Category: Hair Loss Causes

I’ve read in many instances here that sebum does not cause hair loss. While I believe this, a small part of me has some doubts. Is there any definitive proof you can convey to us here?

What sort of proof are you looking for? Sebum is an oily substance secreted by the sebaceous glands. We all have sebaceous glands and we all secrete sebum. Sebaceous glands secrete the oil to give your hair the healthy shine, coating and protecting it from the environment so your hair does not get brittle and break off. Sometimes excess sebum can cause oily skin/hair. You can treat this by washing your hair with shampoos that address oily hair. If you do not wash your hair and let sebum build up you can have bacteria growth that causes a foul smell or even clogs up the pores to cause pimples and cysts. But this will still not cause hair loss, just poor hygiene. If sebum caused hair loss, there would be many more balding women out there.

Hair loss in men is caused by genetics 99% of the time. It occurs in specific patterns, thus the term “male pattern baldness”. Its not called sebum-baldness.

i have evidence that there are methods to reverse hair loss without paying money for chemicals like minoxidil or for surgery. however, because these methods are completely natural and can’t really be bought or sold, there is resistance to publish this information or no incentive to pay for clinical tests to produce results that they work.

examples include:
1) topical application of garlic, onion and olive oil to the scalp to nurish and clean the hair root;
2) using store bought saw palmetto to block dth;
3) stimulating hair by tugging on it gently, etc.

over a duration of 2 months results can be seen because dormant follicles begin sprouting hair again.

How did you unlock these secrets that medical professionals have been hiding for years?! Let’s dissect this…

1. Garlic can create a unique pheromone, so tell us in another email if it helps with the ladies. It sounds like you’re making a pizza.
2. Saw palmetto has been shown to slow hair loss in some men, but it is not consistent. Dosages are not controlled by the FDA (it is an herbal), so you never really know what you purchased.
3. Pulling on the hair in the same place causes hair loss (traction alopecia) in some people depending how often and how hard you pull in it. Any advice on how to pull on your hair? I hope nobody is takes that seriously, because tugging on your hair won’t reverse hair loss.

Congratulations, I have given your message to thousands of readers. Hope it helps someone.

This week I met with two patients who reported having large transplant sessions, both with extremely disappointing tales I want to share.

Patient 1: The first patient reported two surgical sessions totaling 4800 grafts both done in Los Angeles. He had a very low hair density and a moderately tight scalp based upon what I measured, so I doubted that he had that many grafts transplanted. He also felt that the doctor did not give him the number of grafts that he paid for. Is it a case of a doctor ripping off a patient? Could be, but unfortunately I can’t say with 100% certainty. I’m fairly sure, based upon my counting of the grafts…

Patient 2: The second patient was just 1 week out of surgery and so the grafts were all clearly evident. I counted them and estimated that there were less than 1000 present, yet the doctor said there were 3000 grafts (about 2000 that were purchased and another 1000 that were above the number sold on the morning of the surgery). In this case, I’m much more certain about the patient being ripped off, because I could count the results relatively soon after the surgery.

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My complaint:
I am seeing more and more cases where the hair transplant doctors are not delivering upon the contracted graft numbers. These doctors are an embarrassment to the medical profession. What they are doing is not only immoral, but illegal (fraud is a criminal problem), and if the patients take the appropriate action, the state medical board should be notified and the doctors prosecuted. Hopefully these doctors will lose their medical licenses if they are swindling patients. It seems that many patients are shopping for the best price (which is reasonable), but that assumes that what they are buying is really what the doctor can deliver. When fraud comes into play, the patient becomes a victim. With these scams, prices may be quoted as low as $1-2/graft, but when the accounting is in, the actual prices may be many times based upon what the patient actually received. Keep that in mind when you’re looking at the doctor with the bargain bin pricing. I still don’t understand why anyone would have cosmetic surgery based solely upon the cheapest price. Would you travel to Tijuana for dental work because it’s cheaper?

Avoid the scam:
How do you tell if your doctor is giving you what you purchased? First, get to understand the scam. Second, learn about graft auditing and how it is done. Third, ask the doctor to allow you to have a friend or family member at the surgery to audit his graft counting process. This is an accounting issue and your observer needs to be educated on what to look for. For all of you wanting to understand the process better, come visit us on an Open House day when we allow visitors in the surgery theater. The auditing process we employ should be similar to the one that the doctor you may be considering. It is not unusual for some of our patients to bring in family members to observe the surgery. Although none have asked for auditing rights, we generally show off our auditing process while we educate the visitors.

Further reading:

• The Truth About Cheap Hair Transplants
• Are Doctors Promising More Grafts Than Can Possibly Be Delivered?
• How Do I Know I’m Getting the Amount of Grafts I Paid For?
• Ways to be Ripped-Off by Your Hair Transplant Surgeon

Snippet from the article:

Most everyone plays mindlessly with their hair from time to time. But for some people it becomes such an uncontrollable compulsion that they end up with bald patches or eyebrows plucked bare (called Trichotillomania).

If it’s any comfort, animals too suffer from “grooming compulsions.”

Though the behavior is documented in the Bible and ancient medical texts, treatment for hair-pulling has not been studied much. But now a University of Minnesota researcher might have found an answer in a common, over-the-counter nutritional supplement that costs about $15 for 100 pills.

Read the rest — Pill could end urge to pull your hair out

If this is true, it would be a great, inexpensive way to treat this obsessive behavior. I’ll wait for the larger study to be complete, but the small 50 person study is promising.

I am not sure what type of doctor to see, my hair has always been very thin, and getting thinner and thinner. I don’t think I have had any hair regrowth, ever. I have never had a haircut, except before my mothers death at age 7. My life has been ALWAYS very stressful, so I don’t know if that has something to do with it. My hair has Never grown past my shoulders. I am 44 and down to my last bit of hair, and getting worried. What type of doctor do I need to see? thank you

Our hair grows to a fixed maximum length and if your is shoulder length, that is your maximum length. I am sure you have seen hair loss over the months and years since your last haircut when you were 7 years old. Men usually have a shorter maximal length than women, but everyone is different. Maximum length may be as high as 7 feet in some women (see Rapunzel! Let Down Your Long, Golden Hair).

If your hair is suddenly getting thinner and thinner, I’d see your general doctor about a variety of possible causes (those are listed here).

Each and every day, I receive emails from readers asking about individual doctors’ and their reputations or even wondering if the doctor they just met with is a good doctor. Most doctors care about you and are competent and ethical, but there are a few who really don’t give a damn about you and look at you as a way to simply make more money. The unethical doctors often push men who are too early to have a transplant (like most 20 year olds) into getting one when they don’t need it, or they expand the number of grafts in a transplant procedure into areas that do not have hair loss under the guise of performing preventive hair transplants which happen to push their fees higher. Unfortunately, there are too many unethical doctors doing hair transplants and while I’m always willing to help when I can, I’m disappointed when I hear how some doctors take advantage of people in an attempt to line their pockets with your money.

In the years I’ve been posting on BaldingBlog, I’ve accumulated a lot of content about avoiding doctors that don’t put patient welfare as priority #1. I’m outspoken when it comes to patient advocacy, so I’ve also written much about how to select your hair transplant doctor. Most of my comments have been put on the daily responses I write to questions posed to me, but I’ve never put all the information in one easy-to-find place and organized it in a way that makes the job easier for the reader. So with that being said, I now present you a new “How To” type of series. These are MUST READ articles for those interested in having hair restoration surgery.

	Selecting a Hair Transplant Doctor
	How to Avoid Dishonest Doctors

 

I also write about why it’s important to shop around for the best doctor before committing to a hair transplant. Don’t be afraid to have to travel to get a surgery that is PERMANENT and on your head! Don’t settle for someone you’re not comfortable with just because it is convenient. At NHI, we offer travel discounts, so factoring travel and hotel costs into your surgery should not be a concern.

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