Hair Products – Page 15

May 4, 2011

How Soon After a Transplant Can I Use Toppik? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I just had a 2000+ graft transplant 5 days ago. I trust my doctor implicitly and felt his staff was wonderful and professional.

My question is regarding post-op care. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus among surgeons. I suspect this is because good evidenced based studies are lacking but I was particularly curious for an opinion regarding concealing products like Toppik. I’ve heard ranges regarding safe use from 2 days post op to 1 year. Seemed like quite a range? Do you have an opinion? Thanks.

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Generally you can use hair camouflaging products, such as Toppik, as soon as the scabbing is gone. That depends upon your cleaning technique or just the type of instruments your surgeon used during the procedure. If the granules get under scabs, they will act like a foreign body.

Refer to your transplant surgeon, of course.

May 3, 2011

Amazonia Natural Hair Lotion – Balding Blog

I am here in Dubai for last 4 years. Two years back my hair loss started then i tried few products like keshyog hair oil for 3-4 months but no use, regain for 4 months no use. Now somebody told me Amazonia Natural Hair Lotion from Brazil is good and having good results. If anybody used it then please help me to decide or share any other product which is good.

Amazonia I’m unable to find any listed ingredients on the product site, but there are some completely unbelievable before/after photographs shown. In this apparent before/after photo set, it looks like they’re trying to say that this lotion will make someone go from a Norwood Class 6 to a nearly juvenile hairline. That’s absolutely ridiculous.

I’ve got no idea what magic is in this lotion, but in all of my years I’ve never seen any product that could even come close to producing results like that. If this lotion could really do what their photos show, that would make this essentially a cure… and I’m sorry, but a cure for hair loss doesn’t exist. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I believe that it’s fake, but you’re welcome to try it and report back.

Also, it’s worth noting that Rogaine (or Regaine) should be used for more than just a few months if you hope for benefits. I understand your impatience (we all want hair right now), but if you expect miracles when it comes to treating your hair loss, you run the risk of being extremely disappointed and bald.

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Update: See Dr. Bauman’s comments below. The makers of this product are using transplant patient photos and passing them off as results from their product.

April 29, 2011

Hair Loss InformationCan Hair Coloring Speed Up the Graying Process? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi doctor rassman, my question is regarding hair colour. I have grey hair scattered all over my scalp. I still have more black hair than grey, but the grey is there, and I don’t like it.

if i were to colour my hair black and eliminate the grey until the colour fades, is there a chance that it can make my grey hair worse? basically causing the natural black hairs that I have turn grey faster. Basically can colouring hair speed up the greying process?

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Coloring your hair will not speed up or slow down the natural graying process of your hair.

April 25, 2011

Hair Loss InformationHair Regrowth vs Thickening – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

hello, I’m a little confused about what hair regrowth is and what hair thickening is. is regrowth when hair grows where it isn’t or is it when a small hair thickens?

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Regrowth is when hair grows where it once was. It’s all a matter of semantics. One can thicken the appearance of a head of hair by increasing the number of hairs in the head (regrowing new hair), moving the hair around (transplant), using camouflage (pigments), or increasing the thickness of existing hair (products). This is done by:

Reducing the degree of miniaturization with drugs like Propecia (finasteride) so that each miniaturized hair will become less fine and more coarse (closer to your normal hair in the donor area).
Increasing the thickness of the individual hair shafts with thickening agents that are applied to the hair which cause them to take on more water, or coat the hairs with some product that makes them appear thicker (this is done by applying a product to the hair that will usually wash off when shampooed).
Increasing the thickness of an area can be done through hair transplantation. This is a relatively permanent solution until you lose more hair (it’s progressive).
By playing with color, someone can bring their hair color closer to their scalp color with chemical dyes or the use of scalp micropigmentation (a medical tattoo). The use of agents such as Toppik (adds fibers to the hair and scalp) or DermMatch (a crayon type application to bring color to the scalp.

So you see, there are many ways to get a fuller look that may not be the results of a full head of hair, but if it fools the eye, then many people will be satisfied using these approaches.

April 19, 2011

Minoxidil Made My Scalp Red from the Alcohol – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I was wondering what a good alternative would be to Minoxidil or Rogaine foam as they contain alcohol and resulted in redness of the scalp. I have tried Propecia but there were side effects so I stopped. I recently started using Tricomin shampoo but from what I heard it generally won’t result in regrowth, only in retaining what you have left.

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Rogaine Androgenic alopecia is a genetic trait and there are no drugs or potions that will stop it. Propecia and Rogaine seem to slow it down or sometimes reverse it for a few years (it buys you time), but you will continue to lose hair. In other words, there’s no cure. In your case, it is unfortunate that you cannot take the two medications that actually work and are FDA approved to treat hair loss.

There might be an alcohol-free minoxidil out there, but I couldn’t name any off the top of my head (no pun intended), nor do I know if the lack of alcohol would make it more difficult to apply evenly. I’m not sure which Rogaine you tried, but the 5% has less alcohol and more propylene glycol; the 2% has more alcohol.

As for Tricomin, I’ve written about it before here. A key ingredient in that shampoo is apparently copper peptide, and you can learn more about that here.

April 18, 2011

If Rogaine Worked in My Hairline, Should It Work in the Crown? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I’ve been using Rogaine for about a year now with good success on my hairline, and recently started using it for my crown. I’m adding Nizoral 1% to my routine every third day-what should I expect? Further stabilization? Nothing?

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Although it is a good shampoo, Nizoral (ketoconazole) isn’t proven to regrow hair. Some people suggest it has benefits for hair growth, but I’ve written about that before.

But as for expectations, I’d expect Rogaine to help in the crown now that you’ve started using it there (particularly if you had success in the hairline, which is rare). I suppose it depends on how you define success.

April 15, 2011

Propecia Worked for Me, Saw Palmetto Crushed My Libido – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman –
An anecdotal, first-hand report on my experience with finasteride and saw palmetto/beta-sitosterol for your readers: taking the latter for about 10 months, my frontal area continued to thin and my libido was crushed. Taking the former for now about 13 months, my frontal area has maintained and my libido is totally normal.

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In other words, you’re saying saw palmetto and beta-sitosterol caused libido issues. I don’t know what dosage you were taking or if you were strictly taking it for treating hair loss, but thank you for the reporting your experience.

April 14, 2011

Could Product Build-Up on My Scalp Cause Temporary Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Good Day Dr. Rassman,

I am 21 this year. I have been using excessive amount of hair spray and wax for a period of 4 to 5 years, on top of poor washing of the head. As a result, my scalp has a shiny layer, what I think is product build-up, over it. After 2 years away from the products, the shiny layer has cleared considerably. I want to seek your opinion on this shampoo, Menscience Daily Shampoo (with AHA and BHA), on its ability to clear product build up and sebum from my oily scalp. Would such product build up actually cause temporary hair loss?

On addition, as I reside in a hot and humid country. Is it okay to shampoo twice a day, once in the day and once at night? If not, my scalp would feel very oily and uncomfortable.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your effort!

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Styling products like hair spray or hair wax will not cause balding, even if you leave it on. If the product is not a known safe product, you could damage the hair, but it would be doubtful that the damage would extend below the skin surface. Shampooing twice a day is not a problem either.

April 1, 2011

I Think My Ex Is Putting Nair in My Shampoo! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Thank you for your time. I am a 33 year old male and I have used propecia for some time now and my hair loss has been minimal up until the last few months. I have good reason to believe that my ex-girlfriend has been putting nair in my shampoo, conditioner, or styling paste. It has changed in texture and I am losing it in patches and generally all over my scalp. If this is the case then is the damage permanent or will it grow back? Also, what can I do to repair my hair?

Again, thank you for your time.

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Yes, if that suspicion is true then it will grow back, provided the assault stops. You might want to have a serious discussion with your ex or threaten to take legal action against her. Or at the very least buy new shampoo, conditioner, and hair product…

March 29, 2011

Hair Loss InformationTeen Using Procerin to Try to Regrow Hairline – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello, I am now 17 and I’ve noticed my hair loss (or receding hairline) about a year ago. The strands of hair around my hairline are uneven with the rest of my head and I knew it’s not gonna last long.

I’ve tried Procerin for the past 3 weeks now (since it seemed like the “safest” way for treating it) but I still shed the same amount of hair than before I started taking it. So much for that.

Then I started to read about stem cell treatments that might come in the next few years, and it sounds promising. Do you think I should wait until cell injection treatments are available? Or am I just fooling myself and should I go with treatments like Rogaine?

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Procerin At 17 years old, I wouldn’t be surprised if what you’re seeing is a maturing hairline. Have you seen a doctor or are you just treating yourself with over the counter supplements? You might not be experiencing male pattern hair loss, but rather, the maturation of your hairline (a totally normal part of getting older when your hairline goes from juvenile to mature). For more on that, see here.

Procerin is essentially saw palmetto (an herbal that hasn’t been scientifically proven to stop hair loss, though many people on the internet swear by it) with a fancy label and some added vitamins. You can learn more about Procerin here. You’ve only used it for a few weeks, but I wouldn’t expect it to do much for your hairline regardless of how long you used it. Rogaine is proven to regrow hair, but I wouldn’t expect much in the hairline from that either (works best in the crown).

Future treatments are just that — future. There’s no timetable for them to actually make it to market. We’ve been hearing hair cloning would be popular by now, yet it is still in the early stages of trials. We’ve been hearing the cure would be available by now, yet there is no such magical elixir, pill, or lotion available. It’s up to you to decide how long you want to wait for something to maybe become available.