Category: Hair Products

Hi Doc,

Just wanted to know at what norwood class one should stop using a product like Toppik. I am a class 6 and have noticed that I need to put quite a lot of toppik on my head and it really just looks like a coating of coal dust! Does my hair have to be longer for it to look better? Or do you think I’m putting on too much!

I don’t know if you’re using too much or too little Toppik. I think the answer is really simple — just look at yourself in the mirror or ask someone if it looks too fake or if it looks normal. I really don’t know what to tell you beyond that, as there’s no way for me to tell based on an email if it looks like a “coating of coal dust” or if it blends well enough to be an effective camouflaging product.

Many early Norwood class 6 and 7 use Toppik with great results. The length of hair and hair loss matters, but it is on case by case basis.

Hey there, I’m 28 years old. When i put gel in my hair I can see my scalp. It looks completely normal when its dry. Am I balding? I never noticed this before

If you use hair gel or any hair styling products, it will be separating out sections of hair to expose the scalp. It’s the same concept as when your hair is wet. If you think you are balding, see a doctor. In simple terms, styling your hair a certain way can make your hair look full OR thin. Various lighting can also make your hair appear thinner.

I have been losing my hair strands for the past two years. I have also tried hair lotions like ervamatin and indulekha, but the result is NIL. Please suggest me some remedies. As far as I know my family does not have any history of hair loss.

I can’t suggest remedies if I don’t know the cause of your loss. It could be genetics, it could be stress, it could be medication related, it could be allergy, etc. You need to see a doctor to determine the reason for your hair loss. Once you know why, you can look into treating it.

Dr. Rassman,

I noticed you sell Revivogen in your office. I thought you do not endorse or believe these products work! What gives?

For the record, I do not endorse many products out there. I still maintain my buyer beware mantra, and I will be the first to say this to all my patients. But I also recently acquired a Dermatology / Cosmetic practice (Wilshire Center for Dermatology) and expanded my medical services with new physicians who offer non-hair related services.

The office also sells a variety of skin and hair care products, and Revivogen is just one of the many products we offer. Revivogen is a natural supplement (non-medical) line of products.

Have you heard of a shampoo, condtioner, cream and spray system called “Living Proof?”. There was an article in the NY Times which mentioned a scientist at MIT who was involved in its development.

It claims to work very well in increasing hair volume.

I did find an article in the Wall Street Journal about the company signing on actress Jennifer Aniston as their spokesperson (and as an investor), but I’m not otherwise familiar with their product line.

The MIT credentials sound nice, and perhaps their products may work for conditioning or volumizing hair. The hair styling products market is huge, so I can understand the need for a celebrity endorsement to stand out from the rest. I wouldn’t suggest this is the answer to thinning hair, though (nor does it seem that they’re claiming these products are hair loss treatments).

Can I have your opinion on scalp rollers please , if they help with hairloss / absorption of topicals / etc ? Thanks

In theory, it is supposed to help. The concept is to produce very small holes in the scalp, creating a kind of micropuncture of the skin. If it bleeds, then these rollers are going too deep. If it does not bleed, then it may be nothing more than a way of developing more uniform distribution of the medication.

I do not know if it really helps, and I haven’t seen any studies that show one way or the other. Any readers out there want to share their experience with the scalp roller / dermaroller?

I was just curious about the new product “Har Voske”, their claims are that “in clinical studies it was shown to stop hair loss and promote regrowth in 90% of participants.” Have you ever heard of this product and would you happen to know if it is FDA approved or even effective?

Thank you.

“HÃ¥r Vokse” literally translates from Norwegian to “hair grow”. The product site says it is a blend of “marine polysaccharides”. There’s more than a few products out there that use these fish proteins and offer claims of hair loss treatment, but I would doubt that it actually does what its name implies.

There’s no FDA approval for this (or any supplement like it, since it isn’t required). The most well known product like it is probably Viviscal, and I wrote about that one many years ago here.

Finally, the site talks about a study published in the Journal of international Medical Research, but I can’t locate the study to see what they’re referring to.