Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Can I Make My Own Topical Finasteride?

I have finasteride 5mg pills. I crushed up the pill until it was very fine powder. I put it in an empty bottle of Minoxidil. I added 5ml of Minoxidil. Shook up the contents My intention is to shake up this mixture prior to applying and apply 1ML of this mixture a day via the Minox dropper. Thus this mixture should last 5 days Am i missing something here or is this sound?
The finasteride will not absorb into the skin and be effective the way you are using it. The real topical finasteride has a liposomal base that allows skin absorption. That is why you pay good money to a compounding pharmacist.


2019-11-05 10:17:16Can I Make My Own Topical Finasteride?

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Can I Predict How Fast I’ll Lose Hair Even If I’m Already Taking Finasteride?

I am 25 (almost 26) and I am starting to notice some hair loss. I have been using generic finasteride…5 mg…and I cut it into 4 pieces to take once a day. I’ve been using it for a couple years now. I also use Rogaine (the foam), though sometimes I forget to put the rogaine on.

I have noticed on this board that you mention finasteride will “eventually stop working” and there is really nothing I can do about it. Is there any way to further slow the growth down? I was thinking of upping my dosage to 2-3 mg a day of finasteride. Will this work? Am I doing myself a disservice by using the generic brand instead of Proscar?

Also, is there any way to predict exactly how much hair I will lose, and how fast?

Thanks!

Finasteride does not stop working, but your hair loss can continue while you are taking it. Some people report a noticeable decline in the benefits they saw from Propecia after the 5 year mark or so, but that just means your body is winning the tug of war over genetic balding. If you stop the medication at that point, you will see even further, faster loss (which is what I refer to as “catch-up” hair loss). Finasteride slows hair loss in men, but does not necessarily stop it. I wouldn’t up the dosage without first consulting your prescribing physician. The higher the dose, the greater the side effect risk.

To my knowledge, there should be no difference between the generic finasteride 5mg pills cut into quarters from the 1mg Propecia pill. It’s the same drug, afterall… just different dosages.

There is no way to predict exactly what your hair loss pattern will be or when you’ll get to it. You can get a good idea by mapping your scalp for miniaturization, and then mapping it again in 6-12 months to see the progression (if any). An educated guess could give you some clues at that point, but it’s not an exact science.


2009-04-21 22:58:34Can I Predict How Fast I’ll Lose Hair Even If I’m Already Taking Finasteride?

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Can I Prevent Hair Loss Following Giving Birth?

I am 25 years old, had a baby in 6 months ago, and since lost about 30 pounds. My scalp is also itchy. I know with pregnancy and weight loss you can lose hair. I am just wondering if it is reversible or what I can do to stop my hair from falling out before it is too late.

You must wait it out, at least a year. Hair loss often returns by then, especially if you are not breast feeding. There really isn’t any way I know of to prevent it, as there are many hormonal changes occurring that cause this telogen effluvium.


2013-06-18 18:09:00Can I Prevent Hair Loss Following Giving Birth?

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Can I Prevent Stress Hair Loss?

I am going through a divorce and heard that stress can cause hair loss but it will probably grow back when the stress subsides. Is this true? Is there anything that can be taken to prevent this?

Some people do lose hair all over the scalp due to extreme stress, but there’s no pill to take to treat or prevent this. Stress management is an art and a science. You should contact your family doctor if you believe that your stress is impacting you with hair loss.


2010-05-21 10:45:31Can I Prevent Stress Hair Loss?

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Can I Really Trust My Surgeon?

I recently had a hair transplant and I can tell that the grafted skin is clearly visible in only one particular area (I keep the hair extremely short). All other grafted areas are perfect. The difference is night and day. Can the surgeon tell if there will be a mark in one spot by inspecting the grafted areas during surgery? What causes one grafted area of skin to be visible and not all others? Could it be that the incision wasn’t deep enough…making the grafts not go in far enough and stand out a bit resulting in bumpy grafts? I hope you can answer because I am concerned about returning. I need to know if I can really trust the surgeon. Maybe I made him angry?

It is difficult to understand why you would have surgery without being able to trust him/her. Afterall, they are cutting you open. You really do need that trust. Furthermore, I cannot stress the importance that the relationship between a doctor and yourself should be a partnership and one of mutual respect. Your surgeon should be able to address any and all of your concerns before and after surgery without any reservations. I understand that it may not be a perfect world, but I would recommend that you speak with your surgeon first.

With respect to your particular situation, it is virtually impossible to know what was done and what the plan in your surgery was without examining you or asking your surgeon/and yourself the pre-operative plans and expectations. The ability to see the transplanted skin in the graft could be caused by many factors, including the deployment of minigrafts rather than follicular units, placing the grafts too deep or too superficial, angular placement that is inconsistent, inadequate trimming of the grafts when they were harvested, etc…

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Can I Restart Using Rogaine to Regain Lost Hairs?

Hello, I’m a 21 year old male who started using Rogaine at the age of 19. I was worried I was losing my hair because it is very prevalent in my mom’s family. After using Rogaine for over two years I decided to stop because of the irritation it was causing on my scalp. I stopped late last January and for the first three months I did not notice my hair count change at all, but in about the past three weeks my hair has been falling out by the handfulls. If this continues much longer I may be left with no hair at all. I have been using Rogaine again now for about a week and will continue, but do you think I will be able to get back in the large amount of hair I lost that was apparently dependent on Rogaine? Will reintroducing Rogaine to the follicles bring my hair back to what it was? thank you!

The only two FDA approved products approved for male pattern hair loss are topical minoxidil (Rogaine) and oral finasteride (Propecia). They both have limitations and work primarily by slowing hair loss than growing new hair. Only a small minority of men with genetic hair loss will experience great amounts of hair regrowth with minoxidil, while Propecia will show more predictable results in someone of your age. In your case, your genetic destiny may be catching up to you. It is doubtful that restarting Rogaine will regrow your hair, but Propecia, on the other hand, may reverse recent hair loss. Both drugs may slow the process of hair loss, but if you are genetically balding, Propecia attacks the cause of the hair loss and therefore is far superior. Get your diagnosis by mapping out your hair for miniaturization and with good measurement, you will be smarter about what is causing your hair loss and what benefits you may or may not get from doing whatever you choose to do.


2006-05-22 09:47:57Can I Restart Using Rogaine to Regain Lost Hairs?

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Can I Stop Being Bald Like My Father?

I am 24 years old and now have advanced my balding to include the front and the crown. I don’t want to be bald like my dad who is probably has a Class 6 pattern of balding. He said he got most of it when by the time he was 35. What if I started taking Propecia when I was 18, would that have preserved my hair?

That is a great question. Most advanced balding pattern patients have their pattern established in their 20s. Despite that almost 20 years that Propecia has been on the market, we really do not know if the progression could have been stopped had you taken the drug when you were 18. There would have had to be controlled clinical trials where one group who had advanced balding in their families were put on Propecia and the other group not. In that situation, we would know the answer to your question, but no such study has ever been done.

I suspect, however, that had you taken the medication when you were 18, you would have slowed down the progression of the balding and most of such young men in the 18 year old bracket, would not develop their final balding pattern for many years. i doubt that the final pattern would have been thwarted, but for such men, delaying into their 30s could give them the benefits for possibly another decade of so. We will probably never really know the answer, but for many men who I placed on finasteride (Propecia) I have seen the process slow, stop or occasionally reverse. Better to do it than not to take the drug if you are one of these 18 year old men. At 24, it can’t hurt and probably will help.

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Can I Shave My Head Bald After FUE?

Well I am black male and currently shave bald. I want to continue to shave bald. I am thinking of FUE to give me some hair in a thinning area. I have few questions: What does the donor area look like when you shave bald after FUE, does it show scarring? I mean razor bald like MJ. Is it worth doing?

I’m confused as to why you’d want a hair transplant only to shave your head bald. All wounds to the scalp will cause some scarring. With FUE, the scars are tiny dots, instead of a straight line scar like that of the strip transplant and they may have a white color to it that would show up after healing an FUE donor area. With dark skin, that might be a problem and one way to tell that is to have a test FUE session done of just 2-4 grafts and assess the healing at 3 months. These tiny scars allow you to keep your hair very short without noticeable scarring if the whitish scar does not appear, but that being said, completely shaving your head may make these scars visible. Again, a test is worth a try.


2008-11-05 12:45:37Can I Shave My Head Bald After FUE?

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Can I Start Propecia Now or Should I Wait for My Scalp Infection to Go Away First?

Dr. Rassman,
Ive had a skin infection for about a yr on my scalp. Ive been on many prescription meds like Ketoconazole, Selenium Sulfide, Salicylic Acid and Clobetasol. Ive gone through symptoms from heavy irritation, flaking peeling of oily skin on the scalp and hair-loss, scaling, buildup, dead skin-white buildup. Lately I primarily have inflammation and buildup but it is very little and very tiny and very thin flaking during combing when scalp is dry. I’m concerned about my hairloss, thinning, shortening-Its noticeable now and continues to progress from the hair line to about 1 inch inward but is not perfectly symmetrical. Most of the hairs that fall out are with the bulb attached and I do notice very tiny hairs remaining at my previous hairline. The only thing that gives me relief is clobetasol, because I still have lots of irritation/inflammation which Ive been taking for 2 months with 6% salycilic Acid. Is it a good idea to start Propecia or should I wait for the scalp infection to go away? I took a blood test that came back Normal. Thanks

Sounds like you have a major hair/dermatological problem. These medications (like the clobetasol) are heavy duty stuff. I can only guess at your diagnosis. Taking Propecia (finasteride 1mg) will not hurt and might protect you from some of the ‘stress hair loss’ you are experiencing. I would check the use of Propecia with your doctor, but I suspect he/she would go along with it.


2008-05-29 14:20:19Can I Start Propecia Now or Should I Wait for My Scalp Infection to Go Away First?