Author: Dr. William Rassman

I have been on fin for 9 months and haven’t noticed any regrowth so I decided to add 1mm derma stamping about a month ago. Still haven’t seen anything. Are fin and micro-needling known to be successful together or is it just min and micro-needling that go well together? I really don’t want to start min cause I don’t want to have to apply it every day and I’m deathly scared of the initial shed. Any advice is appreciated!

The needles must go down at least 1 mm to get the stimulus from the microneedling as that is where the critical stem cells are located. They don’t have to go deeper than that. You should add minoxidil to the skin immediately before using microneedling. That, according to the literature I read, gives the best results. To deal with the pain, you can use a topical anesthetic from the pharmacy, leave it on for at least 15 minutes before using the microneedling and it should reduce the pain of the needles going through the skin.

Once a week to every ten days is the routine for microneedling. You just have to hold the pen against the skin and the instrument will take care of the depth as it cycles. The use of a Dr. Pen microneedling device at a depth of 1.5mm can produce considerable bleeding. You should probably reduce the needle depth to 1mm so that the bleeding will not be so great. There is another problem I see here, and that is the area you covered is the same area as your original juvenile hairline. The juvenile hairs in that old hairline are unlikely to come back. The area where you have receded, will more likely come back which reflects the transition to a mature hairline possibly with recession. That is within the area outlined by the blood. I would like to see a mature hairline drawn on your head and then see you microneedle that area. Read my article on hairlines that mature: https://newhair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/phenotype-article-published.pdf

Amazing response in this young man using finasteride, minoxidil and microneedling in a 7 week time-frame.

I got a HT 2 years ago, wondering if I can dermaroll/stamp in the area hairs we’re transplanted to (temples). I am hoping to thicken up the area some more. I don’t want to damage the hairs. Also planning to roll/stamp my scar to reduce the appearance. I am on both fin and min (oral).

Hair transplants often kick the stem cells for the hair in that area into what I think is a non-recoverable state.

This is the result from fresh microneedling that is done

Yes, it can be both bloody and painful. I am amazed how many men do this, but it seems to work far better than medications alone.

The name stands for Microinfusion of Skin Medications (by it’s acronym in portuguese). This technique is meant to use a device that combines the technique of microneedling (or micro-holes in the skin) with medication injection. What is injected is minoxidil, finasteride and growth factors. The treatment also includes LED light 15min before and 15min after the procedure. I also heard they use PRP. The duration of the procedure is approximately 1 hour. It is meant to be 1 session per month for 3 months, after which it will be spaced every 2-3 months until it reaches only 1 session per year.

Each session is approximately 100 dollars. They also prescribe lotions, shampoos and medications to induce hair growth. She posted a pic on her page of a guy with quite good results, but those were in the top on the head and not in the temples like me (NW1-NW2ish).

It sound believable to you? I guess that it seems possible as it uses medications that are proven to encourage hair loss while at the same time is not applied orally so side effects could be avoided to a degree. And as being injected I suppose that the effects of minoxidil could be increased. But off course, I’m not knowledgeable on the theme so I couldn’t tell. I’m from Peru. Thanks in advance.

The micro-needling with minoxidil has been shown to have value. Unless the finasteride is in a skin absorbable preparation like a liposomal compound, it will not work at all. The LED probably will not hurt but probably will not help either. Good luck.

Hello Doctor, may I ask if microneedling could induce hair regrowth in an area of the hairline that is completely bald?

I believe that it may be associated more with how long it has been bald there. If you are under 26 years of age, then the balding area might still have active stem cells but if you are 60, the stem cells might have died off by now.

What in your opinion would be the ideal needle depth and frequency? Every two weeks?

I am not an expert on microneedling; however, it makes sense that needle depth should be 1-1.5 mm to reach through the epidermis and impact the stem cells which are found high in the dermis. The frequency is purely an intellectual guess. I am seeing that many of the Reddit posters are doing it weekly which sounds ok to me. I am certain that once a hair cycle has passed, the growth from microneedling will be undone unless more microneedling is performed.