Author: Dr. William Rassman

Posted on

Miniaturized Hair All Over, But Same Hairline As When I Was 16

I have miniaturized thinning all over my head (top, sides, back, sideburns and facial/chin hair does not seem as thick either) which began about 2-3 years ago. At the same time my thinning began it was accompanied by depression, fatigue. I have been thinning with every growth cycle and feeling depressed, fatigued ever since until this day. I have had my thryoid tsh checked 3 times (TSH- 1st-1.98 2nd- 2.28, 3rd- 2.36) I had testosterone checked 3 times as well (1st- 320, 2nd- 385, 3rd- 360…… ref 250-850) LH hormone levels were all on the very very low side when checked w/ all 3 testosterone testes. I had ferritin checked 105 (ref 22-322) I had knee surgery about 4 months ago (left knee bone graph w/ arthroscopy). Is there anything that is causing my total hair thinning/follicle shrinkage? Is it possible to have shrinking follicles/ thinning diameter hair that is not MPB related? I have absolutely no balding, no recession at all, my hairline is the same as when I was 16! whats the matter with me? should I use minox or propecia? I once tried saw palmetto when I first noticed my thinning about 2 years ago and it gave me ED! so I know I would probably have a tough time using prop or fin! thank you

Simply put, you need a caring doctor and a good doctor/patient relationship. That is the start of surrounding your problem. There is no easy way to get this over the internet.


2006-08-16 08:56:08Miniaturized Hair All Over, But Same Hairline As When I Was 16

Posted on

Miniaturized Hair — Does it Mean the Hairs are Thinner or The Entire Head of Hair is Less Full?

You really spend a lot of time working on this site. So I’ll be brief.

On March 22nd 2007 you had a post of a man that was trying to keeping his hair full (Trying to Keep Looking Full). You stated that he had 50% miniaturization of his hair. Does 50% miniaturization mean that 50% of the hair on the crown of his head has miniaturized and 50% is normal? Or does that mean the hair strands themselves are 50% thinner then when he was younger?

Also, I just started 1/4 tablet of Finasteride two weeks ago. I’m almost 25 and my crown has started to miniaturize. I know it’s too early to see positive results. But is it too early to see shedding? I ask because I’ve noticed a few shorter hairs in my hand after I run gel through my hair. The hairs are about an inch or so shorter then the rest on my head.

Thanks!

Hair that is miniaturized comes in all sizes and the thinner it gets, the more advanced the miniaturization is. When hair miniaturizes, it often is less long as the hair growth slows down. More advanced miniaturization will stunt the hair growth almost completely, a stage before it falls out. This is why I near-constantly write about getting a good baseline on your miniaturization with a series of measurements so you know where you are starting from. This way you can see numbers and the visual effects of the hair loss process. I hope this clears up any possible confusion.

I’m assuming that when you say you’re taking 1/4 tablet of finasteride, you mean 1/4 of the 5mg finasteride (which is Proscar or generic Proscar). Otherwise, I do not understand why you are taking 1/4 pill of the 1mg finasteride Propecia pill. There is no reason to reduce your dose from the recommended 1mg hair loss treatment, unless you’re one of the unlucky few that are experiencing side effects.

Posted on

What do miniaturized hairs mean?

The picture on the left shows a high degree of miniaturization (12 miniaturized hairs and 41 normal hairs) with a ratio of 29% miniaturized hairs. The magic number is that miniaturization is present if the number of hairs exceed 20% of the total. The picture on the left shows just that. Miniaturization means that the hair is in some stage of being lose, going through Apoptosis (cell death) that is certainly a problem for this patient. The drug finasteride can reverse this on some patients. You can purchase a video microscope on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=video+microscope) for as low as $19. You can become your own doctor making your own diagnosis just by counting hairs as I have done here.

 

miniaturization 2

Posted on

Miniaturized hairs

What I’ve noticed: those miniaturized hairs (1) are terminal hairs but barely grow longer than 1 inch; (2) can be easily pulled out from roots by hand and will take even longer time to grow back; (3) the hair pulled out with roots mostly missed the white gooey stuff presented in healthy hairs.

Miniaturized hairs can easily be pulled out but be careful as they may not come back. They often do not grow in advanced stages of miniaturization


2020-12-07 10:09:07Miniaturized hairs

Posted on

Minoxidil 3 months (photo)

Topical Minoxidil seems to be able to restore the temple peaks in this man in just 3 months. It will only get better in time


2021-02-04 09:37:31Minoxidil 3 months (photo)

Posted on

Minimum Fees for Transplanting Hair Into a Small Facial Scar

Dear Dr.,
I recently emailed you about adding hair to a scar on my cheek. On your fee’s page I see that there is a minimum 3000$ fee. If I needed a lesser amount of grafts for this smaller procedure, would I still have to pay that 3k minimum?
Thanks

Yes. There is a $3000 minimum per procedure because other factors such as anesthesia, medication, post op medication, nursing staff, operating room, follow-up, and administrative costs must all be factored in. In other words, even if you have a 100 graft surgery or a 1000 graft surgery the set up and logistics and the orchestration of a surgery is still the same. On occasion, a modification of our minimum fee rule is made.


2007-08-13 11:34:04Minimum Fees for Transplanting Hair Into a Small Facial Scar

Posted on

Minoxidil 3 months (photo)

This is the type of thinning that minoxidil works best on, especially for females. The need for a full terminal (normal) hair is not critical for such a result as shown here. There additional hairs that you are looking at a fine small hairs, but the impact can only get better


2020-02-16 07:35:12Minoxidil 3 months (photo)

Posted on

Minoxidil 3 Months

These are my results after 3 months on Minoxidil. More specifically, The MinoxidilMax formulation version WITHOUT Propylene Glycol. I used the regular Kirkland brand minoxidil but after 5 months or so my scalp began to get extremely irritated and Itchy as HELL. By the end, my scalp was covered in acne sort of? They were like pimples or blisters but they wouldn’t pop no matter how hard i squeezed them. So it was most likely inflammation due to the irritation. I didnt get on Minoxidil for a cool 7 months after. Tried Kirkland brand again and the inflammation immediately came back within weeks. So I searched for one without PG(Propylene Glycol). The only one i could find was this one by MinoxidilMax. For anyone having the same issue, its called “Essengen-5 Fast Dry” and its sold on their website. They do ship within the United States and it arrives fairly quickly. I highly highly recommend it for anyone who is extremely sensitive to propylene glycol like I was.


2020-05-11 08:53:08Minoxidil 3 Months