Category: Age

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Why Would You Be Concerned About Transplanting a 22 Year Old Patient? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr Rassman,

I was reading some of the past blogs and came across an entry in which you mentioned you were disturbed by the patient having a procedure at age 22. What concerned you about having a procedure at this age? I’ve also had a procedure at age 22 and was happy with it however, my hairline has continued to recede over the past few years and I’ve contemplated a 2nd procedure. Would you recommend this?

I generally do not recommend hair transplant surgery on men in their early twenties, because of the following reasons:

  1. They risk accelerating their hair loss due to shock loss.
  2. One does not know how much balding they have in front of them.
  3. The patterns of hair loss may be difficult to identify, which makes building a Master Plan (for long term planning) difficult or impossible.

Of course, if you are already bald (a well defined Norwood Class 3 pattern, for example) this would not be much of a concern. So it is not an absolute rule and every man should be evaluated based upon their maturity, their realistic expectations, and their balding pattern. Your very question supplies part of the answer, as you have had surgery and now notice that you are thinning or receding. Get a good doctor to build that Master Plan I mentioned above, so the best and worst cases of what might happen to you will be clearly defined for your benefit.

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Age and Hair Transplants – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

At what age will a transplant not work?

I have done hair transplants on children with bad scars and men as young as 89 years old. They really work regardless of age. I perform it with the same basic anesthesia routine, but in children, I often use less systemic drugs if one of the parents comes into the operating room and holds the child’s hand. There is nothing more soothing to a child than the touch of a parent’s warm hand.

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Any Precautions for Those 60+ Year Olds Starting Propecia or Rogaine? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Is there any special consideration or precaution needed to start medication (Rogaine or Propecia etc.), if the patient is above 60 years old?

All men over 50 years old should obtain a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test prior to starting Propecia, since it may lower the blood level in those who may be harboring an early cancer (delaying the diagnosis). Other than this one observation, the risks of side effects are the same for older men as younger men. There is no similar problem with minoxidil, but as minoxidil has antihypertensive effects, it has been known to produce lightheadedness from small drops in a person’s blood pressure.

Propecia is the brand name for finasteride in 1mg strength. Finasteride in 5mg strength has been reported to lower the risk of certain prostate cancer.

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I Feel Like Propecia Has Disconnected Me From My Genitals – Balding Blog

Hey doc, I am 61 and I have been taking propecia for a year and a half. Three quarters of the time I have been taking 1/2 a pill. This is because I felt like down there I felt disconnected. My privates just don’t feel like it used to. Also I feel like my breasts have gotten bigger.

I don’t want to lose my hair but it seems like my hair has progressed to get thinner and thinner. The diameter of the hair really is thinning. I don’t want to stop taking Propecia cause I’m afraid to stop. It even seems like I should take the whole dose instead of the half dose. It seems everyday I am questioning my taking this pill but like I said I’m afraid to stop. I didn’t start noticing losing any hair until I was about 56 when it really started to thin. Do you think at the age of 61 Propecia is really necessary? By the way I have fair coverage on my head except on the crown it’s really thin and the last year the rest of the top had thinned noticeably.

Can you recommend what I should do. Thanks Doc for this forum.

My best recommendation is for you to see your doctor (the doctor who prescribed you the medication) and address these significant issues with him or her. Breast enlargement is a rare side effect associated with Propecia. It is reported that 0.5% of men taking five times the dose of Propecia will experience such breast enlargement or tenderness. These side effects are reversible once you stop the medication.

I would question the value of Propecia in a man of your age, so the more basic question here is whether you really need it.




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Hair Loss InformationTraveling to the United States to See Dr Rassman – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. Rassman, I’m a 22 years old living in Brazil and I have been balding since I was 15 (right now norwood class 3). I’m thinking about going to a hair doctor to start taking propecia and maybe even do some kind of hair transplant, but I would like to go to a doctor as good as you. Do you usually do transplants in people around my age? I would love to see some photos.

I was also thinking about travelling to the US next year and have a consultation with you. How should foreigners proceed?

Thank you very much!

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TravelTo start, you can send me photographs to the email address on the Contact page. Since there is the obvious distance between Brazil and my office in Los Angeles, the internet will be the easiest communication tool (specifically, email) so that it can be determined if you’re even a candidate. We can also setup a phone consultation, if you’d like to go that route.

I do not have any hard rule on what age I will consider a hair transplant, but generally I like my patients to be at least 25 years old. I have, however, transplanted men of your age when the hair loss pattern is fully defined and maturity is there.

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Hair Loss InformationI’ve Taken Finasteride Since I Was 17 Years Old, But I Don’t Know If It’s Working – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello!
I’ve been losing my hair since I was 14. I’m now 20. I was told I had MPB and the doctor said to take finasteride 1mg everyday. I’ve been taking finasteride for 3 years, and I don’t know if it’s really helping. No person have hair loss in my family. My dad started to develop temples at his 50’s. All my family have thin straight hair, but no sign of balding.

I have right now big temples and diffuse hair loss all over the top. I also can see small (1 cm) thick hairs all over my head that never grow. I have some problems like anxiety, stress, and I guess bad diet. Also I have very little appetite and I’m under my weight. But I’m working on solving it. I did a blood test and I got high bilirrubine levels. I’m trying to trigger my problem and see if it’s really MPB. So, I was thinking I could get another opinion from you. What do you think?

Thanks for your attention

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The key is establishing a measurement (metric) on the degree of miniaturization you have. No miniaturization present would mean that you are not balding from genetic male hair loss; progressive miniaturization extending from just the corners of your hairline to the top and back would indicate progression of the balding process.

Men who take Propecia (finasteride) can see if they slowed, stopped, or reversed the hair loss process when the scalp miniaturization map is compared over time. You need to get an expert to help you manage this process.

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Hair Loss InformationDoctors Said I’m Balding, But Now I Think My Hairline Is Just Maturing – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Doctor,
Your website has helped me discover a lot about balding, so much so that it has led me to believe that my previous diagnosis of having MPB may be inaccurate. I am a 16 year old male who was told by two dermatologists to begin taking Rogaine Foam to stop my hairline from receding, and my hair on top from thinning. I’ve been taking it twice a day, every day. But my hairline has now evened out (i.e., the corners which had receded now match the middle length) and the hair on the top of my head, which still feels thinner than my other hair, does not seem to be anything more than normal. Could this be because of two months of Rogaine, or because I only had a maturing hairline and was misdiagnosed?

And if that is the case, is it safe for me to stop using the Rogaine?

Thank you

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If you are 16 years old and seeking the advice of dermatologist for hair loss, the doctor is likely to find that you have the development of a maturing hairline. After just 2 months of treatment with minoxidil, I would doubt that it had a major impact on you, but without the results of a microscopic examination of your hair to determine the degree or pattern of miniaturization, I cannot tell you if you are balding. I doubt stopping minoxidil will have a drastic impact on your hair loss at this time.

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Managing Hair Loss By Yourself – Not a Good Idea – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doctor

I’m 21 and my experiences with meds that lower DHT like Propecia for a year, and Dutasteride for 5 months have been bad, very bad, in fact it didn’t just not work for me, it made matters worse. like my body was rejecting it. Propecia made things worse, and Dut made things a LOT worse…seems the higher the anti DHT the worst it got which is the opposite affect. Im not gonna complain and say lifes not fair! but I am curious as to what went wrong… if 9/10 can maintain their hair with propecia, what goes wrong with that 1/10. what are the possibilities. just very curious. Thanks a lot in advance!

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The blocking effect of finasteride on DHT formation is only one factor that impacts hair loss; your genetics are another and they are completely independent from each other as separate variables. At your age, if you were going to be very bald by the time you reach your mid-20s, then your genetics are far more powerful in producing hair loss than finasteride (or dutasteride) is for preventing it. I am fairly sure that the drugs are slowing down the process, but when the impact is not dramatic, then the user often thinks that the drug treatment is a failure.

If you got your hair measured and mapped for miniaturization, the impact of these drugs could be established and followed over time. You need a Master Plan for your hair loss management and should find a good, caring, competent doctor who will establish this with you. It sounds like you are trying to be your own doctor and are not being scientific about managing your hair loss.

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My Grandfather Rapidly Lost His Hair in His 60s – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am 22 and I have noticed over the past two years my hairline changing into a widows peak, but the rest of my hair remains as thick as ever. I am genetically susceptible to balding as I have two uncles either side of the family (one totally bald and the other started thinning around the age of 40)

But when I look through family photos I notice that my hairline most resembles that of my late grandfather (who ironically I am named after) in his mid twenties and he had the exact same hairline. but the thing which confuses me is that the temple recession is much deeper than with what you describe as a mature hairline (as is mine) and he kept his hair until his mid sixties which he rapidly lost due to cancer.

So I suppose what I am asking is whether MPB can occur to an extent during early life then pick later on in life. Or whether there are varying degrees of a ‘mature hairline’

Thanks

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Generally male pattern balding (MPB), otherwise known as androgenic alopecia (AGA), has varying degrees of hair loss. It can start as early as your puberty years and progress into your later years. Your grandfather’s rapid hair loss as you described is likely not related to MPB or AGA, as it was more likely related to his cancer. If you are concerned about hair loss, you should consider a miniaturization study, which is a microscopic examination of the state of the health of your hair. We do not always match the hair loss of a relative (hairline for hairline), but the trend can be anticipated.

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Hair Loss in 74 Year Old Woman – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, I am a 74 year old female and my hair has started to fall out. My scalpe is itchy red and flakes alot. I have had this condition most of my life but have always had a good head of hair, only recently has the condition got worse and the hair started to come out. Is this just old age ???

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I wish I could give you a clear answer, but I honestly have no clue! You need an evaluation by a physician in-person who can ask pertinent questions and conduct a proper physical examination. I suspect if you had this condition most of your life, it probably is not related to your age.