Category: Hair Products

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Nizoral, Milk, Cows and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I have a couple questions to ask you regarding my hairloss situation. First of all, im 21 yr old male. I recently began losing a lot of hair suddenly throughout my whole head at about 8 months ago. I have been on propecia for 7 months now. However, the majority of hairs that fall out(about 75%) has a white hard mucus substance that can be scraped off from the end of the hair. I lose about 150ish hairs and they are basically always all the same size hair. I also seem to have a lot of dandruff (im assuming, white mucus-like flakes) that fall off also with the hair.
I just went to a dermatologist the other day and had him look at everything. He looked and sifted through my temple region hairs with just his eyes but didnt really look closely at anything else (no magnifying or anything). When i asked him about the white mucus stuff, he said it was normal to have that. (For the record, i know that hair has little white bulbs on the end of a hair, but this isnt the case here. it is real scrapable stuff, NOT the bulb)I then asked him about taking a scalp biopsy and he told me that that wouldnt really show anything. I then asked him about measuring my level of DHT in my body to see if its really high and he said that also wouldnt show anything because it doesnt matter how much DHT we have in our system, it only matters how much the hair follicles react to that DHT. He then gave me a form to get my thyroid, iron, and blood glucose? tested, which i will do now.
He then concluded that the acne on my face that is deep down inside my skin (never been able to get rid of it) could have something to do with my scalp and the flakey-ness as well as the mucus on the hair pieces so he prescribed me Nizoral 2% shampoo as well as Nizoral pills to get deep down and clear out my face and anything in my scalp. He also believed that milk could be playing a part in my hair loss because of the hormones milk has and how it bypasses the DHT blockers in propecia. (I do consume a lot of dairy products) He was very adamant about it and said how americans are much more balder than other countries and how the US drinks much more milk than others, etc. and how he is planning on doing a research project on it with candidates, etc. So he told me to stop all intake of milk, cheese, ice cream, etc. and see if it improves in the 2 months when i see him for a followup appointment. I asked about the loss of calcium etc. and he said that i would be fine without it and the loss of dairy products wouldnt have that big of an effect. (i could get it from other food products, etc.)
What im wondering is if what you think of my situation and about the dermatologist. I was just a little taken back about how he didnt give me a scalp biopsy, or look in a magnified glass to see deep down in my scalp. I dont doubt his intelligence because he told me that he was one of the doctors that got the creation of Nizoral, etc. and he is very well known and popular. (takes 3 months to get an appt.) I was just wondering if you agree and what your thoughts are on what he said about the different tests and if the examination of me seemed correct because i really wanted a biopsy and DHT test since i heard it worked well. Also, what are your thoughts of the acne issue and besides the thyroid, iron, and blood glucose tests, are there any other tests or procedures done to see if my hair loss is normal. And lastly, what is your opinion on my hair loss situation and is this normal? If that white mucus stuff isnt normal, does that mean that as each one of those hairs falls out, does that mean that particualr hair will never grow back? (is that the hair follicle or something meaning permanent loss?) I will send you a picture of my hairs and of my scalp.
Thank you so much for your time in reading and replying to this, it means so much to me. Im really having a hard time trying to deal with this.

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The tests that your dermatologist told you about are always a good idea, so he can be sure that you do not have other causes of hair loss (other than genetic male patterned balding, which is the most common). We generally lose 100-150 hairs per day, so seeing the hair come out does not bother me. If you are picking because of the scaling, then more hair loss with bulbs may be detectable. What I always do and think is important to do, is a thorough analysis of your scalp by region, looking for miniaturization, which is the hallmark for genetic balding and some other forms of balding as well. Any good long-term plan, which is critical for someone of your age, must have periodic follow-ups of the scalp, quantifying the degree of miniaturization and any changes over time. Without that step, there is no possibility that a diagnosis of genetic male pattern balding can be made. Hair falling out is normal, provided that your body replaces the same amount (usually between 100-150 hairs per day).

With regard to the milk focus that your dermatologist is referring to, I am not familiar with it, nor have I found that others in the hair restoration community have developed such focus. I was a dairy farmer many years ago, and I do not believe that we are allowed to use the type of hormones in these cows that would produce more hair loss, but it’s been many years since I’ve last milked cows. As for Nizoral, I’ve discussed this previously here: Nizoral Shampoo.

It sounds to me like you need some real assessment of the balding process by a hair specialist, like me. On the east coast, Dr. Robert Bernstein in New York (phone – 201-585-1115) would also be able to do such an examination for you as well.

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Straighteners Causing Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, I wonder if you could help me, I am 28 years old and I have always had slight thinning in the temple areas of my scalp. I have always been able to hide this with a fringe etc but since I have been using hair straightners I can’t put my hair up in a pony tail as you can see the thinning more and I have started to receed. Could this be because of using straightners that it has become worse or could there be an underlying cause. Both my parents have full head of hair and hair thinning doesn’t run in the family.

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Without seeing a photo of you it is tough to tell, but given your age and the circumstances you describe, I suspect you have some degree of traction alopecia, which is hair loss caused by pulling at the root. This is commonly caused by tight braiding, ponytails, etc., and as you can imagine it is more common in women. Any mechanism that pulls excessively at the hair may cause this (even clip-on or glue-in hair pieces) and over time if the hair continues to be pulled, it can become permanent. You also mentioned that you have begun straightening your hair. Sometimes, the chemicals in hair treatments can damage the hair and cause loss. In addition to that, though, when you straightened your hair, the problem worsened since straight hair covers less area than curly or wavy hair does. Pulling your hair back into a ponytail not only pulls at the hair at the temples, it would also expose the areas that already have loss making it look worse. Without examining you I cannot tell how much of your hair loss is due to chemicals or to traction, but loss at the temples is a hallmark of traction alopecia all by itself. Neither of these is genetic by the way.

What I would suggest is that you stop using any styling that would cause excessive pulling (i.e. traction) on your hair and also stop using straighteners for at least 6 months to give the hair a chance to grow back. If your hair does not grow back in a year, you may be a candidate for hair transplant in those areas.

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Viviscal – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Are you familiar with Viviscal tablets & are they effective???

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Ah yes, another fancy name of yet another “miracle” solution for hair loss. In looking up this product on the internet, I found the following comment on the site of a Viviscal reseller: “Although he was thrilled that I was growing out my hair, my boyfriend was skeptical about this ‘miracle pill’ I was taking, and was worried that I was taking something with a ‘secret’ ingredient. To calm his concerns, I showed him the box and he read over the ingredients, then agreed that the cartilaginous seafood extract, acerola extract, silica compounds, microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate, and natural black currant flavor were more than likely safe. When I convinced him I wasn’t experiencing any negative side effects, he seemed much more at ease with Viviscal and began to realize that I would have longer hair sooner than he and I had previously estimated.”

Ok, where is the science in this? Is this the best testimonial that the reseller could come up with — “my boyfriend thinks it’s safe“??

Some months ago, NBC News’ Dateline show had a story on the results of five balding treatments. One of these treatments was Viviscal. Dateline had a physician evaluate each of the five candidates prior to beginning their treatments, and then again in six months. The person taking Viviscal was the one with no growth. So while this may not have been a perfect double blind scientific testing process, the Dateline show made a reasonable effort to compare the five methods of hair treatment. While Viviscal may not have harmful ingredients, why spend the money (about $600 per year) on an unproven food supplement?

On a side note, as I looked over their site, what initially caught my attention was that the male model shown in their site design is bald. That may have nothing to do with anything, other than the tastes and aesthetics of the web designer, but I thought it was a little strange to promote a hair product and showcasing someone with shaved head. The company seems to reflect more of an entire hair product line, rather than a treatment for hair loss. So when you ask if it is effective, I can only say that it may be effective as a good shampoo (I do not have any first hand knowledge) and the other products in the family line may be ones of personal choice. With the included ingredients (Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Pisces, Panthenol, Betaine, Lauryldimonium Hydgroxypropyl, Hydrolyzed Wheat, Protein, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, Propylene Glycol, Disodium Edta, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, and Propylparaben), I do not believe that these components individually or in combination should accelerate hair growth or prevent hair loss.

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CosmeticTrichoGenesis – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

What can you tell me about a company called Current Technology and a procedure called CosmeticTrichoGenesis(CTG) that they have the patent. You sit under a chair with a hood for approx. 12 minutes 1x per week and it emits small amounts of electric energy to both stop hair loss and enhance hair growth. Although not FDA approved, I am seriously considering taking advantage of the treatment. I think I’m a good candidate and not ready to go the transplant route. My wife’s hair salon just got a chair and I know several clients who are very pleased. Please let me know what you’ve heard about the procedure and its efficacy and or results. Thank you.

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The new names never cease to amaze me. As I have been reviewing questions people have written to me for this blog, fancy new names of “magical” cures continue to come in from various individuals surfing the net. This one is all in the name. Cosmetic implies elective fixes to improve looks, Tricho means hair, and by linking the two words together you get the loose meaning of “hair improvement therapies”. Genesis means growth, and implies that there is something that stimulates the hair to improve the cosmetic appearance of a person. There is nothing new here, other than the combination of colorful words.

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Hair Coloring and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

sir,
i sm 20yrs of age. i use to have very thin hairs. i not use any hair oil or any hair ointment, but use to shampoo twice a week. Also i have habit of applying my hand on my hair regularly, but now the problem is that my hair starts falling & shine is also lost. Please tell me if applying hair color is safe or not. so please send me the related information.i shall be highly thankful to you.

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Daily washing of the hair is a good idea, but being gentle is important. Fine hair is more fragile then coarse hair, so damaging it is a real consideration with a strong massage or heavy handed brushing. Ask a good hair dresser for advice. Careful coloring should not be a problem provided that high quality materials are used by a professional skilled in the art.

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Daily Hair Treatment Regimen – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Doctor,
Thank you for this excellent resourceful blog! My hair has been thinning excessively since past 6 months to the point that i can no longer apply gel since it shows my scalp. there has also been some hairloss. If I keep my hair dry my scalp hardly shows nevertheless hair is thinning. I recently got on propecia and some other natural treatments. Here is my daily regimen:

  1. Propecia – early morning when I get up
  2. Saw Palmetto – 12 hours after propecia 320 Mg (so that it starts working on the DHT since Propecia has a shorter half life and I doubt its effect will last 24 hours (does it ?)
  3. Nizoral Shampoo twice a week
  4. Biotin and B vitamin supplements
  5. Zinc supplement
  6. regular Multivitamin

I have some questions:

  1. How effective would this regimen be and is there anything else I can add on to it ?
  2. When can I expect to see the results ? (re- thickening of hair and reversal of some hairloss i have had. )

My hair loss seems more on the area right behind my frontal hairline. Vertex is fine.

Family history: Dad started losing his hair slowly at age 35. Grand father had hair till 60. Mom’s brother is 48 and has full head of hair. and his father had hair till 55. I am 27. Please advice. I am passing through a lot of emotions.

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Your maximum response to Propecia will be up to two years, with fully 60% seen in the first 8 months or so. Be patient and wait it out for the full course. The approach you are using seems good. The Propecia does have a half life of 5 or so hours, but there is some discussion that Saw Palmetto may block the full benefit of the drug if it competes with the 5 alpha reductase inhibition. I can not certify this problem one way or the other.

I always recommend that the degree of miniaturization that you are having is documented by a good doctor. This will, at the least, tell you if the drugs are doing their job. Long term planning with a good Master Plan needs to take into account everything from your response to conservative treatment and the probable pattern of your hair loss. Minoxidil may be something worth trying if you do not get a good response from this regimen.

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Dermatix – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Had a FUT procedure (not with you) and since i noticed the big deal about the donor scar i started worrying which made me try to avoid any strenuous activities. I bought some scar reduction product called DERMATIX which claimed to smooth raised surfaces and reduce redness associated with scarring. Ever heard about it? its also mentioned that it musn’t be used until the wound is completely healed,so how long does i take donor scar to be healed?

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Dermatix is a transparent, self-drying silicone gel with claimed advantages over other silicone formulations that are used by some people to smooth or soften scars and as a result, reduce itching. It is reported to be FDA approved in the US and Europe (it has a CE mark). It appears to be recommended for the prevention of hypertrophic and keloid scars, possibly in their treatment as well. Hypertrophic and keloid scars are your body’s reaction to wound healing, so I would be doubtful that it would prevent these scars, but frankly I am a skeptic, so take what I say here with a perverbial ‘grain of salt’. Some people use sheets of silicone to try to soften such scars when they occur, and that might work.

For most hair transplant donor scars, it is usually not hypertrophic or keloid scars, but rather widened scars, and here I would really doubt that Dermatix would prevent the widening of the donor scars. It is the widened donor scars that cause much of the internet comments about scars, not the hypertrophic or keloid problem. From your question, it sounds like you are more concerned about prevention. In that case, the best solution for a future surgery is to have a good surgeon use a ‘fascial’ closure to minimize the donor scar for traditional strip harvesting (second surgeries do run a higher risk of scarring of 5-10%), or consider having a Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) procedure, where the surgery does not produce a linear scar (see our FUE page for details).

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Hair Loss InformationAm I Covered for Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

HI DR. RASSMAN, I would like to tell you what I am using… propecia, monoxidil 10% with retina-A .. revivogen, nizoral and n-t gel shampoo. I would like to know if you can offer me something better then this or is this plan good???? PLEASE get back to me.

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This plan seems to cover everything and every potential as the ads state. Some of the things you use are not in my bag of tricks (like retin A, which I believe probably does more harm than good because it produces a type of chemical burn to the skin). Nothing more to add.

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Hair Loss InformationHerbs, Vitamins, Potions, Fava Beans, & Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

After going through this web site and reading your blog comments, I have come to believe that you are closed minded and inflexible when it comes to using homeopathic, natural herbs and other natural remidies for treating hair loss. Are you just unwilling to show flexibility and open mindedness?

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Natural supplements and homeopathic medicine may be a great alternative means to treat a condition or an ailment. Unfortunately, these supplements are not well regulated by the FDA, so claims that are made can not be often substantiated, except by rumor mills and word of mouth communications that tend to praise the remedies more than criticize them. You can’t truly know what chemicals are included in the supplements that may have been used to process the product that you are buying. What the FDA calls Good Manufacturing Processes (GMP) may not be adhered to with food, naturopathic herbs, or potions and lotions sold over the counter in natural food stores. Furthermore, these products may not be covered in the regulatory process that confirms the dosages and the purity of such product, including the safety and efficacy of them. The research and studies that show efficacy are often funded by the manufacturers of the supplements which may bias the reported results. Finally the proper dosage for such products seem arbitrary. Just because the friendly neighborhood natural food outlet, their sales rep, or a salesman in a white lab coat can attest to its efficacy, does not mean that these are safe and/or effective.

For example, Vitamin A is one of the few vitamins that when taken in high doses, can cause hair loss. I have read that this vitamin is recommended for hair loss, so many people think that if a little is good, more may be better. In the case of Vitamin A, excess doses (overdoses) can cause death, so who cares about hair loss when you overdosed on this vitamin? Vitamin C, when taken in low doses is an antioxidant that theoretically prevents heart disease, but when taken in high doses (according to a UCLA published study) it accelerates coronary atherosclerosis (heart disease). Saw Palmetto, which is believed to be a DHT blocker for the treatment of hair loss, may compete with Propecia for the enzyme block that stops DHT production, making it less effective. What is not commonly known, however, is that Saw Palmetto was used by the military in WWII as a sex drive reducer for our troops. It was added to our soldier’s food supply. In studies performed by an independent agency, the dose of Saw Palmetto varied widely by the manufacturers. As such, some people get poor response from the drug as a DHT blocker (it is a weak blocker) while others get sexual side effects, reducing a man’s sex drive as the dose is possibly too high.

Kava is a widely used herb root in Polynesia that can be used to treat anxiety. There are case reports that this herbal supplement has caused liver failure that eventually led to a liver transplant as a life saving procedure, when used on someone who could not tolerate it. Did she lose hair? Possibly so. As part of our medical education, doctors learn that fava beans are harmless, yet they can cause death in very small quantities in those people who carry a rare genetic defect . People who carry a defect in the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, can not process the fava bean toxin. This toxin then poisons the red blood cells of the body. This is a genetic defect passed from mother to child. In the Mediterranean, where fava beans long have been a dietary staple and where the genetic mutation is more common than in the U.S., physicians frequently test children for the enzyme deficiency. The fava bean’s effect on hair loss is not as well known but on a positive side, look at the statement made by Hannibal Lecter in the movie “Silence of the Lambs” who recommended it by saying: “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” I guess that Hannibal Lecter did not have the enzyme defect I just discussed and it made his meal memorable.

The question I am posing here in answer to your somewhat caustic challenge to me, is that I tend to protect my patients from the unknown. When I do not know something as a fact, I might ask myself: “How many undocumented side effects or enzyme defects float around that are either caused by natural herbs that could threaten a person’s health or life that are not researched or understood?” Arsenic is a natural substance used historically to treat syphilis, but as I have said before, I would not recommend arsenic as an alternative to penicillin, which is safe and well tested (also FDA regulated through GMP standards) and accepted world-wide.

The answer to this blog entry was partly written by Jae Pak, M.D., an emergency room physician with great interests in hair loss and hair surgery. He has worked with me for almost 9 years.

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Spironolactones and Hair Loss in Women – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Are you familiar with using spironoclactone topically for hairloss???? one DR. said it might be the closet thing to cure we have. IT is antiandrogen , which stops DHT at the point on scalp with attacking the follice. I would like to know if you think it worth trying in a lotion on the scalp??? Please respond With you professional opinion. THANKS

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Yes, I am familiar with Spironolactones use for hair loss. They have been around for some time. Medline states “Spironolactone, a ‘water pill,’ is used to treat high blood pressure and fluid retention caused by various conditions, including heart disease. It causes the kidneys to eliminate unneeded water and salt from the body into the urine. Spironolactone is also used to treat certain patients with hyperaldosteronism and in certain patients with low potassium levels.”

This is a potent medication and has had some reported impact on fascial hair in women. There are some doctors who use this in conjunction with other medications including Minoxidil, which is an anti-hypertensive medication. Although side effects from spironolactone are not common, they can occur and include: upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, frequent urination, dizziness, headache, enlarged or painful breasts, irregular menstrual periods, drowsiness, muscle weakness or cramps, rapid, excessive weight loss, fatigue, slow or irregular heartbeat, sore throat, unusual bruising or bleeding, yellowing of the skin or eyes, skin rash, vomiting blood, fever, and confusion. I do not believe that this is a viable treatment for hair loss as there is no objective evidence that it works in female hair loss, but it is used by some doctors to treat women with hair loss.