Category: Hair Loss Causes

Dr. Rassman.

Thank you for your extremely informative and educational blog. I refer to it on a regular basis and I am extremely grateful for having this source as a reference.

I am a 36 year old male experiencing thinning in the frontal hairline primarily in the temporal area and a noticably visible thinning spot isolated to the right middle top of my head approximately one inch in diameter. I maintain very short hair (typically use a number 2 guard on the back and sides of my head, and a number 3 guard on top) with an electric trimmer. The thinning has slowly progressed over the past 5 years and appears to be more prevelant over the past year. I would attribute the frontal hair loss in the temporal area to a maturing hairline and I still have a low widows peak, albeit thinner.

My questions are:
1. What would cause the unsymmetrical thinning on the top of my head?
2. Would I likely receive any benefit from propecia in regrowing the hair in the top of my head or should I consider a localized hair transplant in that area?

Any insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Best Regards

Genetic balding is often not symmetrical and it does not always follow the rules on balding patterns. Yes, hair loss does break the rules. That is why I recommend mapping the scalp for miniaturization so that you will have an idea over what is actually going on beyond what your unmagnified eye can see. You can map it yourself with the right tools (see here). Clearly, you need to know if what you see is genetic balding and the mapping will give you that information, which you can post on BaldingForum if you need help on the interpretation.

Alternatively, and a better solution, is to get to a good doctor who will tell you from proper measurements and a good thorough examination what is happening to you. If you have genetic hair loss, Propecia/finasteride is the way to go. I’d look into medication before considering surgery.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

In an article in New Scientist Magazine published in late November, 2008, called “Getting It On”, author Mairi McLeod discusses and analyzes proclivities of male and female roles in the sexual game that goes on in real life. Sex drive is a focus of the article and the turn-on elements of each sex is a focus of the article.

Snippets from the article:

“A woman’s status affects her choice of sexual partner….. women who a high level of control over their own finances end to place higher importance on physical attractiveness in a man than on his financial prospects….. if increasing female economic power leads to greater demands for good-looking sexual partners, it may pay men to invest more in their appearance. Given the explosion in the male grooming industry, it seems that men are already onto that one”.

That might explain the increased incidence of hair transplantation in men, to make them feel sexier in attracting more women.

A similar article by the same author is at The Scotsman.

I know you said in another post that mold can possibly lead to hair loss; however I am wondering whether such an issue may be reversed. If you do experience hair loss as a side effect from over exposure to mold, will the hair return once the mold is removed? Or is the loss permanent? Thank you for your time.

Diseases like ringworm (a mold) can be treated successfully unless the presence of disease is a complication of a compromised immune system (like from HIV). In most cases, the hair grows back once the mold/fungus is successfully treated.

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Hey,

I have alopecia universalis. My doctor stated that alopecia universalis makes every hair on your body fall out, however on my head i have spikes all over it and about 3 tufts of hair, not noticable by the eye but by touch. I was wondering if anyone out there has the same question as me, is this a good sign?

I have just this week begun being treated with Topical Immunotherapy but i havent started with it being placed on my head, i have it on my arm to get me allergic to the stuff before i have it put on my head. Has anyone recovered from alopecia universalis who had the same questions as me? with the little spikes of hair all over my head. If there is anyone out there who knows something about this, please answer !

Thanks

Alopecia universalis is extremely rare (less than 1% of all cases of alopecia areata), and unfortunately I’m not an expert on the disease or the treatments. I will forward your message to anyone that I know that could possibly help. If any readers have anything to add, please leave a comment below. You might be able to find more information at the NAAF.org site.

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This is an old post that slipped through the cracks and never got posted, so my apologies to the author of the email for taking so long to reply…

Dear Dr Rassman,

I am writing to you abaout my experiences with Viviscal (a.k.a Nourkrin). I have first noticed thinning at the temples at the age of 24, and looked for an expert’s advice. After the evaulation I was told that I am also thinning on the crown a little and I may lose my hair within two years. I was advised using Viviscal to prevent balding. However, what I have already lost at the temples could not grown back anymore. It only could have been prevented, if I had started the treatment at my late teens.

I have linked an interesting page about Viviscal with before and after photos. Haarmittel.com (German). The photos underpin that the hair loss at the front only can be prevented, but great results can be achieved on the crown, since follicles are not dead just inactive.

I am skeptical of the photographs and the changes shown make me doubt what the Viviscal marketing department wants me to see. Viviscal reportedly contains “special marine extracts and a silica compound” — and yet I’m to believe this will regrow hair? If these photos were real, the product would have taken over the market years ago.

I ran the page through Google Translate, so this link may be more interesting to my English readers — Viviscal photos.

Can dying hair with Just for Men cause baldness?

You first need to have genetic balding. The Just for Men dye product will not cause you to lose your hair unless you perhaps have an allergy to a chemical used in it.

We sent this out to our mailing list of patients and consultations today, but the offer is available to everyone so I wanted to post it here. We’ve drastically reduced our fees for strip hair transplants during for procedures completed by the end of May and we’ve made financing even better! Also, I really want to point out our great travel incentives since I get so many emails from BaldingBlog readers all over the world that inquire about surgery. See our Travel Program section for details!

Here’s the email that went out today…

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The economy seems to be hitting everyone hard these days, but you don’t have to be a bank or an automaker to get bailed out (of being bald)! This is why I’m announcing the three part “Hair Stimulus Plan” for New Hair Institute clientele.

Part 1: Starting immediately, NHI will offer a 20% reduction of our base fee structure for any traditional strip surgery performed prior to May 31, 2009. That means our Standby Program fees drop down to as low as $4 per graft! Our complete updated fee structure is on our website (or call for details).

Part 2: NHI has suspended the $100 initial consultation fee until May 31, 2009. Yes, free first consults are back!

Part 3: You can now finance up to 50% of your procedure fee, on approved credit, for a term of up to 24 months. The interest rate for the initial 6 month period is 0% and for the remaining months the interest rate has dropped to only 5%! These terms are for procedures completed before May 31, 2009.

Call our office at 800-639-4247 or 310-553-9113 to schedule an appointment to meet with an NHI physician in Los Angeles or San Jose, California, or just to learn more about our Balding Bailout special! Offer expires May 31, so don’t wait!

William Rassman MD
Founder, New Hair Institute

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Offer applies only to procedures performed in our Los Angeles, California office.