Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Hair Transplants by John Lord

i was googling the address for John lord when I got your article. im in my 40’s and want to inquire about hair transplant. someone i knew went to him and was happy about the result and it was also inexpensive. wanted to try it but very scared about his history, outcome if i were to go elsewhere and the amount i will end up paying. my hair is thin and i just want a thicker full hair especially front area.

John Lord is not a doctor, but somehow owns a surgical hair transplant clinic. This is illegal in California, but he was able to skirt the law. His clinic was responsible for the only reported death in the history of hair transplantation just a few years ago. The patient who died came to see me a couple of weeks before he had the transplant that killed him. Our clinic fees were a bit higher so to save money he ended up at John Lord’s clinic. And well… you know what happened next.

Our facility is fully accredited with the AAAHC (Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care), which guarantees that our processes are first rate, infections are very rare, and safety is paramount as it is built into our system. We are audited every three years and all of our records are reviewed by this agency for safety and poor outcomes. We’re one of the very few hair transplant clinics to go through this rigorous auditing and accreditation.

I had the opportunity to see a few of the patients from John Lord’s clinics and the results were clearly substandard. Maybe the bad transplants are the only ones that came to see me for repairs. As for the cost of hair transplantation, that depends on how much hair needs to be moved. I’m in Los Angeles if you’d like to make an appointment (it’s free).


2010-03-12 08:31:36Hair Transplants by John Lord

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Do Hair Transplants Produce Scars? (from Reddit)

Every surgery causes scarring. In a hair transplant, there are two types of scars: (1) the strip scar which is a linear scar from an incision in the back of your head, and (2) an FUE scar which is very small punctate scars less than 1mm each. Most young men we perform a hair transplant on want FUE because they don’t want a “line” scar. I had three hair transplants with an incision (strip) method and no one can find my scars. Each time I had the procedure, the previous scar was removed. I happen to also be a very good healer. If any doctor tells you that his surgery will not produce a scar, he is not telling you the truth and may only be trying to tell you a bill of goods. Take a look at this video:https://youtu.be/koPZdjdO4Ng

Do transplants cause scars? from tressless


2018-09-24 06:21:53Do Hair Transplants Produce Scars? (from Reddit)

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Hair Transplants with Scalp Micro-Pigmentation (with Photos)

This is a hair transplant patient who wanted his hair thicker, but had depleted his donor supply so that more transplants would not be productive. Many doctors would try still another procedure, but this was not my approach. Instead, I put pigment into the areas where he wanted more thickness. He loved the results of his transplants for his Norwood class 6 pattern and over the years he received a total of 6,905 grafts for that pattern, but as with many patients who have advanced hair loss, the supply did not eventually sustain the demand for hair.

With the addition of scalp micro-pigmentation (SMP) to augment the fullness, he felt that the results were exceptional. After his first SMP session he used a hat, but slowly and cautiously he showed off his shorn scalp to his friends without creating much fanfare. In a social setting, his friends saw the new look and all he got was compliments on how good he looked with his new hairstyle.

The first photo (left) is of the patient’s hairline after all of his transplant work (last procedure was almost 4 years ago); The next photo (middle) is immediately after shaving his head; The last photo (right) is 2 weeks after his first SMP session. Click the photos to enlarge:

 

He came in for his second touch-up SMP procedure, but this time we went a little denser with the pigment. The key in the plan I put together was that the SMP would be placed in behind the leading frontal hairline that we created with transplants so that he could let his hair grow out whenever he wished. As the interval between the first and second procedure was 2 weeks, he let his hair grow out over that time to sense what it would look like when he let it grow out long. He could not have been more pleased with the result! I’ll post some photos of the results in the coming weeks.

Since my post from last week, I have come under fire on some forums and even on this site for changing my stance on scalp pigmentation (from being somewhat negative in past posts to my current enthusiasm). Really, the change in my view reflected a better command on the art, something that I hadn’t previously seen when I made my earlier comments about the tattoos that I saw in my office over the years. I realize now that I should’ve been more open-minded to possible advancements.

Nothing is perfect in this world. This patient would have rather gone the transplant route or have taken a magic pill that would get him his hair back, but it was not a reasonable option for him… so as a second best option, SMP more than met his goals. Now I must note that due to his nearly 7000 grafts that were transplanted, he does have a linear scar in the back of the head. We’re still working with him to cover it with SMP and will post resulting photos soon.

—

Update Mar 8, 2011: More photos here!


2011-03-08 13:08:05Hair Transplants with Scalp Micro-Pigmentation (with Photos)

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Hair Transplants in the Frontal Hairline, Hair System Up Top

I have used a hair system for a few years. Some seem to be better than others,but I am looking for the most undetectable result. I thought of having partial hair transplants done in the front- this is the area most detectable as fake. Have you any ideas of the best possible solution for me?

What I can tell you is that the combination of hair transplants in the front and a hair system behind it works for many people. You are correct in that the hair systems are generally easy to detect in front, so if you have a good hair transplant in front of the hair system, you will have considerably more freedom in styling your hair.

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Hair Transplants Were a Bad Decision for Me!

I wish I had done more research prior to letting a surgeon talk me into a hair transplant. I am 21 years old, and very depressed about my thinning hair. I answered an ad and when I visited the medical office they said that they had a cure for balding. What was probably a salesman working for a doctor and he seemed to know all of the answers and he told me that If I had hair transplants, it would be like an insurance policy to keep hair where it was balding. He told me that they were running a special promotion and I could buy the transplants for $2000 less than they are normally priced if I signed up that day. That was almost a year ago when I received 2689 grafts and now I am more bald then when I started. A few of my friends who were also balding, decided to shave their heads (one actually clipped it close like a military hair cut) and they looked surprisingly good. I realized that if I shaved my head or even cut it short, I would still have this scar on the back. Can I go back and be bald again? Can the scar be reverse?

Part of the problem with doing hair transplants in a 20 year old is that they make more of an emotional decision than a logical one. For you the right treatment would have been Propecia (assuming the diagnosis of genetic balding is correct) and to wait at least a year to see if the balding (thinning hair) would reverse. There are many reasons that someone of your age should be treated with medications (like Propecia or minoxidil) including:

  1. Seeing how bad your hair loss will become. The pattern of hair loss for a man is usually not exposed until after the age of 26.
  2. See if the medications alone will solve your problem by reversing it or stopping it.
  3. Living with the problem and continued research by you in this area may give you more insight into your problem.
  4. Time to build an adequate war chest of money, which is often a problem for someone of your age either in college or just into the workforce.

These problems are blown up for you because you are a young man who is acting on hair loss that may or may not be in your future.

Although most of the clinics use some professional salesmen (people who know how to sell, because that is what they do for a living and have a financial incentive to sell you, although illegal in many states), some doctors are no better than the salesmen when their objective is to get you talked into a transplant. A good doctor would have your interests over his own financial interest because that is the oath he took when he became a doctor. With that said, some rotten apples got into the barrel of good apples and became con-men for people like you. I would have no hesitation saying that if you were pressured into having a hair transplant and had not been started on Propecia, this is malpractice and possibly a felony on consumer protection issues and medical board ethics. You should report that doctor to the medical board.

With regard to your desire to reverse it, that would be highly improbable with today’s technology. Laser hair removal will remove the pigment of the skin where each graft is individually hit with a laser to kill the hair one at a time. Even follicular unit extraction (FUE) will not address the recipient area. With regard to your donor scar, it might be made skinnier but still not skinny enough for shaving your head. I always tell patients that the good and bad news about a hair transplant is that it is permanent. I would be happy to see you for a second opinion.


2007-09-12 14:48:33Hair Transplants Were a Bad Decision for Me!

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Haircheck for Hair Bulk Analysis

One of the things I enjoy about the annual ISHRS meeting is that I am introduced to new products. Sometimes the products can be half-baked or without merit, but every now and then something catches my eye and piques my interest. So at the recent ISHRS meeting in Boston, I was shown a refined instrument called Haircheck that was presented to measure hair bulk… and I was quite impressed.

Over the past 18 years, I have assessed the thinning process with video magnification using a patented device where I could see the hair shafts, visually compare them and measure the density of the donor hair. Now with this Haircheck device, I can actually measure the bulk of the hair in the impacted areas and compare it not only to the permanent hair, but also to previous measurements made during past visits.

When you undergo balding, one thing always occurs — the impacted hair loses its bulk (the hair shaft diameter becomes thinner and thinner over time). Eventually this thinning leads to balding. The use of drugs like finasteride seems to reduce the miniaturization (thinning) process, and if there is a positive impact on hair bulk by blocking DHT, it will clearly show up in these studies. For those patients who continuously ask about saw palmetto or other supposed hair loss treatments, the value could clearly be defined with this technology.

I fully recommend to every person that believes they’re losing hair to get a Haircheck examination in an office near them. I’m not sure which other clinics offer it, but we will be offering this service to our patients who believe that their hair is thinning. If you’d like to setup an appointment for a consultation, please call 800-NEW-HAIR or 310-553-9113.

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Hair used to sew facial wounds

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/885777?src=WNL_trdalrt_171017_MSCPEDIT&uac=209383MV&jobid=1458470&faf=1

Here is an interesting article that discusses the use of hair as a suture that is easily available on the person’s own head. You can use the hair if you find yourself in the woods needing suturing but don’t forget cleanliness and sterile conditions

 

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Hair Washing and Hair Loss

I’m a 36 year old male with no visible hair loss…..yet. For around 6-8 months now I’ve been following a very lax hair washing routine. I had a girlfriend who had adopted the wash less routine in an attempt to achieve healthier looking locks. Apparently her stylist told her it was the latest trend. She used dry shampoo powder and only washed once a week. At the time I thought it seemed perfectly logical so I too adopted the routine. After we broke up I carried on with the same hair hygiene but with less dry shampoo washing and more and more infrequent regular washing. For the last 4 months I’ve been going on average between 7 and 12 days without a shampoo. It gets greasy and a little itchy but I often wear a hat so aesthetically it doesn’t look bad. Recently my new girlfriend noticed that my head “stank“. When I told her that I was on this infrequent washing trend she told me that it was a terrible idea and that it was proven that non-washing leads to hair loss. Of course I was freaked out and started doing some research on in. The internet is awash in conflicting information but it seems that some doctors believe that sebum build-up can have a negative impact on hair growth and that it can even plug follicles and cause permanent hair loss. On top of that, non-washing is known to cause bacteria growth, inflammation and irritation, which in turn leads to hair loss. Oh, and there’s the old “wearing a hat” thing as well. Now I’m confused and becoming convinced I’m either showing signs of thinning or have done damage to my hair that will manifest itself in hair loss later down the road. As of now my only signs of negative impact are a dry flaky scalp, plus some itching and irritation. Your professional opinion on this whole infrequent hair washing thing would be greatly appreciated. Thank-you.

stinky hair

You do not need a professional opinion.

If you want to keep your current girlfriend, consider maintaining clean hygiene and washing your “stinky” hair.

The frequency of hair washing has nothing to do with genetic male pattern balding.
Bacteria and fungal infection from poor hygiene can cause hair loss.

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HairCheck vs Miniaturization Mapping

Hello Doctor Rassman,

first of all thanks for your website and for all the precious information!

I have a question related to the haircheck methodology (re. a post on Aug. 8, 2011). Is the haircheck methodology related to miniaturization or is it a different methodology? I.e., would haircheck reveal an early stage of miniaturization, which would not be usually seen with the traditional magnifying camera that you and Dr. Pak use when visiting patients? I ask this because, when doctor Pak visited me in San Jose 2 months ago, he said that at 30y I don’t have any sign of miniaturization, but I still have the “impression” that the hair on the top of my hair has lost volume over the last year. Maybe just a little paranoia :-)?

Keep up the great work!

Best regards

I discussed your case with Dr Pak and he remembers you well. You have absolutely no sign of balding. There was less than 10% of miniaturized hairs all over your scalp. There was no balding pattern identifiable. If you would like, you can send us a photo and permission for us to post it. You are 30 years old with a Norwood 2 hairline.

You are one of those people who had so much hair when you were younger, that you probably never saw the skin on your scalp. As you aged, you probably had some thinning (not balding), and when your hair was cut short and you were under bright lights, the whites of your scalp could be seen. It was the perfect storm.

The bulk measurement can be used to assess the VOLUME of hair at certain areas (top or crown) of your scalp and make a relative comparison of that value to the measurement from the back (donor) area of your scalp. This test cannot be done if you have lots of product (gel, mouse, pomade, hair spray) on your hair, as it will add to the bulk, nor can it be done if you have very short hair, because we need to grab a section of your hair in each area of the scalp. The bulk measurement is like counting the number of hairs in a certain area (density) and multiplying it by the cross section area of each hairs.

The miniaturization mapping measurement can be used to assess the condition and distribution of miniaturized hairs around certain areas of your scalp. The proportion of miniaturized hairs to non-miniaturized hairs can be compared to your own donor hair to see if there a pattern to the miniaturization (thinning). In your particular case, you had absolutely no miniaturization all over your scalp.

By the way, thank you for the bottle of wine!


2011-08-11 17:37:59HairCheck vs Miniaturization Mapping

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I Had a Hair Transplant One Year Ago and Picked off My Scabs After About 7 Days.

The crusts that you had clearly must have pulled out your grafts during their critical period when they were being secured in their recipient sites. If the crusting remains, the grafts are not secure for up to 12 days after the surgery and any attempts to pick off the crusts have the risk of pulling out the grafts, including the growth centers. See our article on this, which explains this risk here: https://baldingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/mp-2006-graft-anchoring.pdf.


2018-12-01 08:39:08I Had a Hair Transplant One Year Ago and Picked off My Scabs After About 7 Days.