Category: Age

Posted on

Young Daughter Lost Hair After Radiation to Brain Tumor – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’m hoping you can help us. When my daughter was 20 months old, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After numerous brain surgeries and chemo, we decided to have a bone marrow transplant just before her fourth birthday. Thankfully, this saved her life. She also had focal radiation to the tumor site – on the right side of her head – and unfortunately most of the hair on that quarter of her head did not grow back.

She has worn hair pieces since she has been five years old. We’ve talked to people about hair transplants in the past, but were told there was too much area to cover and also, that hair transplants do not work on the side of the head.

I’m wondering if this still holds true for this procedure. I could send you some photos so you could see the extent of the hair loss if you think that would help. Please let me know your thoughts.

Thank you

Most people with large defects are treated with balloon expanders, which stretch the normal scalp to cover the defective areas. There are a few doctors who are very skilled in this specialized technique and although I have assisted in this type of surgery, I would not consider myself at the lever of expertise needed. I have seen these expanders done in children, but every person and every situation is different. I would suggest that you send me photographs and I will forward them on to such a specialist. I have seen some miraculous results from this type of reconstructive surgery.

Usually, at the end of the expansion surgery, hair transplants are done to refine the work and cover remaining scars.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

My 2 Year Old Has Significant Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello,
I have a healthy 2 year old daughter who up until 8 weeks ago had a full head of hair. Now the front/top of her scalp is experiencing significant hairloss. There are no actual spots without hair (it is either breakage or regrowth). The dermatologist diagnosed her with seborraic dermitits, however upon reading, I’ve noticed that this is not common to cause hairloss. Neither sides of the family have any baldness. The dermatologist mentioned possible TE, but I’m finding it hard to believe that either TE or dermitits would cause this much hair loss in a child that previously had thick healthy hair. Do you think either of these conditions would possibly cause so much hair loss in a 2 year old? Thank you

I agree with you that I do not like the suggestion that this is seborrheic dermatitis. Speak with her pediatrician and get an another referral for a second opinion.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

Hair Loss InformationI’m a Late Bloomer – Is It OK to Take Propecia? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I started thinning in one temple at 18 and was prescribed rogaine and biotin supplements. At 20 the entire top started thinning (especially in the frontal hairline area) and I am now nearing 21 and considering propecia, however, I am hesitant to start at such a young age for a couple reasons. I am a late bloomer with no facial hair and am constantly told that I look much younger than I am. I have two questions: 1) Will propecia effect my body’s development including facial hair? and 2) Is it more likely that something other than MPB could be affecting my hair because my body is so early in its development? I enjoy your blog and would appreciate any help you can give me. Thank you

Block Quote

It is possible (but not probable) that Propecia will slow down body hair growth. That has not been my experience. I really don’t know the answer to your perceptions of being a “late bloomer”. Some men don’t grow facial hair well at all, but at 20 years old your body is not early in development. I can’t say for sure what you’re experiencing without an exam, but from your brief one-line description, it sounds like MPB (frontal hair loss, top thinning). Propecia is a prescription drug, so discuss your concerns with your doctor.

Posted on

Do I Have Premature Balding? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Well I’m 17 years old and i have a few questions. My hair is completely different both in color and in type from my mum and Dad. My dad suffers from baldness yet my grandpa from my dads family tree didn’t suffer from baldness. My Mother’s family doesn’t suffer from baldness at all. Lately I’ve noticed some thinning in the crown of my head, but i don’t know if i suffer from premature baldness, I blow dry my hair every day, and i wash it everyday I hardly ever comb it, I also touch my hair alot which might make it oily, could all of this be the reason for the thinning or is it really premature baldness?

Genetic balding can start in the teenage years. I can’t say for sure whether you’re losing hair due to genetics as I haven’t seen you, but if your dad has balding you could’ve gotten the gene passed from him. It can come from either side of the family. Also, oily hair isn’t a cause of loss, nor is the lack of combing.

My suggestion is to do a miniaturization mapping of your scalp hair and find out if you are balding. You can learn how to do it yourself if your doctor can’t / won’t do it — click here.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

Hair Loss InformationHair Transplants for 20 Year Olds? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

do you do procedures under the age of 25 im 20, because for some reasons other surgions like bernstein wouldnt……also is there another alternative other than propecia that doesnt have side effects to prevent further hair loss?

Block Quote

At 20 years old, you’re likely not a candidate for surgery unless there is obvious recession and you are realistic in your expectations. When Dr. Bernstein turns down a 20 year old, I generally follow his lead as we both are very concerned about your long term prognosis. Hair loss is progressive, so transplanting you now without planning for future hair loss is a bad idea, particularly if your future pattern is uncertain. You have a finite amount of hair that can be transplanted, so you don’t want to use it all up now and then continue to bald years down the line without enough reserves to follow the hair loss. There are many doctors eager to get your money, so you can find other doctors willing to transplant a young man of any age.

As for Propecia’s (finasteride) side effects — they are overblown. Propecia is easily the best medication for those men with early hair loss. The only alternative I recommend is minoxidil (Rogaine), as it is also FDA approved to treat hair loss. Minoxidil will not prevent hair loss in the same way that Propecia will, and has it’s own issues with side effects. Remember, each and every medication has the potential for side effects (look at Tylenol, for example), as each person is different and will respond differently to it.

Posted on

If I Start Losing Hair Early Does That Mean I’ll Go Bald? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Doc, I am 19 and experiencing signifigant hair loss in my hairline/temple area. I have heard that the earlier one looses hair, the balder they will go, but no one on either side of my family has ever experienced extreme hair loss or anything past a norwood class A type Va (worst case)

Is it true that the earlier one starts balding the more hair they will lose, or do they just reach their pattern quicker?

Block Quote

The two points are not necessarily connected, but those that lose a lot of hair often start early in their 20s with the process. From a transplant perspective, a Norwood class 5A pattern is a good end stage pattern for most people who want full coverage, where a class 6 or 7 is often difficult to treat for full coverage. In someone with a Norwood class 6 or 7, the supply of donor hair will often not be enough to solve the need for a full replacement hair transplant. I have transplanted a sereis of Class 7 patients with upwards of 7000 grafts (as high as 9900 grafts in one patient) to get the coverage they wanted. These individuals were fortunate enough to have high density donor hair and good scalp laxity. It certainly took more than one session to reach this number of grafts. For the sake of convenience, the Norwood chart is shown here:

Norwood Classes

Posted on

I’m in My 20s — I Don’t Want to Take Viagra Because of Propecia! – Balding Blog

I’m in my mid-20s and began taking Propecia about 6 months ago. I was quite scared of the possible sexual side effects before I started the medication, and after 2 weeks on it, I think I experienced the erection troubles. A couple weeks later, the side effect went away. I went for a few months with no sign of symptoms, no problems with maintaining the erection… until I started seeing a new girl. We fooled around a few times and I didn’t have any troubles whatsoever. Then one night she got a little liquored up and we started to mess around. I was rock hard, but after several distractions I went to half mast. Since she’d been drinking, I think she just figured my problems in the bedroom were due to that. Like maybe I didn’t find her attractive when she was drunk or something.

The next day I got some Viagra from a friend so I wouldn’t have to worry about my performance and ever since then I’ve been using it whenever I thought I’d need it. But if I don’t take that blue pill yet and we start to get frisky, I start to wonder if I’d be able to keep it up. So is this just a case of me worrying about things too much, or could this be from the Propecia? I don’t want to have to constantly worry about taking a pill before I get physical with a girl.

LibidoIt sounds like you could be willing yourself into having problems like this. I mean, it sounds like you got so worked up about the possibility of side effects that you had a nocebo response. It could be from the Propecia, but erectile issues occur in less than 2% of men and the vast majority of claims made on the internet are unsubstantiated, so that percentage can seem greater than it is if you rely solely on fear-mongering web forum posters. The 2% number comes from actual medical studies. The erectile dysfunction symptoms can occur in adult men of any age without a medicinal cause, particularly in cases where you have a new sexual partner (or maybe even alcohol in excess). It’s not uncommon, but it’s just not something younger men… or men of any age… will openly share with their friends.

Talk to your physician about your own prescription for Viagra or a similar drug if you’re really concerned, and you should let him know that you’re taking Propecia (or go to the same doctor that prescribed that to you). You may want to experiment with Viagra when and if you get a steady girlfriend so you can sort through the psychological effects and the physiological effects. When men take Viagra and build psychological dependencies, that tends to take the fear factor out of sex.




Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

My Dad, Grandfathers, and Brother All Have Their Hair — So Why Am I Balding? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

My dad has hair, both my grandpas have hair, and my brother who is four years older than me has hair. I don’t know if cousins matter, but I have four male ones that all have hair too. Its not just hair though, all these family members have full heads of hair, there is not one male in the my family who is balding, and yet im 18 and seem to be losing all my hair. Im trying to except it, but im curious if there is anything I can do?

The expression of the balding gene does skip generations, though I am not sure how many it could potentially skip. The more generations that are skipped, however, the less likely it will be. I’ve written about it before here.

As for what you can do — I’d see a doctor and ask about a prescription for Propecia. If you have early genetic hair loss, the drug should halt the progression for some time.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):


Posted on

Common Age for Female Hair Loss to Start? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,
Searching the internet and various websites I always seem to hear/read about women who have severe diffuse hair loss and have developed female pattern baldness when they are around 20-years-old. Is this very common? Some information I’ve come across says it’s very very common while other says it rarely happens. Do you have any statistics on it?

Block Quote

I am not aware of statistics, but from my experience, women often follow the females in the family that have genetic balding in the time of onset and the pattern. There is a strong one-to-one link between mother and daughter in this condition and it is not infrequent to see it in your mother’s mother or aunts. Female genetic hair loss is not common in very young women, but in each decade, the frequency rises until menopause when almost 50% of women experience the problem. We see hair loss after pregnancy in many of these women as well.

Posted on

I Noticed My 15 Year Old Son Is Losing Hair Already! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr.

I started losing hair at about 22yrs of age. I am now 39. My son is 15 and is showing signs of significant thinning around his hairline and I was wondering if it is considered abnormal for someone his age to lose hair this early in life, ultimately robbing him of his youth. I have visited the family doctor who could offer no cause or solution for this problem. He suggested rogaine but I noticed on the package that it doesn’t help with frontal hair loss and you should be at least 18yrs of age to use the product. Any suggestions or solutions would be of help.

Thank you for your time

Block Quote

Rogaine likely won’t help him if he’s losing hair in the hairline, regardless of age. It’s not abnormal, but it’s not extremely common to lose the hairline at 15 years old. Perhaps he’s got a mature hairline process starting?

As for the other hair loss medication, Propecia — there are many things to consider before putting him on it. It’s the only medication that might slow down the balding process (assuming that is what is going on), but you need to have a great doctor who will analyze your son and work through the diagnosis as well as his growth phases in his bones and elsewhere. His age is a potential red flag, as Propecia was tested for men over the age of 18. I’ll let his doctor make the determination about prescribing, though. There is help, but you need to address this with his pediatrician.