Age – Page 11 – Balding Blog

April 13, 2011

Why Was My Daughter Born with a Large Bald Spot? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My now 2 year old daughter was presented at birth with a large bald spot on her scalp (from the frontal part to the vertex part) its about 2-3 in long and 1.5 in wide. plz help I dont know what treatment to decide since I dont even know exactly what kind of congenital defect/disorder of the scalp/hair it is

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There are multiple possible causes for this, but there is little information supplied. Most bald spots are acquired, unlike your daughter’s situation. Bald spots in children can be treated with a variety of modalities, including hair transplantation and balloon expanders. These expanders work best when the bald spots are large (like what you described with your daughter).

The best age to treat the child needs to be discussed with the surgeons that have the experience. Generally, that will be a special type of plastic surgeon who can do expanders if the bald area is very large. I don’t have any personally recommendations on the east coast (where you indicated you’re from), but if you’d like I can ask some of my colleagues in that area if they can recommend someone.

April 12, 2011

Is Mold in the Basement Causing Our Family to Lose Hair? – Balding Blog

I moved into a house two years ago and noticed some mold in the basement. Over the past two years, I have been losing hair and I have seen hair loss in my children. Could the mold be responsible for the hair loss we are observing?

Yes, molds have been responsible for hair loss. Some molds are less toxic than others, but still could be causing your thinning hair. I would suspect that this is the cause, because if hair loss is impacting you and your children, that suggests an environmental cause. It’s really not that uncommon.

See a good dermatologist and ask about it.

April 6, 2011

I’m 19 and My Temple Points Are Gone! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m a 19 year old male and just recently I discovered my temple points are almost completely gone on both sides. Other than that, I have complete full head of hair. Is thinning in that area necessarily an indicator of future male pattern baldness or is it just something that happens with age? Thank You

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This may be a forerunner of more advanced balding, because temple peaks disappearing isn’t typical maturation. What does your family line show?

I would want to examine your hair. During the examination, I would want to do a hair bulk analysis to see if you are correct in that there is no balding or thinning present at this time.

March 14, 2011

Study – Hair Care in African American Girls – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the study abstract:

BACKGROUND: Few studies have extensively examined the prevalence of hair care practices and their association with scalp and hair conditions in African American girls.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the prevalence of hair care practices and their association with traction alopecia, seborrheic dermatitis (SD), and tinea capitis (TC).

METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to caregivers of African American girls aged 1 to 15 years. Multivariate analyses were performed to determine the association of hair care practices with reported disorders.

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Cornrows Read the rest — Hair care practices and their association with scalp and hair disorders in African American girls.

201 surveys were sent out to caregivers of African American girls aged 1 to 15 years to look for links between traction alopecia, ringworm, and seborrheic dermatitis. Almost all of the respondents used oil/grease in the hair, and a substantial number used ponytails, braids, or cornrows. The results were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

The study concluded: “Certain hair care practices were strongly associated with development of traction alopecia and SD.” The situation of traction alopecia in women of African decent is epidemic in Western society. Many, many women have ruined their hair and developed significant balding from the various ways they went about managing their kinky hair.

February 28, 2011

Hair Loss InformationI’m 16 Years Old and My Doctor Prescribed Propecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr.Rassman,I am currently a 16 year old male who has hair loss for the past 5 months now. At first, we thought it was dermatitis, but nothing worked. A few days ago, my doctor said that if he was in my position, he would start using propecia, which I have started yesterday.

However, i’m truly not concerned about the side effect ( like you said, all medications have side effects and the ones in propecia are rare). What I am concerned about is the fact im taking it at 16. I know that it says Propecia hasn’t been tested in people under 18, but should I seriously use the treatment? What side effects can a person under 18 see that a person over 18 can’t? Thanks!

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You are right — Propecia has not been studied on young men under 18 years old. Puberty is the difference between those over 18 taking the medication and younger men like yourself. Here’s something I wrote a couple years ago about this very issue: Can Propecia Stunt Growth?

First and foremost, you need to have a good diagnosis of male pattern baldness (MPB). Is this what you were diagnosed with? The decision to take a medication rests solely with your and your doctor… though as you are under 18, you’ll also need parental approval.

The other day, I met with a man in his early 20s who felt that he was following the genetic hair loss history in his family. I performed a bulk analysis and a complete miniaturization study and concluded that he is not undergoing any hair loss at this time. I strongly suggested based upon the metrics I established that he NOT take Propecia, and have me follow up with him every year to be sure that he does not pick up the family trait.

February 14, 2011

Should I Have a Transplant Now Even Though My Left Side Hasn’t Receded? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’m 22 and have planned a hair transplant to fill in my temporal recession. One of my concerns though is that my right temple has receded further than my left temple, however, I assume over time my left temple will eventually recede as well. Right now the hairs on my left temple are definitely thinner and weaker than my other hairs.

In doing a hair transplant should I wait until these hairs recede or can I still have a transplant now? I don’t know have any notice hair loss except around my temples and thinning above my forelocks

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A quick fix is never the answer, and at such a young age a hair transplant can accelerate more hair loss. You should see a hair transplant doctor to get his/her opinion. I’m certainly not suggesting you have the surgery right now, but your doctor should come up with a Master Plan for treating your loss.

Remember, genetic hair loss is progressive — so treating a minor issue now could result in those grafts not being available if you continue to thin elsewhere.

February 14, 2011

Teen with Very Stressful Situations is Suddenly Losing Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Recently my mother has noticed that my hair has thinned considerably. Over the past year I have undergone dental bone graft surgery, from which I swelled considerably and received a high fever of 102. My grandfather died, followed by my dog the following week. I have also had a large amount of stress do the the ever increasing pressure of school.

I am an 18 year old male from a family with no history of early male pattern baldness. The patterns of hair loss on my head do not seem to be of any consistent pattern. About two weeks ago I visited my dermatologist who proceeded to pull a few hair out of my head and quickly diagnose me with early male pattern balding. The more that I read on the internet I am starting to believe that I have a case of telogen effluvium, as I have had this sudden onset of hair loss following a period that seemed like my hair was not growing at all. My hair has always been thick and healthy. I am starting to become obsessed with my appearance and was wondering what, if any, of your opinions may be on this type of hair loss. Thank You

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Maybe you need to talk to a counselor.

Hair loss is not the problem you should be concerned with right now. You’ve had a lot going on and you need to manage your stress. If you indeed have telogen effluvium, your hair will come back in 6 to 12 months. Good luck.

February 3, 2011

Could the Donor Scar Become Visible from Senile Alopecia? – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. R and all.

Thank you for your blog, I’m sure everyone would agree with me that it’s a venerable resource. With regard to strip surgery in a typical male who is losing hair to a NW5 pattern at 40 years of age (eg. William Hurt like) when would you anticipate the donor scar to become potentially visible due to senile alopecia?

Elderly The reason why hair transplants work in men is because men don’t usually bald in the donor area (back of scalp). And since men don’t bald in the back of the scalp, the scar from strip surgery isn’t shown.

Senile alopecia does NOT occur in all men. It is a rare entity where the hair thins considerably in the elderly. If you end up with senile alopecia in the donor area, I suspect the donor scar will still be well hidden, because you likely wouldn’t bald completely and the donor scar is very minimal. Of course, this depends on how this area thins out.

We must all look at the pros and cons of anything we do in life. Having a hair transplant surgery is a great option for balding men. The donor scarring, possible senile alopecia, or even balding from chemotherapy is something to think about, but in most men the benefits outweigh the risks. The other option is do nothing. It is like staying home locked up on a perfectly sunny beautiful day because you are afraid it may rain (despite a beautiful forecast).

January 31, 2011

Hair Loss InformationDid Finasteride Stabilize Dr Rassman’s Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi.

I seem to recall reading a message of yours where in a reply to a reader you mentioned that you personally discontinued your usage of finasteride. You felt it had stabilized your hair loss.

What confused me is that you seemed to imply finasteride stabilized your hair loss and you could thusly stop treatment. (or at least chose to and wasn’t any worse for it). It was my understanding that hair-loss will always resume once treatment is discontinued. Is this not true? Or did I misunderstand your message?

Thanks.

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Senior You’re right that once you discontinue Propecia (finasteride 1mg) treatment, your hair loss resumes. For me though, since I originally had crown loss, I tried finasteride to see if I could increase the hair in the crown. At that point, my crown was clearly stable and I did not gain anything from the finasteride.

Considering that I was about 60 years old when I started taking the drug, I probably had as much hair loss as I could expect for my age. There are advantages of being a senior besides discounts in the movie theaters and on public buses. I hope that clears up any confusion!

December 27, 2010

Hair Loss InformationCan Stress Cause a Child’s Hair to Stop Growing? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My 4 year old has blonde hair and in the last year I have noticed that the hair on her left side has seemed to stop growing. It appears to have a different texture and feel to it and i often notice in the morning after she sleeps that it is pushed forward, but it doesn’t seem to go back easily. On that side of her head she seems to have more broken ends and shorter pieces. Is this a concern? In the last year and half we have moved and she had a brother born with a Congenital heart defect with a lot of needs in the beginning of his life, could it be stress?

Thanks

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I would not look at stress as the cause of your daughter’s hair loss/abnormal hair growth. See a good doctor, possibly a pediatric dermatologist if you are in a big city where such a specialty may be found.