Category: Other

Snippet from the interview page:

A recent open house at a popular LA hair transplant clinic was packed with men. But LA Times business columnist David Lazarus told Bill Radke the rise in demand is less for vanity and more to maintain a competitive edge in the job market.

Following up the post I made yesterday about NHI being featured in the Los Angeles Times, I found an interview on APM (public radio) with LA Times columnist David Lazarus about the article he wrote.

• Interview with David Lazarus — here.
• Yesterday’s post about the LA Times article — here

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

This may be more of a non-direct hair question and thought you could answer this from your medical background. I’ve been consuming a bit of soy for hair protective measures and a friend of mine said that her roommate developed an allergy to soy because she got sick all the time. I always thought an allergy was manifested by itching, hives, etc. and not being sick. Does this make sense?

Bad reactions to natural substances do happen and it is not necessary to have itching, hives, etc. For example, some people get sick from dairy products and they do not develop itching, hives, etc but will develop ’stomach’ problems like cramps or diarrhea.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

There’s a nice article in today’s Los Angeles Times business section (sprinkled with Dr. Rassman quotes and a plug for the Hair Loss and Replacement for Dummies book) written by a reporter that attended our free Open House event last weekend in our LA office!

Snippet from the article:

The recession has caused patient volume at cosmetic-surgery facilities to fall by a third, according to the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. With money so tight, it’s hard for many people to contemplate spending thousands of dollars on face-lifts or boob jobs.

But when I attended an open house at the New Hair Institute in Century City last weekend, I found a waiting room full of guys who were willing to spend as much as $20,000 apiece to restore what nature was taking away.

In many cases, the motivation is vanity or self-esteem. But increasingly these days, another incentive for men to undergo hair-transplant surgery is a desire to be more competitive in a challenging job market.

The full article can be found at the LA Times website — In a hairy job market, can transplants aid the balding?

It is unfortunate in these times to see the profiteering by some hair transplant doctors who:

1. Create fears of balding in young men
2. Perform unnecessary surgery on people who are gullible and believe what doctors tell them without question
3. Charge for grafts that they will not deliver (see this previous post)

For nearly 5 years now, BaldingBlog has been a site where you’ve been invited to ask questions about a variety of hair loss topics, and some have reflected upon the honesty of their doctor’s calculations and indications for surgery. As a surgeon, I think I like those questions the best… and to continue this path, I am volunteering the services of myself and Dr. Pak to help you not get caught in the quagmire of inappropriate surgery or recommendations that will not help you.

What does that mean, exactly? Well, have you gone to a doctor or clinic and were told you were a perfect candidate at 19 years old? Or do you have a Norwood Class 2 hair loss pattern and were told you needed 3000 grafts in the frontal hairline? Or maybe you’ve never actually met with a doctor, but a man in a white lab coat (a salesman getting paid to sign you up) shook your hand and booked you for surgery? There are so many ridiculous moves like those examples that I keep hearing about, and I’m drawing a line in the sand!

Call to action!

We’ve given you the information to help you research before a surgery… now it’s time to put it to use. If you think something is fishy with your hair transplant doctor, we’re going to help you. Dr. Pak and I are honest people… and it’s time someone called out the shysters. These hard times are driving some doctors to abandon whatever integrity they may have had just to make a buck and some patients have a poor understanding of what is happening to them. If you may have sought consultation with a doctor who (1) wants to find out how much money you can spend, (2) wants to know that you can get the money, (3) identify your credit cards to cover the surgery and determine the number of grafts based upon how much money you have, then the number of patients recommended for surgery goes up along with his/her income, (4) sell you substantially more grafts than you need (very common practice), putting grafts into areas that do not need them. Many people do put money aside for a hair transplant or use credit cards to cover the costs, but sharing this information should come after you and your doctor bonded, you understood the plan that you doctor put before you and have developed realistic expectations that the hair transplant will achieve your goals. I would rather tell a patient that a hair transplant is something that should be postponed because he does not have the money, than to get him to go into more debt to save his look. I’m personally sick and tired of seeing people getting ripped off for unnecessary surgery or hearing that a doctor or his sales staff promised you a full head of hair. Let me help you. You can consider this a free second opinion in the case you are doubting that what you are being told is really in your best interests. There are many honorable doctors who do not engage in such practices and if you are comfortable that you found one of these doctors, then you will not need to take advantage of a free ’second opinion’.

Get a 2nd opinion!

Email your story along with clear, concise photos to secondopinion@baldingblog.com and we’ll do our best to get back to you as soon as possible.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

Snippet from the article:

Pharmacogenomics research and development innovator PharmaGenoma, Inc. and its subsidiary HairDX, LLC, pioneers genetic tests for predicting the risk of male and female hair loss, today announced an exclusive agreement with Aderans Company Limited of Tokyo to introduce the breakthrough tests in Japan starting on March 1, 2009. The HairDX test collection kit is listed with Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) as a Class I medical device.

The agreement makes Aderans the sole Japanese distributor of HairDX’s revolutionary genetic tests, and further expands Aderans’ leadership in the hair care and medical fields. Aderans and its group of companies span over 17 countries worldwide, and in 2001 Aderans purchased Bosley, Inc., one of the world’s largest brands in hair transplant, to further solidify its global position as a leading company in the hair care industry.

Read the full article at MarketWatch.

Interesting news regarding the business side of genetic testing. Yet in my opinion, the diagnosis of genetic male pattern balding (MPB) probably does not require a genetic test as the diagnosis is self evident in the pattern of balding or miniaturization. Do you need a genetic test to tell you that you have blue eyes? I suppose you can make the argument that you can slow down the balding process or start a medical treatment plan (Propecia) earlier if you know you have the “gene” for balding. But in my opinion, starting treatment without having evidence of balding is not the proper thing to do.

Predicting a possible fatal disease like genetic testing for breast cancer may pick up the risks early (before the cancer appears), but we would not take off the breasts of a 15 year old just because she carries the gene. Clearly the older a woman becomes, the greater the risk becomes, so the decision on when to treat the genetic propensity is difficult. I am all for genetic testing and research, but my personal bias on the HairDX testing is that it is a marketing tool rather than a clinical tool, as it should not dictate treatment without showing overt balding or miniaturization.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

Snippet from the article:

Scientists may have figured out why hair turns gray, and their finding may open the door to new anti-graying strategies.

New research shows that hair turns gray as a result of a chemical chain reaction that causes hair to bleach itself from the inside out.

The process starts when there is a dip in levels of an enzyme called catalase. That catalase shortfall means that the hydrogen peroxide that naturally occurs in hair can’t be broken down. So hydrogen peroxide builds up in the hair, and because other enzymes that would repair hydrogen peroxide’s damage are also in short supply, the hair goes gray.

Read the full article at WebMD.

This article was pointed out to me by a member of the BaldingForum, so my appreciation goes there for drawing my attention. If you have a hair-related news item, please send it!

I just recently went to the dr with a head fungus. He called it a “barber fungus” from contaminated equiptment from my hairdresser. Well, I jsut switched over to this person from the recommendation of a friend when I called her about this, she said there is just no way that can be possible. This hair dresser is so clean and I know you got it from something else. My question is coudl this be possible – getting it from somewhere else. None of my family members have it and they use a different barber/hair dresser. This is supposed to be a high dollar salon too. Can this be possible? I loved the way this hairdresser cut and colored my hair very much and want to go back. Could this just be an isolated incidence or what?

First, try to find out how the equipment is cleaned between clients. It should be soaked in a solution that is sold to the salons for this purpose. Don’t relate it to how much you pay your hair dresser, as anyone that does not properly clean their equipment can spread a fungus.

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I’m a pre-medical student, applying to medical school next year, and ever since discovering sites like ‘hair transplant network’ and doing independent research, I’ve decided I have a great interest in entering the hair transplant field. However, I recently read an abstract you published in 2003 regarding the status of the transplant market for both the consumer and the physician, and it lead me to believe that by the time I get out of medical school and residency, hair transplants may be an over saturated commodity? I may have interpreted the results of your work a tad harshly, but I was wondering if you had any advice for someone in my situation? Do you think there will still be potential for a successful, innovative private practice, or would it be akin to opening a laser clinic on Rodeo in 2009 -aka you’ve missed the cusp of the wave and it’s too late to break in now? I realize that you can’t predict the future, but I’d appreciate any advice or insight you can give me. Thank you very much.

I think that the issue is classic capitalism (supply and demand). With today’s economics, hair transplantation is not a necessity so there are clearly more providers than patients, but who knows 10 years down the road. The miracles I see daily in my practice will be better understood by the balding population and will, almost certainly, cause an upswing in patients seeking this service, but who know if the physicians skilled in the art will multiply faster than the demand for services. Ask our economists, who seem to know the answers to everything in our present economic climate.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

Doc,

I brought up my questions about the value of miniaturization studies which you responded to. Though I’m still not convinced, you posted a response from another doctor who also questioned it’s value giving his reasons. Your willingness to post those suggests you’re a true scientist. People often portray science as consensus when it’s just the opposite. Those who claim any debate is over are restricting knowledge not expanding it.

Thanks for you’re continued effort to expand all of our knowledge.

Sometimes the opposite opinions are from people who completely made up their minds and there’s nothing I could possibly say that would make a difference. This is my blog and the readers are generally a bright group who come here for answers and insights, and that is why I love doing this. Teaching is my responsibility to give back what I have learned over the years to those balding people. Thanks for your comments.