Neuralgia and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

DR Rassman, can I first congratulate you for having the pre-eniment hair loss site on the internet. My problem is that I suffer from a Congenital Anomaly of the Cranio-cervical junction at the skull base, and this coupled with Occipital Neuralgia and Trigeminal Neuralgia is causing me intense pain all over the Head and Scalp. The pain is of a Stabbing, Burning, Lancinating and Compressive character, and at first I was just worried about the severe pain and it’s impact on my quality of Life.

However, Three years ago the pain got progressively worse, and my hair started falling out in clumps. It did not appear to follow the pattern of MPB, as the loss was sudden, and diffuse on the top and sides, and not affecting the back. Lately it has affected the back as well and I am left with very fine hair on the sides and back, and little hair on the top almost like DUPA. Despite attending my Doctor for the past 3 years, I have not even been referred to a Dermatologist, despite numerous requests on my part. Consequently , I am left at a complete loss at where to turn and am in great distress. Please can you help me, as my pain, combined with the hair loss is making life unbearable.

Many good hair transplant doctors are able to tackle problems like yours without offering a hair transplant. Many of them are dermatologists as well. This is where you might go for more advice.

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Is Tea or Coffee Bad for Your Hair? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

It’s well documented that caffeine increases stress hormone levels in the human body i.e. cortisol, adrenaline, etc. My question is, is consuming products with caffeine like tea or coffee detrimental to our hair, as you’ve indicated before that stress can cause hair loss?

Also another random question — should we be asking questions here now or at the forum?

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CaffeineThis topic comes up every year or so. Depending on the flavor of the month tea/coffee/caffeine is both good and bad. Some studies say that excessive caffeine is bad, some home remedies include direct application of coffee or tea on the scalp. There’s even caffeine shampoo now. I don’t have a definitive answer to your question. To my knowledge, no peer-reviewed, published studies have been done that prove hair is effected by caffeine negatively. Consider this — caffeine is one of the most widely consumed substances in the world and the most common cause of hair loss is genetics (with or without coffee, tea, energy drinks, sodas, etc). Minor stresses shouldn’t cause hair loss, and certainly caffeine wouldn’t raise stress levels (unless you’re really overdoing it) to the point that you’d experience loss. Live your life in moderation.

BaldingForum allows other many people to see your questions and to add their input. If there are problems, as I read the forum, I will enter the process and give my opinion. So the forum offers two avenues for information: (1) the audience of readers, and (2) myself and Dr. Pak. The forum isn’t a replacement for BaldingBlog, so feel free to continue asking questions here… or there.

Finasteride and Inflammation? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’ve been on Finasteride for 3-4months now and I’ve been going through and immense shed. I’m losing hair on my crown , on my middle area , temples have receded 1 inch and my front sides are thinning. I’m 19 years old and understand that my hair loss is quite aggressive. One thing that I cannot understand is why my inflammation has not declined since I have introduced Finasteride.

Since Finasteride inhibits DHT , and DHT is the cause of inflammation (immune response to DHT attacking follicles) Shouldn’t a reduction in DHT cause a reduction in inflammation?

I know Ketoconazole in products such as Nizoral and Revtia will help with inflammation , but I was curious to see if there would be a drop in inflammation.

If you truly have inflammation, I would strongly suggest you see your doctor for a physical exam. Normal male pattern baldness (MPB), otherwise known as androgenic alopecia (AGA), is genetic and DHT is responsible for it, but it does not cause inflammation that you can see. DHT does not cause an immune response or attack hair follicles. The source of the information you have is not reliable.

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18 Year Old Feeling Depressed Over Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello!
I m 18 years old and i m suffering hair loss since the age of 13. I used to have much hair so when i was younger my family said that it was ok, and it was going to stop. Now i am 18 and there are clearly bald spots on the front. This is getting me very depress i do not know what to do. Yes my father is kinda bald , i dont live with him but i saw him once a year ago ( he was 55 years old). i’ve seen pictures of him, when he was 30-40 and he had normal hair not bald spots or anything. If this is genetic then it comes from him, because no male in my family is bald.

Is there anything i can do? any doctor you can recomend? please help me stop it. I touch my forehead and everytime i feel less hair. Please doctor if you need any other imformation let me know. Help me stop it PLEASE

If you have bald spots appearing on your scalp (as you described), that doesn’t sound like genetic hair loss / male pattern baldness. MPB does not cause bald spots and I would look to other diagnosis such as alopecia areata, ringworm, etc. If you’re saying your hairline is thinning (and not actually forming spots), then that could very well be MPB. I don’t know though, as I haven’t seen you.

Before going on Propecia you need to secure a firm working diagnosis with your doctor (a dermatologist should be fine for that). A good psychiatrist may be beneficial to help you through this stressful period. If you’re feeling depressed, you should seek help. Good luck.

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Especially on TV, Your Appearance is Everything – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Doctor. My hairline has been the same for about 20yrs and about a year ago noticed a slight change on one side. I haven’t seen much of a change in a year and a half. To me, it looks like my hairline never finished maturing. I’m now 37 years old and recently made my debut on national television. My hair is black and curly with good density. I did see a doctor who said that at this point, if I got a HT, it would look like I had hair on my forehead. She said the measurments were normal etc. I am also starting to get gray hair and will probably start dying it soon. Is it possible when you go gray your hairline might change slightly? If I wanted, would you lower my hairline if it continues to recede? People tell me that at age 37 if you aren’t showing signs of baldness, or have mild recession you probably wont lose your hair; is this true. Just concerned about my new career on tv, where your appearance is everything. Thanks.

George ClooneyFirstly, grey hair and balding are not related. Look at the beautiful head of hair on George Clooney for an example.

At one time I had transplanted a number of men who were in their early 20s and had soap opera stardom, with hair loss starting as you described. The entertainment field demands that many of its male soap opera actors look almost like boy toys, apparently that being the look most women like. So getting hair transplants to maintain a career look is not an unusual request and I would be happy to render you my opinion upon examining you. I’d argue that for many people, appearance is everything — so that isn’t limited to just entertainment-based careers.

If you are receding slightly and want to do something proactive (due to TV careers, personal preference, etc), a choice to have a hair transplant surgery is an option, but it is one that you must fully be educated on with respect to its limitations and expectations. At your age (37), if you don’t have significant balding, your chances of further balding may be slim. You may continue to recede in the front corners, but I really cannot tell. You should have your hair examined under a microscope for miniaturization. If appearance in front of a camera is important to you and you are conscious of your frontal hairline, you can also consider using makeup products (like DermMatch or Toppik) that make your hair look fuller.

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I Got Scalp Acne After Shaving My Head – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I shaved my head bald about two months ago, just so all my hair could grow back evenly. About a week later, I noticed acne starting to appear all around the back of my head. Even when my hair reached its usual length about a month later, acne was still appearing. And i know it wasn’t wise, but I would pop the pimples, then when they grew scabs, i’d pick them off. Now I cut my hair down again about two weeks ago and i noticed about twenty or so small bald spots on the back and top of my head. Is this permanant? Is there something I can do??? My hair is my life!!!

RazorSometimes shavers are not so sanitary and cause pimples or folliculitis. Your skin and scalp naturally contain (normal) bacteria and even the worrisome Staph, which can be a major infection problem that spreads easily. Irritating the skin/scalp with blades or shavers can also introduce the normal bacteria to the skin/scalp, causing local infection and irritation (pimples). So ask yourself is this acne or folliculitis (infection)? You’ll need to see a good dermatologist for the answer to that.

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Actavis Makes Generic 5mg Finasteride – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello William

My question is regarding a drug which should be the same as Proscar/Propecia (It has the same ATC-Code and the same level of finasterid, 5mg). It comes from the apparently wellknown company Actavis: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/71641.php

Now if it is possible to use a fifth proscar instead of a propecia pill, it should be okay to use one/fifth Actavis instead right? The reason I ask is because the price here in Denmark for Actavis is ten times lower than Proscar. There are also many other companies which produces products that are similar but alot cheaper than Proscar.

I am 25, male and I have Norwood 2 with a beginning vertex. Thanks for your help and keep up the good work (I have learned alot from your site).

Kind regards

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ActavisYes, 1/5th of a Actavis brand 5mg finasteride pill should be the same as 1/5th of a Proscar pill. There are many makers of generic medications, and it does vary by country. As long as you can be sure the medication is what it claims to be, it should be the same regardless of the maker. I say “should”, but I have no way to tell if it is that case for every pharmaceutical company. From Wikipedia, other makers of generic finasteride include:

  • Ajanta Pharma (trade name Appecia)
  • Aleppo Pharmaceutical (trade name Prosteride)
  • Cipla (trade names Fincar and Finpecia)
  • Dr. Reddy’s (trade names Finax and Finast)
  • Intas Pharmaceuticals (trade name Finalo)
  • Ranbaxy (trade name Finara)

Interestingly, a few months back Actavis recalled every generic drug they manufactured in their New Jersey plant, thanks to an FDA inspection that showed the standards were not kept up. Read more about that at the FDA site. Finasteride was not one of the drugs listed, as it was apparently not made at that facility. Just food for thought, though…

Could Vitamin D Make My Hair Loss Worse? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi,
Great site. I take proscar and it works great. My question is regarding Vitamin D. I am low in serum D and am adding a supplement. I have read that Vitamin D can help with hair loss. My question is does it raise Testosterone levels or DHT levels which would work against what Proscar is doing.I does show Vitamin D as a PRE-hormone which I don’t quite understand. Could the VitD make things worse especially on someone with diffuse hair loss over all of head. My doctor thinks this diffuse loss could be a result of my low D. What is your opinion. By the way I’m a male.

Thanks

Vitamin D is safe if taken in reasonable (recommended) doses and if your Vitamin D level is low, this supplement may help your hair situation. Super dosing it may cause hair loss.

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Is My Multivitamin Contributing to My Hair Loss? – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. Rassman,

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to keep up this blog; it keeps my neuroticism in check.

I am a 21 year old male with mild MPB in my family on both sides, and I have been experiencing some thinning of my temples recently. Three months ago I started taking a multivitamin, and I want to make sure this is not be contributing to this new problem. If you could please take a look at the ingredients and let me know if anything is questionable, I would appreciate it
greatly. Thank you very much, Dr. Rassman.

Ingredients are here

When I initially looked at the link you sent, I made some notes with the intention to go back and review the list of ingredients more in-depth before posting. Unfortunately, the link doesn’t work anymore and I don’t have a name for the vitamin you’re taking.

At any rate, here are some general notes: a standard multivitamin is usually fine, but I always question when there are ingredients that supply over 1000% of the daily needs. Some vitamins in excess can cause hair loss, but I have been unable to go through the list.




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Can Food Allergy or Food Poisoning Lead to Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello doctor

Could food poisoning or food allergy cause hair loss , and if so permanent or temporary ?

Thank you

I would doubt that there is a connection, but some do believe that food allergy can lead to alopecia areata. I haven’t read anything about food poisoning causing hair loss, but I’d expect that if you had a bout of food poisoning followed by hair loss, it was stress induced (in which case it should be temporary).

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