Category: Other

Is it possible to suffer from a phobia of balding. I am losing my hair and am suffering to the point where i cannot face to look in the mirror or touch my head. I no longer go out or interact in any shape or form. Bluntly put.. my life is hell and im seriously thinking of killing myself. I shake when i think of the state of my scalp. Could i have a phobia?

I have seen this type of reaction in the past. You need to get professional help to manage your problem. This is something that I can not help you with and a doctor/patient relationship is critical to solving the problem.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

Hi Dr Rassman,

I am a male and recently discovered i have interstitial cystitis. Am using minoxidil but cannot take finasteride anymore. So my questions is the following: During a HT session and when one is awake is it possible to do the procedure on someone who would have to use the restroom or are there ways to work around it?

Our patients have a private restroom available to them right outside the operating room next to where the transplant is done. Getting up during the surgery to use the facilities (as long as you let us know and don’t just jump up from the chair) is not a problem.

What is the “master plan” you keep talking about?

The Master Plan I often refer to is what you will be able to accept in the future with respect to your hair loss. It is simply anticipating for your future hair loss pattern and having a “plan” to stay one step ahead.

As an example, if you are 21 years old and currently a Norwood Class 3 hair loss pattern and want a hair transplant in the corners of your frontal hairline, it may be easily achieved. However, as you age you may progress to a Norwood Class 5 hair loss pattern and you will be left with only that permanently transplanted corner hairline as you lose the surrounding hair. In other words, you would look like a freak! Your master plan should have been made to consider the possibility of future hair loss by mapping your scalp hair for miniaturization patterns. The master plan may have also included consideration for postponing a hair transplant surgery for a few more years or starting on a FDA approved hair loss medication such as finasteride (Propecia) or minoxidil.

My offices observe Memorial Day, so I will be enjoying a long weekend. I’ll be back Tuesday with more hair loss questions and answers.

What would your favorite Hollywood celebrities look like without hair? I was talking with someone on my staff about this and found a wonderful Photoshop contest on Worth1000.com that shows what many A-list stars would look like sans hair. Thanks to the artistic talents of the members at Worth1000.com, you can enjoy the following talented photo manipulation work:

• Worth1000.com – Bald Celebrities
• Worth1000.com – Bald Celebrities 2
• Worth1000.com – Bald Celebrities 3

(Above image from Bald Celebrities Photoshop contest on Worth1000)

Dr.Rassman are you the only person who performs transplant. If not i would rather have you do it as you are well respected, i wouldnt feel as happy if anouther surgeon at NHI did my surgery. Also can you see anytime in the future were you may retire and if so will NHI still be in buisness, if so how could you replace yourself with someone as good as you. If you left i probbaly wouldnt get surgery at NHI. Im 18 and have a receding hairline, im worried that by the time im 25 and want a transplant you may not be doing transplants any more.

Just to make this perfectly clear — I’m not retiring anytime soon!

Yes, even if/when I do retire, NHI will be in business. Dr. Jae Pak (whom I’ve known and worked with for over 10+ years) was personally trained by me and is a great transplant surgeon. He and I both do hair transplant surgeries at New Hair Institute. You will be in good hands with Dr Pak.

I am a firm believer that Finasteride works, and works well! I always question people on these forums who say otherwise. An analogous case in point. I was looking at this bodybuilding forum recently talking about this Arnold Schwarzenegger Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, and people were saying some negative things about it. I use it as my bible so to speak, and I can promise it works, regardless of people who says it didn’t help them gain any muscle — they didn’t try hard enough. That said, people reading this should know that other people say all sorts of crazy stuff and lie, so take everything with a grain of salt.

Sorting through all of the BS on the Internet can be a difficult task. Sometimes it just comes down to plain old common sense. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you think a secret “miracle hair cure” is going to be available off the Internet for the low, low price of $100, you’ve most likely just flushed that $100 down the toilet. Look for proof, not for fantasy.

And to add to the point you were making, people need to also remember that many claims found on the Internet are unsubstantiated. For example, just because Joe Schmo says that a medication made his hair fall out and his fingertips turn black doesn’t mean it really even happened!

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

Acupuncture, and hair regrowth? is it possible? is it safe?

I believe acupunture is safe, but I highly doubt it will grow hair. If there is good scientific evidence to the contrary, I would love to hear about it.

I don’t know if you would have any insider information, but i figured this would be about the best place to direct my question:

Since the inception of companies like Follica and Intercytex, they’ve been remarkably silent about any progress they’ve made or are making. why do you think this is? Even attempts at
contacting them have been generally futile. Do you think it was alot of fluff when it comes to what these companies were purporting to do? just wanted your opinion?

I have no particular information on this, but silence usually means that they have nothing new to report.