Yesterday I had a visitor from Saudi Arabia, a well known woman who is actively involved in the womens’ rights movement. She was sent to see me for thinning hair by a former patient I did some 10 years earlier. She came with a message for me, “Tell Dr. Rassman that for the past 10 years, I have been enjoying the hair that he gave me more than I would have ever expected”.
This message epitomizes what I experience every day, a sense of worth communicated by heartfelt patient appreciation.
In your July 21st blog entry, you clearly mention that all steroids are bad – both for your body and toward precipitating hair loss. However, specifically what about topical corticosteroids, such as Luxiq? Last year, my dermatologist diagnosed me with seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp and proscribed me Luxiq to take pretty much indefinitely. Could this drug worsen my hair loss? I’m very concerned that I may be doing something that is speeding up my rate of hair loss! Please respond.
Steroids cause hair loss. I personally do not recommend daily or twice daily use of steroids for seborrheic dermatitis. Occasional use one or two treatments a week may not impact hair loss but it should be used sparingly.
Are all generic 5% minoxidil “exactly the same” as the branded 5% Rogaine and Regaine minoxidl and there is no pharmacological difference between them at all? Or for that matter any generic 5% minoxidil that is sold on pharmacy shelves in the general market place?
What I mean by that is if I were to use the generic 5% minoxidil it should just be as effective as the branded Rogaine/Regaine when applied to my scalp in treating my male pattern hair loss? The branded and trusted Rogaine/Regaine should not be more effective in growing more hairs than the generic.? They should be the same. But are they?
Could you reassure me they are all exactly the same so I can purchase the more cheaper generic versions ones and not worry about their pharmacological effectiveness if they are just as good as the label says they are?
I found these chemist sites selling cheap versions as follows:
– Kirkland minoxidil 5% FOR MEN 3 x 60ml Bottles (3 Month Supply) $33.75 –
– Minoxidil 5% 2 x 60mL for $31.99Will these suffice? Can I buy these instead of the more expensive Rogaine/Regaine and hope they work just as well as I am on a shoestring budget at the moment? I hope you help me out with my enquiry.
The FDA monitors this, not me. When I know a company is legit, like Kirkland (the Costco house brand), I want to believe that it is the same minoxidil as found in Rogaine… but I do not know much more than you do. The confidence in a medication over the counter may be worth a premium, but you will have to determine this. I suppose you can also rely on the labels to see ingredients.
Dear Dr Rassman,
I am a 24 yo male who has experienced hair loss in the frontal region and am told that i am a Norwood type 4. I went to see a surgeon/dr in Australia. He told me that the best treatment was to have one large megasession and that he would use 2500 grafts on the frontal region. I am curious as to know whether this is an extreme amount in that region and your feelings on megasessions. I was also wondering that given my age how many sessions in my lifetime will i need and how frequently do people my age have to have more done. If i had a megasession would there be enough hair in my donor area if i did suffer more hair loss. Is there any way of doing a procedure, where you have existing hair, to transplant it to that area to prevent it if it was to fall out. Does one procedure in people’s liftime exist if they stay on propecia (which I am on, and doesn’t seem to be working that well).Sorry for so many questions Dr Rassman. Thank you very much for your time.
For a Norwood 4A balding pattern, 2500 grafts in a single session sounds like a reasonable number that might meet all of your needs, depending how large the area is. Most people have about 6,000-8,000 grafts available in their donor area, but the actual number may vary. That is why we measure everyone’s density to determine a Master Plan for the worse case scenario of hair loss. Your age is a bit young, but if the pattern of loss is relatively complete and did not reverse after taking Propecia on a trial basis for 8 months, then a transplant could be reasonably done. Hopefully with Propecia that is consistently taken, the hair loss will at least slow or stop, stalling any need for further transplants for some time. Provided that you keep the work done to the frontal area, there is little worry about running out of donor hair for most people. I would discourage work in the crown at your age.
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I was prosribed propecia two months ago to have every other day. My hairloss already seems to be beginning to stabilize over this short time. Hopefully I might get some regrowth in the coming months! I was told the 5 alpha reductase reduction with propecia is still just as effective as if I was taking it every day. However I have read elsewhere that you need to take it every day. While I don’t doubt the advice of my medical professional, I have read here, and elsewhere that I need to take it every day to get maximum benefit. Are there two schools of thought as to the appropriate dosage? Or is it that, as the onset of my MBP is very recent my medical advisor is of the view that I would get an effective response on a less frequent dosage. He claims to have many patients who get a good response taking propecial every other day. Thanks for your help
The recommended Propecia dosage is one tablet once a day.
Some doctors may prescribe half a tablet once a day or one tablet every other day, however these are not the official recommended dosages. One reason is that official clinical research has found that the once a day dosing gave the maximum benefit from male pattern hair loss. Another more important reason is that the half life (the time it takes for half of the drug to be eliminated by the body) is only 5 to 6 hours. So theoretically on the days you do not take Propecia, your thinning hair will have no benefit from the drug. You should always follow the advice of your primary doctor and discuss these concerns with him or her, especially before stopping or changing any drug regimen.
Hello Dr. Rassman,
I am a 25-year-old male and I have been noticing a rapid thinning and recession for about a year now. 3 years ago I got on propecia cause I was shedding real badly. I stayed on it for a year, noticing less shedding and darker hair but that was it. I got off of it cause I thought it wasn’t doing much. Then I started to notice miniaturization forming at the front of my head. My family (both sides) has thick hair, really thick hair.
Fast forward to now and my entire front to mid scalp is miniaturized (looks like a thin doll hair forest) and I am continuing to recede. I tried starting up Propecia again; for 5 months a year ago but stopped cause I felt like maybe it was the cause of this thinning. This is also the time that I was diagnosed for Prostisitis and Epiditymitis. I still have prostititus and it’s been about nine months. I am also continuously shedding except now they are very fine hairs, most of them have bulbs on the end and my hair feels very brittle and dry all the time (even after conditioner)
What I do notice when with the receding line is that before I loose the hair and it goes further back, I get red bumps, kind of like pimples, they are really itchy I noticed it back when I first started receding 5 years ago. They usually cover the entire line then once I recede past, no bumps and the skin is fine. I have these little bumps all over my head and they itch and burn really bad. Almost like ant bites. (The bumps were also there while I was on Propecia). Do you think I have an allergic reaction to something? Can allergies cause hair loss and miniaturization? Or can it be the prostisitis causing something? Or the propecia?
Please note: I have been tested for STD’s, irregular kidneys, regular blood tests, urinalysis, testosterone levels, thyroid problems. They all came back negative. I’ve talked to one dermatologist and he said I might be allergic to dairy. But I have been drinking it all my life. Any type of info would be helpful at this point.
Thanks
Your case is not simple and one would want to know far more about you than this summary will allow. The most common cause of hair loss in men is genetic male pattern baldness, and while anything is possible, it is not too likely that allergies are causing your miniaturization (especially if you are thinning in the typical male pattern). If you think there’s a dairy allergy that suddenly came on as an adult, then avoid dairy and see if your hair grows back or hair loss stops. My guess is that it won’t make a difference to your scalp though.
Starting and stopping the Propecia means that you are acting like your own doctor. Stopping that drug will kick start the hair loss again and restarting it again may do less good each and every time that you make a change. The red bumps you describe on your head just confuses me more, as I can not put it all together. You should seek out a second opinion from another dermatologist in your area and have him/her examine those itchy bumps on your scalp.
2009-03-03 14:35:342009-02-26 11:16:01Are Allergies Causing My Miniaturization?
I can’t tell you that balding men are more likely to get divorced, but I can tell you that when divorce occurs, many men seek a hair transplant because they want to start dating and look younger. Hair makes a man look younger.
Thanks for answer, I make this question due the tons of speculations ive heard about back/chest acne related with male pattern baldness, does exist any relation between them?
None that I’m aware of. Where are you hearing this stuff? Acne on your chest or back is unrelated to male pattern baldness.
I used to be able to grow a full beard. Now there are patches over my face where absoultely no hair grows. Is this related to monoxidil use on my head? Or could this be from something
else?
No, it is likely from something unrelated. Minoxidil on the scalp does not cause you to lose hair elsewhere on your body.
