Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Accutane and hair loss

I went to the dermatologist the other day and she diagnosed me with TE. I am 21 years old and male. She blamed it on stress, when in reality I’m not stressed. What I believe it’s from is the 5 month accutane course I finished up in October of 2016. I honestly didn’t notice much shedding, but I have a ton of hair, and it’s short too. My barber told me I had uneven hair growth in January. Since then I can feel/ seethe spots that I am in shedding in. To this day I’m still shedding. Is there something I should do about this? Is this normal? Should I just let time do it’s thing?

Accutane is known to produce hair loss and the effects can last ujp to a year after you stop the drug. Go back to your dermatologist.

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Accutane for Acne, Propecia for Hair Loss

Hi Im 22 years old and my hair has been thinning really really bad for like the last year or so.

I just started on my second month of propecia and I know its too early to see any changes, but my problem is that I also have an acne problem and my dermatologist is going to put me on Accutane. I know accutane contributes to hair loss also so i just wanted to know if I could be taking both at the same time? or just any advice you can give me.

I doubt that Propecia (finasteride) will protect against possible hair loss from Accutane (isotretinoin). There aren’t known interactions between the two medications, but this subject needs to be discussed with the treating doctor, not with us over the web.


2010-07-30 08:47:29Accutane for Acne, Propecia for Hair Loss

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Acne, Dandruff, Hair Loss, and the Unexplained Mysteries of the World

I believe acne and dandruff and hair loss are related. They are all caused by cells that go through their cellular life cycle at much faster rates than normal. How can this be denied?

I believe Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the Loch Ness monster are all related. They’re unexplained mysteries that can’t be proven. How can my claim be denied?

Honestly, it is very easy to deny something and much harder to prove something. Show me scientific proof and I won’t deny your theory.

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ACell Hair Multiplication Study at NHI

ACellLast week I wrote about the ACell presentation at the recent International Society for Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) meeting that may have opened the possibility for a patient’s hair to be multiplied in his or her own scalp. ACell’s MatriStem has had some early success with growing hairs that were plucked and then placed into recipient sites on the patient’s scalp, and although this is a major breakthrough, significant work remains before this becomes a practical hair loss treatment.

For those that missed my post from last week, here is a little background —

    ACell, Inc. has developed and refined an Extracellular Matrix (ECM), a natural biological material derived from porcine (pig) tissue. When ACell’s MatriStem product is placed into a surgical site or wound, it is reabsorbed and replaced with new, more supple tissue, rather than a firm scar. The ECM stimulates the body’s own cells to form new tissue specific to that site. When applied to hairs plucked from elsewhere on the body, this is called “auto-cloning”, as new hairs are derived from the process.

We are currently studying the use of ACell for scalp hair multiplication (auto-cloning) as well as the facilitation of wound healing in follicular unit transplantation procedures. For those individuals interested in auto-cloning, we will be happy to see you in the office for a more in-depth discussion of the opportunity. Details will not be discussed over the phone but will be covered by the doctor during your consultation.

People interested in working with us in a study can participate at no cost, but because of the newness of the process, we will be selective as to which patients we accept. A limited number of patients who are not selected for a study may be eligible to obtain this procedure as well for a special fee. We will also be using ACell in the donor area of on our traditional strip surgery patients to promote better wound healing at no additional cost. Please call my office at 310-553-9113 to set up an appointment for a qualifying examination.

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Actor Patrick Stewart Discusses Balding on BBC (with Video)

Here’s an inspirational interview with Patrick Stewart (of Star Trek fame) conducted by the BBC. I think you will enjoy watching it, I know I did. Stewart talks openly about his experience with balding, dating and hair pieces.

Thank you for sending this! I wish I could embed the video below, but it’s been disabled. You’ll have to click the link to go directly to YouTube —

Parkinson: Patrick Stewart – Baldness.

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Actor Joe Rogan’s Hair Transplant?

Joe RoganI was listening to the Joe Rogan podcast and was really surprised when he mentioned that he won’t shave his head because he had a transplant a few years ago and has a scar. I always wondered why he DIDN’T have a transplant when I would see him on TV but was kind of surprised that he says he had one. Do you think he was misinformed as to what his eventual loss would be?

Your guess is as good as mine. I do not know the circumstance of actor/comedian/host Joe Rogan’s hair loss or the treatment he had. It’s possible that he had the surgery many years ago and had continued hair loss, but I really don’t know.

Someone might mention to him that we can treat his scar with either a scar revision or Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP).

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Acne in the Recipient Area After a Hair Transplant

Would getting acne in the recipient area in the days and weeks post-op have any effect on the grafts? If so, for how long after? Thanks.

Sometimes hair transplant patients may experience folliculitis weeks to months after surgery, which looks like acne. It is generally advised to follow up with the surgeon and use warm towel compresses to address the area. Some doctors prescribe a short term oral antibiotic for it as well.

The cysts that form reflect the sebum production of the transplanted hair that can not exit the skin, because there is no pore present. It generally does not affect the grafts.

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Acne, Hair Loss, and Numbing Pain in My Arms

First. It was nice to see a blog about hair loss authored by real doctors and thank you for that. I am from Philippines and there are not much doctors here that specializes in hair loss problem thus when I visited once before, i was not able to get answer. So i hope you could help me here.

I was 19 when my hair loss started together with some big acne. My mom said it is hereditary but what concerns me is the very very subtle tingling pain in the place where I am having hair loss (which is the front). Sometimes I feel it after I comb my hair.

Another are the acnes, is there a case that having an acne and hair loss at the same time is a symptom of something.

3rd is I always experience numbing pain in my arms that I have not experience before.

I am sorry if I have too many questions because I read a lot about hair loss but couldn’t find answer to why I am having one. Right now my hair is in a norwood 2. I tried to talk to one doctor before but his answer was because it was due to stress then gave me prescription for my acne not my hair loss. Sorry. This is already long but Thank You in advance.

Acne doesn’t cause hair loss, and hair loss doesn’t cause acne. Your loss may be stress-induced like your doctor said, but at 19 years old it’s entirely possible that you’re showing early patterned hair loss. A Norwood Class 2 could just be a mature hairline, though. That isn’t anything to be concerned with. I haven’t seen you, so I can’t make that determination.

I do not know what numbing pain in your arms has to do with having acne or hair loss. I think you may be trying to link everything into one. Unlike physics, there is no unifying theory about hair loss.

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ACell update for NHI ACell for hair replication and ACell for scar improvement

Based on case reports of Dr Hitzig and Cooley from 2010, and the spirit of science we have tried to replicate the cloning claims by applying for clinical research through an institutional review board (IRB), also known as an independent ethics committee (IEC) or ethical review board (ERB), IRB.

We had two category of ACell trials:
(1) ACell to promote new hair follicle regeneration from plucked hair, thus creating two hairs from one hair as the plucked hair is assumed to grow back. This in essence is viewed by some as cloning.

At this time, at about the 3+ year mark, our patients who received ACell for hair regeneration have not reported growth and we had seen all of them at the 6th month and 12 month point in time. If you read the ACell update from ISHRS Alaska 2011 conference, it would seem the ACell cloning was only hype.

(2) ACell to promote wound healing and less scar formation. This involves ACell that is incorporated into the strip donor wound.

At this time, at about the 3+ year mark, some patients have reported less pain after the surgery and a better looking scar (those who have had more than one surgery to compare their own experiences). But the overall width (size) of the scar is not any better (smaller). In other words the scar may NOT be smaller, but they are less pink and seemed to heal faster.

In summary we have spent thousands of dollars applying for the IRB permission as well as materials cost as well as staff hours for not so stellar results. More importantly it is regrettable to those patients who have participated in hopes of unlimited hair to only receive nothing from their effort. ACell may have some place in wound healing and we still offer this option to our patients at no cost.

To be clear: ACell does not grow hair. ACell does not make the scar smaller. Acell may heal the wound better but there is no clear proof of this. This observation is merely subjective.

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Actor Taylor Lautner’s Hairline

Taylor LautnerHello Dr Rassman, just a quick one here. Does Taylor Lautner look to be displaying the signs of early MPB, or is he simply sporting a mature hairline? What Norwood class do you think he would he be?

I had to look up who this young man is (he’s in one of the Twilight movies), but it looks like he’s got a normal juvenile hairline, so a classification for hair loss does not apply. His rounded corners, which is typical of an immature hairline, has been lost in his recent photos but otherwise, I suspect he had the exact same hairline at 12 years old. There’s no early balding from the photos I’ve seen. He’s young though, so who knows where his hair will go.