Category: Hair Transplantation

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Hair Length and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Is there any truth that the length of your hair has anything to do with hair loss. I know alot of guy’s who started losing there hair and got buzz cuts because there barbers told them it would make there hair stronger and less likely to fall out. I would like to grow my hair long but this is a concern. I’ve had two small procedures with Dr. Berstein in N.Y.

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Cutting your hair short or growing your hair long will not impact your hair loss. What you were told was an old wives’ tale that has been around probably for hundreds of years, but it is not true. The hair transplants you had should last your lifetime no matter what length you have.

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Hairs Never Grew Almost a Year After My Transplant! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi I had a hair transplant in Mid July of 2008, it has now been close to 10 months since my hair transplant. I have been keeping track of the transplant with pictures it has gotten a little better in the front, still not the kinda of results I was hoping, but in the crown area there has been absolutely no growth. In fact the small hairs that were inserted never fell off nor did they grow, they are still there I can actually feel them when I run my fingers through. Is this normal that the hair sometimes doesn’t grow?

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A hair transplant failure in the crown is something you need to discuss with your hair transplant surgeon. What you described should not be normal.

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I Want to Shave My Head After My Recent Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’m just wondering how long after a transplant can I shave my head? My hairline is fairly uneven, and I want to conceal the asymmetry by doing some shaping (the doctor didn’t seem to help this problem). How long after a surgery do I have to wait to do this?

Also, I had some scabs rub off in the middle of the night while sleeping at about 6 days post op. I woke up, and had half the scabs I had before bed. What are the chances that I have damaged the grafts?

You can easily shave your head once the scabs are gone. At 6 days, some people have the scabs normally fall out so I would doubt that you lost hair grafts unless you scratched them at night while you slept.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

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What Are Dr Rassman’s Guesses About Future Hair Loss Treatments? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello doctor,

I am a 28 yr old male. My hair drastically started reducing its density starting two years ago. It is true that you notice you are losing hair when you lose almost half of it. I now keep it shaved and when hair grows out you can tell very well that my hair is much thinner starting from the crown down to the top/front of my head.

I have gone through a substantial amount of literature regarding baldness (you have a very well informed website btw), and although I am very excited about the new age treatments like hair multiplication and cloning (endless supply of donor hair), I am quite aware that all this is at its inception with much more work to be done.

My question to you is this. Since you are a man of science, and you have witnessed it advance in the area of treating baldness since the last two decades, do you believe, taking all the current advancements into consideration, that there will be a breakthrough in 10-15 years? Of course, I know that you cannot be prophetic in the matter but simply what your thoughts are. Because your guess will certainly be better than mine.

FutureI am optimistic of a hair loss breakthrough in 10 to 15 years, but if you asked someone a decade ago, they likely would’ve said the same thing back then. A lot of people are getting tired of hearing the same old “cure in the next 10 years” talk, but I will continue to be optimistic even if that timeframe comes and goes. Baldness isn’t a life threatening illness, but it is a billion dollar business… so as long as people continue to lose hair and there’s a market to end that loss, there will be companies clamoring to come up with the next great treatment. As technology evolves, the concepts that some people came up with that were once considered ludicrous can finally start to become within reality’s reach. Don’t get me wrong — there are still plenty of ridiculous ideas that will never work to treat hair loss. We’ll just have to wait and see and try not to buy into the hype too much, because there’s been far too many letdowns over the years (like that flying car we’ve all been promised).

With respect to the current gold standard in hair restoration technology, hair transplant procedures have come a long way in the last 10-15 years where most doctors are performing the individual hair follicle transplants or follicular unit transplants that give wonderful results with issues that are virtually undetectable.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

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Shock Loss Around Donor Scar After a Hair Transplant? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi dr. rassman, thanks for the great blog

I have extensive shockloss around the scar from a recent strip hair surgery.

Do you think minoxidil would be good to help reverse the problem, and help the shocked hair to “fully” come back around the scar?

Loss of hair from around the scar is often the result of a surgical closure which was too tight. Sometimes the hair returns on its own and sometimes it simply doesn’t. Minoxidil won’t hurt, but probably will not help.

This has the potential to cause a very wide scar. Speak with your transplant surgeon about this problem and ask him/her if the closure was tight.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

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How Much Donor Hair I Have Left After 2 Hair Transplants? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Doctor. I’m 30 years old and have had two HT procedures. Approximately 1200 grafts each, to the frontal 3rd hairline/middle front. I’m taking proscar daily and though still noticing some thinning in the middle of my head, I feel I’ve “bought myself some time” until further work is needed. I can’t really tell if the proscar is working great for me, since I can’t tell what I’d look like if I hadn’t used it for the last 5+ years. Realizing that this is a progressive condition, I’m assuming (unless one of the many possible breakthroughs we hear about becomes a reality) I’ll need another procedure at some point. How many grafts can I expect to have remaining in my donor area? In 5-10 years, maybe cloning or another regeneration technique could be available, but for now, I’m wondering how much I’ll have left to give myself. Thank you.

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Without examining your donor hair under a microscope and assessing how elastic your scalp is or what your hair density is, it is difficult to tell. This is a question you should ask your doctor. If your hair is not that dense and you have a tight scalp, you may have depleted your donor hair. Or if your hair is dense and you have a very loose scalp, then you may have thousands more grafts that can be moved. It varies from person to person, so it’s not something I can just guess on without an exam. Get the point?

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I Think I Had Shock Loss Even Though I’ve Been Taking Finasteride – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Dr,

Thanks for providing all the information you are providing to hair loss sufferers. I have a question. I had a Transplant a 7 weeks ago(Strip method) on my crown area. I was on (and still on) Finasteride prior to my Transplant. Lately I lost my native hair and I am seeing that I have less hair on my top now compared to hair that I had before the transplant. I learnt that this is because of the shock loss. But I was on finasteride before the HT. So, do you think this is temporary and can expect m native hair back. If so how much time does it take?

I try to educate my patients and readers everyday… and this must be one of the top ten things I want the public to understand.

Taking Propecia (finasteride) does not protect you 100% from experiencing shock loss — it only lowers the risk. If you have shock loss, there’s not much you can do (actually, nothing you can do)… and if it is in miniaturized hairs, it may very well be permanent! Statistics do not matter to those who have shock loss even while on Propecia. This is one of the risks of a hair transplant and you must always balance the benefits of surgery with the risks of surgery.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

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Using the LaserComb After a Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I used the Hairmax Lasercomb for 6 months or so. I expected major new growth but saw nothing to that extent. The only thing the product really did was make my remaining hair appear healthier. Overall i don’t know what to think of the Lasercomb. From what i’ve read it doesnt seem to target DHT or regrow the long lost hair lost due to DHT. “It is only to be believed to promote healthy anagen hair growth” (From hair follicles that have not been damages from DHT im guessing?). So wouldn’t the LaserComb be great for newly transplanted patients?

I’m two weeks post op. My grafts are securely anchored and the transplanted hairs are shedding, would it be safe for me to use the lasercomb and how effective would it be?

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I don’t think that the LaserComb would produce any harm to transplanted hairs. I doubt it’ll be “great” for them, but if you’re happy with your hair health on non-transplanted hairs, by all means…

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Hair Loss InformationDr Rassman’s Thoughts on Fellowship Training for Hair Transplant Doctors – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman:

Upon reviewing your CV, I am extremely impressed with all that you have accomplished. It is an honor to be able to read your thoughts on your blog.

I am a medical student at a Philadelphia medical school, and I too am going into the armed forces via the Health Professions Scholarship Program. I see that you served in the Army MSC. How was your experience with that? I am excited to serve my country and have medical school paid for at the same time.

Finally, and as it pertains to the discussion at-hand, I have just begun a propecia 1mg/day regimen today. I also use topical minoxidil (MiN Agent 5%). Is there anything else I can be doing to halt/reverse my thinning hair? As a 23-y/o male how soon can I expect results? What is the advantage of adding nizoral or t-gel to my current regimen? My scalp sometimes itches, but I rarely get dandruff or redness as would be evidence of sebborheic dermatitis.

I recently saw a HT surgeon for my finasteride prescription. He didn’t do a miniaturization study, however he took before/after photos. Is this sufficient, or is a miniaturization study absolutely necessary? It is obvious that my hairs are miniaturized in the front and at the vertex, while there is no “bald spot”, the hair is losing pigment and is noticeably finer.

Finally, how do you feel about the current 1-yr standard training for HT surgeons? It is obvious that you have far more surgical training than that. Do you feel a one-year fellowship is adequate?

Thanks in advance, Dr. Rassman. I look forward to your response!

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TrainingThanks for your kind words. My military experience was long ago, but rewarding. I could write a book just about my experiences, but this isn’t really the place for that right now. I would like to thank you for your service and wish you the best of luck.

At 23 years old, your hair loss is likely in the early stages, so the minoxidil / finasteride combo you’re using is the best you can do for yourself. Nizoral’s active ingredient is ketoconazole, which some believe will help with hair growth (though that’s not been proven)… and Neutrogena T-Gel’s active ingredient is tar, which will offer no benefits for hair growth (yet it still is used by some as a hair loss treatment). Both are good dandruff shampoos, though.

Obviously, a miniaturization study puts numbers to the balding. When I see it reverse from the photographs, I expect that the degree of miniaturization should also be less. I never understood why doctors in this field are so reluctant to put numbers to the degree of miniaturization.

I have one of the few certified facilities that offer training for hair transplant surgeons. When I train them, the fellowship lasts a year. It is very difficult to train these doctors, as I have to volunteer my patients (with their permission) to allow the trainee to work on them. I am right at their side when that happens, so that the work being done is totally under my control. This is one of the many reasons that it takes a year to train. Even after that period, I have seen the difficulties the doctors have when they are completely on their own.

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Robot Hair Transplants – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I read a small blurb in MensHealth this month that said there is technology being developed that uses machines or robot like devices to perform transplant surgery without damaging the skin.
It is also stated that the technology is only about two years away from being used. Have you heard of any such technology or have any other information on it?

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The license to use our patent for this was granted to Restoration Robotics a few years ago. I have seen the technology and it works, but far less efficiently than we do in our office (with humans, not robots). The entire process is not perfected yet, so we all wait out the product release when and if it will come out.