in the end.

Topical scalp coverings like Toppik are great to accomplish the appearance of fullness behind hair that already exisits. Use any styling aid that works for you.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

March 24, 2006

Warfarin and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

will warfarin cause my hair to come out ?

Warfarin is one of many drugs that may cause hair loss. The important point is that you are most likely on warfarin for a very serious medical condition and you should not stop taking warfarin because of a possible hair loss. You should first seek out other causes of hair loss. Follow up with your doctor or follow up with a hair transplant surgeon to map your scalp hair for miniaturization and pattern of hair loss.

March 23, 2006

Happy 34 Year Old Taking Propecia (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I wanted to share these photos with the blog readers. This 34 year old man came to my office in late 2003. He has short hair and when he let his hair grow out, it was puny looking, without bulk or body (see first photo). He went on Propecia and one year later, his hair grew out thick and full (early 2005 – see 2nd photo). I had asked him to cut his hair short when he came in again for a better assessment of his balding pattern (early 2006 – see 3rd photo). His miniaturization partly reversed with the Propecia, and he is one happy guy!

I apologize for the quality of the 1st photo. It was taken with a Polaroid camera, and the photo came out slightly blurred. However, the photo does still show the sparseness of his hair, which is the only point I was trying to make by showing it.

Before
After
After

March 23, 2006

Hair Loss InformationScalpMed Causing Shedding? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 38 year old mail in good health and good physical condition, however like most men my hair has begun to thin. I saw the infomercial for “ScalpMed” and it looked promising, so I thought…what the heck, i’ll give it a try. Now, my question is this, it appears that I shed more hairs in the morning when I wash my hair (using a a ph balanced DHT reducing shampoo) after using this product. Can minoxidil cause one to shed more hair since I know this product contains this? If I don’t use scalpmed at night, the next morning when I wash my hair I have fewer hairs in the tub- about 14 without Scalpmed, and 20-40 with Scalpmed).

I also would like to make a comment to the medical industry. If one wants to try and find a cure for baldness, maybe they should research the italians or greek bloodline and see why the majority of those men have their hair way into their 40’s, 50’s, if not later years. Maybe they should research those genetics???

Thanks for your time and insight.

Block Quote

It is normal for one to lose 100 to 150 hairs a day. It is also normal for one to be concerned about hair loss and be proactive as you to try with products such as “ScalpMed”. Unfortunately there is no way to tell if these products actually work. That is why most are not sold as medications or FDA approved products. If ScalpMed is causing you to lose hair, I can not comment on it for there is no real information on the issues of safety or effectiveness.

Minoxidil has been studied as a topical treatment and shows good promise of hair growth in some individuals. To date, there are only two medically proven ways to treat male pattern baldness where it is not really ‘hit or miss’.

Hair transplant, which works 99.9% of the time
Propecia drug regimen (which may or may not work for you but it met strict FDA requirements) is more reliable, the earlier the hair loss is seen. In men under 30 with thinning and not recession, the reversal in my experience is significant. Reversal of a receding hairline, however, is highly unusual (even in the young man). The key to this drug is to start on it early if you have genetic balding and get to the hair while it is miniaturizing and before it falls out.

To more specifically answer your question, counting 14 vs 20 hairs lost per day seems insignificant (at least from a medical perspective). As stated, we normally lose on the average 100 to 150 hairs a day. ScalpMed may be contributing to the extra 6 hairs that you are losing, but there is no way to really tell.

Finally, the hair loss gene spans all races and cultures. The study of Italians and Greeks has already been done and there it still almost 50% of men in these ethnic patterns that have hair loss.

March 23, 2006

Dandruff and Hair Loss in 16 Year Old – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My son is 16yrs old. I noticed when cutting his hair he had a thick piece of what seemed like caked dandruff it was there for the longest time. Then one day when cutting his hair the thick piece of dandruff was gone and ther was a bald spot. As I looked at his head I noticed there was a thin straight line of baldness then off to the right was another little spot. I took him to the dr. who did a blood test for his throid and that came back good. His spot is getting bigger and it doesn’t look like any hair is growing back from where I orig. saw the spot. There is not balding in either of the families. I checked his head tonight it looks like there is flakey dandruff all over his scalp and even some broken skin like he had been scratching. I have made an appointment with a dermotoligst but what should I expect. Do you have any idea what this is?

Block Quote

What you are describing may be a localized area of psoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis which crusted and then with the crust ‘ripped’ off, the hair came out with it. The loss of local hair from an acute traction episode, could be responsible for what you are observing, and if this is the case, the hair will return if your son leaves it alone. What appears like dandruff may turn out to be seborrheic dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, alopecia areata, or some other dermatological inflammatory disease of the skin. Your planned visit to a dermatologist for further evaluation is a good next step.

On a separate, interesting note, doctors have recently pinpointed the Psoriasis gene: Forbes.com

March 23, 2006

Propecia and Frontal Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I heard from one of the hair transplant surgeons that I spoke with that Propecia doesn’t necessarily prevent the hair loss in the front of the head, but often helps in the back.

I’ve been taking Propecia for almost two years now, and have noticed that the hair loss in the back of my head has stopped, and perhaps sligtly improved. My hair has been gradually falling out in the front — I’d love to hear your thoughts about this. Is it true about the front vs. back loss?

In general, Propecia is more effective in the vertex (crown) area than the frontal area. I have seen it reverse hair loss in the front in a small percentage of young men (under 35) so I know that it does impact both regrowth (less common) and prevention (more common), but the results are statistically far more impressive in the top and back of the head. I recommend that you continue to be on Propecia.

March 23, 2006

Regrowing Hair Lost from Stress – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I recently went through a difficult divorce and have been under a tremendous amount of stress. Within weeks of this starting I noticed my hair falling out rapidly. When I run my hands through my hair in the shower 50 – 100 hairs will fall out. I am 28, male, and had a thick head of hair in October. By Dec I noticed extreme amounts coming out. By feb and now march it is looking thin and I dont know how this could happen so quick. I was thinking Telogen Effluvium due to the stress. Do you think this is likely. If so will it regrow? I do see some small hairs starting. It appears to be thinnig across the whole front of my head. I was thinking this happened to rapidly and spontanously to be MPB is that a fair assumption?
Thanks in advance.

If you have male patterned genetic hairloss, severe distress may accelerate the process. First you need a diagnosis and mapping out your head for miniaturization is critical in determining what is going on. Environmental factors like stress from a divorce are one of the leading causes of acceleration of the hair loss. If it is genetic, then it would be unlikely that it would return. Considering your age, reversal with Propecia or slowing down the loss is something that I would expect. To conclude: Get a diagnosis and start treatment with Propecia if you have genetic hair loss.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

March 23, 2006

Removing Transplanted Hair for Corrective Procedure – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

What are the options in dealing with transplanted hair that you no longer want-is there any procedure that would remove the transplants but still athestically feasible?

The second related question is what is the effectiveness of corrective procedures that thin down some transplanted areas, moving the hair to other parts of the scalp that now need it.

As you can guess, I am dealing with a transplanted “head” of hair that is actually mostly comb-over because I have lost so much hair behind my orignal transplant. I can fake it at the present time but I am getting tired of being the world’s biggest user of hairspray and worrying about the wind

I have written extensively on the subject of repair and have many patient examples of repairs on our website. Also see Dean’s Story for a good example of things that can be done and how it was done on this particular patient. Removing grafts is usually the best thing to do if the grafts are in the front.

Heavy rows of grafts may be best removed just like a ‘brow lift’ surgery and then 2-3 months later, you can transplant the area and create a completely normal frontal hairline like the patient example above. I have also found the FUE / FOX Procedure to be very effective in thinning out transplanted hair and moving them to other locations to produce better coverage. However, not every patient can be a candidate for this procedure. I would need to see you first (or you can send photos, which will be treated confidentially). For FOX redistribution, I need to test each patient to be sure that this approach will work.

March 23, 2006

Smoking Cannabis After Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

First off let me say I find your answers to be very informative.

My first question is: Will cannibus affect my hair transplant I had on Feb 08/06? I don’t smoke cigarettes but cannibus helps me deal with my occasional back pain.

Secondly when can I resume my normal jogging of a couple miles in the morning? As well as doing chin ups and push ups? I have been told exercise of these sorts will only expand the the donor scar.

Thank you and i appreciate your advice.

Medically speaking, smoking cigarettes (even the cannabis / marijuana kind) promotes poor wound healing by decreasing blood circulation. It may have an impact on your hair transplant, however, I do not know how much of an impact it will have.

Exercises such as sit-ups that may have a potential to stretch the back of your scalp will also have an impact on your donor scar. Running 1 week after surgery is not a problem. Although you can probably resume most of your regular activity after one or two weeks post surgery, the scar takes about 6 months to a year to completely set and in the first 3-6 weeks, the wound structural elements that make for good solid healing change and build. I generally tell my patients not to do the type of exercises that stress the neck muscles like body press or sit-ups for up to 6 weeks. A few of my patients even ran marathons a few weeks after surgery without any negative effects.