Category: Other

I see the lasercomb people do not take kindly to criticism. Any thoughts about that? The link is here on the official hairmaxforum.com

I took the time to review their data and contrary to their protestations that there was not enough resolution in the photographs, I would challenge that statement. If they felt the photos didn’t well represent their claims, why would they bother posting them? In fact, the resolution in the photos were excellent (we looked at the macro photos, which quite clearly show the hairs or lack thereof), as was their scientific methodology, and that is why I was willing to state what I said, that the conclusions of their ’scientific paper’ were inaccurate. I have declared that I am an expert in viewing these photographs because I am the inventor of the technology that they used to do the very experiment being challenged by me (U.S. Patent 5,331,472 issued July, 1994). I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but based upon the data I reviewed, their conclusions are not credible.

Just so everything is easy to find, here was the follow-up email I received from Lexington after my initial blog post — Email Response from Managing Director of HairMax LaserComb.

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Hi Dr. Rassman,

I’ve been reading your blog for a very long time and really appreciate all the time you’ve put into it.

A common message that you send out to all your readers is 1) the importance of a master plan, and 2) miniaturization mapping…

Now, with all due respect, I believe this advice is almost useless to a lot of us. Almost every doctor I’ve come across has been absolutely clueless to these two topics, and every hair specialist that I’ve encountered have been pushy salesmen that you just can’t trust. It’s very rare – and probably in many circumstances / areas – almost impossible to find a doctor like you.

Can you perhaps provide us with some more PRACTICAL advice given these circumstances? Your advice is very much relevant, no doubt, but I don’t know how ‘realistic’ it is…

Again I don’t mean any offense, I just wanted to make you aware of what a lot of readers might be experiencing.

I am both pleased and frustrated by your question. What I say and what I try to teach in this blog should be basic to every good doctor who claims expertise in any field. If you think about it, when someone has a progressive medical problem (cancer, morbid obesity, kidney or liver disease, or hair loss) it would be malpractice not to have a plan of treatment beyond a single visit.

Imagine if you were unfortunate enough to get cancer of the testicle and your doctor took out one testicle and said, “Call me when the other testicle has a tumor and I would be pleased to take it out.” Can you imagine the doctor saying to himself, “I got the big $$$$ for taking out the testicle, now let him fend for himself until there is enough money in it for me to get involved again“? Such thinking is untenable to me and to every person needing a ‘doctor’, one who is supposed to care and spend enough time to lay out a Master Plan for following up his treatment. Fortunately, most doctors who do cancer surgery, follow liver disease, treat AIDS or diabetes do care about their patients so the untenable behavior outlined above, is not the typical case scenario that a person with cancer has to face.

The problem in the hair transplant industry is that there are just too many doctors that behave like ‘used car salesmen’ and are looking to make a fast buck. For these doctors, a hair transplant procedure seems to be a good way to do it. I would personally never see a doctor for any reason if he/she did not treat me with respect by giving me enough of his/her time to address my fears and care about my feelings. Every medical condition requires a follow-up and hair loss is no exception. I know what you are saying is true, too much so, and I am outraged by those who think of the transplant patient as a way to pay off their expensive car. There are many good doctors out there and it is your duty to find them and not accept the ‘scummy’ doctors out there, It is a buyer beware problem and if you are interested in a hair transplant, it is your problem if you make the wrong selection. You can establish a dialogue with me if you wish (emails work and a photo consultation is offered to all at the email address on the contact page, or I am available by phone toll-free at 1-800-NEW-HAIR). Personally, I feel that you should never compromise on the quality of care you should be demanding. You have the control over your destiny, so use your power to make good decisions and stay away from those doctors who are hardened, uncaring, greedy and self-serving.

Hi,

Can massaging your scalp help prevent hairloss and if so do you have any recomendations on how to do it.

Thanks

Although a nice massage can relax the body, relieve stress, and just feel sooooooo good, saving hair is not a known benefit.

If baldness was cured tommorow would you still have a job? I dont mean that as disrespect but I think its in your best interest and all these various other baldness product companies to keep all us guys with struggling hairlines chasing that miracle cure, that never really fully works. If for example someone was to create a miracle pill tommorow companies like Merck (the company that makes Propecia) would stand to lose MILLIONS of dollars and there stock would litterally plummet over night! If and when the day comes it will be very interesting to see what occurs. There might be some sabotage involved! Anyway I think its all a bit of a conspiracy. Great website by the way, I enjoy reading many of the posts….Extremelly Amuzing

If there is a cure for baldness, it would be the best thing that could happen to my job. Who else would be more qualified to administer this ‘cure’? There are those who believe the moon landing occurred in a movie studio in Arizona, and for those, the conspiracy may still live on (even in the field of hair loss).

Hi Dr Rassman,

I have read you’re blogging website avidly now for the past year..

I am a 24 year old male who has been on propecia for 6months I dont have any hair loss at the crowd I just have a receeding hairline which I want to consult with a HT. In an ideal world I would like to have a consultation with you but obviously distances would not allow that as you emphasis its important to keep up an on going relationship with your HT surgeon. Would it be possible for you to recommend any good HT clinics in the UK that you would recommend as Ive heard so many scare stories about poor HT I want to find the right doctor. Alternatively do you think its possible to have HT done by the NHI if I was to fly over, how would this work in the long term though as I know you outline the need for a long term master plan.

I hope you have the time to reply to this email and hope you had a good Christmas and New Years.

Yours faithfully

You can check on the ISHRS site for doctors in the UK using their physician search. If you want to come to California (air fares are very inexpensive now) please let’s establish the diagnosis over the phone (send photos here to start). With that, I can make certain assumptions about you. Six months of Propecia may not be adequate timing, but lets start by talking. I have many fly-overs from Europe.

FYI: If you live more than 150 miles from our office, you are eligible to participate in a travel program. NHI will reimburse you for up to 5% of your net procedure cost for reasonable transportation expenses incurred while traveling to one of our facilities for a seminar, consultation or procedure. If you drive to one of our facilities, you can choose to be reimbursed for either mileage or gasoline expenses. In addition, you will receive one night’s stay at a pre-selected area hotel at our expense if you have a surgery with us. Even from the UK, travel reimbursement may be covered with the promotional fees on various UK to LA runs.

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I am 23 years old and I want to tell you my story. I was worried sick as I saw my hairline starting to climb. I went to a doctor in Toronto who said that I was going to go bald and needed to take swift action to prevent it. After listening to him, I went into a panic, took out most of the money I saved to go to graduate school and got transplanted with 2700 grafts. The doctor lowered my hairline also (about 1/4 inch) as well and transplanted the entire front, top and back of my head. I did some comparative shopping when I was investigating who to see about my problem and found that the price he was charging me was very competitive at slightly under $4/graft Canadian ($10,000 in cash). After the transplant was done, I found my hair falling out faster than before. The doctor told me that the new hair will replace far more than I lost and that I was lucky to get to him before the the hair had fallen out. It is now 10 months since my surgery and I am worse off now than before the surgery. I have less hair and a hairline that is nothing like the pictures the doctor showed me when I was shopping. I am very depressed, so much so that I feel that what I did to myself has created a monster. I needed to tell someone about this, but I am not sure what I am asking of you. What would you advise your son to do if he screwed up like this?

This is a tragic story, one that is hopefully not common today. To be blunt, you got taken advantage of. To do 2700 grafts on a 23 year old with little or no balding and only a receding hairline is not only malpractice, but (in my opinion) it is criminal. You got scammed and fleeced. The doctor who preyed upon you took advantage of his position, breached the Hippocratic Oath and probably violated the law.

I speak over and over again on the importance of commanding this process. You need to meet patients directly, one on one, and see the results for yourself. You need to examine the practice of the doctor you are intending to do the surgery to find out about his/her ethics. Their patients will tell you what you want to know. I can remember an unethical, scummy medical facility from many years ago that gave out a list of patients to call for references. I knew that these doctors were crooks, so when I got the list, I called down the list of patients. What each and every person on the list told me was that they would never recommend their doctor, that they were deformed by that doctor and that they felt cheated, raped, and ripped off. What I also learned from the patient victim that gave me the list is that he never called the patients on that list, because he assumed that these people were 500 good references for the doctor — clearly not the case.

What you should have learned here is that you must protect yourself from the unethical doctors out there. I would certainly notify the governmental agency that controls the doctor’s license. In America, you can file suit and clean up if this was the criminal process that it sounds like. Elective cosmetic surgery is a Buyer Beware business. There are good doctors out there who do practice ethical medicine. So for our audience of readers, I hope that you learn from this young man’s mistake — learn that it is your job to research your doctor before you buy.

I feel empathy for you. If you would like to talk with me, please set up a conference with me at 800-NEW-HAIR.

For more information, please see:

• The Truth About Cheap Hair Transplants
• Doctor Availability
• Dishonest Doctors and FUE

Dr.
I am 20 and have NO facial hair! my brother who is 15 has mustache. plz is there someting i can do to get facial hair? plz plz plz help me out.

Everybody is different. Having facial hair is genetic. I’m not sure if you’ve gone through puberty and have no pubic hair as well.

Case in point, Dr. Pak’s brother and father do not have facial hair, yet he can grow a full beard in a day.

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