Does smoking marijuana cause hair loss?
It has been suggested that there is a connection between marijuana smoking and hair loss. However, since many young men are genetically predetermined to lose their hair, a man who both smokes and has genetic hair loss may produce further connections, real, circumstantial or otherwise.
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I have been using ortho evra for now about 3 months, and I realized that I have been losing a enormous amount of hair…This has been happening since I started using the patch…If I stop using the patch, how long does it take to leave my system, and will I regain my hair???I have lost so much hair that it is depressing at times for me to see that I have lost so much….
I would appreciate a response from you asap…
Thank You!!!
I’ve answered a similar question before: Severe Hair Loss from Ortho Evra
The use of hormones and birth control medications will produce hair loss in genetically prone females. I do not have an answer to your question on the timeline for any reversal, though. There is no assurance that it will be reversed if the hormones precipitated the expression of the hair loss gene, but I would stop using it and consult with your doctor as early as you can.
Good day Doctor
I am a 28 year old male and have axperienced steady hair loss over the last 4 years. I have been to a GP who has advised that I go on a 12 month course of propecia. I am very concerned about eventually conceiving children whilst on the drug even to the point that I am considering visiting a sperm bank before I start the course.
Please advise me as to what is the safest course of action should I want kids whilst on the course.
Thanks for your help.
Propecia is out of your system in a few days after stopping the medication. Therefore, banking your sperm is probably not needed if you are worried about retaining the medication in your sperm. If you want to conceive children while on the drug, there is no official contraindication for that, but some doctors are suggesting that you go off of the medications for 1 week/month while your lady is in her fertile stage. Some doctors take the extreme medical legal position that you should stop the medication, get her pregnant, and then use a condom for the time until the baby is born. That absolutely guarantees that there is no medication possibly transferred. This last approach seems radical to me as there is nothing backing it up in the drug disclosures.
Dear Sir,
My hair loss does not resemble any of the stages in NORWOOD SCALE! I mean i am using hair on the entire SCALP (Not back and sides), but im using it uniformly on the scalp. Theres no such condition in norwood scale. this makes me wonder if i have MPB….though my dematologist says i do have MPB. Also, can there be any tests, which can be done so that i can figure out if Propecia will have side effects on me or not?
You need to have your hair mapped out for miniaturization, which will show patterns that the eye does not see. Early balding may be diffuse in a pattern or non-patterned. The mapping will show just what it is.
I didn’t understand your point about whether the probability of the rogaine working for me outweighed the risk of continued hair loss. If the shedding from rogaine is temporary, and will grow back, what is the risk of continued hair loss? Will the hair still come back if I discontinue the rogaine (which I have)? Especially since I only used it a handful of times? When should I start seeing some signs of regrowth, if there will be any?
Sincerely,
“Sorry I ever used rogaine”
The original question / answer can be found at: Hair Loss Worse After Rogaine
Minoxidil can cause irritation of the skin and some people get hair loss by the drying effect that they see with minoxidil. I had suggested that you stop using it because the topical effects of the medication will go away within days of stopping it. The question that you are asking, which essentially is how long you have to wait for the process to reverse, is difficult for me to answer. I have no information on the cause of your hair loss, if the process was an acceleration of the genetic process and if this process is continuing. I need to know your diagnosis and get an examination which are two essential elements to getting you where you want to be. With a short run of minoxidil, I would expect that there should be no long term response to this medication, but that is just a guess.
Dr. Rassman, I am concerned that your post about Matthew McConaughey is misleading. Do you honestly believe he had transplants? Here are two reasons why I think it is unreasonable to think so. First, he had a full head of hair in movies before and directly after the picture (showing hairloss) was taken. The only way he could have had transplants is if his hairloss was sudden and his regrowth was extremely quick. Second, the results are be too good to be transplants even if used in conjuction with drugs or anything topical. I’m sure transplants can make make a big difference, but not that big of one. If he did have transplants then the pictures of your work appear to pale in comparison to the kind of work that can be done. I don’t think your work is substandard to anyone. I think he uses a hairpiece. Are you worried at all that passing his improvement off as a transplant will give people unrealistic expectations as to what hair transplants can do and perhaps unduly persuade people to get hair transplants. Also, do you think hair transplant doctors may be attributing Matthew’s results to hair tranplants in fear of losing people to the hairpiece business?
Sincerely,
Concerned
Just to be clear for the readers of this blog, your question is in reference to the post I made back in May regarding Regenix and the role it may have played in the hairline restoration of this actor.
I have no first hand knowledge of Matthew McConaughey. From photos I have seen of him, there is obviously a big change in his hairline between the older pictures and his current presentation. If the change reflected a hair system, then it is a good one. In the movies, this is done quite often for balding actors, and there are people primping and grooming the hair piece just before they are on film to achieve the best possible look. If the change reflected a hair transplant, then he had a good hair transplant surgeon. Photographs show us what the photographer wants us to see. A hair piece (a wig) would be instantaneous, while a hair transplant would take 8 months to grow out.
As far as expectations, look at the change a hair transplant made in broadcaster Steve Hartman, as featured on the NHI website. The results were at least as good as a great wig, but since it is his real hair growing from his head, he doesn’t have to worry about the costly maintenance or smell issues associated with hair pieces.
I’ve posted links to these photos before, but they are worth reposting to show the dramatic change in Mr. McConaughey’s hairline.
A few times each month, I will post some random hair-related information, which I’m calling “tidbits”. I spend hours each day writing responses to questions I receive on this blog, so it is a nice change of pace. For example…
I am often asked about what happens to testosterone when one takes Propecia. Testosterone levels do climb by 10% on average when men take DHT blockers like Propecia. Some men work out heavily, adding steroids, growth hormones, and DHEA, while others take even more testosterone. I am often asked about the effects of these medications on hair loss. Each contribute to hair loss caused through genetic causes when men have the gene for hair loss, but some of these medications may have a direct effect on the actual hair loss, independent of genetic factors.
Dr. William Reed, made the following comments: “If one had to guess, I would say that the gym rats are correct. I gather that about 8% of testosterone is metabolized via 5 alpha reductase. The 10% rise in testosterone does not offset the increased androgenic power of this loss of DHT (62% of serum levels … I don’t know the intracellular change in the muscle cell, i.e. if there is any type 2 5 alpha reductase in the muscle cell. If there is, then the intracellular impact within the muscle is even more marked). I don’t think Big Pharma will address this issue or bone density loss (that could also be unfavorably impacted) unless other investigators come up with the data and there seems no profit in that appening. Having said that, I think gym rats are striving for a supraphysiologic state that brings out these limitations of finasteride. Ignored are the benefits to the prostate… and to hair. It’s annoying how Life is seldom black and white.”
The question is also frequently asked about the impact of DHT blockers on those people who build muscle mass and use steroids. There are theoritical issues with regard to this area, where blocking any male hormone may reduce muscle mass, but the official information out there indicates that there are no such side effects. Frankly, I do not have an opinion regarding this, so I am passing this to my readership to make their own assessment.
I had 1600 grafts transplanted at the hairline area about 4 months ago. When the procedure was done the doctor shaved that part of my head. My hair loss up until that point was somewhat concealable when the hair that I had was grown out and some of the hair further back was combed forward. After the procedure I had to cut the rest of my hair to make it look even with the area that had been shaved. This made my hair loss much more noticeable. I was not aware until seconds before the shaving that this would be happening and I was told that this was necessary to gauge the proper growth direction of the follicle. Was this necessary? Had I known it would take about 3 months of growth just to get my hair back to a place where I wasn’t obviously balding I may have reconsidered. At 4 months my hair looks very similar to my pre-operation density and I do not notice any significant new growth. Should I be concerned?
Sounds like some failure of communication occurred. You should have been told that your head would be shaved. I know that many doctors do this, but I do not recommend it. I tend to just work around the problem of long hair. I take the view that everything should be as natural as it was prior to the surgery. At 4 months, I would expect that the hair should be starting to grow out. Look for 80% of the benefits by the 7th month. Good luck.
Are men who don’t grow beard or body hair less likely to bald?
It is possible that this is just delayed growth of beard or body hair in a person in their late teens or very early 20s, and the beard and body hair may eventually grow in. If there are no autoimmune causes for the absence of this hair, then I would suspect that your genetic cards will play out normally. In other words, the lack of body/beard hard is unrelated to eventual scalp balding. There is a possibility of a reduced DHT level, which can be tested by your doctor. This test can measure if you make DHT or not, but I suspect you will find that you do.
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Hi Doc. I have been using Rogaine for maybe 5 years now and it has sort if stabilised the hair loss. But when I went to see a hair transplant specialist she told me that full-strength Rogaine only needs to be applied once a day rather than the recommended twice a day. Is this true? I have been using it once a day since then and that was 3 months ago. I’m concerned that my hair may resume falling out if I continue. Thanks
I am under the impression that the best benefit comes from a twice per day application. Once a day seems to have little effect on most people.
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