hi can propecia protect your hair from hair from stress.. please let me know…
The relationship between stress and hair loss varies a great deal. Propecia certainly protects the hair from those factors that cause or accelerate hair loss — and stress is one of those factors.
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doc with all the posting of rogaine and how rogaine is destroying people hair ..do you still see rogaine as a safe product…i have found in my case rogaine not only destroyed a other wise heathly head of hair but i lost eyebrows nad eyelashes as well… the makers of rogaine cannot say for certain how this drug works therefor cannot know all the sideeffects. Minoxidil. has been known to cause heart problems.. so please explaine how or if you endourse rogaine.
I only report what I see. I do endorse the use of minoxidil, as it is one of the two FDA approved drug treatments for hair loss. However, it is not for everyone. There is propylene glycol in most preparations of Rogaine and some people develop allergies to it. Rogaine contains minoxidil and as many people know, minoxidil was developed originally as an antihypertensive agent (hair growth was just a side effect). Some people get light headed when they use it, because it can drop blood pressure.
As for discussing Rogaine destroying your hair, if you had a problem with it, you should have stopped using it. There are many people who get skin allergies to this medication and continued use can cause problems. If you are self medicating, then look in the mirror and ask yourself why you are taking it.
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I noticed that for the 3 weeks I was on Propecia, I have more frequent erections, strong ones and a higher sex drive. Is this normal? I really don’t mind the side effect and my wife actually likes the change!
I actually hear about this from about 10% of my patients on Propecia. This results from a raise in testosterone, reported as high as 18% on average. The testosterone levels generally do not stay higher than normal and will eventually come back down to normal. Tell your wife… well, maybe don’t say anything. Ha!
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Could you please explain why Rogaine foam is unsuitable for women. My daughter, on the recommendation of her dermatologist, was using Rogaine 5% until she developed an allergic reaction (confirmed by an allergy test) to the propylene glycol.
If he suggested Rogaine 5%, why then is the foam, which contains 5% minoxidil, unsuitable?
I believe that the Rogaine Foam does not contain propylene glycol (which is the most allergic component with minoxidil). I don’t see a problem with women using Rogaine Foam, although it is not marketed towards women. I’d expect a Women’s Rogaine Foam to be available at some point with a slightly different formulation (similar to how Rogaine and Women’s Rogaine are the same, yet different).
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My question revolves around accurate lab work in regards to one’s hormonal levels. Propecia has a half life around 4 hours. It should not take too long for the medicine to be out of the body. The question I am curious about is how long does it take after one’s last dose of Propecia to get an accurate picture of one’s hormonal levels without the levels being affected by Propecia? I imagine even if the medicine is out of the body, the affects might still be present. Thank you for your time and website!
There is tissue fixation which may take a few weeks to disappear, but I really don’t know the statistics. In a few weeks, it will not matter. If you are a professional athlete or a blood donor, then there is a different standard, but that is not my expertise. Sorry.
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Ok here’s my situation, about 7 months ago I got about 1400 grafts performed. The standard strip style surgery. I’ve healed up well and I would say less than 2 months after surgery the hairs immediately started to grow. I also started propecia right before the surgery. I experienced shock loss immediately after the surgery and it ceased about 2 months after. I shaved my head completely and my hair grew in like crazy very thick and flowing. About 4 months after the surgery my hair started to fall out again and has since been falling out and progressively getting worse. I apply rogaine and copper peptide solution daily and am not doing anything any different. What can you suggest as a course of action?
Because of the protective effect against shock hair loss, you should’ve been taking Propecia (finasteride 1mg) prior to the hair transplant surgery — so the question now is whether you started it early enough (best a few weeks before the procedure). Accelerated hair loss associated with a hair transplant is most probably caused by shock loss. One must use the history and the association to point to the cause. You might be going through a hair loss cycle unrelated to what you are doing and there may not be anything you can do except to wait for your hair cycle to take its course. If there was a considerable amount of miniaturized hairs, then you would be a ’set-up’ for shock loss. Studying your hair miniaturization and distribution may point to more information in helping to make a diagnosis, but as I am not your doctor, I have no access to your patient records and can’t provide much more help than suggesting you post these questions to your doctor.
Dear Doctor Rassman:
I’m 28 and have noticed a rather rapid hair loss on top, behind the hairline. I’m scheduled for a miniaturization study next week. I’m afraid of the 6 month gamble on Propecia only-the one you recommend, particularly because hair loss seems so sudden and fast. What if I use Rogaine and Propecia simultaneously and if and when hair loss is reversed-say a year from now-gradually phase out Rogaine? Would my body be able to tell which hairs owe their existence specifically to Monoxidil and I lose the benefit I gained from it and keep only the hair supported by Propecia? Thanks.
The mechanism of action is different for finasteride and minoxidil. If you use both and receive benefits, then stop using Rogaine, you will lose any benefits from the Rogaine. It isn’t possible to tell which drug gave which benefits, which is why I recommend starting with one and then adding the other if necessary. Propecia does not keep hair grown by minoxidil and vice versa.
In other words, what you’re suggesting is not a good idea.
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Hello,
I am losing my hair and I am interested in what options you have to fix that. I am not looking just for a hair restoration, I also looking for solution to prevent future hair lose, because doing surgery every year is not an option I am looking for.
I have a Class 3 pattern. Please help me
There are no easy answers to your problem. We can slow hair loss with drugs like Propecia (finasteride 1mg) and we can force some new hair to grow (or slow down the fall out) in some people with minoxidil. However, putting your hair back to its state prior to losing it, is just not where today’s medical science is. The good news, depending upon your age, is that a Master Plan can be developed to predict the hair loss and treat as appropriate.
Hair transplants do not require a lifetime of yearly surgeries, but it is a fall back position when you lost hair and want it back because it works and lasts your lifetime. Let’s say that you have a Norwood Class 3 pattern right now, but you will eventually migrate to a Norwood 4A pattern (see diagram above at right). You would have to chase the hair loss over the time it takes to evolve, but with good drug treatment, that might be delayed for years and years. I wish we had an answer to your basic question, but medical science is where it is. I am optimistic that sometime in the future we can slow the hair loss down even better, perhaps even reverse it with hair cloning (10+ years away by my estimations), or even develop a much better hair treatment drug. Only time will tell.
Doc, thanks for the wonderful blog. Amidst all of the information on the internet, it is nice to have a credible source that provides a wide array of information. With that said, I am 23 and tried ScalpMed (their marketing was too good to pass up). I have experienced success with said product and was wondering if switching to a different (cheaper) version of minoxidil would cause unecessary shedding? I am happy with my hair currently and wouldnt want the process to be accelerated. Also would starting propecia cause more shedding or shock loss? Thank you.
I would imagine that switching to standard minoxidil is just as good and should not cause additional hair loss. The use of Rogaine Foam may be better.
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Hello Doctor,
I am 23 year old female and have been losing about 100 hair everyday. I had undergone a thyroid goitre surgery when I was 20 years i.e in 2004 and had lost tremendous amount of hair then due to hormonal imbalance. I have been taking Thyronorm ever since to supplement hormones. After that my hair loss reduced a little bit but never stopped. I have noticed and increase in my hair loss since past 10 months. I got my thyroid tested 8 months ago and it was normal.I have also started taking iron pills since past one month. I am extremely worried about my situation and don’t understand what I can do. I have heard that there are certain oils in hair that make hair follicles really small and hair never grows back. Is that true? Are there any tests that I can perform to figure out the actual reason for the loss? what medication would you recommend me in my case?
I am eagerly looking forward to hear from you. Please help. Thank you
It is normal to lose around 100+ hairs a day, as about 100 hairs per day are regrown to balance the loss. Medical conditions such as thyroid problems and iron deficiencies are associated with hair loss, but it can still persist despite adequate treatment. There is only one medication FDA approved for treating women with hair loss — minoxidil (marketed as Rogaine).
To my knowledge, the impact of hormones on the size of the hair follicles below the skin has not been demonstrated and that includes oils that are either applied by you or internal to your skin.
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