Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Could Restrictive Diet Have Caused Rapid Hair Loss?

I am a 19 year old male and since August of 06 I have lost a significant amount of hair due to shedding and maybe miniaturization (some hairs that fall out look much thinner than others). From about february 06 till august 06 i was on a very reduced calorie diet and lost about 80 pounds. I can’t help but think there is some connection between the weight loss and hair loss.

My first question is: could that restrictive diet have caused my early and rapid onset of hairloss? Also, I have currently been taking propecia for the last 2 months.

My second question is: will taking vitamins (which ever ones they say promote hair growth. ex.Vitamins B6 and biotin) along with propecia help promote new growth? or are vitamins ultimately uneffective against hairloss (assuming its MPB)?

Thanks for your time, and your site is by far the most informative i’ve found so far.

Nutritional deficiencies (or as you put it, restrictive diet) can cause hair loss. In addition, this may trigger a stress response and turn on a gene that may kick start your male pattern hair loss. Unfortunately, after the process has started it is difficult to stop the progression of hair loss.

In either case, you should have a balanced healthy diet. And if you are concerned about male pattern (genetic) hair loss, you should see a doctor to get the correct diagnosis. Propecia can only be prescribed by a doctor and even if it is readily available over the internet you should see a doctor for a correct diagnosis and appropriate follow up.

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Could SMP Be Used for Beards?

Thanks for the great website and all the effort you and the rest of the team put to answer questions on a regular basis.

My question is regarding SMP. Could the same method be used to artificially create a stubble for men with patchy facial hair? I understand that it is a permanent look, but could the technique (or something similar) be used on the face?

Thanks again for your time.

I guess it sounds like a reasonable thing to do when small bald spots exist in a beard and the patient does not want hair transplants. But you’re going to limit yourself to always having the same facial hair length forever, or you’ll have tattooed spots on your face. Having said that we have done a small size spot (1cm) for a former patient.


2012-06-20 15:29:03Could SMP Be Used for Beards?

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Could Someone Have Mixed Something Caustic and Dumped it On My Hair While I Slept?

(female)
Dear Doctors,

2 years ago i went to bed with a clean dry head and awoke to a greasy, wet head. My daughter also awoke to a greasy head. She had had a friend sleep over that night, and now after 2 years and 3/4 of my hair gone on the top of my head, and my daughter’s hair thinning greatly, all i can think of is that her friend mixed something caustic with oil and dumped it on our heads while we were sleeping. We are both losing the hair only on the crowns of our heads and not in the back. Is there something she could have put on our heads to do this to us?

Also, if by doing this she killed the hair follicles does that mean there is no chance of getting hair transplants…i know you are very busy but i would greatly appreciate it if one of you could take the time to answer my question. i am pretty desperate….thank you so much, sincerely

Your story is highly unusual. This sounds like a crime scene which may require some probing, interviews with the potential offender, etc. Yes, a hair transplant can probably solve the problem, but I would be very curious to know exactly what occurred first.

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Could SMP Cause Shock Loss?

Hello, I was hoping you could answer these two questions:

1. With the advent of the Scalp Micro-Pigmentation, have you had any patients experience “shock loss” following the procedure?
I’m seriously considering the procedure but am a bit wary that the trauma to the scalp caused by the needle will cause shock loss.

2. Drawing on your years of experience, have you noticed a certain threshold (or range) for transplanted grafts where a patient is more prone to experience shock loss?

i.e. Is a patient who receives 1500+ grafts in one session more susceptible to shock loss than a patient who has two transplant surgerys of 750 grafts each session, say, three or four months apart?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Best

We haven’t experienced “shock loss” per se in patients that had Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP). One or two patients did report some hair loss initially, but it was not significant to be noticed. The risk is probably in the use of the anesthesia, rather than the SMP.

Dr. Pak’s mother had SMP done and did report hair loss the first few days, but it was insignificant. She had her procedure six months ago and other than the initial few days of hair loss, everything else stabilized.

Patients experience shock hair loss when their hair loss is ACTIVE and dramatic to begin with. In general, shock hair loss is more of a factor in men in their early 20’s (actively losing hair) and those who are not on Propecia. Your doctor should be able to better assess your risks of shock loss to the benefits of a procedure. The number of grafts you receive in a session is probably not related to the degree of shock loss.

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Could SMP Damage Previously Transplanted Hair?

Dear Dr. Rassman,

I am interested in your new SMP process. I have had approximately 3000 grafts in the past and am running low on donor area.

My question is, will the SMP damage the hair that I have already had transplanted? The purpose of SMP in my case is to make the hair look thicker when it grows out.

The SMP (scalp micropigmentation) process works really well for this problem (low on donor hair), provided that you have enough hair to take advantage of the reduced contrast between scalp and skin color. SMP will not damage the previous hair transplants or any naturally growing hair that is present.

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Could SMP Fill In My Donor Scarring?

I have had some extensive hair surgery done, and it looks quite good. Still I have some scars from the 90’s transplant days and thinning in the crown. Could some SMP be done to fill in just the scars and in-between the grafts for illusion purposes? I’m afraid if I shaved it completely, there is just too much extensive donar scarring from before. I’m afraid I might be stuck at the mercy of Topik or Couvre, but the mess really is a hassle. Thanks!

If you look at our SMP site, you will see examples of what you are asking about. Micropigmentation is not as good as Toppik for thickening up areas in the crown the way you described your present problem, but if I examined you, I might be able to tell you what benefit you could get. Without examining you, I can’t guess what will happen with the pigment in the crown area where you presently have hair.

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Could Stress Cause a Bald Spot on the Side of My Head?

I am a 45 year old male and have had a bald spot on the right hand side of my head for about 4 weeks. There is no itching or discomfort, and its about the size of a 50p piece. I am a smoker and probably drink more than I should, my job is also quite stressful.

could you give me any advice please? thanks.

I cannot diagnose a bald spot without seeing you. In addition to stress, there could be many causes, such as a fungal infection, alopecia areata, etc…

I recommend that you see a dermatologist to diagnose the scalp condition you have.

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Could There Be Hair Multiplication News at the ISHRS Meeting?

For all of us desperately following the advances in hair multiplication, do you think that any information would be available before the ISHRS annual meeting (September)in Alaska if discovered or is that venue the most likely outlet for bringing advances to the public? (So I can stop my daily obsessive searches.)

While anything is possible, if a company had a big announcement to make (such as hair multiplication being available to the general public), I doubt they’d wait to announce it just for the ISHRS meeting. These companies are usually looking for financial investors or commercial interest, so it wouldn’t necessarily make sense to hold back any good news just for an annual meeting of doctors. Now if a physician had a presentation for the meeting, that’s a different story.

Though new information could and hopefully will come out from the meeting in Anchorage, I wouldn’t expect a new hair multiplication procedure to be announced as available to the public this year. I guess we’ll find out in September.

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Could the Video Microscope (for Miniaturization Mapping) Cause Hair Loss?

Do you think it’s possible the Celestron 44300 handheld digital microscope, that you recommend for mapping miniaturization can harm newly placed grafts on someone who just had a hair transplant? (Im mainly concerned with the LED illuminator, could that possible cause damage?)

I would doubt that the light from the hand held microscope will have any impact on the health of your hair.


2009-10-26 10:55:12Could the Video Microscope (for Miniaturization Mapping) Cause Hair Loss?

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Could Testosterone Replacement Therapy Cause Hair Loss?

Hello Doc,
I have recently been diagnosed with low testosterone levels and my doctor recommended that I start testosterone replacement therapy. Is it possible that once my testosterone levels reach “normal” or average levels that I will experience hair loss?

This is something you need to discuss with your doctor and express your concern to him/her. If you carry the genes for genetic androgenic alopecia (AGA) then testosterone replacement therapy can potentially cause hair loss.