Age – Page 42 – Balding Blog

September 12, 2006

Keeping Hair Past the Age of 30 – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman,

I read a while ago that if a male keeps most of his hair by the time he is thirty, he probably won’t go completely bald. It has something to do with testosterone levels. Is this true? If so, is it also true for individuals who keep theie hair by the use of Propecia or Minoxidil?

If you have not lost any hair or have any miniaturization of the hairs on your head by the time you are 30, then it is most probable that you will not lose it. The drugs you mentioned only slow down or reverse hair loss and they will not impact hair that is normal. Hair loss has more to do with DHT than testosterone, but if there is more testosterone, then there could be more DHT. Drugs like Propecia (finasteride), block the effect of DHT and it is the DHT that causes balding when the defective genes are in the person.

September 8, 2006

20 Year Old Thinning Heavily After Stopping Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Dr Rassman,

I am a 20 year old male and have had some hair thinning in the front for about half a year.. I started propecia and stayed on it for a about a month, my hair thinned out even more and side effects were not worth it. Now 2 months after stopping treatment my hair is shedding like crazy over 200 hairs a day and the hair feels brittle all over my head. I searched through your blog but havn’t seen anything about this issue in my age range. thanks

My blog is full of recommendations to get yourself diagnosed. You need to have your hair mapped out for miniaturization, as I have said 1000 times before (perhaps even more than that). If you do not know what is wrong with you, how can you treat it? The miniaturization map tells what is going on and that comes about before you treat it.

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August 29, 2006

Hair Loss InformationI’m a 79 Year Old Woman – Too Old For Hair Help? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

79 year old black female(mixed race) Balding began left, center, after age 37 uterine hysterectony. Rapid since 1992.Several maternal aunts became bald, none on maternal side. Used weaves and wigs. Prescribed Rogaine gave me full-mask headaches. Stopped after three days. I have chemical sensitivities. Hair Club for Men and Women product left rash from the glue. Their defective product,shed within four weeks($2,500 loss.) Retired teacher with limitd funds, but would like minimal coverage for the rest of my shortlife,if possible. Back to wigs,hot and unsatisfactory. Am I too old for any help?

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Unfortunately, women with extensive genetic hair loss are not candidates for hair transplants. Minoxidil (Rogaine) may work for women your age, but in your particular case it doesn’t sound like it is worth the side effects, especially with your sensitivities to chemicals.

August 28, 2006

I Have Thick Hair, But Not As Thick As 10 Years Ago – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman, I am a 43 year old musician and I am very lucky to have thick shoulder length hair. However, although still thick, it is certainly not as thick as it was 10 years ago, and I am beginning to notice some slight thinning at the crown and although my hairline is still low, some very slight thinning there too. My question is, should I use Rogaine preventatively? Is it better to start Rogaine at the very beginning of what might be a problem? Will I see benefits from Rogaine if my hair is still thick? Or at 43, have I likely escaped a serious hair loss problem and just take some vitamins or something? Thank you so much for your help.

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To me, thinning hair either represents a change in hair thickness (possibly aging) — something we see when a baby becomes a young child, and then often when a young man takes the turn into puberty -or localized miniaturization in the areas where you notice the hair being not quite as thick as it previously was. To make that diagnosis, as I have said before, you need to get your hair mapped out for miniaturization and then the microscopic analysis will be clear as to what you are seeing with your eyes. In men, miniaturization is best treated with finasteride (Propecia), not Rogaine (minoxidil) as the drug of first choice. I now have an office in Newport Beach, and since you indicated that you are in Orange County, why not get your hair mapped out and find out that is happening to you?

August 25, 2006

Taking Minoxidil at 15, Dermatologists, and Miniaturization – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hey Doc, once again your site is freakin awesome. I sent you mail a few weeks back, and you asked what I meant by recession at the sides. I’ve changed the mail I sent so I’m more clearer:

I am a 15 year old Indian male, and I recently discovered my receding hairline. For a week or so I thought it was a mature hairline since everyone in my family has one (noone is bald though). Anyway I went to see a dermatologist and she said it’s male pattern baldness because of the recession on the sides (on your miniaturization diagram at http://baldingblog.com/2006/08/04/miniaturization-2, the areas I have recession in are T1 on both left and right). She
prescribed Minoxidil 5 % for 12 months. I just wanted to know if you think I should take Minoxidil at such an early age or get another opinion. BTW, when I raise my eyebrows my last fold of skin is 3/4 inch away from my hairline. And the recession of my left and right sides are an inch away from my hairline.

Another question, I talked to my dermatologist about having my hair mapped out for miniaturization, and she had no idea of what I was talking about. Do all dermatologists have machines for minaturization or do I have to see someone else. THANK YOU for taking the time to answer my question…your site is more helpful than the dermatologist I visited.

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You may be experiencing the appearance of a maturing hair line. That would correspond to the “T1″ area in the diagram in Miniaturization: Critical to the Master Plan for Hair Loss. Minoxidil is therefore not appropriate for you.

With regard to the question about miniaturization, print out the reference article in the link above and show it to your doctor. In addition, I just wrote another piece worth reading, How Propecia Works on Hair and Why Miniaturization Mapping is Important.

August 25, 2006

Menopausal Woman Losing Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear DR. I’m suffering with great deal of hair loss, I’m a 53 yr old woman who is currently going through menopause, I went to my family Dr. and showed him the amount of hair that had fallen out of my head for 3days and he said it was way to much for menopause so he did some blood work on me and everthing came back ok. So I know its not my thyroid…. This happened about last yr as well, and I went to my hairdresser and he gave me some shampoo that seemed to help. But I haven’t had to use again until now..Why is my hair falling out like this? I also notice that even after washing my hair, if I sweat that my hair and scalp really smell bad. Please help if you can. Thanks

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The cause of hair loss in women is not as straight forward as it is in men who usually follow a specific male pattern balding. Over 50% of women going through change of life homone fluctuations experience significant hair loss. All women need to be medically evaluated for a variety of causes of hair loss reflecting medications that they take and conditions that are known to produce hair loss, best reviewed by your doctor. There are many potential causes of hair loss in women and most are not readily treatable. If the cause is genetic, treatments are not very effective. Minoxidil is one of the few drugs that work for some women.

If you have seen your primary care doctor and have ruled out medical causes of hair loss, you may want to have your scalp hair evaluated for a specific pattern of hair loss by getting a miniaturization study. I often sound like a broken record when I talk about miniaturization, but it may provide a clue or help monitor your hair loss/gain. With respect to menopause, it is often a contributing factor that may have started a cascade of events for your hair loss, which may be irreversible.

August 23, 2006

18 Year Old With White Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi, im an 18 year old male. I have thick hair and 40% of my hair are white. is there anyway to pervent white hair? its pretty embarrassing. My head starting itching a lot starting last year, dandruff exposes when i scratch my scalp. i started using scalpicin, but it only makes the itch go away for few hours. I seriously claw my head sometimes and feel like my head bleeds. ive been getting some pimples on the side of my head. i pop them sometimes to get rid of them. i take showers everyday, im healthy, i got short hair, i got smooth skin. i just have white hair, few pimples and late night scalp itch. What the hell is going on… im only 18.

The pimples may be the result of the ‘clawing’ you are doing. Breaking the skin makes you a set-up for folliculitis (which causes pimples). White hair is genetically controlled. I have seen many people turn white early in life. When that happens, hair dyes are the way to manage the process. Get a professional stylist who is skilled in this process and your gray will be washed away. It will require frequent applications to maintain the new color. There is no permanent solution to going gray or white prematurely. The frequency of dying depends upon the growth rate. The average person grows 1/2 inch per month and the roots of the gray new hair will start to show in a week or so. Then, once you understand the rate of growth the the ‘root showing’ issue, you can make up a schedule for repeat dying of the hair.

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August 22, 2006

Allergic Reaction to Hair Dye Causing Thinning in 15 Year Old? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Im am a 15 year old male and have noticed i’ve been losing my hair on a regular basis since i dyed my hair a year ago, i think i might have taken an alergic reaction but its been over a year and im still losing my hair. i do get paranoid and depressed about it as i have longish hair and that is one of my better qualitys. it is receding at the front and strangely the part above the ear doesnt grow in very well. i could really use an opinion either way just to settle my mind. thank you

There is no way to answer your question without examining you. Since there seems to be a one to one relationship between dying your hair and the hair loss, I suspect that the connection may be real and that some damage was done during the dying process. Was it done professionally? Can you go back to those that did it and ask them about it? Generally, good professionals who dye the hair usually know about mixture and concentrations that are safe. If you did it yourself, maybe it was not done safely. Tooooooo many questions that need to be answered here for this to be an ‘online’ interchange for producing value.

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August 21, 2006

20 Year Old Wants Suggestion Other Than Rogaine or Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hi , I had a question . I am vegetarian right and I just moved from india like couple of years ago , the first few years went fine but the things started getting worse like from previous year as i lost like 40% of my hair in like 8 months period and also my hair has started going thin and if it goes like this , I would be going bald in like next 4 months . I am just 20 right now and it all started last year so I am also too young to think about hair transplant . I have been to all the best clinics in toronto .. hairclub they all recommend propecia and rogiane n they told me about that but i am worried about taking them because i used rogaine for a while but it didnt work so If you could suggest me anythin. really it would be appreciated. thanks

At 20, the only drug I’d recommend that you take would be finasteride (Peopecia). In my opinion, if you don’t take it and it is genetic, you will be bald. Be sure that this is genetic balding and then get on that drug before it is too late. Take charge and start treatment now. Do I sound repetitive?

August 18, 2006

What Should a 23 Year Old Male with Norwood 4A Pattern Do? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Do you recommend that a 23 year old male with a receding hairline and visible thinning to the point of resembling a Norwood 4A should hold off on transplant options or begin preparing for treatment?

Assuming that you already started Propecia at least 8 months ago, then you need to see a good doctor to build a Master Plan. If you and the doctor hit it off and bond and he/she develop that plan, a hair transplant may be appropriate. I generally do not like to do surgery on 23 year olds, but I do violate my rule based upon the needs of my patient and the Master Plan that is built between us.

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